Thumbs up or thumbs down?

[swee'pea99]

Sent this to a musician mate of mine...


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4KCvrckXiA


...and slightly to my surprise he came back saying it 'leaves me cold'. To quote him further:

"It's like watching someone doing incredibly complicated mathematical calculations. Astonishing in terms of ability and technique and as spiritually moving as a phone book."

I can kind of see where he's coming from. He admitted when challenged Ali G stylie that the fact that she's Oriental 'doesn't help'...I suspect he finds it just a little too reminiscent of these sinister young North Koreans:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl6f_XwMhMM


But I don't find it creepy in the same way. To me it's just an astonishing performance from a staggeringly precocious 12 year old. I wouldn't want to listen to it all the time, but I take my hat off to her sheer virtuosity.

So, what do you think? Musical or mechanical?

 

[colly]

"It's like watching someone doing incredibly complicated mathematical calculations. Astonishing in terms of ability and technique and as spiritually moving as a phone book."

Not my cup of tea at all but she is twelve. TWELVE. How much spirituality does any 12 year old have ??

I suspect your mate is green with envy.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Not my cup of tea at all but she is twelve. TWELVE. How much spirituality does any 12 year old have ??

Sometimes technique comes before artistry. Plenty of time for the arty part to develop.

 

[MichaelW2]

Not my cup of tea at all but she is twelve. TWELVE. How much spirituality does any 12 year old have ??

I suspect your mate is green with envy.

12 year old Michael Jackson could sing with a reasonable amount of heartfelt emotion...or there would be trouble.

 

[jefmcg]

So you want to find out if we agree with your racist friend????

 

[Milkfloat]

So you want to find out if we agree with your racist friend????

Was it @swee'pea99 that referred to have as 'Oriental' or his friend, I am not sure?

 

[jefmcg]

Was it @swee'pea99 that referred to have as 'Oriental' or his friend, I am not sure?

No, it's this admission

He admitted when challenged Ali G stylie that the fact that she's Oriental 'doesn't help'

 

[swee'pea99]

No, it's this admission

Just to clarify, I was the one who used the O word - but very much tongue in cheek, as I would've thought the Ali G ref would have highlighted. My friend, I can assure you, is no racist - and nor, I assure you, am I.

 

[jefmcg]

The admission that shows racism was that her race "didn't help" the fact that he disliked her performance.

The amount of passion a musician displays is totally subjective. If someone who is expressing an opinion openly admits that race if a factor, I really don't think we need to explore that opinion further.

In fact, now I think about it, if you are watching a performance, and there is nothing technical you can criticise about it, but you find yourself nevertheless not liking it for other less estimable reasons, then you may easily convince yourself that the problem is "lack of passion" or some other vague and impossible to disprove reason.

(me: I don't like it because 12 year olds that are so much more talented than I am make me feel very inadequate. Also, she's Japanese. )

 

[colly]

12 year old Michael Jackson could sing with a reasonable amount of heartfelt emotion...or there would be trouble.

Well fear is an emotion after all.

 

[Lonestar]

Thumbs up for their talent.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Very brittle sounding piano, a little heavy on the pedal, uneven with the trills (maybe too light with the pedal there....) and very, very gifted. She's got another two chords to play to at least finish that piece properly (she finishes one note above the home key, which might explain her laughter at the end).

 

[swee'pea99]

The admission that shows racism was that her race "didn't help" the fact that he disliked her performance.

The amount of passion a musician displays is totally subjective. If someone who is expressing an opinion openly admits that race if a factor, I really don't think we need to explore that opinion further.

In fact, now I think about it, if you are watching a performance, and there is nothing technical you can criticise about it, but you find yourself nevertheless not liking it for other less estimable reasons, then you may easily convince yourself that the problem is "lack of passion" or some other vague and impossible to disprove reason.)

Well, no. I think to admit that race is a factor doesn't necessarily imply any racism. Fact is, there *is*, like it or not, a definite syndrome of 'Oriental' - by which I mean Chinese, Japanese, Korean - enthusiasm for tiger-momming kids into exceptionally able, but arguably musically bereft, levels of 'expertise' (the North Korean spooky-kids being a particularly egregious case in point). Far from failing to find 'anything technical to criticise about it', my friend's point was that for him at least, to suppose that technical virtuosity = musical value is to entirely miss the point about what music is about. Anyway, the thread is good and side-tracked now, so I'll back off and let it sink without trace. I thought the perfomance was amazing; thought other people might too. Or not, as the case may be...

 

[Old jon]

Only a lot jealous of the absolute ability displayed here.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I came to her through this which I think is brilliant:


View: https://youtu.be/EFeouD2IWSA


But I have listened to her playing other types of music and tend to agree that sometimes she sounds like one machine playing another. Perfect but uninvolving. I’m on my phone now but will have a proper listen to the piece you posted in the morning.