Alma Deutscher: 'On Lake Lucerne'

[Alan Howe]

Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwnrulq6zQE

Thoughts?

[terry martyn]

Conjures up memories of being a passenger on the old "William Tell" paddle steamer on a calm summer's day in the narrows near Beckenreid

Sounds like it could easily have been a late nineteenth century French piece
,perhaps by a pupil of Faure or Debussy

How pleasing to the ears.just before I drift off to sleep!

[Mark Thomas]

It's pretty enough but very derivative. IIRC, wasn't there quite some controversy about her father's alleged undue influence over her when she was younger? I'm afraid that she's not the musical prodigy she was supposed to be if this is typical of the music she's writing now.

[Alan Howe]

Yes, very pretty. But where's her soul?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Oh dear me, NO! Nothing remarkable here at all. In fact, deadly dull: like all her music, anodyne. Why does anyone bother with this musically competent but uninspired young lady?
It sounds as if it could have been written by AI.

[terry martyn]

I had never heard of her. When I saw her performance, I thought she is probably in  her 40s,but very well made-up.

The thought of that paddle-steamer on the lake was probably induced by the photos of the lake that kept recurring, I am afraid.

But it did successfully lull me to sleep, so I wouldn't put it down quite on the level of Hans Franke. Maybe sub-Adolf Jensen

Alan mentioned the Clara Schumann being performed last year at the Proms  Not one of my favourites by a long shot,but maybe this could have been used as an encore.

Is the lady a budding Florence Price, does anyone know?

[Ilja]

Oh dear me, NO! Nothing remarkable here at all. In fact, deadly dull: like all her music, anodyne. Why does anyone bother with this musically competent but uninspired young lady?
It sounds as if it could have been written by AI.

From the start, the Alma Deutscher story has sounded very fishy to me. Not so much because of her; she's clearly talented, but the fact that she performed before large paying crowds as a young child says something about the circumstances she grew up in. I have yet to read a story of a child prodigy in which tremendous pressure from their parents didn't play a role. Few grew up to be happy people.

Based on that, I think she yet has to find her own voice, if she will ever be able to do so. Until that point, I'd rather defer judgment.

[4candles]

I'm going to forgo the pleasure of listening to this piece for the moment, but Miss Deutscher's bio comes with some quite impressive praise from major figures in the classical world.

Her Piano Concerto - a pleasant, unfussy, undemanding work - was composed and performed (by her) when she was 12!

And she is only 20 now, so there are PLENTY of years left for her to truly develop her voice and hone her craft. And in this age where music is less and less an educational privilege, I say more power to her and those lucky enough to find music as their passion! I wish I had an ounce of her ambition and creativity!