...who writes fully romantic-style music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St4czzKcROE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St4czzKcROE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DJBxqlmtKY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DJBxqlmtKY)
...and plays it herself. Hats off to young Alma Deutscher!
Wow! Incredible. Could have been written in 1916, but who cares? It's beautiful. The orchestration is so clear and appropriate. And she also plays piano quite well - a Mozart concerto! Thanks Alan for bringing this to our attention.
This is quite staggering. I saw a TV item about this young lady on TV some months ago, but it gave now clue to her real abilities. The two concerto movements are charming and refreshing - a real achievement. Of course the style is derivative, but what do people expect of one so young? Her playing is also so natural and technically assured. I just don't understand all the cynical and snarky criticism of Alma which one can so easily find online.
Quite so, Mark. Let all the critics try to do what she can do...
Her style may be derivative, but so what? I'd rather listen to her derivative violin concerto than 99% of the horrid violin concertos written in the last 60 years or so. A melody - imagine that!
Now about those composers it's ok to be snarky and cynical and backhanded here, of course!
There are actually many fine VCs written in the past 60 years or so. John Veale's is one example. However, there are also many which are excruciating to listen to. IMHO, of course.
Her style in fact harks back way beyond the epochal year 1916, when (according to imslp whose database is admittedly incomplete) the total number of music publications was the lowest since 1866, the only new string "concerto" was Schelomo and one of just two newly composed symphonies was the Inextinguishable...
I saw the programme in which she was interviewed and played a tiny snippet of her VC. I was impressed then. Now that I have heard two movts of that work I am very, very impressed. Of course the style is derivative and she hasn't found her voice yet, but it would be very unusual if it were not, or if she did at such a young age exhibit a style of her own. She is clearly remarkably gifted, not only as a composer but as a performer too. I hope she goes on to great things. Her talents are prodigious indeed. Incidentally, I thought the music sounded very Viennese - might almost have been penned by Johann Strauss. It has that insouciance. Is the orchestration her own, I wonder. Although it is assured there is the odd moment when I felt it showed lack of experience. Again only to be expected and wholly excusable - many distinguished composers, as we know, had problems with orchestration which they took years to master. Congratulations to Alma, her music and her performance. Now, is there a recording in the offing?
I heard her being interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme the other morning and she was so self-assured, such a delight to hear speaking. But I thought "how long until she gets some teacher who tells her that melody and harmony are so passe" etc and she is made to write discordant modern c**p, against her nature and inclination? I hope she stays on her own track.
Btw to me her music recalled Mendelssohn, but that's just my opinion.
If Alma is still composing in 10 year's time I'm sure her idiom will be quite different - a reflection of her own time and experience rather than a bygone age. Only then will be be able to judge whether she is a genius or simply a child prodigy.
To judge from what's currently most modish, teachers seem to go for postmodern bs, not the stuff you complain about, which is already about, erm, 60 years out of date (as a trend, that is; that Schoenberg, Sessions, Xenakis, Varèse among others... wrote good music is independent both of trends and your gripiness...)
Not completely true, Eric. The old modernist avant-garde's still twitching with life. Birtwistle's VC (2009-10) is typical modernist fare. Crash, bang, wallop, as my mother would say. Don't listen to it if you're depressed or anxious in any way. And try anything recent by Elliott Carter who only died 3½ years ago - but not if your teeth are easily set on edge.
But I know what you mean. 'Postmodern' means 'anything goes' these days. Which could mean a nice tune followed by a hail of noise. Which is (partly) why UC exists.
Mind you, Walton's one of my favourite composers...
To get back to little Alma (!), her case is markedly different from that of other composers who have chosen to take the retro route. We as listeners might respect a decision taken by a mature person with broad musical experience to revisit the music of a past epoch and (intentionally or not) to reinvigorate it with that experience. At the age of 9, however, Alma must still have a great deal to learn about the infinity of ways in which music has been and may be conceived, and her own personality has many years in which to grow. Although her teachers may have some influence, she will eventually discover her own voice and none of us should expect her to conform to our own ossified notions of what is good music and what is bad.
I agree wholeheartedly with matesic's last two posts. We must wait to see how she develops.
QuoteBtw to me her music recalled Mendelssohn,
I too was reminded of Mendelssohn.
QuoteThe old modernist avant-garde's still twitching with life. Birtwistle's VC (2009-10) is typical modernist fare.
The important word here is "twitching". Mostly, the Boulezian claim to universality ("everyone who does not do what I do is worthless") is a thing of the past. Instead we have a multitude of voices. Sure, some unbareable music is still produced, but tell me when that was any different? And having bad music around does make you appreciate the good. Listening to new work by young composers can often bring pleasant surprises (it has to me, anyway) - which it wouldn't have done twenty years ago.
Always suspicious to me. Exploitation. Nothing yet in a child's soul to write great music. Great music needs the experiences of life. JMHO.
Oh, I don't think anyone would claim this is "great" music - merely technically accomplished and promising. Certainly she must know more of life before she can aspire to "greatness". That's why it will be interesting to see how she develops.
Gareth is surely correct: Mozart and Mendelssohn were both child geniuses, but their greatness only became evident with time. The same may be true of Alma Deutscher - we'll see as she grows up...
God bless her.; I hope she grows and does well. This planet needs all the enriching it can get.
QuoteThis planet needs all the enriching it can get.
I think we'd all agree with that.
Art is fundamental to human happiness, and I think society should be careful to nurture artists such as Alma.
Then the question arises, what is the most effective way of nurturing precocious musical talent? In the 19th century the answer would have been clear - a thorough grounding in the compositional practices of previous centuries, coupled with intensive study of the piano and at least one other instrument. Probably wouldn't work today though! At present Alma shows a strong affinity for conventional classical music; it may do little harm to encourage her gently in that, but I for one would be glad to see her take off in a new direction of her own.
This thread is a little tangential to UC's remit, but ... that is a good question. How exactly does one "nurture" a precocious musical talent? I have no idea really, but there might be lessons to be learnt from previous examples. My gut feeling is that 'talent will out' regardless of what anyone does, and that the usual principles of raising children/teenagers(or managing a celebrity) apply. Those responsible walk a tightrope between freedom and control. At least young talent today faces the dangers associated with over-indulgence and excessive 'interference' rather than neglect and impoverishment (e.g. choosing between food and manuscript paper!)
Quotewe'll see as she grows up...
Indeed. Add to Mozart and Mendelssohn a couple of other incredibly gifted youngsters: Bruch and Korngold. I wouldn't want to generalize about something as rare and lively as native talent, but thinking of such folks, I wonder whether composers who master sophisticated styles during their formative years (and are showered with praise at the time for doing so) have a harder time shedding that style in later years. Hm. I'm guessing that force of personality is a bigger factor than early talent in determining how one develops as a composer.