THE MAGIC OF PERFORMANCE - PART I

Some thoughts on the performing
artist's role in the 21st century,
by ANDREW SCHARTMANN

An unsuspecting audience lies in wait of a crowd-pleasing gimmick while the master of illusion sheds his playful skin and reemerges a wizard -- a sorcerer who wields his commanding scepter over the very essence of our imagination. In all but a moment it is over, and we return to our earthly roots having learned that the discerning mind is but a lithe argil in the hands of a great magician.

Much like the Houdinis of this world, great musicians are virtuosi in moulding the perceptions of their public...

NINETEENTH-CENTURY MUSIC