Revisiting concerto dynamics

A recent conversation with a Berlin freelancer friend got me thinking once again about concerto dynamics. Without naming names, this friend of mine was describing a certain attitude he observed in a top orchestra - whereby the musicians attained the highest level of playing by, well, terrorizing each other. These musicians are like sharks, he said, just waiting to pounce if you made a mistake. It was basically a communal scare tactic, driving up the standard of playing by provocation, by instilling fear, by maintaining constant and intense pressure.

This disheartens me. Excellence in an orchestra can come out of mutual support and cameraderie, rather than out of such negative dynamics.

When a soloist is playing with an excellent orchestra, the ideal performance is one in which they *lift* each other - in which a healthy rivalry or a competitive edge can play a productive role.

But if the orchestra produces its virtuosity by means of mutual psychological torture, how can their "challenge" to the soloist rise above, well, bullying?

It's ten years since I finished my Ph.D. dissertation on solo-tutti dynamics in violin concertos and I'm still finding unanswered questions on the topic....