It's All in the Illusion

On August the 23, there was a beautifully crafted article by Helen Greenwood in the Good Weekend about Jean-Claude Ellena, a master perfumer. Personally I own very few perfumes and I do not have any formal understanding of the production elements behind the making of perfume. However, I was intrigued by Ellena's creative process and the more I read about the ideas and concepts that lead Ellena towards a new scent,the more I found that it could be linked to the choreographic process in dance.

"It's not a matter of combining odours but of creating relationships between odours. The materials of fragrences don't mix like colours to create a new colour. They co-exist and continue to express themselves individually, while at the same time forming a new odour, a new meaning". This is a beautiful thought. I love the notion that the many different scents in one perfume have not simply been smished together, but have been introduced to one another and the resulting conversation between them produces a new odour. It is said that humans danced before we spoke. Then it should be possible to insert the words "movement" and "dance" into the above quotation. For me, a piece of pure dance is most satisfying when there seems to be a running thread between the varied movements, that in turn creates the illusion of a danced conversation, (even in a solo performance!). When you think of the best kind of conversation, it seems to occur when there has been a meeting at a shared concept that produces new thoughts and discussion related to similar concepts. So even though there may be extremely different movements or scents in a particular creation, they must be able to "co-exist" with each other in order to successfully express a new, cohesive idea.

"All art is an illusion...Illusion can be stronger than reality". I could not agree more. Ellena does not attempt to recreate a true smell in his perfumes...he evokes the notion of a scent in order to tell a story through fragrence. How is it possible to tell a story through fragrence, dance or even music? It is through weaving "notions" into your creation that ignites the imagination of the beholder, whose personal associations evoke a story in their mind. That is what art should be about...encouraging others to embark upon some kind of inner quest that either ends with a newly formed idea or another question. That is why "the idea of tea" is so much more interesting than the actual scent of tea, as everyones experience of "tea" is different.

This brings me to a recent bugbear of mine, revolving around those in society who believe performative art should be completely comprehensive and that the use of illusion or whimsy is old hat with no part to play in our compact, computer literate, reality driven modern society. Personally I think we could all do with a little more illusion in our lives, especially with the phenomenan of reality TV that has perched the banal and everyday happenings of life on such a high pedestal. We are swamped by reality each day of our lives, from traffic jams to taxes and now when you switch on the box or surf the net, you are more than likely to be hit by what is believed to be the entertaining side of reality...bitching, cheating and the depraved acts of desperate people.

I am a whimsy addict. Daydreams tickle my life, and when I am offered the opportunity to experience someone elses vision (be it through scent or performance), I'll dive right in. Somewhere scattered in the illusion are realities worth finding.

A stunning Jiri Kylian moment

Last week was hectic...and the forecast is turbulent for the remainder of this week. It's times like this that minities just don't cut it for me. I crave moments of pure beauty such as this segment from Jiri Kylian's Bella Figura, which remind me to simply breathe and appreciate the sensation of being alive.

Competition on the Scales

The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia, (SIPCA), has arrived and while listening to every note that has been either coaxed or demanded from the keys, I've been weighing up the pros and cons of competition.

"Music competitions are meant to identify the strongest young players and contribute to the establishment of their professional careers but are they necessary and do they really turn out the best performers?" This is an interesting question, and you'll find it at the Classic FM SIPCA website, (click on the title of this blog for the website link)

I've been looking forward to this prestigious competition all year, and I had not really thought about why until I came across the above question. I think one of the resons for all the excitment is the promise of all these young aspiring pianists coming to one place and providing a smorgasbord of entertainment and musical exploration. I love the fact that competitions entice contestants from all over the world to participate and consequentially bring their own culture with them to the stage through their music.

On the issue of whether competitions are a necessity in the development of future careers, I think they can be a starting point and a helpful key in getting yourself noticed. However, I do not believe that winning a prestigious award constitutes a definitive pathway to becoming a renowned and inspired musician. Music, for the most part, is a visceral expression of life. I believe it is the inexplicable need to express the varied elements of the human condition through music, that creates and nutures the true musician.

This process can take a whole lifetime, and it is inspiring to listen to both young and more mature performers, as you can get an idea of how interpretations evolve and change with the aquisition of life experience.

In weighing up competition, it is also necessary to think about all of the elements involved that are not so conducive to bringing out the best performances. 1. The pressure to play in a way that will impress the panel and ultimately win you a prize, rather than presenting personal interpretations of the compositions through the pure joy of making music 2. The thought that "I can't afford to make one glitch, because the person in front of me made no mistakes", or in other words "unnecessary noise". 3. The chance that you could come across a negative critique of your performance which throws you off. 4. Rivalry between competitors (although from what I've heard, the contestants for SIPCA were generously supportive of last minute changes in scheduling due to delayed flights). 5. Delayed flights.

So, where does competition lie on the balancing scales for me? Just now I'm listening to a fantastic performance from a pianist who I would not have heard of if it were not for SIPCA. However, the end results will hold little importance to me. In other words, "the competition" is meaningless, as what is important to me is the music being made and how it speaks to me in the moment.