‘There are many good things about competitions’
mainOur friend and colleague Ariane Todes has written a long and thoughtful piece in defence of competitions, rallying really useful information from competitors, judges and organisers. Testimony such as:
I’ve seen all sorts of dishonest things happen on juries. No matter how hard the administration tries there are still things that go on which are very difficult to stop. Of course in any of the major competitions you can’t vote for your own students, but there is a certain quid pro quo. ‘I can’t vote for my student but you can; you can’t vote for your student, but I can.’ Teachers have their lives at stake. They have a parental love for the student and it’s also going to be good for their career if their student wins, so how can they possibly be objective?
Read the full article here. You may have to wait a couple of moments for the website to function. Have patience.
Her article is very well put together As in most writings on the subject this seemingly thoughtful
article says nothing, it rehashes the
same old same old. The art is totally
subjective and as such cannot lend
itself to competitions as they are now run .It is all great” pretence “. The mention of Gould was an accurate observation.