Meditation gave my piano career lift-off
mainThe German pianist Caroline Oltmanns ascribes her current success to a quiet place.
Oltmanns is Professor of Piano at Youngstown State University.
From the always-interesting Living the Classical Life:
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Exceptionally mediocre playing, exceptionally poor tonal control. I’m amazed a professional would allow the Debussy to be released.
Why is this worth promoting, except that she’s attractive and a friend of the poster?
I really feel you missed the intent and message of this interview. Your negative comments would be more appropriately served in a private message.
I’ve heard many recordings, by artists famous and not, where I’ve had the same reaction. Nevertheless, they all seem to be doing OK without my support, and the world continues to go around. <>
(sorry, it was supposed to say “shrug” between the arrows)
It appears to me that claiming something is “exceptionally mediocre” defies logic, but perhaps this is intentional.
The content of the interview has one goal: self promotion. Perhaps her playing is at a higher level than the video shows, but if you put yourself open to legitimate criticism by placing your work before the public, you must accept the consequences. I’ve been subject to it myself, good and negative. If her meditation practice is effective, my response will not disturb. This is not a personal criticism of the pianist as a human.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and respond! At “Living the Classical Life” it is our aim not to promote artists specifically, but rather share the stories of the ins and outs of lives in music from many different backgrounds and in different stages of development. When we are requested to promote specific albums and concerts, we refuse–our project is too expensive (and mostly funded from our own pockets) to want to promote an artist for visibility. We also do not accept payment or donations from our guests for this reason. That said, we are happy that Ms. Oltmanns is receiving great press response for her concerts and recordings, and we feel her story is a compelling one and different from the stories we have shared so far. We are happy to hear from our viewers, especially from aspiring performers who wish to find a path and from whom we hear regularly from around the world. We also thank Mr. Lebrecht for sharing this to his wide readership. We hope you will also have a look at some of our other episodes, as we have had great responses to many of them. -Zsolt Bognár, host
Zolt, why is it that the interviews are so expensive?
Thank you for asking! The project is quite involved because we are aiming for the highest possible production values. Most of the cost is crew and equipment–we work with two cameras, and both are the RED SuperHD digital studio camera which films in 4K and with great lens optics, and these are very expensive to rent. We also have separate crew for lighting and sound, and then of course we have our directing crew and producers. Then the rest of the cost is studio time for editing and draft work–our each episode goes through several drafts of edits and polishing. But it is a labor of love as a non-profit, and we are truly thrilled to be involved in the project and the adventures it brings. And of course we are excited to bring it to viewers like you–thanks for watching!