Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, one of the world's most pre-eminent violinists, recently performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 to an astounded audience. Famous for the vigor in which she performs, Ms. Sonnenberg played without hesitation and almost brute force. These characteristics have often lead to much debate between her critics, who feel that the dramatic way in which she plays, practically dancing around the stage, leads to distraction from the music itself. Although this often is be true in many players, I believe that her performance style is what makes her truly unique in her field, rather than conforming to the traditional standard that audiences are accustomed to.

One aspect that is delightful about Ms. Sonnenberg 's playing is that she is very playful with her audience as well as the symphony surrounding her. In many places of the third movement, she often looked to the concertmaster in a manner that suggests they were sharing an inside joke while still bowing her violin at break-neck speed. She also often stomps the stage to emphasize a particularly dramatic section of the music, with her bow flying and her face screwed up in raw effort. She even will stare at her audience in an almost intimidating glare, as if they should dare to judge her even just one bit. The character that she brings to the stage is a spectacle to behold, and her unique traits should never be sacrificed, for it's her creative expression that delights audiences everywhere as she performs.

Musical Theatrics in Performance

Theatrics in music has often been subject to critical debate. "Theatrics" is a term used often by critics in an almost derogative way to brand musical artists as too "physical" in their playing so that their audience is lead to distraction, rather than focusing on the pure medium of the music production. Proponents of theatrics assert that these physical motions create a mode of expression beyond the physical playing of the instrument, while also enhancing tone and emotive quality. At the same time, it adds as an aesthetic aid for a non-musical public audience because it is a medium in which an artist can reach to their audience so that they can empathize in the emotions that the artist is trying to convey through the music. Non-musical connoisseours will appreciate movements and expressions as an artistic application to the music, whereas musically-educated musicians and critics will often cut-down artists for their style because it "takes away from the music," in other words the music is sacrificed for drama that is not directly associated with the music.

I believe that a performance is not just listening to the music, but that it's a performance in the literal sense of the word in the way that it is entertainment; one doesn't go to a concert just to watch someone stand there and move their fingers or blow into a reed, otherwise what's the point of watching? That is what CD's are for. At the same time, those who overly indulge in theatrics that border the ridiculous definitely become a turn-off for viewers. Critics of the pianist Lang Lang often state that his avenues for emoting himself are not coming through the tone of his music but through his body language that is too elaborate for classical concert performance. A healthy medium between the two is what is needed for an excellent public performance.