Perhaps by now we have heard enough of this and that kind of music to grasp that there can be no definitive way of interpreting any music. I have learned this from close friendship with Ursula Mamlok, a fine composer whose music is a joy to play and to hear. Working with her is a revelation at every stage of every project.
The music must live. If that is an issue for music composed by a living composer who may be there, present, in the room, at a rehearsal or a performance, then it is even more true for the composer who cannot be there for whatever reason of time or distance.
Making the music live is an endlessly demanding task for the performer. Just as in conversation one should not repeat oneself. Yow! This is truly difficult.
One of the terrible hazards of too much contemporary recording technique is the illusion of flawlessness, of perfection. Talk about freezing!
