Posted by more complicated... on October 22, 2003 at 22:17:44:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: NY Phil posted by same thing.. on October 22, 2003 at 21:11:06:
"It is all how you play on that day and at that time..."
It, rather, is more about a group of folks' collective perception of how you played.
Several of those "big names, and/or well known players" may have had complete control of what they offered to the committee, and may have been perfectly happy (when walking off stage) with their delivery and interpretations. Further, a different committee - selected from the same orchestra - may well have picked a completely different set of finalists.
In my short life, I've heard far too many vastly different opinions of those "whose interpretation/performance/technique/recordings/whatever is best".
If (on the regional/state level) supposedly carefully-selected adjudicators can't even sometimes manage to pick a middle school or high school applicant for an honor band who knows their 12 major scales as "first chair" or "whatever", we cannot be surprised when committee musicians of vastly different backgrounds and tastes sometimes don't pick the "expected" dozen or so (of around 35 or so "competent" applicants of approximately 200 or so total applicants) "best" applicants that those in the "tuba world" might collectively select.
After all, even the bass trombonist in an orchestra really doesn't "know" how a "great" tuba is "supposed" to sound. When the tuba is playing those typically asked for fff excerpts during actual concerts, the tuba bell is pointed away from the bass trombonist's ears and the bass trombonist is quite busy playing his own version of that excerpt simultaneously.