[Harp-L] cutting contests

["Glenn Weiser" <celticguitar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't think musical competitions are a bad idea categorically, but playing 
music with a motive of competitiveness usually is. There are fiddle contests 
in many states, and in Winfield Kansas, there are annual contests for both 
fingerstyle and flatpicking guitar.
   There is long history of such contests, too. Regrading Handel and 
Scarlatti, there is this quote, "After all, live competition was a crucial 
part of musical life of the [Baroque] period. It was in 1708 or 1709 that 
Handel and Scarlatti, then in their early twenties, were involved in a 
celebrated keyboard contest in Rome. According to the surviving (and not 
always reliable) account, Handel was declared to be superior on the organ, 
while Scarlatti matched or perhaps even surpassed Handel's skill at the 
harpsichord. Scarlatti is said to have realized the musical possibilities of 
the organ only after hearing Handel play; regardless of the reliability of 
such a statement, it certainly confirms Scarlatti's love for the instrument. 
In any case, the two became good friends and Scarlatti followed Handel 
throughout Italy in order to listen to him and learn from his mastery of the 
organ."
   Maybe it could be just plain fun if the contestants don't stake all 
their pride on it.
   Somthing to think about.

Glenn Weiser