[Harp-L] The Wonderful Internet

[Tony Eyers <tony@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 Usually I avoid threads like this. However.....

I'm familiar with the clip. It's a YouTube sensation, with millions of 
views. I think he does a great job. Given 4 minutes only to win over a 
Carnegie Hall audience, few players anywhere could have done better.

The pieces are challenging (for a 10 hole diatonic), his tone is great, 
his execution accurate.

So what does Robert Bonfiglio, an acclaimed classical player,  mean by  
"... he plays a little Bach on a diatonic. The playing is horrible, but 
the crowd loves it ..."

From purely a classical viewpoint, Robert has a point. The third piece 
Buddy plays starts with the opening bars of the Allegro from the Mozart 
Piano sonata in C K 545. Listen to Sviatoslav Richter play the same 
piece, at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqrSULskGoo

You'll notice that Buddy plays just the start of the movement. His 
articulation, execution and just about everything else pale next to the 
real thing. Buddy gets the notes right, but, for a classical 
performance, that's just the start. At the recent Asia Pacific Harmonica 
Festival I judged a number of Mozart pieces, played on chromatic, all 
more convincing than Buddy Green.at Carnegie Hall.

However, he's playing the pieces on a 10 hole diatonic. From a seasoned 
classical players's viewpoint, the performance lacks much. From a 10 
hole player's perspective, it's great. He nails the low octave scales in 
the Mozart piece, better than just about anyone else would.

The real question is (and always is) - does it work as a performance? 
The crowd thought so. Millions of YouTube viewers likewise. And I do too.

Tony Eyers
Australia
www.HarmonicaAcademy.com
...everyone plays