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trivium91 -> RE: Why isn’t Javier Conde more popular? (Sep. 23 2022 16:00:46)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Ricardo
I hate to put this forward, because I don’t feel this way myself, but many people have this opinion of “chops versus feel”, and Javier fit into this typical category of a guy playing perfect recreations of classics with equal or BETTER technical execution…and people are left cold about the emotional aspects of the music that they normally get from the original versions. Again I don’t like that criticism but it would explain the situation.
Grisha, on the other hand, was criticized for the same, but in his case, especially as a foreigner, sparked controversy and debate. So the same type of criticism worked in favor of his popularity as he became a “controversial” figure in the genre. Javier remains as the “prodigy” that did not break through the early “copy the maestros first” stage of development, yet there is nothing there to “criticize”.
A further possibility is that in the early years of his appearance, the online situation involved his father often, and I can’t remember the details, but perhaps there were guitar deals gone wrong or some other such drama? It lingers in my mind as “poor Javier, he should be on his own doing his own thing”. I never forget him in Gerardo’s class 2006. As good as he was, he really wanted to work more on Cante accompaniment and Gerardo gave him that chance and he really was doing well. He did not like the advanced class of Gerardo and said to us “it was too hard” and dropped to the intermediate class (which is less of Gerardo’s music and more traditional material). We all played one after the other one night, and he was in danger of making us all look bad with his note for note “Doblen Campanas” of 1972….then Antonio Rey appeared and blasted us all with technique and duende. (Not including Gerardo himself who at the time played his traditional Solea Por buleria and made it clear who was the maestro of the gang).
I have no critiques of the guy’s playing of worth. For example the video of Nunez material first posted, I would not leave so much space between the phrases, but he is not “wrong” for doing that.
Late to the party but I saw the post and was interested. What you said was also my first feeling, robotic playing that does not move the audience, they do not feel anymore enlightened after watching a performance. Great players yes, but not the best performers, as harsh or critical as it sounds. There is no emotion or expression to move the audience. Emotions are irrational, in the context of music they activate the limbic portion of the brain which bypasses logic. Logically these players are awesome but they dont speak to the portion of the brain that draw people to come back for more without knowing why. Its the same reason Apple is so successful, their marketing speaks directly to the limbic brain which bypasses logic. Logically apple sells computers just like any other computer company, yet they are far more successful because of their clever marketing and ability to tap into the portion of the brain that causes people to drop $1500 on the newest iDevice without thinking.
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