The ability to move quickly through something, seemingly without effort, is the eyebrow-raising characteristic of the person who excels at an activity. It is the ability to do something quickly and well.
- The most creative people have this childlike facility to play. [attributed to John Cleese]
- My goal is to make fine art, and fine art comes from the soul. If you have virtuosity and facility, you can take and create something of significance. [attributed to Richard MacDonald]
- Shakespeare’s language does not require a British accent. It requires a facility with language, and that’s all. [attributed to Joss Whedon]
Facility is also an aspect of creativity. Creative people display a flat associative hierarchy: the ability to bring to mind numerous associations in response to a stimulus. For example, while a normal person will name “chair” and maybe “tablecloth” if asked to associate things with “table,” an especially creative person will name many items. In addition, especially creative people can focus on many things simultaneously.
Real
True Narratives
Technical and Analytical Readings
Photographs
Documentary and Educational Films
Imaginary
Fictional Narratives
Poetry
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Felix Mendelssohn, Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25, MWV 07 (1831) (approx. 18-20’), exhibits varying moods and tempos, including lightning-fast runs on the piano. “Apart from being full of agreeable melodies and brilliant passage-work, the Concerto exhibits Mendelssohn's near-obsession with the problem of making the separate movements of symphonies and concertos belong together in a seamless whole.” Top recorded performances are by Joyce (Fistoulari) in 1947, Lympany (Kubelik) in 1948, Rudolf Serkin (Ormandy) in 1959, Perahia (Marriner) in 1975, Thibaudet (Blomstedt) in 2001 ***, Wang (Masur) in 2009, Lisiecki in 2019, and Vogt in 2021.
Mendelssohn, Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 40, MWV 011 (1837) (approx. 21’), is similar to Concerto No. 1, though less widely acclaimed. Excellent performances are by Thibaudet (Blomstedt) in 2001, Schnyder (Boyd) in 2013, Lisiecki in 2019, Brautigam (Willens) in 2019, and Vogt in 2021.
Jazz pianist Art Tatum played with “an incredibly fast playing style, without losing accuracy.” He called this his stride technique. “'Tatum's playing was unworldly, unreal, because his standard was so high,' says Dick Hyman, a Florida-based pianist and composer who is considered a great performer of early piano jazz.” He was the subject of this documentary on his art. His playlists are extensive.
In a similar vein, jazz pianist Bud Powell played with “a lightning fast right hand”. He “was admired by his contemporaries as an adventurous original with a style marked by unrivaled virtuosity. Today, he is remembered for redrawing the course of modern jazz piano by pioneering bebop improvisation at the keyboard.” Tatum’s influence on Powell is obvious, as their styles and skill levels are remarkably similar. Powell too left an extensive set of playlists.
A young classical pianist, Lindsay Garritson, plays with breathtaking facility. She has competed in the Cliburn competition (preliminary recital 1 and preliminary recital 2, performed Prokofiev’s, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor and given this performance in 2014.
Fabio Biondi and his Europa Galante ensemble have an exceptional flair for Vivaldi’s music:
- Concerti con molti strumenti (138’)
- Viola d’amore Concertos (77’)
- Mandolin concertos (67’)
- 6 violin concertos, “La Boemia” (69’)
Albums:
- Alexander Hawkins, “Iron into Wind” (2019) (57’): “The development or evolution of Hawkins’ musical ideas is frequently heard . . .” [Don Lerman, Cadence magazine 2019 annual edition, p. 264.]
- Yuki Negishi, “Enigma” (2022) (64’) displays “Negishi’s fast, well-oiled and supremely confident fingers.”
- Carlo Vistoli, “Vivaldi, Sacro furore . . .” (2024) (68’): countertenor Vistoli's execution of vocal runs is especially impressive.
Compositions:
- Christopher Wright, Horn Concerto, “After the Silence” (2011) (approx. 20’): “. . . the hornist (shoots) straight out of the gate, as it were, with dramatic flourishes, quick tonguing, tricky licks, and passages rocketing up to the F horn’s written high C.”