I'll continue the praise-fest and hope it does not go to Edmund
and Roger's heads. The packets were both well-balanced and
slightly grueling, which is exactly what I expect from ACF
nationals. Everything went smoothly.
Perhaps rounds could have taken 5 minutes less, but I'm willing
to forgo that in an exchange for a power-less, untimed
environment. Yes, I like NAQT as far as it goes, but I suppose
when you're asking questions about "time-less"
knowledge...(ducks against projectiles)
As a music nut, I was surprised once again by the paucity of
questions about solo works, chamber music, and songs, with
the only obvious exception being Transfigured Night (Verklarte
Nacht). Surely, these genres are less well-known than
symphonies and opera, and that is all the more reason to
sprinkle ACF with them. I'd love to hear feedback on this point.
Congratulations to Michigan and Kentucky, whose prowess
resulted in that "1, 2, and the rest" phenom and were awfully nice
about doing it.
Ben Malkevitch
Princeton