Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
podía permitir confrontar la forma de entender
English translation:
provided an opportunity to compare (two different) approaches
Added to glossary by
Lisa McCarthy
Feb 9, 2012 20:22
12 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Spanish term
Spain
Especialista de marketing
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, Catalan to English
podía permitir confrontar la forma de entender
Spanish to English
Other
Music
Concert review
I'm having a bit of trouble trying to phrase this nicely. Any suggestions gratefully received. British English.
El tercer programa de la temporada de abono de la Sinfónica de Euskadi **podía permitir confrontar la forma de entender** la música de Mozart por parte de un veterano viola de indudable prestigio internacional y por la de una jovencísima pianista que ya lleva tiempo ofreciendo grandes noches al público de este país. En la práctica, Wolfram Christ representó al Mozart gris y recio del pasado, y Judith Jáuregui al Mozart fresco y luminoso del presente y del futuro. Judith acentuó los perfiles líricos del Concierto nº 20 en re menor de Mozart, aunque sin ocultar su impronta fuertemente dramática.
El tercer programa de la temporada de abono de la Sinfónica de Euskadi **podía permitir confrontar la forma de entender** la música de Mozart por parte de un veterano viola de indudable prestigio internacional y por la de una jovencísima pianista que ya lleva tiempo ofreciendo grandes noches al público de este país. En la práctica, Wolfram Christ representó al Mozart gris y recio del pasado, y Judith Jáuregui al Mozart fresco y luminoso del presente y del futuro. Judith acentuó los perfiles líricos del Concierto nº 20 en re menor de Mozart, aunque sin ocultar su impronta fuertemente dramática.
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+2
2 hrs
Selected
provided an opportunity to compare (two different) approaches
This is how I understand it.
"Podía permitir" is redundant; it really just means "permitió", in other words, "allowed (one/the audience) to".
"Confrontar" means "compare", which is after all its basic meaning:
"1. tr. Carear una persona con otra.
2. tr. Cotejar una cosa con otra, y especialmente escritos." (DRAE)
"La forma de entender", the way of understanding, can best and most economically be expressed as "approach", I think.
The whole paragraph is about how these two different musicians on the same programme, a veteran, prestigious violist and a young, up-and-coming pianist, approached Mozart's music in quite different ways. So "confrontar" cannot be glossed over; we must say "compare". The syntax makes it awkward though. Literally you'll end up with something like "allowed one to compare the approach to Mozart of a veteran violist... and a very young (female) pianist", but I think this gets a bit cumbersome. I would recommend doing it as suggested in my answer: "...to compare two different approaches to Mozart's music [or just "to Mozart"], one from a veteran violist [or viola player]... and the other from a very young pianist....", or however you want to phrase what comes afterwards. I think this makes it sharper and clearer.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2012-02-09 22:43:18 GMT)
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For me "provided an opportunity" is the most idiomatic way of handling "podía permitir". But alternatives might be "allowed us to compare" or "gave the audience a chance to compare"; it depends on the tone you want to adopt.
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Note added at 13 hrs (2012-02-10 09:23:42 GMT)
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Trying to puzzle out what, if anything, is added by saying "podía permitir", my guess is that the writer means that it created the possibility of allowing one to compare them: if you wished to take it that way, you could. It's a subtle point, if it's a real point at all, and I don't think it's worth trying to capture it in English. To be cynical, I suspect it might just be unnecessary, pretentious verbosity.
"Podía permitir" is redundant; it really just means "permitió", in other words, "allowed (one/the audience) to".
"Confrontar" means "compare", which is after all its basic meaning:
"1. tr. Carear una persona con otra.
2. tr. Cotejar una cosa con otra, y especialmente escritos." (DRAE)
"La forma de entender", the way of understanding, can best and most economically be expressed as "approach", I think.
The whole paragraph is about how these two different musicians on the same programme, a veteran, prestigious violist and a young, up-and-coming pianist, approached Mozart's music in quite different ways. So "confrontar" cannot be glossed over; we must say "compare". The syntax makes it awkward though. Literally you'll end up with something like "allowed one to compare the approach to Mozart of a veteran violist... and a very young (female) pianist", but I think this gets a bit cumbersome. I would recommend doing it as suggested in my answer: "...to compare two different approaches to Mozart's music [or just "to Mozart"], one from a veteran violist [or viola player]... and the other from a very young pianist....", or however you want to phrase what comes afterwards. I think this makes it sharper and clearer.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2012-02-09 22:43:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
For me "provided an opportunity" is the most idiomatic way of handling "podía permitir". But alternatives might be "allowed us to compare" or "gave the audience a chance to compare"; it depends on the tone you want to adopt.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2012-02-10 09:23:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Trying to puzzle out what, if anything, is added by saying "podía permitir", my guess is that the writer means that it created the possibility of allowing one to compare them: if you wished to take it that way, you could. It's a subtle point, if it's a real point at all, and I don't think it's worth trying to capture it in English. To be cynical, I suspect it might just be unnecessary, pretentious verbosity.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, Charles! Have a nice weekend."
11 mins
could enable one to gain insight and shape one's understanding (of Mozart's music)
One option!
44 mins
showcased the musical interpretations of Mozart presented by. . .
Or something similar. "presented by" in order to avoid repeated "of". A case of "cut the . . . and get to the point".
1 hr
James A. Walsh
Spain
Spain
Native in Spanish
&
English
Works in field
Spain
A cut above the rest in translation...
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK, Irish) 
, Spanish (Variants: Standard-Spain, Latin American)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Spanish term (edited):
podía permitir confrontar la forma de entender
gave audiences a unique insight into [...] through the eyes of
My stab at it. I was toying with “rare” for “unique”, but I think "unique" works better…
Btw, "BNSO" below is Basque National Symphony Orchestra.
Hope this helps (or at least inspires)
:)
Btw, "BNSO" below is Basque National Symphony Orchestra.
Hope this helps (or at least inspires)
:)
Example sentence:
The third programme of the BNSO season <u>gave audiences a unique insight into</u> Mozart’s music <u>through the eyes of</u> a veteran viola player of great international prestige, and a young pianist...
El tercer programa de la temporada de abono de la Sinfónica de Euskadi <u>podía permitir confrontar la forma de entender</u> la música de Mozart por parte de un veterano viola de indudable prestigio internacional y por la de una jovencísima pianista..
2 hrs
was able to present a manner of understanding
hope it helps.
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