it might help if you could offer a more modern example, say, from the last quad or so? Something that fulfilled your expectations in terms of interpretation, choreography etc. but also followed today‘s rules.
As discussed, no current programs are close to perfection of choreography and interpretation, hardly any even deserve to be considered in that realm. That's the skater's (coach's) choice for choosing to do more convoluted footwork and spins, and random transitions, that break form or character or musical timing or cohesive chorographic feeling. They choose to gain more technical points at the cost of losing artistic integrity. Since the judges do not score these details accurately, and simply accept what is in front of them (RE: the metaphor of frogs in gradually boiling water), we've now lost the importance of things that should be valued in skating. Constantly twisting and hopping around is not inherently better than expressive posture, held edges, sophisticated placement of the limbs, full attention to the music, and awareness of the audience.
Under the Code of Points, two examples of amazing artistry are Yu-Na Kim at 2007 Worlds and Sasha Cohen at 2006 Olympics. Interestingly, they both had two major mistakes in the LP, and yet the programs still stand out as being sublimely emotional and musical. They also had to do 4 spins in those programs, although the footwork sequence rules were much different back then (much BETTER), which allowed less time to be spent on that most laborious and dreadful part of current skating.
More recently, Giada Russo's LP at 2016 Europeans stands out as having the the best attempted artistry from any lady. Look at the attention to those strident string notes and the calmness when the music has changed to more of a lullaby; the total importance given to creating shapes and rhythms with her body that bring out the soul of the music as it occurs, and her own emotions in the moment. She doesn't execute it perfectly, and the ending can better, but what she's aiming for there is at a higher level.
Adam Rippon's "Bird" program and Jason Brown's "The Piano" also stand out as being artistically sublime lately (although still I would prefer to see some alterations to the footwork and a spin or two), and even there, they had a benefit of 30 more seconds in those programs, which has been sadly stripped from the Men's Long Programs. Without those 30 seconds, in exchange for just 1 less jump in the programs, the Men now have less room to skate freely. The effects are clear - no Men's program in the past 3 seasons has been able to reach the heights we saw from 2015-2018. If you compare Fernandez's Olympic program to the version he used at Euros 2019, or Hanyu's "Seimei" that had to chop off 30 seconds for 2020 4CC, they are inferior. Speaking of those two guys, Fernandez at 2013 Europeans and 2016 Worlds are big highlights, and Hanyu with his 2012 Romeo+Juliet and 2017 Worlds LP. Still some spin positions and little things to point at in those programs, but overall great, very musical and expressive.
2014-18:
1. Gracie Gold Daphnis et Chloe
Haha! I do think it's a very underrated
planned program (the earliest version) and could have been superb. Dunno if Gracie would ever pull off all the nuances, but it was not the right time anyway.
www.youtube.com
Kim's Lark Ascending is transcendent, and I can really only name one interpretation better than it (Lulu's Butterfly Lovers).
