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GG - Ultra-romantic!! (was RE: GG and "romantic" interpretation)



From: Bradley P Lehman [mailto:bpl@UMICH.EDU]
> I can hardly stand to listen to much of his Bach from after about 1970 anymore:
 
Aaaaaaaaagh! This is an outrage! Lies and more lies! How dare you besmirch our beloved Glenn!!
 
Just joking. But I was just thinking to myself how "romantic" the '81 Goldbergs are in relation to the '55 ones. The final aria from the '81 recording is played so softly, sweetly and beautifully that I weep every time I hear it. (OK, maybe not weep, but occasionally my eyes mist up). And the long variation (25th?) is beautiful, too.
 
Anyway, my point is that surely "romantic" (as opposed to the Romantic period) is a subjective term. I can no more say that such and such a piece is romantic than you can say it's loud. Loud compared to what?
 
In fact, in an interview GG had with Vincent Tovell (I don't have my books with me, sorry), he described himself as an "ultra-romantic". So there! It's all relative.