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Re: GG: Mozart
hello f_minor's,
hey! why all the mozart dissing on this page? aren't there any other gould
fanatics on the list who are also unabashed mozart lovers?! well, i'm coming
to the defense of our friend wolfgang here. :)
cynthia, i'm sorry that you've always found mozart's sonatas boring and
without substance. ironically, as an amateur pianist myself, those were the
pieces that really ignited my passion for classical music and recordings,
which eventually found its way to GG. i'm glad that you found the Gould
recordings inspiring, though. i'm curious to know how Gould defined the
"early" period that he liked, and the "later" period that he found
uninspired. i myself have never been a great fan of some of the later
sonatas, like K.457, and certainly not K.570 and K.576. however, i've always
found the sonatas K.309-311 and K.330-333 to be some of the most creative
works, and poignant works he ever wrote. did gould consider these sonatas to
be part of the "early" or "later" period.
in response to tim's comment about why people denigrate Gould's recording of
Mozart, i should say that i've never heard the Gould Mozart recordings. (i
probably should). the common criticism i've heard of those recordings are
the erratic tempos and the prominence of the alberti bass over the melodic
line (especially in K.545). personally, i've always found Mozart appealing
because his work exemplifies a neo-classical sense of control while
simultaneously evoking a poignant lyricism. i've heard some critics dislike
gould's recordings because these elements are missing. ironically, Mozart
was actually pushing the bounds of what was acceptable for his neo-classical
patrons. this subject is discussed at length in maynard solomon's biography,
"Mozart: A Biography." i can't remember the name of the chapter offhand.
Rohan
-----------------------------------------
Rohan James Masilamani, Metaphor-At-Large
Class of 2000, Stanford University
romasi@leland.stanford.edu
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~romasi