Re: Gould the re-creator

[jerry and judy <jerbidoc@zianet.com>]

>Dear Jerry & Judy,
>Re: your comments:
>Many times when I'm listening to a recording, especially by Gould, I
>wonder if the composer really was aware of what he was doing, was he aware
>of a
>all the human resonances that his adherence to the rules of musical theory
>would
>someday make possible?  I've been shot down by the best for asking this
>question but...  In addition to this album, I always think of GG's
>recording of Haydn's last sonata and the aging Horowitz playing late
>Chopin.

>>I totally agree with your thesis.  Indeed the genius of Gould, I
>>believe, was his ability to think right along with the composer in the
>>creative impulse often on an equal footing.  In this respect, he (and I
>>have also often cited Horowitz as well) is one of the great musical
>>thinkers of the 20th century among pianists (and for that matter all
>>musicians).
>>The qualities that half the music world finds so repulsive in Gould are
>>due to his re-thinking of the score.  After reading Ostwald's book, I
>>believe some of it may have been capricious, but it is consistently
>>fascinating to hear his mind at work.
>>The way I have quieted his critics is to suggest his interpretations of
>>composer's works  be hyphenated with his own (e.g. Mozart-Gould,
>>Brahms-Gould, etc.)  Many of his re-creations offend sensibilities, but
>>can still be regarded at an extremely high level on their own merit.

It's not too much to say that those recordings, in the 60's, sparked
something in me to start playing classical piano and I am very grateful. I
guess, in the spirit of adolescent rebellion, I figured if Mozart could
seriously be played that way, then I could have fun exploring the
sacrosanct works with my own (wacky) personal slant!  Thirty years later,
I've tentatively concluded that Glenn really hated some pieces and
worshipped the very idea of others!  It was beyond showing off or
self-consciousness or always wanting to record every piece with a new
interpretation. IMO, what he did to the Appassionata and the Chopin Bm,
some Mozart and some Haydn was over the top. The first movement of the
Appassionata is not a favorite of mine either, but I believe it was sincere
and very new for its time.  If only as a memorable emotional outburst from
Beethoven's middle period, it should be played as it was intended, IMO.  GG
didn't think that way, "music as an ideal" seems to have been his approach.
Others know more about this question.

I agree, Gould was a "re-creator" in the Byrd/Gibbons, but no matter how
many times I try to re-listen to his Appassionata, I hear him as willful
*destroyer*.  How does that performance fit in with your statement of "his
ability to think right along with the composer"?  When he looked at the
score did he really see that interpretation, what am I missing?