Re: GG: Tureck again

[Tim Solomon <tas37@columbia.edu>]

All:

The list has been really active lately!  Here are my various questions
(mostly) and comments on the Tureck issues that have been floating
around.  (Please excuse my amateurish attempts at musical analysis below
- I have no training in this area.)

Sven-S. Porst wrote:
> 
> Within the article she was quoted that Glenn Gould copied a lot of her -
> but of course he hadn't understood it. So the question arises whether she
> is simply right or whether the two were 'rivals'.

This is very interesting.  Is the article available anywhere on-line?  I
assume it's in German, but there are always those handy on-line
translators...

Whether GG "copied" Tureck's style.  I'm sure others will have more
articulate opinions on this issue, but as far as I can tell he didn't
really "copy" her to any significant extent.  Comparing my recordings of
Tureck - two different recordings of the Goldbergs, and Partitas 1, 2,
and 6 - with the same works as performed by GG, I find little in common
besides clear articulation, unwavering rhythmic consistency, and no use
of the sustain pedal.  In other words, both take a straightforward
approach, avoiding what one might call the "romantic" excesses that GG
hated in early 20th century bach performances (of the Guerrero / Arrau
type).  I remember GG referring to Tureck (in the Friedrich and Ostwald
books) as the only performer who played bach "sensibly" when he was
growing up.  But besides their general philosophical approach to the
music, I don't really see any "copying" going on.  I find their playing
quite different.

I wonder what she means when she said he "hadn't understood" her...I'd
really like to read this article.

(I should also note that my recordings of Tureck are from the 70's and
80's.  Perhaps her style was different when Gould heard it as a young
man.)

2 other quick items:

(1) Any info on Tureck coming to New York during her upcoming tour?
(2) When poking around on-line for copies of the Yudina goldbergs
recommended by Neil a little while ago, I noticed a Tureck "Great
Pianists" set coming out soon as well.  To my surprise (and happiness),
ALL 6 partitas seem to be included.  I've never seen any recordings by
her of #3-5.

-Tim Solomon

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http://www.columbia.edu/~tas37