[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: GG: Intros
Hello All!
I've been an F-minor "lurker" since the early days of this list,
and am pleased that it's helped me increase my knowledge and
appreciation of GG, the man and the music.
I'm a U.S. Government worker who lives in the Washington, D.C.,
area -- beautiful Falls Church, Va., to be exact. I was
fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in Paris for
five years during the 1980's. A number of things were happening
musically at that time. Compact discs and CD players began to
arrive in the stores; I acquired a player in 1985, and began to
build a CD collection. Also, some of the GG videotapes were
being shown on French television. The French music critics and
fans tend either to idolize or vilify strong musical
personalities; GG was idolized, and had quite a cult following
among the French musical fans. To that point, the only GG
recording that I owned was the famous 1950's "Goldberg
Variations" on LP, but the videotapes spurred my interest. Also,
a fellow with whom I worked -- a very knowledgeable classical
music fan who now writes reviews for "Fanfare" magazine, among
other publications -- was a GG enthusiast. So, I set out to
acquire more GG recordings -- I now have a modest collection --
and to learn a bit more about him. (I'm still working on that,
and have been carrying around Friedrich's GG biography for the
last six months or so, trying to find time to read it. BTW:
Friedrich's book "Before the Deluge: Berlin in the 1920's",
written in the early 1970's, has just been reissued in paperback,
and is fascinating; it's history written like a gripping novel.)
I have to confess that, unlike some of our list-members, I'm
still not a "True Believer." GG is one of several pianists I
enjoy listening to, but I still find many of his mannerisms
(e.g., the loud humming) annoying to the point of distraction,
and some of his interpretations (e.g., the Mozart and certain
Beethoven sonatas) to be a bit bizarre. Also, I find that, as I
get older and increasingly neurotic, the music that speaks to me
most deeply and meaningfully is that of Gustav Mahler -- and GG
performed little of that. One of these days, I'd love to hear
GG's performance, as conductor, of the section ("Urlicht"??) of
Mahler's "Resurrection" symphony which he recorded somewhere.
Doesn't it feature Maureen Forrester as the vocal soloist?
Having said all that, there's at least one GG recording which I
would *definitely* include among my desert island discs: the
ethereally beautiful Byrd/Gibbons/Sweelinck "Consort of Musicke"
CD, which has been praised by others on the list. I'd probably
want to have one of the GG Goldbergs along with me as well.
I'm sure I speak for others on the list in expressing gratitude
to Mary Jo -- a *really* neat lady, IMHO -- for all her work in
creating and running the mailing list and Web page.
Cheers, and best regards,
Phil Garon