GG Dream Recordings

[Gregory T Romero <gregory.romero@yale.edu>]

Here are a few pieces of music that I wish GG had recorded.  I'd be
interested in seeing other people's "wish lists".

                                 -Greg

Beethoven Op. 53- I suspect that Gould would have disliked this work, but
I think if he at least put some kind of effort into it (unlike his
terrible Appassionata), it would have been a fascinating record.  Gould's
rhythmic drive would be ideal for the throbbing first theme of the first
movement, and his articulation in the final movement would have been a
refreshing departure from the usually heavily-pedaled arpeggios.  I
suspect he would have disliked the work because it is a piece cut somewhat
from the 5th symphony mold (Gould claimed to dislike the 5th) i.e. with
its heroicism and grandeur, and relative lack of humor, which he brought
out so perfectly in the early sonatas.  In fact, I don't ever recall
having read Gould even making reference to the piece.  Please tell me if
there is such a reference.

Beethoven Op 81a - I know GG performed the Les Adieux early in his career
and I wish he had recorded it.  It's kind of a quirky work that I think
Gould would have made seem even quirkier.  And again, the fingerwork in
the finale would have been breathtaking under GG's hands.

Mozart Piano Concerto K.482 - This work has a great range of emotions, and
I would have liked to see how GG dealt with them.  Also, once again, the
last movement is humorous and would have been an excellent modicum for
GG's technical brilliance.  I loved his C-minor "experiment", and always
wished he had recorded more of the composer that he "hated". 

Chopin Etudes - GG performed the Op. 10 nos. 3,4,7 in his youth, never to
be heard from again.  As silly as it seems, many critics have questioned
the versatility of GG's technique, claiming it was almost exclusively
linear.  For this reason, many were surprised when Gould recorded the
Scriabin and Prokovief works, though admittedly, he did emphasize the
linear aspects of these works, as he did even in his Beethoven/Liszt
transcription and his Wagner transcriptions It would have been interesting
to see how GG approached these works, in the sense that it would have
shown aspects of his technique that he rarely displayed in his recordings.
Of particular interest to me would have been his Op 25 #11 and his Op. 10
#10.  

Schumann Symphonic Etudes - I really wish GG had liked Schumann's music.
I know the Romanticism was too overblown for him, but the counterpoint,
the hidden voices, the *wierdness* of the music would have been, I think,
fascinating in GG's hands.  I find his approach to the Piano Quartet
unreasonable.  In several of his Strauss recordings he showed very
successfully his ability to play Romantic music very convincingly: why not
apply it to Schumann, the Romantic (aside from Mendelssohn) I think would
best suit GG's idiom.

Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues - what a recording that would have made.
I suspect that Gould was familiar with much of Shostakovich's music, so
I'll assume that he didn't care for the pieces.

Rach III- Just kidding.