Re: The Concerto

[Robert Kunath <kunath@hilltop.ic.edu>]

Dear F-minors,

	Apropos of Kristen's remarks that the concerto need not be
conceived of as a contest but rather as a game or dance--

	In retrospect, doesn't Gould's professed disdain for the
competitive aspects of the concerto look a little peculiar?  Looking back
over Friedrich, I was struck by how intensely competitive a person Gould
was: every personal interaction with him involved guessing "games" that
were clearly impromptu tests.  Maybe one reason why Gould couldn't
conceive of concertos as games was because games *were* serious
competition for him.

	More likely, though, I suspect Gould's antipathy to the Concerto
was that it involved yielding his control over the performance.  He did
think about recording Beethoven with Karajan, and there was apparently
also a possibility to do the Beethoven concertos with Marriner conducting
the Cleveland Orchestra (in both of which the piano part was to be
recorded separately, I believe), but the only concerto scheme that really
got off the ground was the one where he would be both conductor and
soloist.

	I'm afraid I'm getting suspicious of a lot of Gould's moral
arguments for his behavior and attitudes.  I don't think that Gould
disliked competition per se; he just disliked competitions where it was
possible for him to lose.

	All the best,

	Robert

On Sat, 7 Jun 1997, Kristen Immoor wrote:

> Hi all,
>         Conversation seems a bit slow today...
>         I have decided that, at the risk of sounding overly indulgent
> towards the soloist, I really enjoy the concerto format. It hit me today at
> the office while listening to the old CBS disc of the GG Bach piano
> concertos. I don't see the dynamic between the soloist, the orchestra and
> the conductor as a fierce competition, to me it seems to be more of a dance
> or a game.
>         I will grant that at times the solo elements can seem grandiose,
> but I think it hinges upon the performer's disposition; when the performer
> does not take himself to be a more "serious" performer than his musical
> compatriots, the resulting venture can really be a successful and
> cooperative effusion of emotion. How can anyone listen to the 1st Cto in d
> min without singing or moving to the music? That piece, call it trite if
> you must, is like a wake-up call for the heart. Or the Largo from Cto 5 in
> f min, what a heartbreaker! Incredible pathos in that Largo, a real
> cliffhanger, opening the door to the forceful resolution of the Presto.
>         I wish that GG could have gotten an enjoyable thrill from the
> concerto, a giddy, gut-twisting wallop of adrenaline and serotonin, a
> skittish stage fright highball. Though I can't say from experience, I would
> guess that even in the privacy of a recording studio with no audience in
> sight it would be quite thrilling to be trapped with a few dozen other
> musicians in the middle of a rousing concerto.
>         As with any other thrill ride, there will always be those who run
> smiling to the gates and climb willingly into the roller coaster cars.
> Others (like myself,) approach with trepidation and a sense of impending
> doom, but know in their hearts that the payoff will be well worth the risk.
> Still others refuse to ride at all and, in fear or ambivalence, wait with
> their feet firmly planted on the ground. Gould didn't really seem like the
> Six Flags type, so it shouldn't surprise me that he eschewed the concerto
> whenever possible. Perhaps he dismissed the concerto not because there was
> competition between the other musicians, but because it raised the
> competitiveness within himself. He must have hated to surrender his control
> to a conductor. Much as GG disliked not being able to make spontaneous
> choices about cuts and/or tempi in live recitals, he would also be
> prevented from doing so under the baton.
>         To my mind, the concerto is much more (for lack of a better word)
> *genuine* than a solo piece, much more immediate and visual. I can almost
> see GG at the piano in front of the orchestra, bouncing in his chair, mouth
> agape, sounding out the dentals in the music as he runs his hands down the
> keyboard in time with the urging of the maestro. No time for obsessive
> correction, no time for self-doubt or hesitation, the music flows from the
> mind to the fingers and out into the air without a wasted breath. There is
> unity in the concerto, a collective labor of love that wrenches a coherent
> finished work from an army of disparate instruments. When listening to an
> adept concerto, I always feel that I am eavesdropping on a jubilant
> experience. I wish that Gould could have enjoyed it a bit more.
>         Incidentally, can anyone confirm what sounds like a horrendous
> gaffe in the lower string section about 7 or 8 seconds (CBS time) into the
> Bernstein/Gould JS Bach d min cto #1? Sounds like someone dropped their
> cello. :-o
>
> Up too late for solid reason,
> Kristen
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________
>
> "Soon, as if Gould is playing a vampire, he goes out mostly at night. He
> drives a big American car, with the security of steel, glass, and metal
> plating. He uses the cover of darkness. (At night everyone is disguised.)"
>
>                                                               -- B.W. Powe
>
>
>