RE: GG: Beethoven/Liszt SIXTH Symphony

[tsolomon@whfreeman.com (Tim Solomon)]

Gould also goes out of his way (in the liner notes of his recording) to criticize Liszt's use of double octaves in his transcription of Beethoven's Sixth symphony.  He notes correctly that doubling notes on the piano does not capture the texture of, say, a violin and a cello playing the same note at an octave interval.  I don't have the quote here in front of me, but I think he says something funny about double octaves sounding like the "worst excesses" of somebody's "aunt" banging away at the family piano.

The irony of this is that despite the shortcomings of Liszt's transcription of the sixth symphony, Gould gives - in my opinion - one of his most astonishing and beautiful performances; my personal favorite of all his non-Bach recordings.  We all know how Gould tended to treat material he didn't like (Mozart, anyone?), but here, in a live recording, he gives a nuanced performance that entirely transcends the limitations of Liszt's score.  

Does anyone else have an opinion about this recording?

-Tim Solomon


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From: 	jerry and judy[SMTP:jerbidoc@jaws.greatwhite.com]
Sent: 	Monday, August 25, 1997 10:38 AM
To: 	f_minor@email.rutgers.edu
Subject: 	Re: GG: Beethoven/Liszt Fifth Symphony

 I just played through it (1st mvmnt), a little tiring, physically and as
music (for the piano).  The dbl octaves start at the end of the long
transition back to Cm from Gflat!  after the repeat.
 Beethoven gets to Gflat from C7/Fm and by imitation to Bflatminor from
Cdim/F7.   Then through Cflat, Dflat and then lingering in F#m and then the
same phrase in D and the same lingering in Ddim, on to the restating of the
theme in Fm (with Liszt's dbl octaves till the fermata) resolving to Cm
through G7.

Just before the pp before the closing, there's 8 bars of dbl octaves!
This is probably what he's (GG's) alluding to.   It's a *platitudinous*
gimmick on the piano (the whole attempt of reducing an orchestra to a piano
was problematic as Liszt was well aware).   Transcriptions of symphonies
filled a need and pianists of today are grateful.