Re: [BACH-LIST] gould

["Michael D. Benedetti" <benedett@bluestone.COM>]

At 09:16 PM 4/20/98 -0000, David B. Klein wrote:
>Oy vey!!! Au contraire!! Mozart was writing for a highly perfected
>instrument, the Viennese fortepiano, which expressed to perfection the
>musical aesthetic to which it belonged. Mozart sonatas don't work properly
>on any modern piano. Moreover, Gould played a tricked-up old Chickering that
>he had modified to produce a special, jangly, percussive effect for Bach
>playing. Finally, Gould's recording technology at Columbia was crappy, to
>boot.

More reasons why Gould's versions are completely invalid:

1. Gould spoke English; Mozart spoke Viennese or something European like
that.

2. Gould was Canadian; Mozart never visited the country.

3. Gould wore some synthetic fibers while playing the sonatas; Mozart
and his contemporaries eschewed such things.

4. Gould's shampoo used materials not available in Mozart's time.

5. Gould didn't understand that music is not supposed to be about fun or
creativity, it's supposed to be like a Civil War reenactment--you're
supposed to produce the exact circumstances of an ancient event. (Don't
bother asking to what end.)

I sure wish all the period instrumentation wankers would have
had the chance to hear the songs performed by Mozart himself. Cause then
they'd all be dead and we could enjoy the modern world for what it is.

Mike Benedetti, coming down from a caffeine high