Re: GG: [Bach-List]

[Richard Vallis <rvpiano@spec.net>]

vis a vis Gould's Mozart.  I haven't heard any comments in this torrent of
(torrid?) discussion concerning his playing of  the K.491 Concerto.  I can't
imagine anyone (even in this group) trashing this performance which (IMHO) is a
truly great, inspired, interpretation, even with the "improved" added
counterpoint.

Cynthia K Harris wrote:

> On 20 Apr 1998, David B. Klein wrote:
>
> > Gould admitted in interviews that he was defacing the music, and that he
> > didn't respect Mozart as a composer. No composer suffered as badly at
> > Gould's hands as did Mozart. For his part, Gould should perhaps be
> > remembered for his Bach, and can at best be forgiven for his sins against
> > Mozart.
>
> My calendar, "Classical Music" from the Library of Congress features Gould
> in July.  A quote from the text: "At the heart of both his wide-ranging
> thought and his vast artistic accomplishment was a view of the performer
> as an essentially creative, rather than re-creative force".
>
> I love the way they expressed it.
>
> As I've written before, I simply couldn't stand the Mozart sonatas until I
> heard Gould's recordings.  His irreverant perspective makes them
> interesting -- fun!  He said that there's no reason to record something
> if you can't (and I could look up the quote but I won't just now) make it
> special -- different.
>
> Every performance/recording I've heard of the WAM sonatas is different in
> some way, but only Gould's recordings actually sound like he was having a
> good time with them -- sometimes naughty fun.
>
> Maybe I love Gould's recordings so much because I listen to music for
> pleasure -- and I benefit from the energy he put into them.  And I
> wouldn't care if he didn't even come close to following the score.  It
> sounds wonderful to me.
>
> GG didn't really think there was anything to virtuosic piano playing --
> and I'd guess that he felt that his contribution was in his realization of
> the music -- not in reproducing, note for note, what the composer wrote.
> How BORING.
>
> Cyndie....