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Re: Bach Toccata's
Overall, Bradley, I would agree with your analysis of the toccata's.
But I'll throw in my comments now and then...
> Now, the bad news: the rest of them, from 1976. The d minor is a boring
> performance (by GG standards). I listened to it three times and still
> kept wandering away. Somehow it seems like a "contractual obligation"
> performance, like some of his Mozart. GG doesn't sound particularly
> involved with or committed to the music.
I couldn't agree more. In fact, I purchased the set of Toccata's to
hear a version of this piece that I thought would be "definitive", as I
think most of Gould's performances of Bach are. But I was
disapointed with this interpretation. It's interesting that Gould
chose this piece to perform for a CBC recital on Nov. 23, 1967,
according to the liner notes of my CD.
> His performance of the D major is frustratingly anti-physical, and this is
> Bach's most obviously exuberant toccata! It needs the flash, the
> flourish, the panache. Instead GG reprises his "Appassionata" mode of ten
> years earlier: he slows it way down, dissects it, drains the lifeblood out
Yes, again, I would agree. If any of the toccata's are supposed to
have "exuberance" it is this one. And yet Gould plays it slow,
holding back. I always loved the character of the first fugal part
played with a jovial, allegro-like speed. But Gould's lacks any of
this.
> The f# minor is a "train wreck." First there's that huge problem of
> pitch: there are at least ten very noticeable occasions where the pitch
> jumps up or down from splices. (Did they fix this in the latest GG
This is an interesting observation. I never heard these splices--I'll
have to listen to it again.
Thanks for your insite into Gould's playing. I think your critique's
are very intriuging. So, I'll ask again--does this mean that Gould's
playing of the toccata's ARE unorthodox?
Andrew