Re: GG's orthodox interpretations

[Bradley P Lehman <bpl@umich.edu>]

On Sat, 23 Jan 1999, Masaaki Muramatsu wrote:

> Orthodox as Gould's standard goes, I think Beethoven's Latest Sonatas
> (especially No. 30) are orthodox while other sonatas are unorhodox.  Did
> you deliberately omit them from your list?

Yes, I especially enjoy his recording of the last three sonatas, but
wouldn't consider them orthodox.  It would be possible to persuade me
otherwise: they seem "less unorthodox" than some of his other Beethoven.

Maybe I'm relying here too heavily on the opinions of the critics when
that recording came out: it was supposedly "not serious enough" (or
something) for those who like their late Beethoven especially monumental
or stern (or whatever else is considered "orthodox" in "Late Beethoven").
GG's recording seems to me to be delightfully playful, a fun way to hear
those pieces.  And in his writing as well as his performance here, GG also
disdains the notion of Beethoven's Three Creative Periods.  He cuts across
people's conventional expectations about Beethoven.

Bradley Lehman ~ Harrisonburg VA, USA ~ 38.45716N+78.94565W
bpl@umich.edu ~ http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/