Re: GG...and that harpsichord

[Jim Morrison <jim_morrison@sprynet.com>]

I did a little digging through the fminor archives and it turns out Bradley
has been through all this Handel pro/con issue before, as surely others
members of the list have.  I think all us relatively new subscribers should
give them a thanks for their patience at working over this issue again.
Let's hope we make it worth their while.

I'm still listening to the infamous Handel disc in question, and I must say
I do enjoy the prelude to Bach f# fugue, BMV 883, track 27.
Gould seems to have gotten the odd sounding harpsichord right on this piece.

And I'm curious, how does Gould's use of this rubbery sound a few years
before he lost cd318 or got involved in the soundtrack to Slaughterhouse
Five affect Bradley's ideas on why GG made his harpsichord sound so
plastic/elastic. (Dare we say, fantastic?)

And yes I've had a lot of time on my hands today and have thoroughly enjoyed
spending it with the list and GG.

Jim

Oh, concerning what a think of as a straightforward and brilliant version of
Mozart's Turkish March, check out Murray Perahia's Mozart sonatas cd.  That
recording has sparks coming off of it.   I also think Perahia's does an
excellent d job with the English Suites, though no one I've heard comes
close to GG's level of excitement and multi-dimensionality.  That Prelude to
the Second English Suite is, in my opinion, one of the greatest recordings
EVER.

oh wait, one other last thing.

Jim Svejda (who has an extremly odd manner of speaking, perhaps like an
American pretending he comes from a distinguished English household, a bit
like TS Eliot if you've ever heard him recite his poetry) is a GG fan and
says this of the Handel Suites:


"Even by his standards, this is pretty nuts...Predictably, harpsichordist
Glenn Gould's versions of the Handel suites are as full of life and
distinctive musical insights as any of his other recordings.  He obviously
relishes the music and at every turn manages to remind us how wonderful
these tiny miracles are."

Hmmm, I'm not so sure I'd go that far, but I have a soft spot for anyone
who's so positive about GG.

He, like Bryce Morrison, raves about Richter and Gavrilov's recordings of
the Handel suites.  Anyone ever heard them?  I like them, but their
superlativeness flies past my ear.  So Bradley, who does do the Handel
Suites well?

I'm a fan of Svejda's "The Insider's Guide to Classical Recordings" and
encourage everyone to at least browse through his self-described "highly
opinionated, irreverent, and selective guide to what's good and what's not."
It's a refreshing alternative to the often dry and conservative  reviews of
Gramophone and Penguin.  I live in LA and get to hear his weeknightly show
on 91.5 which often features enlightening three hour long interviews and
retrospectives with a single performer or conductor or composer.

He's also a huge Schoenberg fan who happens to think Pollini has recorded a
great album of the solo pieces, which I haven't heard.  So much music, so
little time and money.

I'm still waiting for takers on that GG Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto
erogenous event.