GG

["Baldwin, Daniel" <baldwin@BAERMARKS.COM>]

        So many interesting topics have come up in the past couple of days
that I don't know where to start. A few random observations:

        1. GG's instrumental perversity.

        He played the piano without (for the most part) exploiting its
unique characteristics, and he himself said that he was striving to make it
imitative of the harpsichord (i.e. detache rather than legato style; sparing
use of pedals).

        Based on what Bradley L. and Jim M. have been saying, his style of
playing the harpsichord was contrary to  basic performance techniques for
that instrument.

        By his own admission (per quotes in the liner notes), he prepared
for his organ recording of Contrapuncteses (Contrapuncti?) 1 through 9 of
The Art of Fugue on the piano, had not played the organ for many years, had
not previously played at all on the organ on which he made the recording,
and made little or no use of the unique sound capabilities of the
instrument. The whole recording sounds like it was made in one registration;
one reviewer likened it to the honking of ducks, and to me it is reminiscent
of the organ playing you might hear over the PA system at a skating rink. Of
course, the perfrormance has some redeeming qualities (the usual rhythmic
drive and clear polyphonic articulation), but I find it very difficult to
listen to for more than the first 4 or 5 contrapuncti.

        How to account for GG's contrarian attitude toward keyboard
instruments?  It probably means less than meets the ear. After all, he
mostly played the piano, and made beautiful sounds; I guess he just had a
whimsical or anti-authority streak that came out when he went on a "lark" to
another instrument. Or does his attitude also reflect his view that Bach was
indifferent to sonorities, and for the most part was more concerned with
structure than with sound? Still, that doesn't mean that the player should
be indifferent to the particular sonority of the instrument he is playing.

        2. The Salzburg Concert. There is a joyous and free-spirited (but
not eccentric) quality to the playing. It's not as tightly wound as on his
later, more sculpted studio recordings. There are even a couple of smudged
notes in the Goldbergs!

        3. Organs. I just started listening to recordings of Bach organ
music in the last couple of weeks, so I'm sure no expert. But I do recommend
Helmut Walcha (you can get a "2 for 1" DG set with about 2.5 hours of
music); his playing has a sturdy North German style, but it is never stiff;
the counterpoint is brought out lucidly; and the playing is expressive
without being overwrought. Also, the sound quality is very "alive" and
resonant.

        4. Favorite GG Recordings. I share Jim's regard for the recording of
the Pastoral Sonata; this is a late (I think ''79) recording, and it has a
warmth that one doesn't so often associate with GG. It's actually quite
idiomatic (except for some rather brusque runs in the first movement).

        I get a real jolt of energy from the Prelude to the c minor Partita;
I listened to it while walking to work this morning, and it practically had
me flying down the street.

        Regards--

Daniel Baldwin
BAER MARKS & UPHAM LLP
805 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Tel: (212) 702-5700
Fax: (212) 702-5941
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