Re: GG: Murray Perahia's Goldberg's

[Daniel Vaiser <vaiser@AIRMAIL.NET>]

Friends:

Another different type of rendition of the Goldberg Variations is that by
Maria Yudina (which I think is on Phillips in their "Great Pianists" series.
It is very un-Gouldian (i.e. observes all repeats, uses pedal, et cetera . .
. ) and I enjoy it also in its idiosyncratic way as Gould does in his
version. I would not recommend it for those who feel that the Gould
interpretation is "gospel".  The Gould and Yudina are very, VERY different;
be well you all.

Daniel Vaiser


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Jo Watts" <mwatts@RCI.RUTGERS.EDU>
To: <F_MINOR@EMAIL.RUTGERS.EDU>
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 11:33 AM
Subject: GG: Murray Perahia's Goldberg's


> Ok-- I'll go out on a limb here.
>
> Murray Perahia's Goldberg recording is un-Gouldian.  It's anti-Gouldian.
> Under-Gouldian!  Listening to it in full made me understand Gould's Bach
> much, much better, in fact. The reverb! The pedal! (The repeats!) Bringing
> out one voice (sometimes at the expense of the others).  I hear more of
> the structure of the relationship of the variations to the aria in
> Perahia. It's a Sony disc so I guess it would have to be strikingly
> different for them to issue it next to you-know-who in their catalogue.
>
> Perahia on the Goldberg recording:
>  "I think the most important thing is that the listener hear the structure
> which is NOT an academic exercise.  It's a living, breathing, emotional
> experience."
>
> and
>
> "I love playing for an audience. I love the immediacy, the sponteneity of
> it, but there's a challenge that making a record has in it that I enjoy as
> well-- umm trying to get your vision of the piece into a concrete form."
>
> Fascinating differences!! See, hear Perahia play a snippet of the
> Goldbergs:
> http://www.sonyclassical.com/music/89243/multimedia.html
>
> My violinist friend said that Gould treats the piano like a percussive
> instrument while Perahia plays it like a stringed instrument.  That's why
> her mind likes Gould and her heart likes Perahia.
>
> -Mary Jo