Re: Gould, Sentiment and Chopin

[Anne Smith <smithqa@nexicom.net>]

From: Allan MacLeod :

>When you think about it, Gould's
> failure to record Chopin is a great loss for us.

I agree.

> He did seem to claim
> that he just didn't find Chopin musically/structurally challenging
> enough

I read somewhere that he said he didn't record Chopin because the way he sat
at the piano meant he couldn't produce a big enough dynamic range.  This of
course doesn't explain his Beethoven.

> and sometimes he rejected Chopin as being too emotional, in which
> case I think he confused the composer with some of his contemporary
> piansists.

Yes and this can also be said of many pianists today.

> How he could be so fond of Richard Strauss and not like
> Chopin is also something of a mystery.

Most of us have composers who we just do not care for.  I certainly do.  I
don't think there is any logic to it, merely personal taste.

This is an interesting thread.  I'd like to hear from more people.

Anne