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RE: [F_minor] Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
HI Caleb. I am glad to read of your views. The piece need not be played as if one is on Novocain. I agree. There are excellent performances by European greats, like Brendel and Kempf which portray the shimmering beauty of the ideas in the piece without resorting to emotions on the sleeve, or over-indulgent phrasing.
Glenn might have had the original idea to re-invigorate the piece, and that is fine with me. The opening movement is usually played at a very slow walking tempo, with the implication that the observer is watching moonlight play gently on calm waters. Glenn's walk is too brisk for my sense of calm. I know that Glenn knew how to walk calmly and quietly as I've seen movie footage of him doing just that up in Wawa, Ontario or other places where water was present.
His impressions of the first movement are just too urgent and almost anxious for me. This is not even remotely contemplation for me; it sounds like a quick eye observing, darting here and there, with no sense at all of the music's inner calm. There is simply no inner calm. The second movement just moves a bit too quickly. His articulation, strangely, was pure Bach. He did not have to but he did play the movement with a strong emphasis on the meter. This put a focus where it became a distraction for me. The movement can be seen as a bridge between the very slow, contemplative first and the thunderous third. It is hard to figure a proper speed, I will agree. His was just a wee bit too fast and again his emphasis on metrical structure displaced my attention away from the melody.
The third movement was not thunderous; it was a blur. There is so much going on in this third movement. It was in some ways a giant cannon shot over his shoulder, blasting him completely apart from the musical forms he inherited from Haydn and Mozart. There is not a single piece in either of the former composers that comes close to the eruption of emotion and energy in this movement. It is astounding now as it was then. Here Beethoven has created a completely new landscape, never seen before. In Glenn's hands he was in a Mach 3 jet plane, blasting over the architecture, melody and forms, moving so fast that he had no time left to articulate what is going on. There is no clear message here other than speed. In my view it was a miscalculation and is not exciting or beautiful. Over all I'd say that his rendition was perverse and mystifying.
All the best.
Fred Houpt
-----Original Message-----
From: f_minor-bounces@email.rutgers.edu [mailto:f_minor-bounces@email.rutgers.edu] On Behalf Of Armstrong Caleb
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 1:57 PM
To: f_minor@email.rutgers.edu
Subject: RE: [F_minor] Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
Have to disagree. Most recordings of this work I find sickeningly sweet, and dreadfully slow. Like wading through treacle. Glenn's first movement has a verve to it that reinvigorates this piece for me. The second I've never been very fond of, so no comment. The third movement has an energy and momentum that I find exhilarating. Glenn's is without a doubt my favourite, and in my view an exceptionally vivacious, interpretation.
Caleb
-----Original Message-----
From: f_minor-bounces@email.rutgers.edu [mailto:f_minor-bounces@email.rutgers.edu] On Behalf Of Houpt, Fred
Sent: 20 June 2008 18:44
To: f_minor@email.rutgers.edu
Subject: [F_minor] Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
Last night I listened to Glenn play the Moonlight. On two occasions he had to be pulled over by the traffic cops for speeding in a zone rated for moderation. On the third occasion he jumped to Warp Factor 3 and the radar guys just scratched their heads.
Honestly folks, Glenn just obliterated any sense of wonder and mystery in this piece and I have no idea what he was thinking. He just assassinated the inner calm and grace that lies in the first two movements. He opted in the first movement to display a moonlit lake that was in a hurry to get it over with and go back to sleep. The second movement was like a horse on a steady loping fast-walk through the marshes. The third movement defies all description. It was like he was in a Mozart-kill-this-music mood and he just ripped through it faster than a human should try to.
Is it just me or did he destroy this piece? I know he loved Beethoven and so I am mystified by his playing.
Comments?
Regards,
Fred Houpt
Toronto
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This e-mail may be privileged and/or confidential, and the sender does not waive any related rights and obligations.
Any distribution, use or copying of this e-mail or the information it contains by other than an intended recipient is unauthorized.
If you received this e-mail in error, please advise me (by return e-mail or otherwise) immediately.
Ce courrier électronique est confidentiel et protégé. L'expéditeur ne renonce pas aux droits et obligations qui s'y rapportent.
Toute diffusion, utilisation ou copie de ce message ou des renseignements qu'il contient par une personne autre que le (les) destinataire(s) désigné(s) est interdite.
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