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Re: [F_minor] Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
On Tue, Jun 24, 2008 at 4:28 PM, Charles McElwain <
charlesmcelwain1@verizon.net> wrote:
> This is the most important aspect of the discussion - the examination of
> velocity. The Gould performance of the "Moonlight" on the faster side, the
> Brahms 1st concerto with the Bernstein on the slower side are *revelatory*
> interpretations, which few of contemporary interpretations are. (And I hope
> to find the recording Fred mentions below.)
>
> Back in March on this list, I recalled the passage from Fred Hoyle's
> classic "The Black Cloud", where an alien thought the "Hammerklavier" was
> great, but needed to be faster.
>
> In a similar vein of velocity exploration, one of my recordings of
> Beethoven's 9th Symphony, by Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic
> Orchestra (Pickwick/Masters CD), Zander takes the 1st Allegro, 3rd Adagio,
> and 4th Presto movements each about 10-25% faster than most of my other
> recordings (paradoxically, the 2nd Molto vivace is slower than my other
> recordings). On the face of this, it's outrageous; but on listening, you
> hear structures and patterns in the music that just aren't apparent in the
> more conventional tempi, and in the end, it's a compelling interpretation.
>
> Charles
Somewhat a propos -- earlier this evening I was playing the C major fugue
from WTC 1 and decided to take it a bit slower than I usually do in order to
work out some technical issues. As I did so, an entirely new fugue came into
my view -- a gentle, reflective piece rather than the regal, extroverted
thing I had been playing at the faster tempo. It really was something of a
revelation, and it captivated me -- it was as though I had discovered
something in the music that had always been hidden just under the surface,
waiting.
Etha
>
> At 1:23 PM -0400 6/24/08, Houpt, Fred wrote:
>
>> On a side note, I once heard a tape of GG experimenting with a Beethoven
>> Piano Concerto - perhaps it was 1 or 2?....and he hired a young pianist
>> and an orchestra. So, he gets everyone in place and he says that he
>> fully knows that what he is about to ask them to do is completely
>> perverse and crazy but he wants to hear what it sounds like. They
>> proceed to play (I think) the first movement at a super ultra slow
>> tempo. The very familiar music was so altered that I just listened in
>> awe at how transformed it was. You know, as crazy as his experiment
>> was, the beauty of Beethoven's music survived the time-tunnel
>> experiment. It sounded as if the music was coming from another
>> dimension; that is what I recall. It was sort of a mind bending aural
>> experience. Whether GG wanted to achieve this or why it occurred to him
>> I do not know. The experiment was very interesting and I hope that some
>> of you can track it down and listen for yourself.
>>
>> I am telling you this long story because it highlights the lengths GG
>> took to examine velocity. He was exploring, as usual, an effect in
>> performance that forces the music into extreme dimensions, thereby
>> revealing inner textures that our normal hearing/playing will not
>> reveal. How he sees into a piece is his genius. Sometimes, I guess, we
>> just have to take it on faith that he has something he is trying to show
>> us or even himself and a good look/listen will be worth the effort.
>>
>> Fred Houpt
>> Toronto
>>
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