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GG: Saint Glenn
- To: "f_minor@email.rutgers.edu" <f_minor@email.rutgers.edu> (Return requested)
- Subject: GG: Saint Glenn
- From: "PETER PF MERRIMAN" <Peter.PF.Merriman@dss.gov.au>
- Date: 04 Feb 1997 16:18:48 +1100
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While I find the postings to f-minor mostly entertaining and sometimes
informative, there seems to be a disappointing amount of hagiography
at times. I find this particularly distasteful when other artists are
denigrated in the process. I refer to the sneering comments about
Byron Janis and Lord Menuhin in recent posts.
I enjoy Glenn Gould's recordings immensely and I must say that there
is very little of his recorded output (and I've got practically all of
it) that I don't get some pleasure from (and that includes the
Schoenberg). Like just about everybody else on this list I find much
of his playing sublime and life-enhancing. But I could also say the
same about Cortot, Schnabel, Rubinstein, Kempff, Horowitz, Lipatti,
Argerich, Pollini, Solomon, Michelangeli, Richter and on and on and
on. Even Bryon Janis and Van Cliburn.
Glenn Gould was an incredibly gifted artist and a fine human being,
but like everybody he had his faults. There is plenty of evidence
that he was ungenerous and sarcastic towards fellow artists
(Michelangeli and Horowitz for example). And he was downright rude to
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Walter Legge at the Ophelia Lieder sessions
and there a plenty of other documented instances of his being
difficult to work with.
Of course, many people (and most artists, maybe) have the same traits
and I only bring them up to balance the debate up a bit. Friedrich's
biography provides a very balanced view of GG, both as man and artist
so its hardly worthwhile for me to drag up more negative points.
GG's personal foibles are a lot less interesting than his musical
ones, however. (and who cares about the stupid chair??)
What intrigues me is the inconsistency between his stated likes and
dislikes and the pieces he chose to record. Of course his much stated
preferences for contrapuntal music, the second Viennese school
(so-called), Richard Strauss and Paul Hindemith were well catered for.
Even the Haydn sonatas make sense as a choice to record (and IMHO are
among his finest recordings and a first recommendation), but why oh
why oh why did he record all the Mozart piano sonatas when he
expressly disliked them.
Also, as stated in a recent post, he avoided the romantics - mostly.
OK - so he didn't record any Schubert at all, but why bother at with
the odd bit of Chopin and Schumann - there doesn't seem to be any
evidence that he actually liked that music.
The other oddities are the Listz transcriptions of the Beethoven
symphonies (5 and 6). I read somewhere that he had planned to record
the entire nine. WHY?? Was he a closet admirer of Listz's
transcriptions?
OK - I am standing still - ready, aim fire!!!