Re: GG: wish list

["John P. Hill" <jphill@frank.mtsu.edu>]

On Sun, 2 Feb 2003, Virginia Brooke wrote:

> -some arvo part would be enthralling, i think--not the serialist
> work--but rather the humane, religious, sacred, virginal, sparse
> beauty of his "tintinnabulation." plenty of room for our boy
> glenn to twist and shout. i can't name a piece right off--
> the popular "fratres" wouldn't do it, and i simply can't see
> gould using a "prepared piano" in any other manner than his own. 

Yes, that makes a lot of sense.  I wonder if he heard anything by Part.

> -"downtown"

Of course!  And since he was a sensitive accompanist
(albeit not subservient), why not ask Pet along for the lead
vocals.  I bet she would have been game!

> -completion of those unfinished projects--the full bach
> piano concertos, the art of fugue, the beethoven sonatas,

The Bach concertos have not stood up very well over time, IMHO.
The sound is really dreadful, the ensemble size seems wrong and the
string interpretation sounds very Romantic and conservatory-esque, in
the worst possible sense.

> additionally, imagine the advantages of a fully digital *home studio* 
> with hundreds of tracks and editing capabilities within the $10,000
> range...

Yes!  Of course, for *hundreds* of tracks, he'd need to get past the
O2R and D88 thing and get into MIDI pretty solidly, but that doesn't
seem like too much of a stretch for a guy who declared SWITCHED ON BACH
to be the album of the year (get out your modular Moog and razor blades,
kids!).

> -i also wish that gould either out and out declared himself
> a celibate, or got on his white horse and swept a somewhat
> aged petula clark off of her feet, riding into the sunset
> of little musical genius feet pitterpatting. 

This sounds pretty ungouldian.  I'm just as glad not to know about
his private life (could we do the same for Clinton!!), but wouldn't
an album collaboration with Barbra have been fun?  Can you *imagine*
the CREATIVE CONTROL NIGHTMARE FROM HELL that would have been?  The
thing with Schwarzkopf was difficult even to read about!

...be seeing y'all!

jh