Re: GGs of today

[Bradley P Lehman <bpl@umich.edu>]

On Wed, 10 Jun 1998, Bengt Christensson wrote:

> Being unique, still - who would you consider being followers of GG's style
> today?
> Anyone can recommend records of such artists?

At GG's levels of intense clarity or interesting eccentricity, I can think
of one of each: 

Clarity: an extraordinary recording of Schubert sonatas D.958 (cm) and 959
(A) by Mark Swartzentruber, on Sony (not yet available in North America, I
believe).  He has an analytical yet passionate approach to the pieces,
bringing out remarkable structural detail and focusing the listener's
attention: intense performances.  He uses an unorthodox miking perspective
which sounds very close: it brings out the inner texture well at the
expense of some tonal naturalness and dynamic range. 

Eccentricity: anything by Ivo Pogorelich.  He seems to bring always a
fresh and strange perspective to pieces, often using especially slow
tempos.  Teetering on the edge of the deep end, his very odd recording of
the Brahms A-major Intermezzo takes more than seven minutes, where
everyone else gets it done in four to five.  I think his disc of Ravel's
"Gaspard de la Nuit" and Prokofiev's sixth sonata is especially well-done
in his color effects, without being too weird.  DG 13363.  But I liked his
earlier recording of the Prokofiev 6th even better.  (Vox LP)

Neither of those players necessarily has anything to do with GG's
philosophies or basic sound.  I was thinking more in terms of similar
degrees of separation from the average. 

There's also that recent recording of the Beethoven first concerto where
Lars Vogt plays the GG cadenzas.  EMI 56371.

If in "GG style" we're not restricted only to pianists, try violinist
Dmitri Sitkovetsky. 

And for levels of clarity on harpsichord, Edward Parmentier.

As for an architectural and textural-clarity approach in orchestral music,
Otto Klemperer.  (Chronologically, though, he's a predecessor to GG.)

Bradley Lehman ~ Harrisonburg VA, USA ~ 38.45716N+78.94565W
bpl@umich.edu ~ http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/