Re: GG

["David B. Klein" <dklein@microtec.net>]

At 05:45 PM 10/5/98 -0400, Charles McLimans wrote:
>Now I understand.  You believe Gould was "a charlatan with a personality
>problem."  You must speak from your own personal experience which I cannot
>deny.


Look, I'm coming from a certain aesthetic here. My musical values are those
of the historically informed performance ("HIP") movement, for the most
part. Although HIP contains ample room for individuality, one tries one's
best to interpret a composer and his/her music in its historical and social
context. This is seen as a kind of social contract, as Christopher Hogwood
put it, between performer and composer. Of course this can't be done with
complete certainty, but one makes an honest effort in that direction, within
the limits of modern musical scholarship. One doesn't paint a moustache on
the Mona Lisa. 

I won't speculate further about how Gould got to sound the way he did - but
I think it's undeniable that listening to Gould play Bach, Beethoven,
Mozart, or whoever, one has a sense of listening to Gould and not the composer. 

I've lost the info on the listserver for this mailing list, but I'd be happy
to oblige everyone by unsubscribing now. If someone would be so kind as to
show me the door ...

David Klein