Re: GG: Art of Fugue, and 12 tone

[Tranquil59@aol.com]

The enjoyment and appreciation of music, like that of any art form, does not 
have a "right" / "wrong" or "better"  / "worse" absolute method. In other 
words, no one can dictate to somebody else how to CORRECTLY listen to music, 
not even the composer. One can suggest a particular listening perspective but 
this would only one of many. Therefore, there is nothing WRONG with listening 
to a single variation, or selected variations, from the Goldberg Variations 
(or any collection for that matter) as opposed to listening to all the 
variations in numerical order. What is gained or appreciated  when listening 
to single variations/movements will simply be DIFFERENT than the experience 
of  listening to the whole work. While it is of value to be aware of how the 
composer desired his/her music to be heard this is NOT a pre-requisite for 
appreciating the work. 

When artists finish their work and "put it out " for the public they cannot 
determine what the best way to enjoy said work is for anybody. Imagine 
Picasso telling museum goers that the right way of appreciaitng one of his 
paintings is standing at 10 feet away from the work with your head at a 
slight 10 degree angle and wearing a Fedora hat with a full stomach!!   
Musicians and music lovers are, in my opinion,  wasting valuable energy 
concerned about  RULES and ABSOLUTE LAWS in the judgement of music and art. 
It strikes me as a type of misdirected and naive seriousness; like suffering 
from academic constipation. Whatever has been suggested by composers and 
other musicians should only be taken as that, SUGGESTIONS. Ultimatedly YOU 
have to decide what is right for you. The composer is the author of the work 
but he/she does not OWN your mind's ear. All creative artists are innovative 
because they thought for themselves. 
Imagine if at around the middle of the 18th century the entire world had 
decided that the proper/correct way of Composing/Performing/Listening to 
music was like that of Bach; while we would have had a lot of great Bachian 
music imagine all the rest that we would have missed !

Enjoy the music and don't worry about Rights and Wrongs for other people.     

Armando Tranquilino