Brahms, GG, Horowitz and stools

[Thayer A <A.Thayer@rhbnc.ac.uk>]

I just borrowed the GG Brahms 1 with Bernstein and the cd's with the
intermezzos etc. I have to say that I find the concerto rather
disappointing. Although Gould generally doesn't sound as if he is sitting
very low at the piano (in terms of sound quality and control) I find his
tone rather forced and uncomfortable. I also get the impression that he is
very tired through much of the piece (it's interesting that the first trills
are precisely measured but they later become a standard tremolo). I must say
that I am inclined to agree with Harold Schonberg that he probably would
have had trouble playing the piece at standard tempos, simply due to the
height of the stool. While I believe that a low stool improves GG's Bach I
feel that it spoils this particular recording. I have to say that I think he
was simply too stubborn to use a slightly higher stool for romantic music,
even if it may have improved his playing.
	The intermezzos are very good however and the sound reminds me very
much of horowitz (with slightly less colour). Although GG would certainly
hate to think so, I believe that his natural tone is rather similar to
horowitz, and that had he gone for subtle nuances more often they could have
sounded very similar. Although Horowitz sat nowhere near as low as Gould, I
believe the low stool could be a factor. Any thoughts?

Andrew

PS The notes in the intermezzos mention a CBC recording of the A major
Violin sonata. Is this in the GG edition, as I don't remember seeing it?