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Re: Gould on Mozart?
... makes the listener realize how
>cheated we are that Gould never
recorded the Mozart sonatas with a little
>more respect to the score and
to the composer.
No no! I'm not cheated at all! Gould's
performances of Mozart are the treasures of my musical life!
Once a composer publishes his
compositions, he understands and accepts that the performers of each new
generation are free to interpret them as they wish. So many recordings of
Mozart's piano sonatas are museum-esque, lifeless, so respectful as to be
uninspiring and boring; they help to keep Mozart dead.
Forgive my liberty with the opinions of
the dead, but Mozart would have loved the enthusiasm and vibrancy with which
Gould approached his work. Gould re-invented Mozart, and in a gorgeous, lush,
electrifying way for the listener. He transformed Mozart from background Muzak
to foreground music. Gould's Mozart thrills me endlessly, I never tire of it, I
have never found fault or flaw.
Bob