Re: What next?

[Robert Kunath <kunath@hilltop.ic.edu>]

Dear Gouldians,

	Alun's suggestions to James Strzelec for after-Gould listening are
great, and I can't resist adding a couple of additional recommendations
focused more on Gould's tastes in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

	1. Sibelius.  Gould loved his music, and often refers to the
near-mystical experience of hearing von Karajan conduct the Symphony No. 5
in concert in Berlin.  Though Gould doesn't mention them, I can't help but
think he must have loved the Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7, and the tone poem
"Tapiola."  The Sibelius 4th is one of the most remarkable symphonies ever
written, and it has precisely the kind of introspection to which Alun
refers.  I prefer Karajan's EMI Fourth, but the DG one is fine too, and if
you don't mind dated sound, Beecham's recording from the mid-1930's is
great.  In the 7th, I really like Colin Davis and the Boston Symphony
(Philips) and the 1933 Koussevitzky/BBC Symphony Orchestra performance on
Pearl.

	2. Berg.  His violin concerto is a dazzling demonstration of the
expressive possibilities of atonal music, and it's a wonderful companion
to Gould's romantic Schoenberg.  I've got Mutter on DG, but I haven't
heard enough competition to recommend it knowledgeably.

	3. Wagner.  Gould loved it so much he arranged it for piano after
all.  There's a crystalline beauty to his arrangements, but I suspect
Gould was drawn as well by Wagner's apocalyptic romanticism.  For my
money, the perfect orchestral combination of "classical" execution and
intense emotion can be found in George Szell's performances of orchestral
music from the Ring (Sony Essential Classics).  Andy Kazdin says in his
book that Gould especially admired the quality of the Cleveland Orchestra,
and if you listen to Szell's "Siegfried's Funeral Music" you'll see why.

	And don't forget Streisand and Petula Clark...

Robert Kunath

P.S.  If you like Fretwork's Purcell after Gould's Byrd/Gibbons (my
favorite Gould record too), then try them in Gibbons' own viol music:
"Cries and Fancies: Fantasias, In Nomines and The Cries of London."
Fretwork and Red Byrd (vocal ensemble).  Virgin Classics.