If I am not mistaken, something similar to this was done by
someone using a computer not too long ago? I think I read somewhere that
someone had programmed a computer to play a concert grand and somehow reproduced
Glenn's playing without him at the piano, and by doing so had removed the
humming. I am not entirely sure about this and I'd have to go searching
for this on the internet.
On the other hand, I am also tired of the need to criticize his
art simply because he hummed. Lovers of his music NEVER ever complained
about Oscar Peterson when he buzzed and hummed (and he COULD sing just as lovely
as could be and did so on at least one fantastic recording). Same for
Keith Jarrett who hums and stomps his feet and sounds like he's possessed.
Same for other pianists who just cannot hold back from being moved to make a
sound.
I would instead advocate for a total and complete acceptance of
the artistic output. If we want a holistic musical experience (means:
without filters) then we should create the means by which we can have that
experience. This means just saying "yes" to the whole performance.
When saying critical things about a performance I think the humming should be
put on the back burner and more focus on things like finger articulation of
fugal lines, insightful extrapolation of secondary musical lines brought
forward, modern attacks to counterpoint, effective use of extravagant dynamic
expressions (ultra soft or loud, ultra fast or slow). Topics such as
these steer us closer to the intentions of the performer - at least in the case
of a brilliant analyst and spelunker like Gould. In my
view.....
Regards,
Fred Houpt
Toronto
[snip] _______________________________________________________________________ This e-mail may be privileged and/or confidential, and the sender does not waive any related rights and obligations. Any distribution, use or copying of this e-mail or the information it contains by other than an intended recipient is unauthorized. If you received this e-mail in error, please advise me (by return e-mail or otherwise) immediately. Ce courrier électronique est confidentiel et protégé. L'expéditeur ne renonce pas aux droits et obligations qui s'y rapportent. Toute diffusion, utilisation ou copie de ce message ou des renseignements qu'il contient par une personne autre que le (les) destinataire(s) désigné(s) est interdite. Si vous recevez ce courrier électronique par erreur, veuillez m'en aviser immédiatement, par retour de courrier électronique ou par un autre moyen. |