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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,343
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Prokofiev is okay (I don't dislike him at all! Great composer, it's just personal taste, and I do kind of like him) but I actually REALLY REALLY like Shostakovich! (Shostokovich?) (The first spelling is correct.) You should give a listen to some of his preludes and fugues for piano. (24 altogether, like Bach's WTC.) A few years ago I got to hear Christopher O'Riley perform a couple of them in Fort Worth, and they were fascinating pieces! Or perhaps you've already listened to some of them?
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,651
6000 Post Club Member
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6000 Post Club Member
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I've been convinced he was nuts for years lol. I'll pass on watching either of the videos, since they're both arguably numbers 1 and 2 on my most hated pianists list. That said, I have read an extraordinary amount about Gould, including, a couple of bios and I own a few documentaries on DVD, as well. My favorite quote from him, "They say I'm a hypochondriac, and so, I am."
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
♪ ≠$
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,651
6000 Post Club Member
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6000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,651 |
Prokofiev is okay (I don't dislike him at all! Great composer, it's just personal taste, and I do kind of like him) but I actually REALLY REALLY like Shostakovich! (Shostokovich?) (The first spelling is correct.) You should give a listen to some of his preludes and fugues for piano. (24 altogether, like Bach's WTC.) A few years ago I got to hear Christopher O'Riley perform a couple of them in Fort Worth, and they were fascinating pieces! Or perhaps you've already listened to some of them? Chris O'Riley (who is a friend of mine), does a remarkable job with Shostakovich. Ashkenazy's recording of the same "24" is, also, well worth the listen.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
♪ ≠$
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,343
1000 Post Club Member
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1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,343 |
Chris O'Riley (who is a friend of mine), does a remarkable job with Shostakovich. Ah, very nice. Well, whenever you next see or talk to him, you can pass along that both my wife and I really enjoyed those preludes and fugues he did over at Ft. Worth. I'm sorry I didn't say something to him after the concert. :-\
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,169
4000 Post Club Member
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4000 Post Club Member
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Thanks for that pointer. Starting at about 1:10, that's probably the coolest video I've seen all week. I'm not being sarcastic. Really. -Jason
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,651
6000 Post Club Member
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6000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,651 |
Chris O'Riley (who is a friend of mine), does a remarkable job with Shostakovich. Ah, very nice. Well, whenever you next see or talk to him, you can pass along that both my wife and I really enjoyed those preludes and fugues he did over at Ft. Worth. I'm sorry I didn't say something to him after the concert. :-\ You, certainly, should have. Chris, is a great guy and very approachable. I'll let him know his Ft. Worth fans are still talking about him. =)
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
♪ ≠$
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,651
6000 Post Club Member
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6000 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,651 |
What about the Barenboim don't you like? Just curious. There are some mistakes. I guess I should give them another listen then. You must be very, very familiar with the sonatas. I thought I knew them well, but, perhaps not.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
♪ ≠$
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 9,392
9000 Post Club Member
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9000 Post Club Member
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Posts: 9,392 |
Don't get me started on Gould. I am thankful to him for pushing Bach back under the mainstream spotlight where he belongs, but that's about it.
+1. Gould's Bach is indispensable, though IMO not the only recordings of Bach one should have in their library. Aside from that, I fail to hear much of interest in his recordings of other composers -particularly Beethoven and Mozart- and my library contains nothing of his except for Bach. (And not that much.) I once heard Gould's recording of Beethoven's Op. 28 on the radio, and I almost crashed the car. (Well not really, but you get my point.) Like Maria Callas and Barbra Streisand, Gould has his rabid fans, and good on them. Just count me out, though one could certainly make a case for Callas being one of the seminal operatic voices of all time. (But I'm not a huge fan, generally an honest respect, yet more than I could ever claim about Gould.)
Jason
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,073
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You should listen to his rendition of the popular Alla Turca by Mozart. Certainly one of the slowest interpretations I've heard - it bothered me quite a bit.
____________________
"... It is a skill you go on learning all your life: the more you write, the more you learn."
Harry Freedman on the craft of composing
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 6,651
6000 Post Club Member
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6000 Post Club Member
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Unfortunately, I've heard it (and the rest of the sonata as well).
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
♪ ≠$
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 24,600
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 24,600 |
.....I'll let him know his Ft. Worth fans are still talking about him. =) I guess that's about the '81 Cliburn competition? I remember it well. It was one of the most-covered competitions ever. It got huge coverage (almost daily) in the NY Times, and the final announcements were broadast on TV, together with an extended feature. I still remember all the finalists, in order. It was an amazing field.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,073
1000 Post Club Member
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1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,073 |
____________________
"... It is a skill you go on learning all your life: the more you write, the more you learn."
Harry Freedman on the craft of composing
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