Re: [ARSCLIST] The waltz (was Which U.S. orchestra recorded first and Arthur Fiedler)

[Mike Richter <mrichter@xxxxxxx>]

Steven Smolian wrote:
> I couldn't think of a better way to prove my point that without 
> completely annotated music, for thosw wishing to perform the music as 
> its creators intended, a properly qualified recording is a defining 
> document.
>
> A qualified recording is one made by the creator(s) of the music or 
> those known to be aware of and to deliberately implement that tradition.
>
> Steve Smolian

And yet, there are exceptions. Sometimes, they are extra-musical as when 
the soprano chosen by Toscanini for recordings or by the elderly Poulenc 
for his songs (with his accompaniment) is more appealing for womanly 
characteristics than for artistic ones. There are many cases where the 
composer's performance skills, usually at the piano or on the podium, 
are not up to the demands of his score. Examples include Stravinsky 
vis-a-vis Ansermet and Mascagni compared with many others. When we have 
a record of the composer as singer - for example, Samuel Barber in Dover 
Beach - it seems likely that he would have preferred a more capable 
performer but absent that option, turned in a serviceable version of his 
own.

Often the creators' version provides valuable insights, which I believe 
 is Steve's suggestion, but even that is not always true. Even when it 
is the result may be suitable only for study, not for enjoyment. The 
intention in jazz and in some classical music is for the creator to be 
the (or 'a') performer; that is not the general case in the classics.

Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/