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Hello Mary,<br>
<br>
Thanks for the kind words -- not everytime my name is linked with
quotation from "King Lear" :-) This time, though, it really is Kevin
Bazzana who should get the praise. He's still the number one
authority on all things Gouldian and it's a shame that his services
aren't used more frequently. What ever happened to the grand plans
for the web site for example??? Bazzana's two books on Gould are
required reading, but that is something you all know I guess. You
should also check out his excellent biography on the Hungarian
pianist Ervin Nyiregyhazi, "Lost Genius". A more dramatic and
strange life would be hard to imagine.<br>
<br>
"The Secrect Live Tapes" (Sony 88697723182) does contain the
Brahms/Krips and also the Bach Dminor (fastest ever recording with
Gould) and Schoenberg with Mitropoulos. Perhaps this is an
indication that Sony will keep on reissuing live performances with
Gould. Haven't seen anything on that though. As Kevin Bazzana
indicated, Gould reords are still selling very well and that is
always good news for us fans. Still, I'm very happy that M&A
started their Gould involvement again. I hope it'll force Sony to do
something else than just re-releasing the same old CDs.<br>
<br>
Speaking of which I have in my possession five different editions of
the Goldberg 1955. The first(?) CD version from 1988 in the ”The
Glenn Gould Legacy”-series, the "Glenn Gould Edition", ”Birth of a
Legend”, an even later transfer in the "Originals"-series, one Naxos
transfer and also one on Membran. I'm certain there are more out
there. I did a quick comparison and came to the conclusion that the
noise reduction on ”Birth of a Legend” is too intrusive and doesn't
preserve the clarity of the attack as I would wish. The general
problem with the 1955 is the rather prominent background noise. I've
come to accept that and now I actually prefer Naxos's rather noisy
but at the same time detailed transfer. Any other thoughts on this?<br>
<br>
As far as the question whether the concert is dead or not, or
starting to show old-age symptoms -- that is a bit more complicated
than just a yes or no. I believe that many, many people still love
going to concerts -- for the music and the wine ;-) -- and that
most musicians do earn much more money playing concerts than selling
records. Does this mean that the best performances are to be heard
live??? I would say not always, and probably less often than a
first-class studio recording. I more often prefer the clarity of
thought and emotions from the best studio performances to the
intensity of a live performance. This is especially true with Gould
-- I belong to the category of listeners who prefers his later work
to the things he did in the beginning of his career. Still, there
are exceptions of course, and I'm very happy to be able to listen to
Gould the live artist. I've never been a friend of "either or".<br>
<br>
Another aspect of this Gouldian topic is of course the traditional
and uninspired programming of most concert halls. An average music
enthusiast will only be able to hear concert performances of a
fraction of the standard repertoire. If we move beyond to lesser
common works you'd have to travel far and wide to hear that music
performed once in a lifetime. Those works will most probably be
found on a CD instead. In my personal experience a live concert
experience (and I love to go to concerts, sorry Mr. Gould) is also
very hard to keep fresh in your memory -- I guess some would say
that's the very point -- and that is for me a substantial drawback.
Great music and memorable performances of the same are something
that should be enjoyed over and over again.<br>
<br>
The Zenph experiment is interesting and I was rather enthusiastic
before listening to the first CD (Goldberg 1955). It was sadly a
real disappointment since the Zenph version didn't have enough
similarities with the original recording. To put it simply, the
Zenph performance lacked clarity and the dynamics was too limited.
One of the later CDs -- an Art Tatum disk -- was even worse. I do
think the idea behind this experiment is fascinating, but they need
to enhance the resolution of the copy so to speak. <br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Jorgen<br>
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<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><b><br>
Jorgen you're a marvel:</b> </font><font style="font-size:
12pt;" size="3">Let's have some fun - oh <i>where the devil</i>
have my eyeglasses got to now? - ah yes, ahem,<br>
hah hah on my head the whole time, silly of me really...<br>
Samuel Johnson's 'A Dictionary of the English Language'
(Penguin Anthology) describes 'marvel':<br>
<b><br>
MA'RVEL.</b> n.s. [merveille, French.] A wonder, any thing
astonishing. Little in use. <br>
</font>
<blockquote>
<div align="left"><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"> <i>
<br>
A</i> marvel <i>it were, if a man could espy, in the
whole scripture, nothing which might breed a </i></font><br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><i> probable
opinion, that divine authority was the same way
inclinable.</i></font><br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"> <b> <font
style="font-size: 10pt;" size="2">Hooker</font></b></font>.<br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"> <i>I am scarce in
breath, my lord.</i></font><br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><i> ------No</i>
marvel, <i>you have so bestir'd your valour; you cowardly
rascal!</i></font><br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"> <font
style="font-size: 10pt;" size="2"><b>S</b><b>hakespeare's
King Lear</b></font></font>.<br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"> <i>No</i> marvel</font><br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"> <i>My lord
protector's hawks do towre so well.</i></font><br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"> <b><font
style="font-size: 10pt;" size="2">Shakespeare.<br>
</font></b></font>
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<div align="left"><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><font
style="font-size: 10pt;" size="2"><font style="font-size:
12pt;" size="3">Now what in the world could have
possibly inspired me to consult Dr. Johnson? Could it be
the truth(beauty) in words?</font><font
style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><br>
</font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><b><br>
M&A </b>recordings <u><i>w</i></u></font><font
style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><i><u>ere not banned </u>
</i></font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3">by
Sony, simply subject to a 'cease and desist' letter.
Shades of the infamous:</font><font style="font-size:
12pt;" size="3"><br>
</font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3">It depends
on what the definition of "is" is. Oh to be a
corporate/copyright litigator-see-you-later-alligator in
U.S. Chancery.<br>
"It was all done in a "friendly" manner"".<br>
<br>
Which brings us to Sony's "<u>The Secret Live Tapes</u>":
has this cd been released <u>in the US</u>? I bring
this up because the <br>
1960 Krips/Buffalo Symphony/Gould 'Emperor' is <u>also</u>
to be found on the <b>M&A</b> 'Gould In Concert' 6
cd set. I submit the <br>
following exchange found on a "groups google" blog:<br>
<b>Quote:</b><br>
</font></font></font>> >It seems a Germany only
Glenn Gould CD release, with the Emperor with <br>
> >Krips/Buffalo, the first "official" publication of
the Schoenberg PC <br>
> >with Mitropoulos/NYPO and one more release pf the
Bach BWV 1052 with <br>
> >Mitropoulos/RCO from Salzburg. Great collection! <br>
> Is Sony going to issue the Brahms 1st and Strauss
Burleske with the <br>
> Baltimore Symphony under Adler? This appeared on Music
and Arts for <br>
> about ten minutes until the Gould estate started
bitchin'. Or has this <br>
> been issued somewhere already? <br>
<br>
<br>
They will dribble everything out bit by bit until there is
nothing <br>
else. And then start a complete reissue project. <br>
<br>
<br>
The Gould Estate will endure. <br>
<br>
TD<br>
<b><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3">Unquote. </font></b><br>
<br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3">In response to Mr.
Bazzana's </font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3">comments
about the GG Archives: </font><font style="font-size:
12pt;" size="3">Point taken. There is no better place
(physically) for 'acetates' and old tapes </font><font
style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><br>
</font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3">to be stored -
provided that the wild fans of yesteryear have stopped
stealing things.<br>
<br>
A query for you all: In the PBS 'extras' 'outtakes' from
"Genius Within" there is a short sequence filmed at what is
presumably<br>
the home of Ray Roberts. I personally was amazed to see a
huge array of what looked like studio tapes (Gould's?) in a
bookcase<br>
behind Roberts as he was pulling very personal Gould family
photographs out of a cardboard box... <u>did anyone else
notice this</u>?<br>
WTF?? And <u>what</u> is Ray Roberts doing with Gould
family photos at his house? Was it just for the cameras?
What in the world?<br>
</font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><br>
Wherever those "basement tapes" are, I hope that the people
involved begin to think about them realistically and render
<br>
them to the Archives where they will be cared for by
professionals. Hey CBC, what happened to Taussig's archives?
Ooops.<br>
<br>
On a contrarian note, <i>I would love</i> to read
commentary from any of you who have bought into <b><u>the
concert is dead</u></b> and who <br>
have <b>thus <u>refused</u> </b>to listen to <b><u>any
Gould live</u></b> because of it - and who <u>really
believe</u> that Zenph has anything to do with Gould.<br>
As Hitchens is so fond of saying: Bring it on. <br>
<br>
Mary<br>
<br>
</font><font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"> </font><font
style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><br>
</font><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<font style="font-size: 12pt;" size="3"><font
style="font-size: 10pt;" size="2"> </font><b><font
style="font-size: 10pt;" size="2"> </font></b></font></div>
<br>
<br>
<div>> Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:44:51 +0200<br>
> From: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:jorgen.lundmark@sundsvall.nu">jorgen.lundmark@sundsvall.nu</a><br>
> To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:f_minor@glenngould.org">f_minor@glenngould.org</a><br>
> Subject: [f_minor] [f-minor]: From Kevin Bazzana<br>
> <br>
> Hello all,<br>
> <br>
> Here's some elucidations and generally expert comments
from Mr. Bazzana <br>
> himself --<br>
> <br>
> I read the recent comments on F-minor, and I thought I
might be able to <br>
> make some helpful comments on a couple of points:<br>
> <br>
> = Yes, WHRA (which is based in Canada) is a “sub-label”
of Music & Arts, <br>
> and I also can’t find anything about it on the Music
& Arts website. I <br>
> think the reason is legal: M&A is based in the USA,
and these Gould <br>
> releases cannot legally be sold there—they rely on
public-domain laws <br>
> that make them legal in Canada (and almost everywhere
else in the world) <br>
> but not (yet) in the USA. The confusion is partly my own
fault, since I <br>
> constantly referred to them as “the new Music & Arts
CDs”, because I <br>
> have a long-standing relationship with M&A and its
founder, and because <br>
> that is who I was dealing with then the CDs were being
put together. <br>
> Anyway, fortunately the new GG CDs are being properly
sold and promoted <br>
> and reviewed as “WHRA” releases, and are shown on WHRA’s
own website: <br>
> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://whra.audiophile.ca/en/">http://whra.audiophile.ca/en/</a><br>
> <br>
> = It is not exactly correct that “the Music and Arts live
recordings <br>
> were banned from further distribution by Sony”. In the
early 1990s, when <br>
> its own GG Edition was about to be released, Sony did
send a <br>
> cease-and-desist letter to M&A, wanting their Gould
recordings <br>
> discontinued, but actually the laws in question were on
M&A’s side, as <br>
> both parties well knew. (It had to do with what country
M&A was <br>
> registered in and things like that—their Gould CDs were
legal, anyway.) <br>
> It was a classic case of a big corporation threatening a
small company, <br>
> with the small company legally in the right but (quite
understandably) <br>
> reluctant to expend enormous financial resources fighting
the matter in <br>
> court. (M&A’s founder told me at the time that there
had been such a <br>
> case fought between a small label and a major label in
Europe, over a <br>
> similar matter, and the small label had decided to
fight—and won. At the <br>
> time, I was told that the matter had never really been
tested in this <br>
> way in an American court, since it inevitably involves an
unequal <br>
> big-company/small-company fight.) So M&A’s GG
releases were not <br>
> technically banned; they were “willingly” withdrawn,
under a threat that <br>
> was toothless but could only be fought at prohibitive
expense. It was <br>
> all done in a “friendly” manner—the head of M&A and
the person <br>
> representing Sony were old acquaintances—but the implicit
threat was there.<br>
> <br>
> = Incidentally, a few things in the WHRA box set did
previously appear <br>
> on M&A CDs (and other labels) in the 1980s/90s,
including the Bach <br>
> F-minor concerto and the Weber Konzerstück. But most of
the items in the <br>
> WHRA box are first releases. One item (Schoenberg’s Op.
11) was <br>
> previously released by the CBC but appears here in a
different source <br>
> with much better sound quality (tape, as opposed to
acetate).<br>
> <br>
> = Also, it is not correct that I worry about acetates and
other old <br>
> recorded sources in the GG archives in Ottawa—in fact,
these are <br>
> precisely the sources I don’t worry about, since they are
in the hands <br>
> of skilled, reliable archivists. Since GG’s death,
however, there has <br>
> been another trove of recordings—CBS outtakes, live
recordings, CBC <br>
> recordings, private recs. from GG’s teens and early 20s,
GG conducting <br>
> in Hamilton, GG playing his own compositions, etc.—that
were in GG’s <br>
> possession at his death but were kept back by his estate
and never made <br>
> part of the Ottawa archive. (I know about them because,
long ago, I <br>
> received a copy of a survey of these recs. made on the
estate’s behalf <br>
> in 1988.) These recordings (a few of which I was able to
pry loose and <br>
> bring to the public at the 1999 conference in Toronto and
subsequently <br>
> on CBC Radio) were quite literally sitting in someone’s
basement for at <br>
> least 25 years—and quitely likely still are, presumably
deteriorating <br>
> all the while. I heard a few years ago that there was
(finally) a plan <br>
> to make them part of the Ottawa archive, where they would
(finally) be <br>
> properly archives, catalogued, preserved, duplicated,
etc. But I don’t <br>
> know if that has actually been done, or will be. We’re
talking here <br>
> about, for instance, about recordings of the teenage
Gould practicing, <br>
> horsing around, improvising, playing 4 hands with
Guerrero, and playing <br>
> Debussy, Mozart, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Scarlatti, and
other un-Gouldian <br>
> things—and many other unique treasures. The biographical
and artistic <br>
> significance of such things is incalculable—and yet, as
far as I know <br>
> they are soon to celebrate their 30th year of captivity
in someone’s <br>
> basement. Unbelievable.<br>
> <br>
> = Finally, yes there will be a Gramophone review of the
WHRA box (by Jed <br>
> Distler), and I anticipate that it will get a good deal
of press and <br>
> sell well. I remember reading in The New Yorker a year or
two ago that <br>
> the boxed sets that the CBC released a while ago (The
Young Maverick and <br>
> The Radio Artist) sold unbelievably well, as did Sony’s
State of <br>
> Wonder/Serenity releases—even these were the umpteenth
rereleases of <br>
> familiar material. So even in a depressed classical-CD
market, GG seems <br>
> to sell noticeably well. I hope these new documents of
his work in <br>
> concert will get similar attention—they deserve it.
They’re very revealing.<br>
> <br>
> Cheers, KB<br>
> <br>
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