Re Gould and Richter
There are so many recordings of Richter, and of course some are better than others technically. But the good recordings establish Richter in my mind as the premier pianist of his era.
I heard a recital by a man originally from Czechoslovakia, born a jew and became a usa citizen and born again christian. He said he had heard Richter 20 times, from his debut at Carnegie Hall to his concertizing across France. He thought Richter the best pianist ever.
And yes, Richter preferred live concerts, especially in the days when he was not allowed out of USSR (except for UN dedication ceremony). He drove around eastern europe with Yamaha van following, and set up wherever he found a nice church to play, gave a free concert for the locals. I appreciate his absence of histrionics, often lighting a few candles and dimming the lights so that audience would not be distracted from the music.
Glenn Gould was certainly a great talent, senseless to dispute that.
But I find some of his recordings deficient - his humming along is a distraction that my teacher warned me against. Also, some of his recordings were simply poorly prepared with inadequate preparation, eg his duets with Yehudi Menuhin.
But yes, Gould did produce some memorable recordings.
However, I have been listening to Evgeni Koroliov this weekend, and prefer his Bach and Mozart to any of Gould's recordings.
There are so many recordings of Richter, and of course some are better than others technically. But the good recordings establish Richter in my mind as the premier pianist of his era.
I heard a recital by a man originally from Czechoslovakia, born a jew and became a usa citizen and born again christian. He said he had heard Richter 20 times, from his debut at Carnegie Hall to his concertizing across France. He thought Richter the best pianist ever.
And yes, Richter preferred live concerts, especially in the days when he was not allowed out of USSR (except for UN dedication ceremony). He drove around eastern europe with Yamaha van following, and set up wherever he found a nice church to play, gave a free concert for the locals. I appreciate his absence of histrionics, often lighting a few candles and dimming the lights so that audience would not be distracted from the music.
Glenn Gould was certainly a great talent, senseless to dispute that.
But I find some of his recordings deficient - his humming along is a distraction that my teacher warned me against. Also, some of his recordings were simply poorly prepared with inadequate preparation, eg his duets with Yehudi Menuhin.
But yes, Gould did produce some memorable recordings.
However, I have been listening to Evgeni Koroliov this weekend, and prefer his Bach and Mozart to any of Gould's recordings.