Chris Bonds wrote:

>Who are the greatest noisemakers? ...

Listen to the early Cleveland Quartet recordings, the second violinist
snorted and sniffed like he had a serious and chronic sinus infection!

To me, breathing noises are different than outright grunting and singing.
Performers *must* breathe while playing or the music doesn't breathe.  Not
to mention that they have to stay alive.  One can't control one's nasal
passages, but I believe that one can learn to control other extraneous
noises.

All the debate about Gould's noises, though, I must say that his
music-making is so amazing that I can forgive him his noises, if he said he
was aware of them and couldn't control it without it affecting his music.
Though I might, were I in a cynical mood, wonder how hard he really tried..

Dave Runnion