Don Satz replies to Pablo Massa:

>>Miss Lamon is angry because, as she says, Pinchas Zukerman hasn't
>>changed his interpretation of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" in the last
>>25 years.
>
>That is *not* why Lamon was angry.  Her anger was based on his insulting
>remarks about period performance practices and the people involved.  She
>just used the Vivaldi item as an example of his having his "head in the
>sand".  Personally, I would not have used the example, since consistency
>has its virtues.  Petulance has little to offer.  Always strike
>the weakest area of your opponent.

In this case, an extremely weak area is Zukerman's apparent lack
of intellectual curiosity or the capacity to understand what period
performance is about.  He prefers to think of period performers as frauds
who don't know how to play it his way, whereas it's extremely unlikely he
could play it theirs.  I think Lamon's remarks spoke to that.  After all,
a musician who never rethought a piece in 25 years is at least odd.

By the way, when Zuckerman played in New Orleans recently (a surprisingly
fabulous performance of the Brahms violin concerto - surprising because
it still sounded fresh and Zuckerman must have played this a few hundred
times), a gala dinner was given.  Some patron went up to him and introduced
himself by saying, "I've always wanted to meet Tuesday Weld's husband."
Zuckerman replied, "You're too late," having divorced Weld some weeks ago.

Steve Schwartz