Andyrs Basten was not pleased with my opinions about the Argerich/Dutoit
recording of the Concerto in F minor and wrote:

>That's a very problematical statement.  "...any high standards"? Or
>Don Satz's personal standards (we all have this type).

Of course they are *my* standards, my opinions, my conclusions, and my
recommendations.  I don't have anything else to go by.  True, I don't say
that every time I give an opinion, but I do say it a lot, and I thought
that it would be understood that I was expressing my opinions, not making
statements about what others do or should think about the performances.
And my opinions are definite in that I listen to each version at least
three times in order to arrive at a definite opinion.

Andrys mentioned the review of the Argerich/Dutoit by Bob Stumpf.  I read
Bob's review and many others before embarking on my survey, and I made a
point of highlighting that the recording had received much praise from
others.  I felt that was the right way to handle things; I didn't want any
list members thinking that there was not a great deal of support for the
cd.

Getting back to Bob Stumpf, I respect his opinions on recordings very much
and have bought some based on his enthusiasm.  Bob obviously thought the
recorded sound was fine or better; we don't have the same ears or equipment
or listening environment.  I found it interesting that Bob considers the
performances highly romantic; I didn't notice that, and after playing it
again tonight, I still don't notice it.  Bob also mentioned that Argerich
glides through the keyboard while someone like Pollini gives high priority
to each note being precise.  That might be an aspect of her playing I did
not appreciate.  The piano sound, in my opinion, was such that it wouldn't
make much of a difference.

You know, I've been waiting for months for someone to display a lack of
agreement with my conclusions about surveyed recordings.  But, they are
just that - my conclusions.  I've been on the list a few years now, and
I trust that many list members are somewhat familiar with my tastes.  I
assume that some of those who are familiar will usually go in a different
direction from where I'm headed, some will pay me no attention at all, and
I know that some tend to share my preferences.  And I sincerely hope that
I will have better things to say about Argerich and Dutoit in the Concerto
in E minor.  Regardless, I'll provide my honest opinions and state them
definitively unless I'm feeling confused.

Don Satz
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