Philip Peters responds to me:

>>Beethoven took a next-to-nothing theme of Diabelli's and created a
>>masterpiece.  Does this necesarily mean that Beethoven thought highly
>>of the Diabelli theme?  There can be a large number of reasons why one
>>composer borrows from another.
>
>But Bach transcribed complete Vivaldi concertos (and not just one) which
>is incomparable to using a theme as a departure point like Beethoven did
>with Diabelli.

I don't consider the comparison a bankrupt one.  I used it specifically
because it identifies another reason for borrowing beyond high regard
for the original work.  In Beethoven's case, the basic motivation was
financial and entirely extra-musical.

Yes, Bach did take complete Vivaldi concertos and arranged them for solo
organ.  In each instance, listen to the original against the arrangement
- to me it's clear that Bach consistently improves upon the original.
Also, Bach transcribed complete works of other composers as well, some
of whom were clearly on the 2nd tier at best.

All I'm trying to say is that I don't think it reasonable to make an
automatic connection between borrowing and great regard for the music
being borrowed.  Of course, if there is documented evidence that Bach
considered Vivaldi a wonderful composer, so be it.  Although Bach is my
main man, I don't feel the need to agree with every one of his opinions.

I might as well keep going with this.  The impetus for transcription
is one that I can't identify with.  People often want transcriptions
so that they can listen to music with their preferred instrumentation.
People make all kinds of connections based on the transcription process
including how highly one composer thinks of another.  All I do is listen
to the original, listen to the arrangement, and decide for myself whether
the arrangement diminishes, enhances, or does justice to the original
work.

It's also good to remember that Bach's transcriptions of the music of
others and his own music as well had much to do with the huge compositional
output that he was required to produce.  I think of Bach transcriptions
more as short-cuts to reach full production than as being fueled by other
motivations.

Don Satz
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