Art Scott wrote:

>I wouldn't even put him together with Liberace & Chico Marx.  I heard him
>in S.F.  in 1992 in a performance of the Goldbergs, and it was, bar none,
>the most clinker and flub-filled performance I've ever heard from a
>supposedly professional pianist.

This is the third seemingly "permanent" dismissal for an artist based
on one live performance that I've read on the list.  The other two were
Brendel and Welser-Most.  I'm sure there are more.  How would you like
to be permanently judged based on a portion of one day in your life?

>I could only conclude that his well-regarded recordings were a product of
>the digital editor's art, not the pianist's.

Engineering can mask many problems of technique and proficiency, but
it can't provide the depth of the communication between the composer and
the pianist, and then between the pianist and listener.  Aldwell's very
strong in that area for me.  I know I've come across a great artist when
I feel I've been taken directly to the source of the music - the composer,
and more than that, inside the composer where I share his/her mind and
feelings.  I'm confident that's the main reason why record collectors are
more than willing to live with the relatively poor sound of historical
recordings.

Don Satz
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