Bob Kasenchak ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>Listening to NPR this morning heard part of a segment on the "modern
>virtuoso".  They gushed all over Anne-Sophie Mutter of course (who
>wouldn't) and then I almost died when they played her Sarasate
>"Ziegunerweisen".  Sounds like she has 4 bloody hands!  ...

Is that on a whole disc of virtuoso showpieces? Yup, fun record.

>Anyway, the other interesting thing was about Helfgott.  The critics on the
>show seemed to put him in the same category as the Boccelli's of the world.
>Now I admit I missed "Shine" and tried to avoid the hype, but I had always
>thought the guy was bona fide, so to speak.  Is it popular consensus that
>he's really second-rate?

I think the general concensus is that the man is so sick that he's not
even rateable and shouldn't be on the stage at all. Exploitation is
the word.

Deryk Barker
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