John Polifronio ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>I'm surprised at your concern over my use of the word "we" which obviously
>means those of us that see something a certain way.

John, could you at least quote the *name* of the person you're replying to.
I'm not sure who "your" refers to in this context.

>Your advice to stop listening to a performer that annoys me goes without
>saying.  But Gould for many years, dominated the Bach keyboard music
>airwaves.

Was that his fault? Blame rather the programme planners.  I can tell you
that he was very rarely heard on the air in Britain 9ertainly not before
I left in 1988).

>But more importantly, there are Gould recordings where I don't hear him
>singing (or doing so less annoyingly); it's not as simple as you think.
>It's precisely because he's a very good pianist (though there are many
>pianists that are "distinguished" and some I like better than Gould) that
>his mumbling and humming are particularly annoying and impair my enjoyment
>of some of his recordings.

Again, this is entirely your problem.  You can choose either to put up with
the humming or forego Gould's insights into the music.

Dammit, if he'd been a different person he might not have hummed, but his
insights might have been very different (or non-existent) too.

>To paraphrase your remarks to me, if you don't think the performing of Bach
>works calls for a "respectful silence from the performers and listeners"
>don't show that respect.  Bach's music, as far as I know, doesn't include
>scoring for incessant humming from the keyboard-ist.  Your suggestion that
>his humming is "irrelevant" to the quality of his work is demonstrably
>absurd.

Please explain this, it is not obvious to me.

>The observation that Serkin also hummed "is" irrelevant because it must
>have been done un-intrusively; this is the first time I've heard that
>Serkin hummed.  Obviously, Serkin was respectful of the music.

Or, equally obviously, Serkin had a softer voice than Gould.

Deryk Barker
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