Donald Satz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Mr. Jarrett's name keeps popping up on the list.  I find him an outstanding
>pianist.  His Bach and Mozart are very high in my estimation.  He also did
>a fine job with the Shostakovich op. 87 Preludes & Fugues, although I
>preferred Nikolayeva.
>
>Jarrett has a great affinity for the "flow" of a work.  Just listen to
>his piano recording of WTC 1; you can close your eyes and "spin" to his
>interpretations.  It's definitely a WTC for the illicit drug crowd.

Jarrett has also done the hard yards up the middle (as we say here in
Sydney) with a number of recordings of 20th century US-American music for
labels like new World & MusicMasters....

... however: i sometimes wonder whether his commitment to these music
(which is clearly considerable) is matched by any real insight into
the music he's fighting for.  A performance of Peggy Glanville-Hicks's
miniature (& delightful) _Etruscan Concerto_ is superb; but the
pay-for-view clash between Jarrett v.  Hovhaness in KJ's recording of
_Lousadzak_ bears comparison with Glenn Gould's famously uncomprehending
Wagner transcriptions.  Technically superb, of course; but KJ's stunning
presence in the mix somewhat suggests a pianistic vulture circling through
mists of spirit murmur....

All the best,

Robert Clements <[log in to unmask]>