Denis Fodor writes:

>Another rub is that there seems to me lacking in Don's sense of things
>a feel for the few great pianists who were perhaps not among the most
>adept technicians but who could play arch-classical German music
>without a foreign accent.  And you most decidedly didn't have to be
>German to bring that off.  Among the artists I have in mind are,
>foremost, Serkin, Schnabel, maybe Rubinstein, and in the latter day,
>Brendel.

I'm not really sure what Denis is trying to convey here.  I have never
reviewed any Bach recordings of the artists mentioned above by Denis,
so I don't know how Denis ends up feeling that I don't appreciate them.
The reason for no reviews is fairly simple; where are their recordings
devoted to solo Bach works? I've never seen one from Schnabel, Serkin, or
Rubinstein.  Brendel has one or two he recorded, but they haven't shown up
on my radar.  Concerning Brendel, I think the world of his Beethoven and
Mozart recordings, but he has recorded little of Bach that's available.

I may be wrong about this, but I don't feel that I place too high a
priority on technical excellence.  If I did, I would singing the praises
of Perahia and Bernard Roberts in Bach, not Rosalyn Tureck.  I also feel
a very intimate connection with Austrian/Germanic classical music.

Denis, could you please elaborate so that I get a clear picture of your
meaning?

Don Satz
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