Bruce McKinney writes:

>While I love the piano version of the Handel Variations, I think I
>almost prefer Rubbra's orchestration .... I think the only way to
>understand the full measure of the piece is in the orchestration.

I don't understand Bruce's comment and would appreciate some detail
as to what can't be understood when the work is played on the piano.
It isn't just the piano version of the Handel Variations; Brahms wrote it
for the piano.  Rubbra changed it with whatever motivation possessed him,
and others are free to arrange it any way they like instead of coming up
with a fully creative composition of their own.  But from my view, nothing
beats the original.  The music's architecture, nuances, and expressiveness
are all there on display in the original.  What is added when the work is
played by an orchestra, and what is lost?

I've heard the Rubbra orchestration on discs from Jarvi and Toscanini; both
versions are a major come-down for me compared to the original.

Don Satz