Bert Bailey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Still, to me the performances themselves are certainly amenable to
>being recorded faithfully, including all their interpretive subtleties
>and nuances.
>
>Your views?

I am reminded of a story...perhaps attributed to Rostropovich?  He was
recording and there might have been a place for a bit of a cesura and
yet he did not pause.  When asked why he did not perform it as he did
in concert the reply mentioned that in concert, there is a visual element
which would make the pause convincing.  I can understand thinking which
supports the notion that there might be a difference.

Also, there have been times when I have attended a concert and might
have an impression of the performance.  At some later time, I hear a
recording of the performance and I find it difficult to believe it was
indeed the same concert.  It is a bit like a joke not being funny after
the fact, "you had to have been there..."

Can a recording capture faithfully an acoustic event...to some extent...but
the physics of audio reproduction tell us it is impossible to be completely
faithful to the sound as a microphone and speaker do not vibrate in the
exact same way as the strings and sound board of a piano.

As for a particular pianist choosing not to record...I can only speculate,
but the pianists who do record regularly these days usually do so because
they want to for artistic reasons, and not because they get lucrative
contracts.  For a musician, there is little direct financial incentive
to record.  A recording might help get you performance opportunities
(reviews, visability, etc.) and an opportunity to preserve one's legacy.
Big bucks upfront...well maybe if you are Yo Yo Ma and you are recording
a crossover album...otherwise, I doubt it.

So when a musician says that they choose not to record...I would guess
that is a bunch of bull...probably no label would have the interest in
investing in them.  I cannot help but wonder if Celibidace's refusal to
record made collecting his broadcast performances all that more appealing.
For me, it was great marketing.

Karl

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