Aaron J. Rabushka writes:

>Yes, the Harnoncourt Bach cantata series was definitely abysmal.  The
>voices of Paul Esswood and Max van Egmond were major earsores, and the
>textures (projected through Telefunken's "RoyalSound Stereo") were often
>muddy, failing comparisons in clarity to older and wiser productions.

That reminds me of one of the funniest reviews in music.

   "The Teldec series is divided up between Nikolaus Harnoncourt and
   Gustav Leonhardt, who gleefully take turns mauling the luckless pieces
   beyond recognition.  The Harnoncourts are packed with the usual
   bellylaughs, and the Leonhardt's aren't much better.  It is almost
   as if these two clowns were engaged in some sort of bizarre contest
   as to who can conjure up the most screechy and etiolated instrumental
   sound and the most feeble choral outbursts...."

   "On the other hand, virtually all the recordings made by John Elliot
   Gardiner, Helmut Rilling or Joshua Rifkin have lovely and important
   things to say, as do the performances in a new series from the
   bargain-basement Naxos."

On the other hand, this reviewer isn't transfixed by the Cantatas.

   "The 200 plus cantatas that he ground out like so many Holy sausages
   ...Some literally seem to have been produced with the aid of divine
   intervention, while others find one of the giants of music dutifully
   and ponderously marking time."

I have worn this guy's book down to grayscale.  He is such a genius that he
agrees with me where no one else in creation does.

In his individual recommendations of the Beethoven symphonies, there isn't
even a mention of Von Carryon.  Imagine that!  The First goes to Thomas and
Norrington, the second to Norrington, the 3rd to Furtwangler and Szell (my
man!), the 4th to Kleiber who he remarks makes the Bavarian sound like the
VPO, as do, of course, the 5th and the 7th, the Pastoral to Walter (ah!),
the 8th he ignores (well I said this guy is strange) and the 9th to Reiner.

Take a guess. Who is this nut?

No not Andrew E. Carlan