Mark Seeley provided a review by Pierre Ruhe of a Mosaiques performance:

>The early-music movement is making an impact on string quartet
>performances, but progress has been slow.  This style of playing --
>a combination of lean bow strokes and sparse vibrato, pungent chords
>and tat phrasing--has seeped into chamber and symphony and even opera
>interpretations, but the leading quartet ensembles remain highly Romantic
>in outlook.

Once again, a critic not possessing any particular liking for period
instrument performances reviews one.  Ruhe makes it sound as if the period
instrument movement was initiated last week.  I consider it a garbage
paragraph containing the usual biases.  Ruhe's use of "seeped" is very
revealing of his position.  Where has this guy been the past 10 to 15
years? Most baroque music is now recorded on period instruments - much
classical era music is as well - even romantic era music is experiencing an
increase - it extends to Debussy.  Ruhe must be the "Rip Van Winkle" of
classical music.

I sincerely hope that Mark is not in agreement with Mr. Ruhe.

Don Satz
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