John Dalmas:

>Perhaps, Sherman muses, because period-instrument performers have ceased
>to hold themselves to high standards and because the novelty may have
>worn off, the HIP are no longer expected to be more interesting than the
>mainstream.

Oh, I don't know.  Any time I hear a condemnation of an entire approach,
genre, composer, period, and so forth, I tend to think that the denouncer
either hasn't heard nearly enough to judge or is simply crying about how
much he hates spinach and that spinach should no longer be grown.  In other
words, as the New Yorker cartoon once said, "I say it's spinach, and I say
the hell with it." Sherman obviously doesn't like the HIP performances he's
heard - why, I have no idea.  But, at any rate, his statement that period
instrumentalists no longer hold themselves to high standards is laughable
on its face.  What standards do they no longer meet, other than Sherman's
standards? Which instrumentalists? How have they shown themselves
deficient? Even his "analysis" of various recordings of the 9th show
nothing more than that he likes Toscanini, rather than showing how HIP
has led to a deterioration of standards.  Frankly, on the level of sheer
playing (rather than interpretation or overall performance), the major HIP
groups blow the NBC Symphony away, precisely because instrumental technique
has risen over the decades.  Statements like Sherman's, to be taken as
something more serious than bull session fodder or fit of pique, require
a lot more support than Sherman seems to give it.

Steve Schwartz