Bob Draper wrote:

>The worldwide fame acheived by Rattle, Hogwood, Gardiner, Pinnock et al
>speaks for itself.  Rattle is the best of this buch in my view.  However
>I am unable to explain how the UK can produce such artists.  They seem to
>arrive inspite of our educational system which does not properly support
>classical music.

I have a lot of books about CM from English authors, and BBC seems to be a
very good radio station to CM lovers.  What's the problem with the English
Educational System? If it produced Rattle, Hogwood, Gardiner, Pinnock et al
it's good, isn't it?

>My own view is that Barenboim is another unfarely maligned performer both
>as a pianist and a conductor.  Though I personally prefer him in the
>former role.  In the case of one versus the other its just horses for
>courses.

I agree about Barenboim.  As soloist, his Liszt is maybe the best I know
and he has an excellent Hammerklavier, too.  He is one that knows what the
music is talking about, he knows it's "pathos" he has cognitive capacity to
see the human factor of a music, and not just "play beautiful" as many
others.  This is the skill that makes him a great musician - either as
pianist or conductor.

>In the case of one versus the other its just horses for courses.

"(...) for equalities are so weighed, that curiositie in neither, can make
choise of eithers moytie." Shakespeare, King Lear (Quarto) 1.1, Glost.

Renato Vinicius
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