Felix Delbruck wrote:

>To be honest, the impression I got (from the review) was rather more
>mixed - yes, there was praise aplenty, but it was not unqualified:  hints
>came through that the playing tended to be too 'sensitive' (in a negative
>sense), a bit soft-grained and small-scaled, to the detriment of the work's
>large-scale architectural grandeur, quite apart from the repeats issue.

When Perahia's two discs of the English Suites were issued, I read
review after review of nothing but praise.  However, my take on his
interpretations was similar to what Felix indicates concerning Joachim
Kaiser's review.  Still, I'd like to see Perahia sink his teeth into a
work like the Well-Tempered Clavier or Art of Fugue.

As an aside, I had mentioned in the past that I loaned to my daughter
the Perahia and Watchorn (Titianic) English Suites, and that she had no
intention of returning them.  That was okay with me; she only lives three
miles from my home.  Two days ago, I told her that at some point I would
need those two versions to do a somewhat comprehensive review of recordings
of the English Suites.  Yesterday, she entered my home and slammed the two
sets on the kitchen table.  "Are you happy now?" were her only words as she
lumbered out of the house.  I love her dearly, but I'm very glad she no
longer lives with me.  I never indicated that I needed those sets right
away or that I would not give them back to her.  Maybe there's only room
for one Bach lover in a family.

Don Satz
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