Karl Miller <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Does anyone out there collect Bohm recordings?

I believe I have his Mozart Requiem, and that it was simply too slow for
my taste.

>I was wondering, what is it about their performances that produces such
>a following?

I don't think anyone can be everything to everybody, but there are certain
performers whose musical values resonate with one's own, and whose musical
logic is deep and extensive enough that they can create "masterpieces"
which stand up to scrutiny over time.  It is these performers who develop
followings.  That's how I feel about Furtwangler.  Yes, sometimes he's
a little heavy, and sometimes a little slow,  but not always, and even
when he is he compensates by eliciting beautiful playing and exactitude
in phrasing and dynamics.  In any case, he's certainly his own person,
and anyone who disagrees should listen to his Franck Symphony, which for
better or worse is like no other.

>Along the same lines, is it just me, or are there many active performers
>to day that will become "icons" once they are gone...if so, any speculation
>as to what those names might be.

I would like to suggest that the violinist Yehudi Menuhin is going to
be better remembered in the coming years.  People I've spoken to who are
old enough to have heard him live have tended to view him as the wunderkind
who couldn't measure up in adulthood, but as I re-listen to some of his
CDs I'm struck more and more by his musical spontaneity.  I think that
this aspect of his playing will come to be more appreciated over time.

>Maybe what I am asking is why WAS a von Karajan, or Solti, so revered
>in their time, yet seem not to be able to be able to maintain their
>status past their deaths...or is that just my own myopic perspective.]

I agree with you on Karajan.  Many of his recordings have a brilliance
and sheen that's hard to not admire, but once you get past that, the
interpretations often seem merely competent, at least to me.  Perhaps
that aural accessibility and musical directness were part of his appeal
when he was alive, but not enough to sustain him once he was gone.  I
mean, we see that all the time with popular culture music, right?

hector aguilar