Steve Schwartz writes in his review of Bach's French Suites performed by
David Cates:

>That said, Cates's performance drove me crazy, as schmaltzy a Bach as I've
>heard in a while - Phil Spitalny rubatos, exaggerated tempo shifts, and an
>aversion to hitting two simultaneous
>notes cleanly....

I almost feel as if Steve and I have been listening to different recordings.
The "schmaltzy" designation really took me by surprise, as I find nothing
schmaltzy or syrupy about the performances.  If you want to hear schmaltzy
Bach, try out Labadie or Barenboim.  I also never noted any exaggerated
tempo shifts either.  Concerning the Cartes "aversion", that's simply
using a staggering technique which isn't very unusual for the repertoire.

For those interested, my full review of the Cates 2-cd set is on MusicWeb.
If I remember correctly, my last comment in the review is that I wouldn't
be surprised if I cite the recording as one of my few favorites for 2004.

One last aside.  After reading my review, Mr.  Cates e-mailed me.  I had
stated that he skipped many repeats in his performances, and he wanted
me to know that his preference would have been to observe them all, but
that administrative decision-making took priority.  I'm still not sure
what that means, because there was plenty of unused disc space that would
have accomodated the repeats.

Steve ended his review by saying that the Cates set might grow on him
with additional time and hearings.  I hope it does, and I also hope that
continued listening doesn't lessen my high opinion of the set.  That
happens sometimes, and it's a major downer.

Don Satz
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