Elle Hogan wrote:

>...her contribution to the literature quite nice...specifically because it
>was EASY to play, and when I was learning the suites, got me to feeling
>quite good about myself, because my phrasing was altogether improved.

That's interesting, I would be most interested in seeing her edition.
I also find myself simplifying bowings.  Some of these editions are so
complicated with their slurs and mirror bowings and trying to decipher the
counterpoint using the bowings.  I'm finding that simple is better, four
and four many times, and just playing with dynamics and color and rubato,
lingering on one note or the other, to mark the counterpoint and phrasing.

>go...just play!" Actually, it can be daunting to a young player to have as
>a favorite some famous musician's athletic style that is YEARS away from
>attainable.

On the Maisky recording, a copy of his edited part is included as a file
on the CD that you can open and print with your PC.  But as you say,
the boings are so suited to his athletic style, and depend a lot on his
terrific technique, that the editing is just too complicated for my
10-year-old whizkid student.

>I had a teacher who would not assign any piece of music that I had already
>heard.  He wanted me to find the soul of the piece - from whatever edition
>he thought would give me the easiest entree.

My teacher's version of this was to forbid listening to a recording of
works I was studying until after I had performed them, a habit I keep to
this day.

>pull out a record and show me HOW BRILLIANTLY I HAD FELT THE MUSIC.  I tell
>ya.  He was a genius.

Yep.  I had an experience a couple of years ago of working on the Archduke
trio, we worked like crazy on it and learned it cold, then finally listened
to a recording, by a very fine group.  We were surprised by how many of our
ideas they'd stolen!

Dave Runnion
Mallorca, Spain
http://mp3.com/serafinotrio (where you can hear that very Archduke)