Jim Tobin wrote: >Early in their careers Paul Badura-Skoda and Alfred Brendel seemed like >Viennese twins, with similar reputations and even repertoire. I always >preferred Badura-Skoda's playing and have wondered why his career seemed >to fade while Brendel flourished. Well, we can safely assume it wasn't Brendel's handsome physical features or his exuberant demeanor. I suppose it's possible that more folks liked Brendel's playing and he got a big contract with Philips as a result. But, it could well be just the luck of the draw. Most of us are probably aware of fantastic artists who live in obscurity while we are listening to inferiors from a major label. You have to be in the right place at the right time, and some artists make sure they are there. I'm not very familiar with Badura-Skoda. I used to have a set of his Bach Partitas (or Eng. Suites) on harpsichord. I wasn't impressed and donated it to a library. But, I wasn't into harpsichord versions at that time. I do wish I still had the recording, but I can't correct the dumb moves of the past. Now I remember that I also had a disc of one of his Mozart piano sonata discs played on the fortepiano. That ended up at the library also. Boy, I'm not giving this guy enough respect. Don Satz [log in to unmask]