Christine playing guitar on The Ledge

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by David

She plays. Fans describe her style as "pounding," but that really isn't the essence of her style (if she can be said to have a keyboard style). I would say the essence of her style is in repetitive figuration of identical motivic units (a sort of reversed Alberti bass in the right hand), with droning & often inappropriate pedal-point bass & virtually no dynamic coloring or expressiveness & no development to speak of -- almost like an ostinato technique, only totally without polyphonic or rhythmic exploration, let alone variation in tempi.

In short, Stevie's playing is bad.

u have me intrigued with your categories... i will invest in some Glenn Gould... any ideas on your favorite album or piece?

[Gailh]

Originally Posted by David

She plays. Fans describe her style as "pounding," but that really isn't the essence of her style (if she can be said to have a keyboard style). I would say the essence of her style is in repetitive figuration of identical motivic units (a sort of reversed Alberti bass in the right hand), with droning & often inappropriate pedal-point bass & virtually no dynamic coloring or expressiveness & no development to speak of -- almost like an ostinato technique, only totally without polyphonic or rhythmic exploration, let alone variation in tempi.

In short, Stevie's playing is bad.

Yeah - what he said

Gail

[David]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

u have me intrigued with your categories... i will invest in some Glenn Gould... any ideas on your favorite album or piece?

Glenn Gould? Certainly one of the gods of 20th century performance, interpretation & technique. But what is it about Stevie that sets you out after Gould?

As far as my recommendations, I suggest the three-CD set "A Sense of Wonder," which you can find on Amazon for only $15. This set is the 1955 debut Gould recording of the Goldberg Variations, packaged with the final Gould recording in 1981 of the Goldbergs again, & a third CD of outtakes & interviews.



Glenn Gould & Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldbergs: These are achievements of such high order -- aesthetic, technical, moral -- as to obliterate the baby steps of rock stars like Fleetwood Mac. So I recommend you buy the CDs & the folio score (a cheap edition will do, like the Schirmer's Library) & experience wonder & awe with the human mind as it manifests itself off the scale of normality. It was just such minds that created God.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by David

Glenn Gould? Certainly one of the gods of 20th century performance, interpretation & technique. But what is it about Stevie that sets you out after Gould?

Stevie is better than he is. or..... I hit the quote by accident.

[SteveMacD]

Hey David, have you been to Toronto? You really need to go to the CBC building. You could get your picture taken with a statue of Glenn Gould sitting on a bench, and then take a peek at the Glenn Gould Studio.



I saw some footage of Glenn playing for the Queen on one of her visits. He was literally possessed. I could see that he was one of those guys who walked that line of genius and insanity.