Gould Recordings 4-9 and an Interview

I'll talk about the interview first. It's called "At Home with Glenn Gould" and is in 9 8-minute segments on YouTube if you want to listen. It's from the late 50's, and shed a lot of light on my experiences of these recordings so far. What I think came out most was a sense of humility … Continue reading Gould Recordings 4-9 and an Interview →

Two Concertos (Concerti?)

The third major-release record Gould recorded again pairs Bach and Beethoven. Gould selected Beethoven's 2nd, in B Flat Major, and Bach's D Minor Concerto. They're both three-movement concertos, following the common three-movement tempo pattern of medium-slow-fast. Gould was often quoted as saying he wanted to avoid the "competitive" aspect of concerto performance, where the soloist's … Continue reading Two Concertos (Concerti?) →

Gould’s First Two Columbia Recordings – Bach and Beethoven

It’s surprising how different these two recordings are – Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Beethoven’s 30th-32nd sonatas. They both bear the mark on the same performer, and though I still don’t know that I’m qualified to say things like “this performer’s take on such-and-such piece is better than that performer’s” or “this performer is better at … Continue reading Gould’s First Two Columbia Recordings – Bach and Beethoven →

Roskolnikov’s Final Dream

Throughout Crime and Punishment, dream-sequences intermingle with reality. Roskolnikov especially has a handful fo dreams. Something in the quality of Dostoevsky's prose makes one miss the transitions, so you can read for several pages of what feels like reality before being pulled back by a character waking up. These dreams are used not just to … Continue reading Roskolnikov’s Final Dream →

A totally absurd generalization I’d like to discuss

I was listening to the two guys from Sound Opinions talking about their new book, which is apparently a book-length conversation between the two of them about the relative merits of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. While listening to them talk about this for a little bit (it was during the recent WBEZ pledge … Continue reading A totally absurd generalization I’d like to discuss →

Three Stops from the City to the Suburbs

One of my favorite things to experience from great albums is a sense of place. Sometimes it’s over-the-top and therefore a failure (I’m apparently in the minority, but I just can’t get into Exile on Main Street). Sometimes it’s more subtle, but therefore more compelling. Every time I’m in London, The Clash’s London Calling or … Continue reading Three Stops from the City to the Suburbs →