Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

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RE: There's a bit of arrogance when someone claims to follow your (and Rick's) last statement

Posted by Rick W on January 8, 2017 at 12:37:53:
Chris, I'll repeat.......
Not doing anything radical to a score doesn't equate to copping a standardized interpretation lacking emotion, color, texture, appropriate tempos, dynamic contrast, balance. Whuddya think, Dvorak didn't consider all those things when he wrote the scores? He needs Kertesz or Neumann to inject those things in his compositions?
Yeah, there obviously are performance/recording differences with different conductors. But BY FAR its the composition that is what's important - actually pretty much sacrosanct. Stray too far from what's on the score, take too many liberties and your gigs will be a tad thin.
Omit the repeat, the 1889 version as opposed to the 1899 revision, accent this not that, relatively slight tempo differences, balance preferences etc. (and recording sound). Yes, conductors do manage to sound different. But c'mon, its chickenshit compared to, say, the Beatles' original recordings vs. Duke Ellington's recorded versions of Beatles tunes. What conductor's gonna reharmonize Brahms and turn a largo into a mambo? I took an uptempo Wayne Shorter tune, added sections and made it a lilting ballad. Anybody who does that in the classical world has to title it something like "Variations On A Theme By Dvorak". Obviously no conductor's gonna do anything remotely like that with a performance of a Dvorak symph. because its the COMPOSITION - basically unadulterated - that really matters, not the conductor. I do believe that certain conductors get the best outta certain orchestras, and that's a big contribution towards a good version. According to what I hear that applies to Kertesz's LSO recordings of Dvorak symphs.
I did say that I know I'm different from a number of inmates here. There may well be versions of Dvorak I'd like even better than Kertesz's, but I'm satisfied. I'm sure as hell getting the gist of Dvorak via Kertesz and the sound quality on the LP's is enjoyable. We all have limited time. I'd rather hear 20 new pieces than spend that time listening to 20 conductors' versions of a Dvorak symphony.
In conclusion -- to each his own, but anyone who disagrees with me is full of shit :-)