tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post5153952388393687770..comments2007-05-10T05:04:32.503+01:00Pliablenoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-29976149159408609852007-05-10T05:04:00.000+01:002007-05-10T05:04:00.000+01:002007-05-10T05:04:00.000+01:00While I can understand Goodall being a total idiot politically, what I can't fogive is his tempi in Wagner. I struggled through his <I>Tristan</I> and it's absurd how slow he takes the music. At a couple points, it simply unravels because of the fascist nutter's tempi. Awful, rivalled only by the appalling Bernstein recording. I strongly suspect that in Goodall's case, it's "the Gramophone effect" i.e. hype from British critics.<BR/><BR/>I hope he enjoys his stay for eternity in hell for his comment about Bergen-Belsen, however.Henry Hollandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-87900358122982928672007-05-08T21:59:00.000+01:002007-05-08T21:59:00.000+01:002007-05-08T21:59:00.000+01:00Your bios of semi-obscure musical characters are astonishing, Pliable. Though I'm not much of a Wagner "Ring" fan, I remember hearing the Goodall recording of "Das Rheingold" decades ago and thinking, "Oh, that's how it's supposed to sound. Got it!"<BR/><BR/>As for political naivete, it's much easier to see who's on the right and wrong side of history after enough time has elapsed. I wonder how the many supporters of Bush and Blair and their grotesque Invasion of Iraq are going to look like years down the road. For instance, the following is a recent quote from an article praising the election of Sarkozy in France by Martin Peretz, the editor of "The New Republic" magazine in the United States:<BR/><BR/>"The third [change he is looking forward to seeing] will be the initial experiment among the western powers in dethroning the cult of multiculturalism. Majorities have a right--even an obligation--to preserve their own ethics, norms, cultures and histories. They have a right to define the qualifications for membership in and even admission to their societies. This will be the struggle of the 21st century. And not just in France."<BR/><BR/>Goodall may have been naive, but others like Peretz don't even have that particular excuse.<BR/><BR/>And the stories about Goodall and Britten are fascinating. Charles Mackerras went through something similar. I wish somebody would finally write a great biography of Britten to replace that inadequate tome by Humphrey Carpenter. How about you, Monsieur Pliable?sfmikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.com