Menuhin - Gould - Kempff
Posted by: herm on 29 September 2003
As if!
I thought I'd report on a funny bit of documentary I saw last week. Dutch tv ran a 1984 documentary about Yehudi Menuhin. At some point there was footage of a couple of performances of Beethoven's late G major sonata. You get to see three bits of the adagio, you know, with the long intro for piano solo, after which the violin enters - and the pianists were Menuhin's sister, Wilhelm Kempff and, lord 'ave mercy, Glenn Gould.
The Gould footage was the oldest, as one could tell by the clothes they wore. Kempff was possibly the most recent, the pianist in shirt sleeves and Menuhin in some flamboyant shirt.
Of course the difference between Kempff and Gould was very amusing. Kempff played the twelve-bar opening in a laconic way, as perhaps is warranted by the steady left hand. Interestingly, he was leaning back so far that his arms were almost straight. (In still pictures he's usually rather straight on the bench.) Gould on the other hand was wriggling about like a snake handler all the time, conducting the music with his left hand (thanks Glenn!), and also sounding weird rolls in the bass to make for a little drama in that steady left hand.
Menuhin, looking back at the footage, said he really preferred Gould's way to Kempff's - though he mostly talked about Gould's face being so expressive. As if! Of course Menuhin also liked to sit on the floor and play concerts with Ravi Shankar, so what are we talking about. Watching some very old footage, and publicity pictures it's pretty clear that in Menuhin's case his striking good looks may have helped his fame, too.
Afterwards I played the Clara Haskil - Arthur Grumiaux version of this Beethoven sonata. No rolls. Just the music.
Herman
I thought I'd report on a funny bit of documentary I saw last week. Dutch tv ran a 1984 documentary about Yehudi Menuhin. At some point there was footage of a couple of performances of Beethoven's late G major sonata. You get to see three bits of the adagio, you know, with the long intro for piano solo, after which the violin enters - and the pianists were Menuhin's sister, Wilhelm Kempff and, lord 'ave mercy, Glenn Gould.
The Gould footage was the oldest, as one could tell by the clothes they wore. Kempff was possibly the most recent, the pianist in shirt sleeves and Menuhin in some flamboyant shirt.
Of course the difference between Kempff and Gould was very amusing. Kempff played the twelve-bar opening in a laconic way, as perhaps is warranted by the steady left hand. Interestingly, he was leaning back so far that his arms were almost straight. (In still pictures he's usually rather straight on the bench.) Gould on the other hand was wriggling about like a snake handler all the time, conducting the music with his left hand (thanks Glenn!), and also sounding weird rolls in the bass to make for a little drama in that steady left hand.
Menuhin, looking back at the footage, said he really preferred Gould's way to Kempff's - though he mostly talked about Gould's face being so expressive. As if! Of course Menuhin also liked to sit on the floor and play concerts with Ravi Shankar, so what are we talking about. Watching some very old footage, and publicity pictures it's pretty clear that in Menuhin's case his striking good looks may have helped his fame, too.
Afterwards I played the Clara Haskil - Arthur Grumiaux version of this Beethoven sonata. No rolls. Just the music.
Herman