Good points, both Stephen and Paul. Interesting point about Tchaikovski: the stringing of the violin in his day would have been much closer to what is nowadays regarded as "baroque" (all gut except a simply wound g). Modern synthetic (e.g. obligato), steel (e.g. prim) or even sophisticatedly wound gut (e.g. eudoxa, oliv) do not remotely resemble the strings that would have been available in the 19th century. This is of course not the place to get into a discussion about "modern" or "fake" baroque (according to some, closer in fact to 19th century stringing) and "real" baroque.
chirs >-----Original Message----- >From: STEPHEN DOUGLASS [mailto:us...@comcast.net] >Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 10:26 PM >To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu >Subject: [NSP] Re: tyles > > > >Begin forwarded message: > >> From: STEPHEN DOUGLASS <us...@comcast.net> >> Date: April 14, 2009 4:25:05 PM EDT >> To: Paul Gretton <i...@gretton-willems.com> >> Subject: Re: [NSP] Re: Re:Styles >> >> Paul, >> >> In the 1926 recording of Elgar's Enigma by the Royal Albert Hall >> Orchestra ,conducted by the composer himself, there is audible >> sliding (portamento) on the strings. >> >> In Simon Rattles recording in 1993 with the City Of Birmingham >> Symphony Orchestra the portamento is gone(or negligible). Many >> critics favour this version. >> >> By the mid 1930's, after Elgar's death, orchestras were moving away >> from that style. It would be unusual now, to hear an orchestra play >> with the same amount of slide. >> >> That would suggest a change of style in the same, genre, context >> and repertoire? and also asks questions about sticking to composers >> intentions. >> >> There may be a return to the previous style, but at the time the >> progression would have been considered innovative. >> >> Steve Douglass >> >> >> On Apr 14, 2009, at 8:26 AM, Paul Gretton wrote: >> >>> Chirs wrote: >>> >>>>> Why should NSP be the only instrument restricted to a >single style? >>> >>> The "should" is not a matter of authoritarian compulsion or >hidebound >>> conservatism but of appropriateness. Unlike the violin, the NSP >>> has until >>> very recently been associated with a very specific repertoire, the >>> core of >>> which is bound up with the structure of the instrument -- a sort of >>> chicken/egg situation. As I said in reply to David, the problem >>> with wild >>> do-your-own-thing innovation is that the innovative style takes >>> over and the >>> traditional style is then lost. >>> >>>>> Kreisler any one? >>>>> Or Stuff Smith? >>>>> Or Andrew Manze? >>>>> Didier Lockwood? >>>>> Gatemouth? >>>>> Grappelly? >>>>> Itzhak Perlman? >>>>> Willie Taylor? >>> >>>>> I wish I knew who was playing properly... >>> >>> It's confusing to speak of "style" here. All those people play the >>> violin >>> but they play different ***repertoires*** without overlap between >>> them (with >>> a couple of exceptions). Those repertoires require a certain "style >>> bandwidth" if they are to be true to the nature of the music. >>> >>> I doubt if Manze would tackle the Tchaikovsky concerto on his >>> baroque violin >>> and in baroque style. Perlman, however, would probalby tackle a >>> Handel or >>> Corelli sonata, with IMHO dire results that distort the nature of >>> the music. >>> >>> Or -- since you're about to become an opera buff :-) -- I would >>> prefer to >>> hear Isolde sung by Flagstad or Nilsson rather than by Emma >>> Kirkby! (and >>> vice versa for Rameau or Lully) >>> >>> Cheers, >>> >>> Paul Gretton >>> >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu >>> [mailto:christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu] >>> >>> Sent: 14 April 2009 10:51 >>> To: davidthba...@googlemail.com; ch...@chrisormston.com >>> Cc: rosspi...@aol.com; lisaridley6...@hotmail.com; >>> nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu >>> Subject: [NSP] Re: Re: >>> >>> < I don't think it fair to call any style of playing any >>>> instrument 'incorrect' simply because it does not adhere >>>> rigidly to >>>> tradition. >>> >>> Here we go again! >>> >>> FWIW: >>> I a) value the tradition (and the baroque) and b) agree >>> wholeheartedly with >>> the above statement. >>> >>> I play various instruments in various styles. Why should NSP be >>> the only >>> instrument restricted to a single style? >>> >>> Kreisler any one? >>> Or Stuff Smith? >>> Or Andrew Manze? >>> Didier Lockwood? >>> Gatemouth? >>> Grappelly? >>> Itzhak Perlman? >>> Willie Taylor? >>> >>> I wish I knew who was playing properly... >>> >>> chirs >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> To get on or off this list see list information at >>> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >>> >>> >> > > >-- >
