Posted by Chuck Jackson on December 13, 2000 at 20:34:23:
I have been listening to a fair amount of Bruckner lately. After years of having"play the rhythm exactly" beaten into me by various teachers I have some observations to make.
1) On most of the European recordings, particularly VPO, the brass section seems to "roll" the dotted and double dotted notes more than their American counterparts.
2) Europeans seem to play with alot more "bite" to their articulations in the MF-FFF range and almost no articulation on lower dynamics while we Americans tend to play everything precise.
My question to those of you out there is,should we strive to "play the ink" or should we emulate orchestras that are steeped in the tradition of the music. I will say at the outset that I like both schools, finding the emotion in the European, especially Viennese playing to be astounding while the American,i.e.; Chicago style(if you will grant me the conceit)is amazing for the mass of sound and exact ensemble, at the expense of emotion(a true opinion).
Please chime in. I am very interested to hear everyones take on this subject.
Thanks
Chuck