Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Vaughan-Williams Concerto with Jacobs


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on January 21, 2003 at 19:39:01:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Vaughan-Williams Concerto with Jacobs posted by JoeS on January 21, 2003 at 16:11:31:

I appreciate your candor in expressing your opinion. Let me be equally clear. I'm not confusing anything regarding this recording. I know it VERY well. In fact, I wore one of these albums out years ago listening to it repeatedly to learn the piece. Jacobs' interpretation was (to my recollection of that time period) a complete departure from what had gone before it. While previous recordings and performances that I had heard had a certain reservation to the expression, a heightened sense of control, they also never did much for me from a musical standpoint. It is all well and good that one can step on a stage (or in front of a microphone) and regurgitate the notes precisely in tune and in rhythm with 100% accuracy. God knows there are few enough players that can do that! But Jacobs put something else into the piece. For me, the word that best sums it up is "fire". Especially the last movement has an almost hysterical urgency. I fell head over heels for that approach. The last movement cadenza can sound so anti-climactic with a more reserved approach. Jacobs' approach to the piece was like a light going off in my head. It was the interpretation that I had always been looking for but wasn't able to find myself.

Listen, I'm not going to dispute the shortcomings of the technical aspects of this recording. I'm not going to make any excuses for that, we all know he didn't play his best. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that you were this ardent in pointing those shortcomings out considering the number of jazz recordings you've recommended that were made by artists from the earlier half of this century who recorded under similar conditions (one take, no splices or edits, etc.) and have similar blemishes. I would think that you understand completely that such are the facts of live performances. In those recordings, we overlook the recording problems as well as the minor technical blemishes because of the underlying music that is there. It is my opinion that the Jacobs recording of the VW is one such historical-type recording. I still recommend my students study it and grasp the music in it while striving to surpass Jacobs' execution. That's all.

My opinion for what it's worth...


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