East Meets Hurwitz

[Mr. Darcy]

HA!: http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=12515

On the other hand, it may be the best recording of the suites ever...

[Diletante]

I want to hear that.

[DarkAngel]

Ha ha, Hurwitz has "colorful" ways to disparage a recording he really doesn't like..........
I got a chuckle out of "a musical vivisection"

[PerfectWagnerite]

I like this one:

So when my colleague at CTFrance.com, Christophe Huss, called me up and said, "You have to hear Angela East's Bach Cello Suites; they are the worst ever," I was naturally excited.

The glee oozing from Hurwitz is almost like how people react to a trainwreck.

[Sergeant Rock]

"Bad cello playing, it's often said, sounds like a dying cow, but East puts a new spin on that image: she sounds like a dying mad cow."



Sarge

[MN Dave]

Is he a HIP-hater in general?

[PerfectWagnerite]

Is he a HIP-hater in general?

No.

He likes a lot of HIP recordings, including the Suzuki Bach.

[Sergeant Rock]

Is he a HIP-hater in general?

In general, no, but he does hate some of the practitioners and performances that make the music sound desiccated and unemotional. He does not believe Classical period instrumentalists eschewed vibrato. He's written several long, and unreadable, essays explaining his position on that.

Sarge

[Gurn Blanston]

In general, no, but he does hate some of the practitioners and performances that make the music sound desiccated and unemotional. He does not believe Classical period instrumentalists eschewed vibrato. He's written several long, and unreadable, essays explaining his position on that.

Sarge

C'mon, Sarge, not 'unreadable' (I read them); let's say "dense in texture, and requiring concentration'.   But even though I am much further down the HIPpie path than HE is, I have to agree with him to some extent. 18th century performers were NOT vibrato-less. They weren't OTT either. Somewhere in between lies the land of perfection....

[Sergeant Rock]

C'mon, Sarge, not 'unreadable' (I read them)

Did you? Really? Gurn, I'm impressed. I was really interested in the subject but I just couldn't get through them. My hat's off to you. You've read Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu then, too, I presume 

let's say "dense in texture, and requiring concentration

There's my problem. I'm dense and at my age I have no ability to concen....Oh look! There's a squirrel outside my window. Cute...

Sarge

[Gurn Blanston]

Did you? Really? Gurn, I'm impressed. I was really interested in the subject but I just couldn't get through them. My hat's off to you. You've read Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu then, too, I presume 

Um, no; too French...

There's my problem. I'm dense and at my age I have no ability to concen....Oh look! There's a squirrel outside my window. Cute...

Sarge

What the... he's applying endless vibrato to his nuts, too....

[George]

What the... he's applying endless vibrato to his nuts, too....

Better his than Sarge's. 

[Superhorn]

  My reactions to recordings are usually diametrically opposed to those of
Hurwitz; he often seems perversely off the mark to me, especially in
his evaluations of how good orchestras are , although I sometimes agree with him.
  But he certainly has a colorful and entertaining writing style.
Ms. East is a new name to me, so I have no idea how I would react to her
playing,but I wouldn't be surprised if I liked the recording more than Hurwitz. 
  By the way, in my horn-playing days, I sometimes performed a transcription of the cello suites for horn . They are very enjoyable to play on the horn , although playing a whole suite all at once is very taxing.
  The transcription is by some one named Wendell Hoss. I don't know if there are any recordings of the horn version, though.
 

[Sorin Eushayson]

HA!: http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=12515

On the other hand, it may be the best recording of the suites ever...

I might have to buy that recording!!! 

What the... he's applying endless vibrato to his nuts, too....

I guess it isn't HIP, then - Historically Informed Pistachios!  Sorry... 

[DarkAngel]

Couldn't find any sound samples of the recording reviewed, but turns out Angela East has own website and records with Gardiner/English Baroque Soloists, smaller group for CPO label and Red Priest label. As a counter point this recording receives good reviews from many sources like Music Web:



http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/July09/Baroque_Cello_RP005.htm

BTW I am also one of those that often likes performances that Hurwitz hates.........

[Antoine Marchand]

Couldn't find any sound samples of the recording reviewed, but turns out Angela East has own website and records with Gardiner/English Baroque Soloists, smaller group for CPO label and Red Priest label. As a counter point this recording receives good reviews from many sources like Music Web:



http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/July09/Baroque_Cello_RP005.htm

BTW I am also one of those that often likes performances that Hurwitz hates.........

Hi, DA. I found THIS minimal excerpt.

[DarkAngel]

Hi, DA. I found THIS minimal excerpt.

I don't really ever listen to solo cello work, but I suspect it can't be that bad if she plays cello for famous English Baroque Soloists a very highly respected ensemble 

[Josquin des Prez]

I don't really ever listen to solo cello work, but I suspect it can't be that bad if she plays cello for famous English Baroque Soloists a very highly respected ensemble 

Some performers tend to fair better under guidance then on their own.

[Brian]

This:
"Black (C minor) is particularly charming: it features East sitting in an enormous spider web in a black pantsuit and purple scarf."

told me all I need to know about the CD. Irrespective of matters of David Hurwitz' taste and writing style, if the booklet has a picture of the main artist sitting in a giant spider web wearing a purple scarf, it's a bad CD.