Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

[Spotted Horses]

Don't worry. A large number of my favorites fall into Todd's third tier (Arrau, Jingge Jan, Barenboim, Lortie, Goodyear, and more), and several of Todd's first tiers do very little for me (Pienaar, Kosuge, Sohn).

Finally, someone else who likes Lortie!

[hopefullytrusting]

Finally, someone else who likes Lortie!

I love Lortie as well; it is so clean and clear. Lortie actually did my favorite Mozart Piano Concertos as well, for the exact same reason. In fact, I've loved everything I've hard from Lortie - they are very consistent, and I dig that, and I also understand, empirically, that consistently is in the belly of the bell curve.

[Spotted Horses]

I love Lortie as well; it is so clean and clear. Lortie actually did my favorite Mozart Piano Concertos as well, for the exact same reason. In fact, I've loved everything I've hard from Lortie - they are very consistent, and I dig that, and I also understand, empirically, that consistently is in the belly of the bell curve.

I particularly like his recordings of the Lutoslawski Piano Concerto and Szymanowski Symphony No 4.

[prémont]

Up to a point, it can be rather amusing. Or not anymore.

Precisely.

[Florestan]

The list is for fun, for my purposes, and that's it.

People can read or not read the posts as they see fit.  I strongly suggest that people who do read the posts not take them seriously.

You see, that's precisely the problem. You turn a public space into your own playground, completely disregarding what others might think about it, or whether they want to play or not. Moreover, you set up your own rules and make it manifest, by your behavior during the game, that they apply to you only, not to the others. The rules are very few and very simple: 1. You are always right; 2. When you are wrong, rule #1 applies. This can indeed be fun for a while, but in the long run it becomes annoying. You couldn't care less about that: when people begin to object to the unfairness of the game, you tell them they should not take it seriously because it's all for (your own) fun anyway, and they can always drop out, anyway.

This might not violate GMG guidelines (they are silent about such issues, probably because their author couldn't have imagined such behavior is possible) but it certainly violates the rules of basic decency.

I strongly suggest that you take this game of yours to where it truly belongs: your personal blog.

[Mandryka]

You see, that's precisely the problem. You turn a public space into your own playground, completely disregarding what others might think about it, or whether they want to play or not. Moreover, you set up your own rules and make it manifest, by your behavior during the game, that they apply to you only, not to the others. The rules are very few and very simple: 1. You are always right; 2. When you are wrong, rule #1 applies. This can indeed be fun for a while, but in the long run it becomes annoying. You couldn't care less about that: when people begin to object to the unfairness of the game, you tell them they should not take it seriously because it's all for (your own) fun anyway, and they can always drop out, anyway.

This might not violate GMG guidelines (they are silent about such issues, probably because their author couldn't have imagined such behavior is possible) but it certainly violates the rules of basic decency.

I strongly suggest that you take this game of yours to where it truly belongs: your personal blog.

Don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar.

[Todd]

That's what makes the situation rather amusing, isn't it. The author puts on an ironic mask: flashy titles, claims of not being serious, denial of any intellectual identity, yet reacts to others' irony as if it were a threat. It's not merely a mismatch; it's a kind of theatre, someone who says he's playing but insists on being taken seriously when others join in.

A form of rhetorical monopolism. One claims the right to irony but denies it to others. He sets the rules of the game but won't let anyone else play. There's a kind of ironic narcissism at work as well. The outer layer of humour shields a deeper seriousness that cannot bear competition. When others adopt the same tone, he sees it as an attack on his uniqueness.

Up to a point, it can be rather amusing. Or not anymore.

Self-serious intellectualism.  See below.

You turn a public space into your own playground

Remember, you do not have to read or respond to any of my posts.

[Florestan]

Remember, you do not have to read or respond to any of my posts.

Remember, this is a public forum. People may read and respond to whatever they want. If it annoys you to have your posts read and replied to (and it clearly does, especially the latter), then the solution is simple: take this game of yours to your personal blog, where nobody would ever bother you anymore.

[San Antone]

Remember, this is a public forum. People may read and respond to whatever they want. If it annoys you to have your posts read and replied to (and it clearly does, especially the latter), then the solution is simple: take this game of yours to your personal blog, where nobody would ever bother you anymore.

This thread's topic is Beethoven Piano sonatas.  I for one enjoy reading Todd's posts, and find this kind of personal off-topic discussion much more damaging to the forum than anything Todd has contributed.

[ritter]

This thread's topic is Beethoven Piano sonatas.  I for one enjoy reading Todd's posts, and find this kind of personal off-topic discussion much more damaging to the forum than anything Todd has contributed.

Thanks for this post, San Antone. You have found the right words for a situation that is very concerning to us moderators.

I ask members that, if they have scores to settle with each other, they do so privately.

[Todd]

Remember, this is a public forum. People may read and respond to whatever they want. If it annoys you to have your posts read and replied to (and it clearly does, especially the latter), then the solution is simple: take this game of yours to your personal blog, where nobody would ever bother you anymore.

Very clearly, based on what you post, it is you who are annoyed about whatever it is you are annoyed about.

Remember, not reading is easier than reading.

[hopefullytrusting]

This thread's topic is Beethoven Piano sonatas.  I for one enjoy reading Todd's posts, and find this kind of personal off-topic discussion much more damaging to the forum than anything Todd has contributed.

Unironically, especially from an archival point of view, @Todd - whether he likes it or not - has performed a great service, especially given how weak the major generative ai platforms are at collecting data, especially data pre-Web 2.0. We need more niche scholars, as this kind of knowledge would be lost without such dedication - @Gurn Blanston - I believe - did something similar with Haydn.

[Todd]

We need more niche scholars

I am a collector, but most definitely not a scholar.  Any old person can collect and collate data.

[hopefullytrusting]

Any old person can collect and collate data.

But you did,

[Todd]

Dammit, now I want to watch a Die Hard movie.