Why do they do us like this?

[RebLem]

I am in the process of cataloguing two different cycles of the Beethoven piano sonatas which I purchased recently. one by Friedrich Gulda and the other on Romeo Records by Univ of Washington piano professor Craig Sheppard. I haven't taken a look at the former yet, but I have partially filled out 64 3 X 5 index cards--Beethoven @ the top, the sonata specifics just below the red line, and then, two lines below that, either Friedrich Gulda, piano or Craig Sheppard, piano. Now, I am going through the Craig Sheppard set and filling out the details.

One of the things I like to enter, at the bottom, usually, is the recording date and venue, if available. There are 18 pages of copious notes written by Prof. Sheppard himself telling us about the process, and containing much information about each and every sonata. And he tells us that they were all recorded live in a series of 7 concerts at Meany Hall, Seattle from January, 2003 through May, 2004, and that they were performed chronologically.

And yet, specific recording dates are not provided. Why? Maybe he did little fill ins on a few troublesome passages and didn't want to deceive, but basically, and perhaps altogether, they were each performed once and recorded live, so what's the problem?

I spent about an hour on the internet tracking down this information, and I am happy to say that I have all the performance dates now, with a fair degree of confidence. At Prof. Sheppard's website ( www.craigsheppard.net ), there is a section for reviews, including of concerts, not just his recordings. There are links to complete reviews in the Seattle Times by their music critic, Melinda Bargreen. I printed out all of them, and all mention the concert dates. Well, not directly, but the review has a publication date. usually on a Thursday, and then it refers to what day the concert was given, usually Tuesday of that week, so you can figure it out easily. Except there is a fly in the ointment.

There were 7 concerts, but only 6 reviews. Now, the longest period without a concert review was from the January, 2004 concert to the last concert in May, 2004. So I figured the missing review was probably for the penultimate concert in the series. I read the last review, which was for the last 3 sonatas, 30-32. The January review was for sonatas in the mid-20's. The late 20's, including the Hammerklavier, were missing. So I did a search at the Seattle Times website, which makes this rather difficult, though not impossible, for Craig Sheppard concert reviews from February through April, 2004. I didn't find a review. But I did find an announcement from the week before the concert that this penultimate concert in the series was to be "next Tuesday," in an article announcing a number of upcoming events, which was published on Friday, March 12, 2004, so the concert must have been on March 16.

Why do they make us go through all this rigamarole? This is a pianist, mind you, who bothered to tell us that the instrument he played was his own Hamburg Steinway D, serial # 489770 !!!
_________________
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[Catison]

So let me ask you, does it really matter if it was recorded March 14th or March 16th?  Maybe he just thought no one would care.  Should you complain that the hours of the day aren't given as well?

[Szykneij]

Make up the missing date. No one will know.

[Don]

Don't be so hard on Sheppard.  It is quite common for discs to list the month and year of performance; most don't go into the "day of month" category.

When I do a formal review, I go with the performance details given with the disc.  If the day is not provided, so be it.

[knight66]

And yet, specific recording dates are not provided.....
I spent about an hour on the internet tracking down this information....I printed out all of them, and all mention the concert dates. Well, not directly, but the review has a publication.... there is a fly in the ointment.

There were 7 concerts, but only 6 reviews. Now, the longest period without a concert review was from the January, 2004 concert to the last concert in May, 2004. So I figured.....

But I did find an announcement....
Why do they make us go through all this rigamarole? _________________

THEY DID NOT MAKE YOU DO THIS.

Mike

[RebLem]

So let me ask you, does it really matter if it was recorded March 14th or March 16th?  Maybe he just thought no one would care.  Should you complain that the hours of the day aren't given as well?

Yes, it does.  I treasure my Furtwangler performance of the Bruckner 5th for example, recorded in concert 25 Oct 1942.  Why?  Because that was the day I was born.

[knight66]

Yes, it does.  I treasure my Furtwangler performance of the Bruckner 5th for example, recorded in concert 25 Oct 1942.  Why?  Because that was the day I was born.

Ah-ha...right.

Mike

[Steve]

That sort of detail appears trivial.

[Larry Rinkel]

So let me ask you, does it really matter if it was recorded March 14th or March 16th?  Maybe he just thought no one would care.  Should you complain that the hours of the day aren't given as well?

RebLem must then acquire the original LP issue by Aloys Kontarsky of Stockhausen's Piano Pieces I-XI on CBS records. The liner notes (by Stockhausen) give the dates of recording, the piano used, the microphones used, what the pianist had for lunch and dinner each day, what movies he and Stockhausen saw in the evenings after the recording sessions were over, and much other essential and entertaining stuff.

[RebLem]

THEY DID NOT MAKE YOU DO THIS.
Mike

I can't believe you are obsessed with such a minor triviality. 

[Iconito]

I've read your post with a big smile, RebLem. 

Surely many of us can relate to that sort of experience. That brings up the question of where love for Music ends and obsessive-compulsive disorder starts... And note that I've never worried with recording dates (yet). I'm still trying to order my CDs alphabetically by composer last name...