How contemporary culture and environment influence old-time music. Festivals. Bands like Crooked Still. Performers like you.

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Making a new normal

From ramjo on 3/4/2011 10:15:26 AM

Last night I saw the 2009 documentary "Genius Within: the Inner Life of Glenn Gould" and was reminded that his example is probably one of the unconscious inputs behind my idea for this group's title. He's an icon of a "consuming" musician--ingesting the scores, taking their nourishment, and giving the pieces back as they've never been witnessed before. A great moment in the film relates a live recoding of a concert of the Brahms #1 with the New York Philharmonic (in 1960?). Before they begin, Leonard Bernstien announces to the audience that he completely disagrees with Gould's approach to the concerto, but believes it's appropriate to let him have his say. We hear a bit of the performance--slow, almost plodding, but clear as glass, as if Gould had taken down every barrier to his pristine articulation and said "hear that? That's what the note sounds like."

After he quit performing in public, Gould concentrated on recording and brought several new technical approaches to old music. We see him with his engineer splicing in alternate or re-processed takes of phrases to make minute adjustments to dynamics or timbre. Painstaking de/reconstruction at the recording console extending the same type of internal activity that must have gone on before he played the music.

I enjoy looking for "process" in an artist's work. I love to listen carefully to, say, the way Dan Gellert plays his variations in Sandy Boys. I try to imitate them so I can feel what his fingers were doing. But I always feel that I haven't learned a piece of music until I don't play it the way someone else plays it. (Confession: I don't always succeed, and so I play a large number of pieces that I haven't really learned.)

Anyway, I'd definitely recommend the Glenn Gould film to all banjo players--if for nothing else to demonstrate forcefully that other types of musicians are a lot weirder than the stereotypical banjoist! If you're a fan, another film is "32 Short Films about Glenn Gould," from 1993. It's an amalgamation of documentary, fiction, re-created actual incidents, and animation. Both films give you lots and lots of beautiful music.

4 Comments
	Marc Nerenberg says: 3/4/2011 10:59:08 AM Man, your blogs are ALWAYS really interesting. I'm so glad you started this group and feel obliged to write and post these things, because I really enjoy reading them!
	ramjo says: 3/4/2011 2:36:09 PM Thank you Marc. That means a lot to me. I didn't mean to create a space just for my brain droppings (to quote that other Carlin, George). But it's been fun to leave a few here.
NickC says: 3/12/2011 6:54:17 AM I love reading mind expanding post like this. I'm going to get hold of that documentary. thanks. Just as a side note. I've always been taken with Oscar Peterson's playing. I was introduced to him by my mum who is a a pianist. DVD's of his performances are well worth checking out if you like a bit of piano magic!
	ramjo says: 3/12/2011 1:07:02 PM Nick--yes, and Oscar is obviously a direct descendant of Art Tatum. Such incredible technique these guys have, such inventiveness, such genius!
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