RV Piano,
And my horse likes a muddy course. More fun getting all fouled up in the process than having to cross the finish line all prim, prissy, and politically correct.
FWIW, I reflect a bit on my early experiences with Beethoven (and Schubert) symphonies. At that time I found the most venerated performances were over orchestrated, dense, slow, forced grandiose, etc, and IMHO, ultimately boring (or, alternatively, perhaps I was too just too dull to absorb them). I tried various HIP recordings, often using original instruments. No answer for me there.
Then I heard; 1) Kleibers 5th - It blew me away, still does, that man really got the beat down! Exciting as all hell; then, 2) Harnoncourt's performances of the symphonies which were just influenced by original performances/instruments, not just replications. Now I began to hear something that made sense to me and really opened up my mind for subsequent performances without historical restraints.
To paraphrase a famous line, I just find it more fun to follow the road less traveled. :-)
And my horse likes a muddy course. More fun getting all fouled up in the process than having to cross the finish line all prim, prissy, and politically correct.
FWIW, I reflect a bit on my early experiences with Beethoven (and Schubert) symphonies. At that time I found the most venerated performances were over orchestrated, dense, slow, forced grandiose, etc, and IMHO, ultimately boring (or, alternatively, perhaps I was too just too dull to absorb them). I tried various HIP recordings, often using original instruments. No answer for me there.
Then I heard; 1) Kleibers 5th - It blew me away, still does, that man really got the beat down! Exciting as all hell; then, 2) Harnoncourt's performances of the symphonies which were just influenced by original performances/instruments, not just replications. Now I began to hear something that made sense to me and really opened up my mind for subsequent performances without historical restraints.
To paraphrase a famous line, I just find it more fun to follow the road less traveled. :-)