[78-L] Mascagni.

[Mike Richter]

Spats wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> If that's the tempo that the composer himself wanted, then that's the 
> correct tempo, it seems to me.
> Forget the critics! ;-)

Bah, humbug!

There is no rule dictating that a composer must be a capable or even a 
competent conductor. Richard Strauss was considered superb though the 
few examples recorded do not show that consistently. But Mascagni was 
recording early enough that one cannot rely on what was captured to 
indicate much of anything. In addition, there is argument over his role 
in the recording which he may have "supervised" for publicity purposes 
rather than conducted.

It is also a fallacy to assume that the composer knows all that his 
creation offers. In some cases, such as Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and 
Macbeth, his revisions are extensive and produce something close to a 
new work; freezing either in its original form would give us only an 
interesting but lesser work. Why, then, would one assume that a 
recording by the composer or any other indication of the balance, tempo, 
or style he preferred should rule?

Leoncavallo accompanied Caruso in a recording of one of his songs. It is 
an intriguing document but fortunately we have versions with far better 
piano playing and better agreement between singer and pianist.

Again - in the spirit of the season - Bah, humbug!

Mike
-- 
mrichter at cpl.net
http://www.mrichter.com/