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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Never Do This. Just Say “No.”

Jeff Ostrowski · July 19, 2013

UTH SLENCZYNSKA was correct when she said “these kind of gestures died along with silent film in the 1920s.” Excessive gestures and “faces” while performing have been universally condemned by the great pianists. I’ve never been a fan of Arthur Rubinstein’s playing, but he was correct when he noted that “each and every extra gesture of this kind takes away from concentration the pianist ought to be giving to the music.”

Click here to watch a pianist who is so busy focusing on making theatrical “gestures” that he ends up playing wrong notes, breaking tempo, and committing other offenses.

The guy in that video should have been focused on his playing. Here’s how that passage should be played (in a slightly different version by Liszt/Busoni/Horowitz):

      * *  Vladimir Horowitz plays the same excerpt (“live” recording)

Horowitz does a great job, just like Friedman, Rachmaninov, Hofmann, and so many others.

FOR YEARS I REFUSED to listen to Glenn Gould because of his loud humming (while he performs). Friends would say, “But Jeff, Gieseking hummed. Tiegerman hummed. Why do you hold this against Gould?” The difference is that Gould’s humming destroyed the music. However, I eventually realized that if one listens to Glenn Gould while driving, somehow the engine sounds drown out all his humming. Since that time, I’ve listened to Gould with great enjoyment.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Before any seminarian is accepted for ordination, he must not only strive for chastity but actually achieve it. He must already be living chaste celibacy peacefully and for a prolonged period of time—for if this be lacking, the seminarian and his formators cannot have the requisite confidence that he is called to the celibate life.”

— Archbishop Viganò (16 February 2019)

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