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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

“Lacuna” • An Actual One—Not A Fake One

Jeff Ostrowski · March 4, 2019

85244 Josef Hofmann TUDYING MUSICOLOGY in graduate school, I quickly noticed the obsession my teachers had with the word “lacuna.” (The only word they liked better was “dichotomy”…but I digress.) Musicologists were always searching for a lacuna to fill—in other words, an area of study which hadn’t already been researched to death. Sometimes, however, one does come across a genuine lacuna.

A fantastic example would be scholarship on the great pianists; there is practically nothing available. The best books are by Harold C. Schonberg and David Dubal—but just two authors are woefully insufficient to cover such a topic. Those of us interested in the Golden Age of Pianism finished reading all available books twenty years ago, along with everything we could find by the great pianists themselves: Lhévinne, Hofmann, Chasins, and so forth—but such writings were meager. We also devoured whatever could find by less important authors such as Charles W. Rosen, Elyse Mach, and György Sándor—but this, too, was scant. Allan Evans promised a biography on Ignaz Friedman, but ended up producing an utter travesty. The vast majority of his book didn’t even mention Friedman—instead, it consisted of “lesson notes” for a completely different pianist (who once knew Friedman). Evans tried to justify his fraud by saying he had trouble finding information about Friedman… Even the recent release by Ward Marston claiming to contain “secret” interviews about Josef Hofmann contains very little material not available two decades ago. 1

WHY IS IT, THEN, that so little about the great pianists is available? One reason might be that musicians tend to be horrible writers. For instance, online you can find someone who claims to be an “internationally known expert on historical pianism.” I won’t mention his name, because it’s irrelevant. I recently grabbed comments from his page, intentionally limiting myself to comments posted during the last two months. Each comment purports to describe a different pianist! His writing is tedious and meaningless:

…plays with a gorgeous tonal palette, elegant but boldly shaped phrasing, refined dynamic levels, marvellous pacing, and sumptuous timing.

…The playing throughout features wonderfully transparent textures, a steady rhythmic pulse, mindful accenting that never breaks the melodic line, and poised voicing.

…the recording fully reveals the grandeur of her tonal world, the subtlety of her nuancing, the breadth of her dynamic range, and the natural intelligence and heart that she brought to her interpretations.

…What a gorgeous tonal palette, fluidly phrased melodic lines (his subtle pedalling in the opening is incredible), rhythmic bite, and marvellous transparency of texture.

…impeccably balanced voicing, wonderfully defined rhythm, refined dynamic layering, and sumptuous tone – what a gorgeous singing line.

…a gorgeous singing tone, deft articulation, attentive balance of primary and inner voices, transparent textures, and lovely phrasing.

…a glorious touch, a wonderfully burnished singing line, beautiful pedal effects, attentive articulation, and marvellously coordinated voicing.

…lush tonal palette, sumptuous fluid phrasing, beautiful voicing of chords, and transparent textures.

…wonderful tonal colours, beautifully burnished melodic lines, incisive rhythm, and attentive interplay of voices.

…a pure sonority, transparent voicing, wonderfully buoyant and defined rhythm, and beautiful phrasing.

…he plays marvellously, with a soaring melodic line, sumptuous rubato, a sensual interplay between primary and secondary voices, and a gorgeous full-bodied singing sonority.

…plays with remarkable refinement (his dynamic shadings are incredible), rhythmic buoyancy, marvellous voicing, elegant phrasing, and gorgeous tonal colours.

…playing with a gorgeous singing tone, masterful pedal technique, beautiful terracing of voices, and rhythmic vitality.

…a fusion of flawless technical command and musical integrity, with dazzling fingerwork, seamless phrasing, marvellous balance of primary and inner voices, iron-clad rhythmic pulse, and refined dynamic control.

…a gorgeous polished singing sonority, soaring lines that are masterfully shaped, incredible dynamic layering, utterly beguiling pedalling, iron-clad rhythmic precision without any boxiness, and a host of other qualities. Sheer brilliance.

…soaring phrasing, majestic timing, gigantic bass sound, and refined singing line.

…What glowing tone, fluid legato balanced with mindful articulation, masterful pedalling, and rhythmic vitality!

…an absolutely ravishing tone and sensitive nuancing, with incredible dynamic gradations, rhythmic vitality, and musical depth.

…incisive rhythm, fleet fingerwork, crystalline articulation, and impassioned phrasing in lyrical sections.

…gorgeous tonal palette, sumptuous phrasing, rhythmic vitality, and wonderful dynamic layering beautifully captured in hifi sound.

…an exquisitely refined sonority, magnificently shaped phrasing, wonderful clarity of articulation and rhythmic pulse, and judicious pedalling that never obscures the clarity of texture and the line.

…boldly burnished lines, attentive voicing, wonderful pedalling, and some ravishing nuancing.

…clarity of texture, deftly defined articulation, sprightly rhythm, and beautifully burnished tone.

…crystalline tone, disarmingly direct delivery, fluid legato phrasing, and gorgeous nuancing.

Mindless comments like these make a mockery of his audience. He just recycles the same comments over and over, no matter who the pianist is. His page reads like satire…and he’s been posting this garbage daily for many years! Franz Liszt famously said: “It is easy to have musical opinions, but far more difficult to provide a musical justification for those opinions.” Perhaps that is why so few authors write intelligently about the great pianists.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   The official biography of Josef Hofmann was announced (by Gregor Benko) thirty years ago but is still “in production.” Many have begun to question whether it ever will appear. In the 1990s, I spent hours in the library reading old newspaper clippings about Hofmann as well as books such as The Amazing Marriage of Marie Eustis and Josef Hofmann. Even now, people seem ignorant of such sources—which is why, for example, they repeat the lie that Hofmann “couldn’t play Rachmaninov’s third concerto because his hands were too small.” His wife gives the true reason in that book.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Josef Hofmann Pianist Extraordinaire Last Updated: June 13, 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

On 26 July 1916—during the German occupation of Belgium—a student choir led by Van Nuffel performed his setting of the psalm “Super flumina Babylonis” in Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral. The text and the musical setting very aptly expressed the depressed and rebellious mood of the population. The acclaim was enormous, and it laid the foundation for Van Nuffel’s formation of the Saint Rumbold’s choir.

— Unknown

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