Bet You Don’t Have Just One! (Classically Speaking #2 by Ken Howard)

by Kenneth P. Howard in Editorials, Opinion Posts

In my years of listening to classical music of all genres and forms, there are a number of compositions which speak to me so profoundly or entertain me on so many levels that just one recording of it is never enough. My father has often asked me, “Why do you have so many versions of one piece?” Very bluntly I would reply, “Because no two performances are the same.”  This observation has only increased in truth for me as time has gone by. Verdi’s DON CARLO, Cilea’s ADRIANA LECOUVREUR, Puccini’s SUOR ANGELICA and Offenbach’s LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN top a very long list of my favorite operas – the Verdi and the Offenbach all the more because of the different versions which have been used.  Symphonically speaking, I have several takes on Respighi’s THE PINES OF ROME, while the most entries in my choral section are of the requiems of Verdi, Faure, and Durufle as well as Orff’s CARMINA BURANA. Comparing tempi, articulation, vocal timbre, phrasing, etc. can be a fun sort of way to dig deeper into favorites and discover new nuances in the hands of different artists. Some collectors may claim that a particular recording or performance is definitive, but I prefer to allow room for other possibilities by saying that I have favorite interpretations based on the talents and temperaments of the forces involved.