Re:Beyond Smart
by reikonomusha on Thursday October 21, 2021 @06:32PM
(#28951637)
I think the quirkiness perhaps helped propel him to greater fame, and made his name "stick" more easily, but it's certainly not the reason he is famous or remembered. There are countless quirky no-names. He was of note more so because of his technical capacity and strong convictions for his unorthodox approach, which he voluminously described in writing, interviews, etc.
Re:Beyond Smart
by aspenmayer on Friday October 22, 2021 @12:27AM
(#28953752)
Do you have any personal favorite interviews? I frequently find that folks discussing their craft at a high level often illuminates opportunities for cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer.
Re:Beyond Smart
by reikonomusha on Friday October 22, 2021 @12:38AM
(#28953797)
Yes! I love his discussion about Bach and appropriate use of instruments here [1]. He also gets into why he chooses some tempos, what’s arbitrary and what’s not, where to seek consistency in interpretative choices, and so on. I adore this interview!
I also love his slightly hyperbolic hot take on why Mozart isn’t that good [2]. It’s hilarious, to me at least, hearing him roast Mozart then proceed to play his music beautifully.
Or because a lot of this (even classical music) is pop culture, so he was quirky enough to establish a brand name, whereas others equally competent or even better didn't come with an assosicated story to sell them...