Re: Sir Thomas Beecham: Handel arrangements

On 15/07/2024 12:31, Herman wrote:
 > Pretty awful...
 >
 > What is wrong with these English people?
Tastes change.
So does the general cultural frame of reference.
Another example: the Alcina suite arranged by Georg Göhler and recorded in 1929 by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra with Mengelberg conducting:
"... Comparing Mengelberg's Handel with Beecham's (in say, _The Gods go a-Begging_ or _Love in Bath_) one notes Mengelberg's more obvious projection of rhythm, the incisive attack of his NYPSO strings and his stylish but unsentimental handling of the Sarabande. ... a Handel style that's actually closer to Harnoncourt's than to Beecham's. ...".
[Quotation from the liner notes by Robert Cowen to Pearl GEMM CD 9474; my CD, made in 1991, is bronzed, at least on the side of the label, but still playable.]
https://www.willemmengelberg.nl/?q=content/händel-alcina
--
Roland van Gaalen
The Netherlands