Re: [ARSCLIST] The waltz (was Which U.S. orchestra recorded first and Arthur Fiedler)

[Karl Miller <lyaa071@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006, Bob Olhsson wrote:

> In fact it is the ONLY defining document possible other than maybe a piano
roll.

And hence the origin of the mechanical license!

> All the rest is oral tradition. We were taught by my elementary school
violin teacher that musical notation is strictly a menomic device.

I believe that is far more true with both jazz and popular music. I am
reminded of all of the jazz musicians who learnt music by imitating what
they heard on records...and, these days, from my perspective, much of the
development of rock music is an aural tradition.

I am reminded of Schnabel's heavily edited published versions of scores of
the Beethoven Sonatas...and his recordings. One is left with little
imagination as to what his intentions were with those works...even if his
playing was a bit less than perfect from time to time...but then, he
didn't have the same editing capabilities Gould had for his recordings.

Karl