I’ve listened to Tyler Cowen talk for hundreds of hours about economics, music, history, art, travel, and regional cuisine, so meeting him on Zoom felt a little like stepping through The Purple Rose of Cairo. My composure mostly held, and it was a pleasure to trade favorite recordings, speculate on Bach’s motivations, and wrestle with uneasy feelings while enjoying recordings from wartime Germany. Full transcript follows.
Do either of you play an instrument? Have you tried playing Bach or Beethoven? If you do, and spend some time, your view on Bach will change. He is the foundation of all who came after. Also, Beethoven in Mozart? Mozart did come first, and Beethoven worshipped Mozart. Thought he could never be eclipsed. And then he created.
Certainly wide-ranging opinions. I do wonder if these two mainly listen to recordings of classical music. Or do they also attend live classical music performances?
For me (and Tyler, I think), it's both. Live wins most of the time, but I was born long after some of my favorite artists died, so I'm glad to have it all.
Do either of you play an instrument? Have you tried playing Bach or Beethoven? If you do, and spend some time, your view on Bach will change. He is the foundation of all who came after. Also, Beethoven in Mozart? Mozart did come first, and Beethoven worshipped Mozart. Thought he could never be eclipsed. And then he created.
I play guitar and piano. Bach becomes richer when you play it definitely.
Certainly wide-ranging opinions. I do wonder if these two mainly listen to recordings of classical music. Or do they also attend live classical music performances?
For me (and Tyler, I think), it's both. Live wins most of the time, but I was born long after some of my favorite artists died, so I'm glad to have it all.
Surprised Sir Andreas Schiff playing J.S. Bach didn’t garner a mention in your discussion. A+ and all by memory with no visible use of the pedals.
There are so many great players. I wrote a bit about Schiff here:
https://yearofbach.substack.com/p/august-7-the-english-suites-bwv-806
I'm a big fan of Bach, looking forward to listening to this one! 💚 🥃
One more thing, Van Cliburn? Ever heard of him?
Ha. There are a lot of great players. I never connected with his performances as much as others.
Richter worshipped the ground he walked on. That is truly telling.