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by vestrigi 1202 days ago
Do you have an accessible example for two different recordings of a composition that each shine in their own light?
7 comments

A million examples, but I'll offer just one:

Moonlight Sonata 1st Movement.

Slow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbTVZMJ9Z2I

Faster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrqBw4eELOM

Same could be said for compositions recorded on different instruments. Moonlight Sonata doesn't have to be played on piano. There are lots of recordings of it on other instruments.

That is a good example. You could also go even wilder and compare classical Bach interpretations with jazzy Bach interpretations.
Another example is orchestras that record historical pieces with period correct instruments that are intonated/tuned/tempered in a period correct way as those changed over the years.

Look up Well Temperament versus Equal Temperament, etc..

These kinds of changes can make things sound quite different than a modern interpretation on modern instruments setup in a modern way.

The appropriately-named "The Academy of Ancient Music" is a very approachable way to access such music recordings.
Goldberg variations comes to mind. If you search for it on your music service you will without a doubt be presented with Glenn Gould famous interpretation from 1955 where he eccentrically hums you through. You can then listen other renditions and you will notice they are quite different (foreinstance Fazil Say or Lang Lang)
I happened to be listening to Fazil Say's variations when I read your comment. I can't recommend them highly enough; they're a delight.
There are truly so many variables, How many of each instrument in an orchestra, the orchestra's layout, the conductor, the recording, the acoustics of the physical location, etc...

Take for example, Stokowski doing Clair de Lune https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMvIy1HO3UY vs Stanley Black: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zxpbwedpo4

Then again, you can even take a different recording of Stokowski doing Clair de Lune, and get a different experience still - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VMjfPPMKK0

The main difference (to my untrained ear) is usually interpretation of tempo

Take Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata Op. 19, 2nd movement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT9qe_euX8g (Sheku & Isata)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fZwD-Jq554 (Ax & Yo Yo Ma)

My favorite example of this is the Glenn Gould recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations. He has 2 famous recordings - one recorded in 1955, another in 1981. They are very different in tone.
I'm looking forward to this app in part because I think I can finally let go of keeping the Plex Player app on my phone almost exclusively for listening to the Glenn Gould SACD collection I ripped like a decade ago. Great recommendation, and I'm genuinely happy at the thought that this release could expose a lot more people to his work.
And then try Schiff or Dinnerstein to hear the same music in yet another way…
This video compilation is the great example how a simple 11 beats from the “rite of spring” can be interpreted.

>103 different versions of the same 11 notes for a total of 1,133 beats

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z-NqGMS8p-c