Word: minority
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...plot resembles the house, an outrageous, turreted wonder. Lenny MaGrath (Keaton) is the oldest sister, unmarried, moody, leery of men because of a "shrunken ovary." Meg (Lange), the flamboyant middle sister, is a minor- league cabaret singer whose recent employment has been in a dog-food company. Babe, the youngest, has that little problem with the husband she shot wisely but not well. Meg tells cheerful lies to Old Grandaddy and worries later that when he finds out the truth, he will lapse into a coma. Babe and Lenny laugh so hard at this that they can hardly spit...
...whole record is devoted to Brahms' music, which makes him the most-represented composer in the set: 10 Intermezzi and the Rhapsody in B-minor, Op. 79. The Intermezzi (recorded in 1960) are certainly interesting to listen to, for Gould does some unusual things bringing out the pieces' many inner voices (in the famous B-flat minor, Op. 117, for example). He captures the autumnal quality of these short, profoundly simple pieces. Unfortunately, though, his overly ponderous tempos sometimes lack for dynamic and rhythmic drive. The filler on the disk, the tulmultuous Rhapsody (recorded in 1982), was surely the highlight...
Grieg's E-minor sonata is the set's only other piece in the standard repertoire. (In his liner notes reprinted from the original 1973 release Gould, with typical humor, claims that his rendition of the sonata should be considered as definitive because his maternal grandmother was Grieg's cousin.) The same can be said of Gould's performance of the Grieg sonata as of the Brahms' Intermezzi: he emphasizes inner (detractors would say "extraneous") voices, and takes unusually slow tempos. Still, taken on its own terms, the sonata is musically coherent and surprisingly lyrical, especially the Andante Molto second...
...minor sonata, Op. 5 (written when the composer was a mere 16 years old), recorded in 1982, Gould's incredibly clear playing is matched with appropriately fast tempos in the outer movements, and with a beautiful, singing melody line in the Adagio cantabile...
...bite into a sour piece of rubber or peel apart a burger in order to extract the urethane substance like a pair of dirty diapers. Millions and millions of Americans would share in the jubilation. For the few who actually liked the pickles, they would be making a minor sacrifice for a grand cause...