I find this a strange and somewhat inappropriate response to the posting of the link to the All of Bach site. This is Pierre Hantai's first appearance in the context of what is, in my opinion, a very high quality project. They have recorded a number of other harpsichord players, some of them still young but very talented (such as Bertrand Cuiller and Benjamin Alard). They have even featured some children, maybe some of tomorrow's star names.
I live in France and I have not noticed Pierre HantaÏ getting any more media coverage than many other talented harpsichord players.
I think we are extremely lucky to have such an impressive crop of musicians at the moment, it's really very promising for the future of the harpsichord.
Best
Matthew



On Feb 9, 2017, at 23:19, "J. Claudio Di Veroli" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>> Currently you can see Pierre Hantai performing.
> 
> Thanks Chris. You have given me a good opportunity for a rant.
> 
> There are many things of Hantai's playing I really like, a few I dislike,
> and there is no denying that he is a great harpsichordist.
> 
> But this post is about something else. 
> 
> Famous players in some areas seem to "come in waves". 
> Before WWII it looked as if the only harpsichordist worldwide was Wanda
> Landowska (there were many others, some students of her, others not, many as
> good or better but were seldom heard of). In the 1960's when Leonhardt
> ushered in some new approaches, for many years it looked as if he was the
> only good harpsichordist worldwide, in the 1970's it was Scott Ross, quite
> recently Mahan Esfahani, now it is Hantai everywhere, shortly to be
> forgotten and replaced by who knows ...
> 
> Again, these have been, and are, great masters certainly, but there is a
> worrying tendency here. I find that more opportunities (to show and to earn)
> should be given to the many other players, in many countries all around the
> world, both young and old, that are IMNSHO similarly good, but are rarely
> allowed to convey their artistry to significant audiences.
> 
> Yes, I know, this problem is by no means restricted to the harpsichord.
> When I was a young man studying in London, about half the top organ recitals
> were by Lionel Rogg and Daniel Chorzempa. I was impressed at how good they
> were, until I realised it was mostly them again and again, while there were
> many other similarly good players who were largely out of sight.
> 
> Yes, I know again(!), this problem has nothing to do with music recitals, is
> a general problem of our society and culture and has even been described in
> at least one book I know of by a respected sociologist: a few performers
> (typically but not only virtuoso players, cinema actors, TV presenters) "get
> there", are "deemed best" by "the ones who decide", are coached and
> propelled to fame, ultimately adored by the great public (who is rarely
> given the opportunity to hear competitors), and go on monopolising their
> arena, sometimes for years on end.
> 
> This is perhaps why the great international competitions are so important,
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Note:  opinions  expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the  individual con-
tributors and not necessarily  those of the list owners  nor of the Uni-
versity of Iowa.  For a brief  summary of list  commands, send mail to
[log in to unmask]  saying  HELP .
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::