Virgil Fox Legacy | Durufle Suite | Toccata

http://www.virgilfoxlegacy.com
http://www.cafepress.com/virgilfox

Category:

Music

Tags:

• virgil
• fox
• durufle
• riverside
• church
• pipe
• organ

[Morvaren]

Having played this work (and for Duruflé himself), I have found that if one follows Duruflé's marking slavishly, the harmonies are not clear. Duruflé himself was tolerant of differences of interpretations of his own works, as long as they were in good taste.

Virgil Fox did more to popularize this work than anyone else of his time. He was also quite friendly with the Duruflés. One should also remember that he was already quite ill with cancer when this video was made. But what virtuosity!

[19shea85]

The playing may be a little dated to our ears but you have to take into consideration that this was the style of playing thirty years ago. In that context, it is not butchered. Virgil Fox was dying of cancer at this point and lived less than one year after this performance was given, so it's remarkable that he could still play this well.

[DavidSnyderLumierist]

@mountainsong100 What a great surprise to hear from you. Sorry for the delay. I must ck my site more often. Sure I remember you and have wondered many times about you. Please write Earle. How are you?

[mountainsong100]

Hey David, you forgot Friday nights at Butler Hall Columbia U, when we all would go there and later back to Riverside for hours and hours. Those were memorable days... write back if you can... Earle Goodwin,

[DavidSnyderLumierist]

@DavidSnyderLumierist Actually I would be surprised if Virgil Fox ate at any automat with some of the people seeing themselves with him. I ate 98% of all meals with him for 17 years and I must have missed that event. He did eat at Horn and Hardart one evening with Van Cliburn prior to my tenure, who was enroute to Russia. He had and stopped to grab a quick bite,,He ate at Stouffers, Zoe Chase and the Womens Eachange when he didnt eat at home. He had a full time Butler-Chef for years.

[DavidSnyderLumierist]

@rekab7070 Great comment,,well said, thank you!

[DavidSnyderLumierist]

The only book I know of,,I stumbled upon on the net. Its by Louise Clarey and is called "The young Virgil Fox I Knew". I admit I have not read most of it but she did a great job and she showed him as the man and artist he was,,and is! I was speaking tongue in cheek re Alice in Wonderland. Me thinks the Dish should have more aptly been called the "Crock". I only worked with him for 17 years,,my I missed out on a lot of interesting stuff. I wonder if Virgil had a double?

[Sinatra70]

@DavidSnyderLumierist - This is the first I've heard of a companion reader to "The Dish". Can you tell us more about it, including where it can be obtained? I can't find it anywhere...

[DavidSnyderLumierist]

@Shenandoah58 In the 17 years I worked for and with Virgil Fox he never once ate at an automat anywhere. He did however eat in one once,the evening he sat with a friend pianist VanCliburn who was also eating there and they exchanged thoughts on Vans soon to be,,trip to Russia. The rest of that is history. In NYC we ate at Stouffers, Zoe Chase and the Womens Exchange. At home,,he had a paid cook.Read the Dish and its companion reader,,Alice in Wonder land, which in most ways is more accurate.

[DavidSnyderLumierist]

@menschmaschine5 Well observed,,well said my friend.

[rekab7070]

I see nothing dated (what is a mere 30 years in art?) in Fox's interpretation. He takes liberties with dramatic pauses and rubato, as does any great artist according to his vision. What we really applaud in Fox is his courage. He was never a coward, and neither was Pierre Cochereau, Walter Baker, Duruflé (and Mme. Duruflé - both sensational performers) or Messiaen, to name a few. These artists had the courage of their convictions, and I see no one in their calibre today.

[rekab7070]

@19shea85 With all due respect, I see nothing dated in Fox's interpretation - he takes liberties with dramatic pauses and rubato, but these are the decisions that any interpretive artist makes according to his vision. I am not a 'Fox Fan' (although I respect his achievements) but I will say this for him: he was never a coward! Neither was Pierre Couchereau, Walter Baker, the Durufles, not to mention Messiaen. They all had the courage of their convictions, and what is an artist without that?