Masaaki Suzuki: evaluation

Transcript context

…You have one of the best-known recordings of Handel’s Messiah, but as you know, there’s literally hundreds of recordings of the Messiah. Do you go and listen to some of them before you record to make sure yours is different? Or you just figure it will come out different? Do you listen to old ones, like Beecham, for inspiration? How do you approach the musical past? Sometimes I need to listen to the other recordings or the older ones or other kinds of reference. Basically, I’m trying not to listen too much to other recordings. [laughs] That was too much influence. I think to make a recording is very interesting because that is quite an important experience for all of us, all of our colleagues. During the recording session, many things happen, and they are not always very easy. During the recording sessions, we all take that music into any cells in our body. That is really interesting. For example, the Messiah recording is a long time ago, but during the recording session, a couple of our colleagues’ mother or father or spouse said they passed away or something. Also, my wife’s mother passed away just when we finished the recording. As if she’d waited for that moment. That kind of memory is always coming back. It is really a wonderful experience to keep going with the session recording. That is very nice. As you must know, Apple has recently acquired BIS Records, and you’ve done so much of your work with them. Will that change how you approach recording projects?…

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