Ganchoff was famous for his dislike of the Koussevitzkys. It was more then a critical observation though, and was a personal issue. MK did not give Ganchoff the respect he felt he deserved. David was a bit more friendly to Ganchoff, as they were colleagues in the CA, and moved in similar professional circles. The truth is there is alot of validity to Ganchoff’s point. Musicality, interpretation of the text, creative use of nussach now take a back bench to mind numbing high notes, even ossia ones and ersatz kvetching. The MK imitators ruined chazzanut in their rarification of it. It became boring and turned people off. Perhaps had Ganchoff’s creativity held more sway we wouldn’t see the antipathy towards chazzanut that we see today.
Menu