World class bad performers

The Unholy Trinity of ancient music is: Koopman (dull), Herreweghe (dull and weird), and Hantaï (bad). The last played lately the Brandenburg fifth on Mezzo -- and played it very badly indeed. The keyboard solo was telling: the fast bits were passable, but the slow bits were terrible.

Paradoxically, it is actually easier to play fast than slowly: most ears are not as good at catching details at speed, and, at any rate, the fastness of the technique (especially when one can barely see the fingers flashing in the air) impresses; a so-so player playing fast can get away with a lot of garbage; it is when the keyboard plays slowly that we notice that the performers tempi are odd, he attacks the notes falsely, etc. -- all the tiny little nuances which take a lot longer to master than speed alone.

The same is the case with composition: it is far easier to compose an impressive fast piece. Like Ciaja's 6th sonata: lots of running passages plus frequent hand crossings amaze, thereby effectively hiding from the ear that the music is actually wholly uninspired.

PS Mondonville's violin sonatas, recorded by Leonhardt, are quite good.

PPS. How do fellows like Hantai manage to make such brilliant careers? Don't people hear that they are lousy?