Musket writes; 'most classical pieces are study pieces and fairly rigid'
Don't you believe it! Some time ago, as a teacher of Dance (GCE & A Level) I decided to produce and choreograph a performance of Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring'. I listened to several recordings which, like Musket would assert, sounded pretty much the same. So I chose the one I liked best, Seiji Ozawa conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I lived with this piece for nearly a year and learned to count its complex layered rhythms. So far so good but then…someone told me there was a recording of Stravinsky himself conducting. So got that one…it sounded totally different and his tempo was beyond my ability to count. I thought, 'No wonder it went down like a lead balloon on its first performance!' But…I was then pointed at another recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra but with their deputy conductor. Again, the piece was unrecognisable yet the orchestra was the same. I believe these recordings are still available so you can check them out. In comparison, the aforementioned versions of 'Angie' are nearly identical! (Conductors are worth the money they're paid on this basis alone!)