It's no wonder that the French school seems to consist of a bunch of skinny dudes playing without very much power at all; their diet consists of 40% butter. Personally, I prefer more BAM when I listen to music, however, it's hard to deny that the work of Debussy of Ravel is gorgeous.
I think that it is interesting that both Ravel and Debussy seemed to have wanted to sit down and improvise, rather than practice their pieces. While I don't blame them, as the exercises from the area like that of Cortot seem like the Artillery version of Hanon, I think it's important to understand this when studying their pieces. They are, of course, difficult, but I think that after reading this chapter, I would proceed with caution. It seems as though they might only be good for people who understand how to study French music, and who already are good enough pianists to be able to practice good technique and fingering. Perhaps much of the French music is not the place to go to find ways to work on technique, but more of a venue for those of who have already mastered it.
From what I know of the French, and what is confirmed in this chapter, much of the music from the culture is refined and delicate. Pour moi, reading about this brings new meaning not only to how I play the works of French composers, but could perhaps influence how I interpret Chopin as well, as he spent much time in Paris, and was also a very delicate man. As much as I respect much of this music, in response to Long's belief that the French are "...unsurpassed in depth of inner feeling," (320), I would ask, as music expresses a great range of all of our inner feelings, how can we ever be satisfied without ever really yelling?
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