The Classical Music Thread
- Voronwë the Faithful
- At the intersection of here and now
- Posts: 46575
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:41 am
- Contact:
- Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
Go away. I'm not done listening to the Goldberg Variations.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
- Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
There are a number of things for which I'm reluctant to forgive Thomas Harris, and that's probably at the top of the list.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
- Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
<pat pat pat>Eruname wrote:I do have to say one of my peeves with classical music threads is that they usually always end up revolving around Bach and Mozart. Those composers just don't do it for me unfortunately.
No doubt you'll appreciate them when you're older, dear.
...Now—hit me as hard as you can! It will feel good.
Er, ah. I have trouble not talking about Bach, because I love his music so deeply. Of course Bach and Mozart don't appeal to everyone who loves classical music. I have played and enjoyed and listen to the others you list. Brahms' First Symphony is wonderfully powerful.
Have you listened to much Shostakovich? I played in his Tenth Symphony in college and love it, but haven't branched out much from there (there is always more Bach I've never heard! ).
How about Beethoven? For me he has such a strong "flavor" that I can't listen to too much at once, even though it's really good—it's like eating an entire apple pie or something.
Last edited by Primula Baggins on Wed May 03, 2006 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
- Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
Wagner is like getting lost in an apple forest while being pursued by angry demigods.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
- TheTennisBallKid
- Posts: 457
- Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:35 am
- Location: The East of East, Fighting Wild Were-worms in The Last Desert
- Contact:
Ooooh, Silence Of The Lambs: Howard Shore. (yes, that's how my mind works...life is a word association game, and "Howard Shore" is my favorite word )Aaaaah! How could anybody not love the music that's the personal favorite of Hannibal Lecter?
I'm sadly ignorant when it comes to classical music...
However, I do know Prokofiev from his scores to Alexander Nevsky and Ivan The Terrible. "The Battle On The Ice" is stunning, even more so when combined with the visuals.
ttbk
Now, at the opposite end of the spectrum, there's Satie, whom I often listen to late at night in my studio.
Satie is unique among composers in having written BACKGROUND music meant to be listened to as an accompaniment to other activities. At performances of his work, he was sometimes known to have turned to his audience to say, "Why are you just sitting there? Get up and do something!"
He was out of his mind in a number of ways, most of them charming.
Satie is unique among composers in having written BACKGROUND music meant to be listened to as an accompaniment to other activities. At performances of his work, he was sometimes known to have turned to his audience to say, "Why are you just sitting there? Get up and do something!"
He was out of his mind in a number of ways, most of them charming.
- Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
His Gymnopedies are wonderfully restful—if that's not an insult. It sounds as if he wouldn't have thought so.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
You could always start a "Late German Romantic" thread! Nobody would impose Bach and Mozart on that!Eruname wrote:Haven't I been doing my best? I've been discussing Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Brahms, and Mahler!
I do have to say one of my peeves with classical music threads is that they usually always end up revolving around Bach and Mozart. Those composers just don't do it for me unfortunately.
Technically, even Bach is out of place in a Classical Music thread.
- Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
Pedant!
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
- Old_Tom_Bombadil
- friend to badgers – namer of ponies
- Posts: 1980
- Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:56 pm
- Location: The Withywindle Valley
I've listened to and performed classical music for most of my life. I played the flute from age 9 through my early 20s. I eventually became a vocalist, and earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance.
My dad has quite eclectic musical tastes. A large part of his record collection, however, is devoted to orchestral works of the late 19th century: the so-called "Romantic Era". His favorite instrument is piano, so piano concertos are among among the recordings he possesses. Of course the music my father listened to had a large influence on my tastes.
That being said, in general my tastes differ from my father's. I prefer Baroque (late 17th-early 18th centuries) and Classical Era (late 18th-early 19th centuries) works, which generally require smaller orchestras than Romantic Era. I do, of course, enjoy many 19th and 20th century works for vocalists, chorus, and/or orchestra. I enjoy German Lieder very much, particularly works by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms.
My favorite Baroque composer is Georg F. Händel, my favorite Classical composer is Wolfgang A. Mozart. Of course there are a number of other composers whose works I enjoy very much.
I'm especially interested in opera. I guess that's not surprising considering I'm a vocalist. My favorite composer opera composers are Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, and Giacomo Puccini.
Some of you mentioned the less-than-successful premier of Stravinsky's Le Sacre Du Printemps. My recollection was that there was a near-riot. Of course the sort of music Stravinsky had written was completely new to that audience. Today we've been exposed to a much greater variety of music, so it's hard to hard to imagine people responding that way. I do like Stravinsky's music very much.
If you've never been to a concert featuring 20th century atonal music written by the likes of Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg you should give it a try sometime. You'd probably find it an ear-bending if not mind-bending experience.
My dad has quite eclectic musical tastes. A large part of his record collection, however, is devoted to orchestral works of the late 19th century: the so-called "Romantic Era". His favorite instrument is piano, so piano concertos are among among the recordings he possesses. Of course the music my father listened to had a large influence on my tastes.
That being said, in general my tastes differ from my father's. I prefer Baroque (late 17th-early 18th centuries) and Classical Era (late 18th-early 19th centuries) works, which generally require smaller orchestras than Romantic Era. I do, of course, enjoy many 19th and 20th century works for vocalists, chorus, and/or orchestra. I enjoy German Lieder very much, particularly works by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms.
My favorite Baroque composer is Georg F. Händel, my favorite Classical composer is Wolfgang A. Mozart. Of course there are a number of other composers whose works I enjoy very much.
I'm especially interested in opera. I guess that's not surprising considering I'm a vocalist. My favorite composer opera composers are Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, and Giacomo Puccini.
Some of you mentioned the less-than-successful premier of Stravinsky's Le Sacre Du Printemps. My recollection was that there was a near-riot. Of course the sort of music Stravinsky had written was completely new to that audience. Today we've been exposed to a much greater variety of music, so it's hard to hard to imagine people responding that way. I do like Stravinsky's music very much.
If you've never been to a concert featuring 20th century atonal music written by the likes of Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg you should give it a try sometime. You'd probably find it an ear-bending if not mind-bending experience.
- Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
Modern stuff—I actually learned to appreciate it through playing it. The professor who conducted our college orchestra was a composer, and we premiered a couple of his pieces, which sounded like noise the first time through but were music by the middle of the second week.
For me, at least, part of the pleasure of music is the flow of it—the progression, with its little surprises and its interesting left turns and its safe return home. We didn't get that with Dr. Meier's compositions, so it wasn't until I knew the flow of it that I could hear it as music.
For me, at least, part of the pleasure of music is the flow of it—the progression, with its little surprises and its interesting left turns and its safe return home. We didn't get that with Dr. Meier's compositions, so it wasn't until I knew the flow of it that I could hear it as music.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King