Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #36)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by George P, Apr 21, 2012.

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  1. Tangledupinblue

    Tangledupinblue Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Nah, Haydn is the best answer.

    Mendelssohn's music is often happy at least on the surface, but the man certainly wasn't a lot of the time, being often stressed, overworked, easily offended and over-critical of a lot of his own music - contrary to popular belief, the prolificness of his output and how his music comes across, composing didn't come easy to him. The cheerful demeanour of much of his music is partly as a result of it being calculated to appeal to his musically conservative Victorian admirers - he was regarded by many, especially in England as THE greatest and most popular composer of his day. Nor was it Mozart, for some of the same reasons above - and even if you disregard his troubled life with his constant poverty and frustration over his lack of widespread recognition, his music often barely conceals an underlying melancholy and darkness of mood, not unlike Schubert.

    Haydn's music is clearly the product of a man of an uncomplicated personality, predominantly cheerful disposition, happy lifestyle and by all accounts a very nice person.
     
  2. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Haydn was the name that came to mind first.

    Maybe Rossini as well?
     
  3. John S

    John S Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    I'll take the liberty of citing drh's excellent post, made during just such a discussion back in CMC30:

    http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=7056765&postcount=111
     
  4. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Happy Happy! Joy Joy!

    Haydn is a good answer. I'd also be remiss if I failed to mentioned Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber von Bibern , aka Heinrich Biber who knew how to craft musical jokes as well. However my sense is that J. S. Bach more successfully found expression in a greater range of different emotional affects, none moreso than sheer unadulterated Joy. Haydn gets close to that manic level of glee in many of his symphonic finales, but Bach was better at that sort of musical juggling than anyone before or since.

    Ecstatic is the far end of Happy.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E6d7Cl9jsE&feature=relmfu
     
  5. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Those SACDs are great recordings. :cheers:
     
  6. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    There were 4 SACDs released:

    Brahms/Tchaikovsky
    Beethoven/Mendelssohn
    Sibelius/Prokofiev/Glazunov
    Bruch/Vieuxtemps.

    Plus the Bach, Mozart and Brahms Double Concertos.
     
  7. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Better check my collection, get anything missing while I still can.
     
  8. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Can get all four still for very little money. Under $10 new.
     
  9. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Boy I love that Bruch disc.
     
  10. Regarding Mood when selecting: Music, Cars, Movies, Books, or a Relationship.

    "Not everyone selects what they listen to according to their mood. I try not to romanticize in that way. Not sure how you can tell what "mood" a composer was in by the music. Just because a piece is written in a minor key does that make it a sad piece or mean that the composer was in a sad mood when they wrote it? Or course not."

    "I almost always listen to whatever comes up in my library playing shuffle by album. If I've purchased a lot recently, like now, I have a playlist of recent purchases that I shuffle though."

    "How do we define "mood" for this purpose? If its an emotiuonal state of mind, it might have some subconscious influence on my choice. On the other hand sometimes I'm "in the mood" for Baroque, sometimes for a romantic symphony, sometimes for Radiohead."

    "That my fellow member is the six million dollar question."

    To say that our emotional state of mind always directs or influences what we listen to is somewhat overreaching.

    "I think your second example is closer to most listeners with a broad taste for music....like yourself."

    "Last night I discussed Classical music a bit with a woman that I was on a first date with. It was an awesome, long date and halfway through she revealed to me that she plays the piano! She mentioned that she played the Pathetique Sonata in High School!"


    George P, I hope you both get in the right MOOD.

    I hope she will stick around and play all Beethoven 32 Sonatas to charm you.

    You just might have to invest in a Steinway!

    Cheers, Long Play Fan
     
  11. Time to Listen to more American Composers for a good change of pace and mood. Professor V. What sort of Mood does this music put you in....
     

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  12. Regarding Dvorak

    I purchased the CD box set many years ago from Tower Records
    I purchased the LP box set two years ago for only $5.00 bucks.

    Stunning Performance and Recording.
     

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  13. Collector Man

    Collector Man Well-Known Member

    George P > The start of any possible long term friendship or closer relationship is based on common wave-link likes. This very much includes cultural tastes . I can vividly remember inviting a date, decades ago to a function where a Tchaikovsky Symphony was playing in the background. At one stage this invited date, showing slight annoyance, absently requested "Oh! Can THAT be turned off? " A more wise friend also present, later said to me " On the strength of that, alone....forget it. It is not for you in any shape or form! " They were right, the date was quickly dropped and forgotten. Since then, I have now been with my same partner for the last 24 years - but someone... who also happened to be a professional classical performer. :)
     
  14. Collector Man

    Collector Man Well-Known Member

    When comparing the Heifetz, the Perlman and the Oistakh recordings of this work with Long Play Fan recently...I got the same impression. It is as if the genius of Heifetz the performer senses where the flaws are in Brahm's writing for the violin , and then does something about 'covering up the obvious cracks'. Some violinists playing the score in a straight religious fashion, seem to let the faults 'hang out' , with certain passages sounding like a bit of ' old up -down up-down squawking' Yet ,it has no pay-off for either the performer or Brahms. A passive minded conductor and / or soloist in this work is a recipe for a so-so performance.
     
  15. SBurke

    SBurke Nostalgia Junkie

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    Egad, Simon! :) You don't like the B-flat Concerto? There is no piece I like more. All of the positive attributes you mention above I would apply to it. But I agree with the larger point; it's not easy to like everything by one composer. I heard Hamelin play the F minor Sonata earlier this year and I spent almost the whole time daydreaming. The piece never drew me in. The later piano music I like much more, the variations too.
     
  16. OE3

    OE3 Senior Member

    Sousa.

    [​IMG]
     
  17. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Five recordings!

    I got Szeryng in the Mercury box. (Haven't listened to it yet, though.)
     
  18. SBurke

    SBurke Nostalgia Junkie

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    I don't know . . . Whenever I think of marches I think of a director yelling at performers and trying to get them to march in time. Although apparently Sousa's band didn't march in many parades.

    Anyone with an interest in Sousa and marching bands should read the opening chapter of Barry Hannah's first novel, "Geronimo Rex," which IMHO is one of the greatest (and funniest) passages in American literature. In fact it can be previewed for free online: http://books.google.com/books?id=w0T0JEafbboC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
     
  19. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    Sounds like my wife. It one of the reasons I almost always listen with headphones.

    At least she has an excuse. She was born hard of hearing and never learned how to ignore sounds. Also her hearing is now at -65dB to -95dB in the range of the human voice so any background noise makes it very hard for her to hear someone speaking. Her new hearing aids have something called restaurant mode that only amplifies sounds coming from directly in front which helps quite a bit.



    Currently listening to this recent purchase for the first time. Very good

    [​IMG]
     
  20. Edgard Varese

    Edgard Varese Royale with Cheese

    Location:
    Te Wai Pounamu
    Don't forget to tell us where you two are registered! ;)
     
  21. OE3

    OE3 Senior Member

    Yeah, you're right, there is a militarism to Sousa (obviously), even if his work produces near-unanimous joyful feeling among those who hear The Washington Post March or The Stars and Stripes Forever.

    Most successful 'happy' composer? How about Leroy Anderson.
     
  22. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Awesome! :wave:
     
  23. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    We're gonna work that out on our second date tomorrow. :shh:
     
  24. Eddie Williamson:

    Sir, I agree with you both J P Sousa and L. Anderson make me feel happy with their
    compositions
     
  25. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Did you ever read some of Glenn Gould's criticisms of some of the Beethoven Sonatas? They are fascinating to say the least. I will post some of them if you have not read them. He really goes after the Pathetique as being a joke on listeners.
     
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