The Classical Music Recommendation Thread

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

23 minutes ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

I'm afraid I don't understand.

 

Warum?

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

Why?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

 

Hyperbolic hagiographies of Steve Jobs' influence on our culture annoy me.  Music's not bad, but the libretto is unintentionally ludicrous.

[Holko 9,525]

Tomorrow's the 100th anniversary of the premiere of The Planets. Time to get out the JW Conducts Decca album!

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

Only the original CD release is valid.

[Loert 2,511]

2 hours ago, Holko said:

Tomorrow's the 100th anniversary of the premiere of The Planets. Time to get out the JW Conducts Decca album!

 

I think you mean this album:

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Mars, The Bringer of Lawsuits!

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

That's what Zimmer said.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I hadn't seen this before.  I'm riveted.  In heaven.

 

Leonard Bernstein leading a rehearsal of my favorite movement from my favorite symphony for his last ever concert at Tanglewood.

 

Bernstein Rehearses Copland at Tanglewood, 1990: Part 1

 

Both Bernstein and Copland would be dead within 6 months of this video.

[Loert 2,511]

Getting strong A.I. vibes with this one! (at least at the very beginning):

 

 

Add some choochoo and you get:

 

 

[Bespin 8,480]

Bach and coffee, have a great week-end group!

J.S. Bach - Motets (Creed)

 

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,516]

21 hours ago, Holko said:

Tomorrow's the 100th anniversary of the premiere of The Planets. Time to get out the JW Conducts Decca album!

Forget it. The only THE PLANETS you need, is the Previn/LSO....

 

 

 

 

....maybe the Dutoit/Montreal, as well.

[Bespin 8,480]

21 hours ago, Holko said:

Tomorrow's the 100th anniversary of the premiere of The Planets. Time to get out the JW Conducts Decca album!

 

Exactly.  Note that on that compilation, the volume of the tracks have been slightly adjusted (without compression altough) to meet the modern standard.  The volume level was so low on the original Phillips albums...

 

This compilation is a must have.

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

More brilliant Antheil.  Love this piece!

 

 

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

21 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Mars, The Bringer of Lawsuits!

21 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

That's what Zimmer said.

No, I think Zimmer's was something like:

 

Wallfisch, the Bringer of Collaboration

2 hours ago, Bespin said:

This compilation is a must have.

 

I don't have this one. Unfortunately at this point this is the only JW BPO CD I have:

Still some great stuff!

[Marian Schedenig 8,192]

Happy 100th.

 

 

[Loert 2,511]

The creativity in Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances never ceases to blow me away:

 

 

5 hours ago, Richard said:

Forget it. The only THE PLANETS you need, is the Previn/LSO....

 

Amen!

 

 

[karelm 2,913]

Holsts' The Planets with Brian Cox.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/m0000kfx

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

I hope he's not the one who's conducting!

[karelm 2,913]

5 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I hope he's not the one who's conducting!

 

Nope, he's doing interpretive dance to the music while narrating. 

[Loert 2,511]

I honestly believe that at least part of the major popularity of The Planets comes from its name, which immediately kindles the imagination of every listener, but especially the young listener of the present scientific age (whether or not it is the "imagination" which Holst intended...that's a separate matter!). Had Holst called it "Suite for Orchestra, in 7 Movements (Op.32)", and had "Mars: The Bringer of War" instead been called "Allegro energico, ma non troppo" I'm sure it wouldn't be as often performed as it is today.

[SteveMc 2,674]

Unfortunate, but probably true.  The world would be at a loss, though.

Same if Williams released the Star Wars scores as Symphonic Fantasies with such movements as "Romance,"  "March" and "Fugato"  

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I have to admit, never been a huge fan of The Planets.  Well, relative to its popularity and reputation at least.  It’s not among my favorite orchestral music by any stretch.

[Loert 2,511]

And now for something completely different...

 

 

What I love about Kapustin is that not only is his music top-rate, but most of his pieces are written down on paper, which make them great for people like me who are interested in the jazz vein but who come fundamentally from a classical background (Kapustin's rationale for this is that he believed he could write "better" music by actually composing it rather than it originating from an improvisation - obviously a point which will inevitably lead to some disagreement, although one has to admit that the act of composition gives something to the music which an improvisation session wouldn't, and vice versa).

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Reminds me of Catch Me If You Can.  The opening especially puts me in mind of the middle movement of Escapades.  That’s good stuff Loert

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

1 hour ago, Steve McQueen said:

Same if Williams released the Star Wars scores as Symphonic Fantasies with such movements as "Romance,"  "March" and "Fugato"  

I take it Adagio for Force Awakens isn't doing too well, eh?

[SteveMc 2,674]

22 minutes ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

I take it Adagio for Force Awakens isn't doing too well, eh?

Yeah, needs to be titled Han Solo's Hymn or something.  

[karelm 2,913]

3 hours ago, Loert said:

I honestly believe that at least part of the major popularity of The Planets comes from its name, which immediately kindles the imagination of every listener, but especially the young listener of the present scientific age (whether or not it is the "imagination" which Holst intended...that's a separate matter!). Had Holst called it "Suite for Orchestra, in 7 Movements (Op.32)", and had "Mars: The Bringer of War" instead been called "Allegro energico, ma non troppo" I'm sure it wouldn't be as often performed as it is today.

 

I loved it before I knew what it was.  It took years for me to find by accident the name of the work.  I kept hearing it in bits and pieces where it wasn't identified.  Like here from 1980 and as a kid fascinated with music and space, I was gripped by it.

 

Disappointed that it wasn't on the soundtrack but that soundtrack did introduce me to many other great composers (Shostakovich, Vangelis, Stravinsky, Vivaldi, Rimski-korsakov, Tomita, etc).  Beethoven's Allegro con Brio from Symphony No. 5 didn't need much help with a catchy title to be memorable.  Nor did Bach's Chaconne - one of the pinnacles of Western music IMHO.  Maybe a catchy title will help the work get heard once and if its great music, it will be remembered...perhaps that is what you are saying.

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

1 hour ago, Steve McQueen said:

Yeah, needs to be titled Han Solo's Hymn or something.  

Lacrimosa quia Han (SW7K 6)

[Disco Stu 15,495]

 

The kind of piece where you’re making a mental grocery list by minute 20. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

I love groceries!

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

Igor Stravinsky: Circus Polka For A Young Elephant

When you find this on your Recommended For You list.

Such a whacky name and a different idea, I clicked and listened right away. Sharing it with you.

[Loert 2,511]

19 hours ago, karelm said:

Maybe a catchy title will help the work get heard once and if its great music, it will be remembered...perhaps that is what you are saying.

 

I should make clear what I'm not saying. I'm NOT saying that the quality of the music improves with a better title. But I think that the title, and especially the context of a piece of music (e.g. in a film or documentary) does make first impressions which cannot be ignored. But of course, I like to believe that a piece of music can be judged entirely on its intrinsic musical quality.

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

On 9/28/2018 at 2:25 PM, Disco Stu said:

Hyperbolic hagiographies of Steve Jobs' influence on our culture annoy me.  Music's not bad, but the libretto is unintentionally ludicrous.

 

That can make it more entertaining, in my experience. I have a similar feeling when listening to Dr. Atomic, although the technical jargon of that libretto's probably not as bad as in the Jobs thing.

[SteveMc 2,674]

Hmmm... I need to listen to Schubert more often.

 

 

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,356]

Schubert, yes!

 

However, Schumann is my favourite of the Schu's.

[Nick1Ø66 4,714]

Just now, The Illustrious Jerry said:

Schubert, yes!

 

-Mrs. Schubert

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

9 minutes ago, Steve McQueen said:

Hmmm... I need to listen to Schubert more often.

 

 

 

Check out Marriner's complete set, especially Newbould's completions of symphonies Nos. 7 and 10.

 

 

Also check out Bernstein's frenetic take on The Great, especially the last movement.

 

 

[Loert 2,511]

 

The theme in the middle movement (5:37) sounded familiar, though I couldn't place my finger on it...until I realized, it begins almost identically to Rose's theme from TLJ.

[Loert 2,511]

One of my favourite atonal works:

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Has anyone heard Jonathan Leshnoff's Clarinet Concerto?  I've been listening to the Marine Band recording off and on this year and I kind of think it's extraordinary.  One of my favorite classical pieces of the decade?

 

 

[Nick Parker 3,040]

On 10/1/2018 at 3:15 PM, Loert said:

although one has to admit that the act of composition gives something to the music which an improvisation session wouldn't, and vice versa

 

Absolutely, although it's unfortunate that there's a stigma against improvisation in the "classical" field, that it's cheating: as Wayne Shorter once said (paraphrasing): a composer can write something down, white-out their work, and do it again, 2, 12, 13 times. So who's "cheating"?

 

Charles Mingus referred to improvisation as "spontaneous composition", distinguishing it from "pencil composers". 

[SteveMc 2,674]

1 hour ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Absolutely, although it's unfortunate that there's a stigma against improvisation in the "classical" field, that it's cheating: as Wayne Shorter once said (paraphrasing): a composer can write something down, white-out their work, and do it again, 2, 12, 13 times. So who's "cheating"?

 

Charles Mingus referred to improvisation as "spontaneous composition", distinguishing it from "pencil composers". 

Let us remember that the Grand Master, Bach, could do both, and do them very well.

Also, Bruckner, I hear, was quite the force improvising on the organ.  

 

[Nick Parker 3,040]

40 minutes ago, Steve McQueen said:

Let us remember that the Grand Master, Bach, could do both, and do them very well.

Also, Bruckner, I hear, was quite the force improvising on the organ.  

 

 

 

Many of who we call the greats were known for their improvisation skills. Unfortunately it has the reputation of "Aw crap, ran out of time! Eh, I'll make it up as we go." (Mozart was guilty of this, though).

[Disco Stu 15,495]

55 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

 

Many of who we call the greats were known for their improvisation skills. Unfortunately it has the reputation of "Aw crap, ran out of time! Eh, I'll make it up as we go." (Mozart was guilty of this, though).

 

I personally don't think performance improvisation is quite the same thing as compositional improvisation.  Like in jazz, it's usually not REALLY composing (IMHO) more like... freely coloring inside pre-decided lines.  Obviously I don't mean this as a negative.  Listening to a great musician color creatively inside those lines is an experience of joy.

 

BTW, thanks a lot @Loert for turning me on to Kapustin, I've listened to the pieces you posted and I freakin' love them.  I'm always on the look out for great "third stream" composers (like most, I'm not a huge fan of that term but as a short hand it just works, you know what I mean).

[Nick Parker 3,040]

1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I personally don't think performance improvisation is quite the same thing as compositional improvisation.  Like in jazz, it's usually not REALLY composing (IMHO) more like... freely coloring inside pre-decided lines.  Obviously I don't mean this as a negative.  Listening to a great musician color creatively inside those lines is an experience of joy.

 

Depends on the musician's attitude and philosophy, I hope isn't too trite to say.  Benny Golson, a lovely composer, makes the distinction you do, and you can hear this in his playing. These performances tend to be safe--I'm not just talkin' about Benny Golson now--and "circular" in a sense. It's also very old-fashioned, and a very particular, singular, albeit extremely prominent, facet of what we call jazz.

 

But you throw a dude like Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, or Charles Mingus on the stage, you bet your keester you're gonna hear a piece being composed live. 

 

Plus, you don't think dudes like Mozart or Bach--especially Bach!--went up there and improvised without those lines to stay in, do you?

1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

I'm not a huge fan of that term but as a short hand it just works, you know what I mean)

 

I getchu.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Congratulations to Matthew Aucoin, the only musician to receive the MacArthur Genius grant this year.

 

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,067]

Did he have to take an IQ test in order to qualify?

[KK 3,307]

Might this be the greatest thing written for the cello? Yes, I think so.

 

 

[Bespin 8,480]

49 minutes ago, KK said:

Might this be the greatest thing written for the cello? Yes, I think so.

 

A-hum You mean the 6 suites for solo cellos wrote by Bach?