Good choices. I thought of recommending Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. I went to a live concert conducted by Dudamel. Fritz Reiner is my top choice for my album at home, but Dudamel did an excellent job. Reiner commissioned the piece and championed it. I thought it might have been a bit too dissonent for somebody finding their way into classical music, though.Thanks for the Hindemith piece. I’ve been trying to get to know his music better. Bernstein! Interesting. I’ll stream it. We were supposed to go to the Adams concert with Dudamel and Wang, but something happened (something always happens) and we had to exchange the tickets for something else. Now I’m really sorry I missed it.
Let's talk music, no genre boundaries
This is an offshoot of the jazz thread. I and others found that we could not talk about jazz without discussing other musical genres, as well as the philosophy of music. So, this is a thread in which people can suggest good music of all genres, and spout off your feelings about music itself.
- ...
- 436 posts total
For orchestra introduction to someone disliking orchestral work : Beethoven 6 and 7 th symphony is impossible to dislike...( you can listen to the movie "Soylent green" as an intro for Beethoven sixth symphony "Pastorale" ) The 7 th of Beethoven is irresistible masterpiece about creativity and how to become creative as life itself (seeds) moving rocks (allegretto) . Once you had heard them buy the 6 th of Bruckner by Karl Bohm among few other maestros choice the most beautiful symphony ever written...Takes off the light and listen... ( The 6th is the only symphony he never corrected and Bruckner was compulsive and obsessed by inferiority complex and corrected hundred times all his works. Curious for the greatest organist since Bach and the greatest symphonist with Beethoven) I prefered choral music all my life over orchestral works by the way... I entered into real orchestral obsession after my 6 months listening of Bruckner non stop ... I am a bit excessive ... |
I’m taking a different approach. For someone with as varied and insightful a “taste” in Jazz and other more recent genres as @stuartk , more modern works with more emphasis on rhythm (groove) and “crunchier” sonorities seems potentially intriguing. Hardly overtly dissonant in the scheme of things (Webern, anyone?), btw, and demonstrate a different potential of the orchestral sound. Once the groundwork is laid, those intrigued can explore the entire history of the music. Example: what introduced the vast majority of the recent “Jazz curious” to the genre? Jazz/Rock and Jazz/Pop. BTW, @audio-b-dog , that piece is not by Hindemith, Pacific 231 is by the great 20rh century French composer Arthur Honegger.
|
@audio-b-dog @frogman, @mahgister : I feel so fortunate to have three music mentors to help me over the hurdle into enjoyment of Classical music. Thanks, guys! I greatly favor the Adams recording. This selection sounds somehow more akin to Jazz to my ear. Maybe you can suggest more in a similar vein??? I’d heard Beethoven 6th before and found it pleasant ( I utilize this "lukewarm" adjective with some humility, recognizing the fault is mine for not appreciating it as you do). I just listened to Beethoven’s 7th and this I find immediately more engaging. Same goes for the Bruckner. I'm going to explore more Bruckner. Seems I was wrong -- I do have a capacity for enjoying orchestral music. It all comes down to the piece/performance. |
I remember listening to Stravinsky's Firebird on my little, cheap college stereo. Man did I enjoy that. I think the mind is the most important compnent in an audio system. Willfull suspension of disbelief. You can fill in the bass that isn't there and the space that isn't there with your mind. Beethoven's 7th is a much more dynamic piece than his 6th which was written to be laid back. If you can find Carlos Kleiber doing it, he's considered very good. Very, very good because it took him forever to get out a recording. He broke the budget on over rehearsing. Most of his recordings are almost perfect. He also somehow managed to find as much expression as everyone else while sticking to the script. I don't know how he did it exactly. @frogman ? |
- 436 posts total