Classical Music

[Mercutio]

How do you introduce someone to classical music sucessfully?

I actually think this is more about why people should listen to classical music...or ... hmm....

Most people simply respond to a "good tune"--something memorable, hummable, singable, and light and bouncy or with a strong beat. This is especially true when one considers today's most popular musical genres, pop and rap.
This presents a problem. Many classical pieces fit the description above, but I'll be honest: real classical music is serious.
By that I don't mean that it's all austere or stiff. Nor do I imply that other music is incapable of being serious. Classical music is a serious and often very complicated art. Not only the music itself but the listening of classical music is serious, requiring patience, concentration and fair judgment. This can be heavy duty listening...not something merely to subconsciously hear while one browses the internet. Not all classical music requires such digging in. There is appropriate classical music for subconciously-listening-while-browsing-online. But some works REQUIRE and DEMAND the fullest attention. From both amateur and professional alike. One must sit down and focus soley on the music.

Unfortunately, few people trouble themselves with the listening aspect of music. They simply register single sound waves passing through their ears. Is there a difference? Certainly. Suppose you are speaking to someone of the phone and they go on and on for ages, and you hear their voice, but you aren't listening to what they are saying. Are you concentrating? Are you really digesting what goes through your ear?

Now for an equally important issue: with all this seriousness and concentration required for proper listening, where's the enjoyment classical music is supposed to give me? After all, that's what music is for right?

[....and here I haven't written the begginning of my reply, but I plunge on...]

When I listen to music I never ask myself "am I smarter yet" because I do not listen to it for that purpose. If it's so serious an experience and I don't get "smarter" (It does make you more in tune to things and stretch your mind...not quite the "smarter" that Baby Mozart fanatics are preaching) why do I listen to it? Because I enjoy it...I enjoy the difficulty of one piece, the simplicity of another. I enjoy listening to a work build up, grow, and come to a fitting, proper end, or a not-so-fitting, unexpected end. I enjoy listening to glorious chords and quiet intertwined melodies...


There ya go. I took some liberties in reworking sentences or adding something hear and there...like the Baby Mozart thing...

All this talk about hearing and listening...I'm stuck on "hear" not "here"!

[hectorberlioz]

You've touched up proper, madam
I'll try to get the rest of in this coming thursday.

[Fat middle]

Now for an equally important issue: with all this seriousness and concentration required for proper listening, where's the enjoyment classical music is supposed to give me? After all, that's what music is for right?

[....and here I haven't written the begginning of my reply, but I plunge on...]

When I listen to music I never ask myself "am I smarter yet" because I do not listen to it for that purpose. If it's so serious an experience and I don't get "smarter" (It does make you more in tune to things and stretch your mind...not quite the "smarter" that Baby Mozart fanatics are preaching) why do I listen to it? Because I enjoy it...I enjoy the difficulty of one piece, the simplicity of another. I enjoy listening to a work build up, grow, and come to a fitting, proper end, or a not-so-fitting, unexpected end. I enjoy listening to glorious chords and quiet intertwined melodies...

Thinking about my own experiece I found that it's true that I first get attracted by "tunes". I liked to hear good tunes. The problem with them is that most tunes tend to be too short. I mean: when you like a tune you like to listen more of it, but not only as a mere repetition. It requires development but at the same time you don't like to lose the original tune.

I found that those long classical pieces were often concerned with this problem and try to resolve it: many of them left me with the pleasant feeling that the tune was finished and well finished. That gave me an additional enjoyment of music, although it required some effort.

After that, there came new discoverings: rithm, timbric differences... All of them required some effort to reach a new grade of understanding and enjoyment.

We should not separate understanding and enjoyment. In music we normally don't need to go "per aspera ad astra" devoting lonng time to study in order to understand and therefore enjoy music. We just need to be interested in music and enjoying it to its limits, and so the path towards a further understanding normally comes accompanied by enjoyment.

[hectorberlioz]

Good stuff Fat M

I didn't think i'd be here today, so no more article to put here...


I did buy:
Bach: Violin sonatas and partitas (2 cds)
Handel: Messiah/Gabrieli con. and players Paul McCreesh
Mahler: Symphony no.10/Simon Rattle (what a strange looking guy...)

[Janny]

Heehee. Yes a funny chap who seems to appear on the cover of every Mahler CD... at least at our public library.

I bought a different recording of Rutter's Requiem - the one by St. Clare's College, Cantab. It interested me because I thought it was actually inferior to that of King's College, and I think it is due to the fact that the former uses sopranos whereas the latter uses choirboys. Does that make any sense?

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Janny

Heehee. Yes a funny chap who seems to appear on the cover of every Mahler CD... at least at our public library.

I bought a different recording of Rutter's Requiem - the one by St. Clare's College, Cantab. It interested me because I thought it was actually inferior to that of King's College, and I think it is due to the fact that the former uses sopranos whereas the latter uses choirboys. Does that make any sense?

I remember seeing a Beethoven Symphonies set with him on it...his back was on the cover, and I remember wondering...who is this guy? He has silver hair...

I still need to get Rutter's Requiem, could you show me a pic of the one you have? (I remember stuff better that way).

[Mercutio]

We have Rutter's Requiem from Naxos...it has the light tan colored cover and a leaf or something?

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Mercutio

We have Rutter's Requiem from Naxos...it has the light tan colored cover and a leaf or something?

just at amazon...they all have leafs! I saw the Naxos one.

[hectorberlioz]

Grieg's Piano Concerto is one of my favorite concertos (Piano conc.'s are more often my favs than violin), and I can definitely see his influence in all four Rachmaninov concertos. Also in Szymanowski's Symphony no.4/Piano concerto.

Recently I read of a toast Tchaikovsky proposed in favor of Berlioz...good to know that more russ composers than just the mighty five were influenced by him.

[Mercutio]

I'm ripping my all-state orchestra music from the cd right now...where could I upload it for you folks to hear? Does any yahoo account allow that?

It has some oboe solos of mine


(right now I'm making pizzelles (italian cookie)...so I'm in the kitchen, put some batter on the iron, run to the computer, have 1 min there, run back to the kitchen, take off the pizzelles and put more batter on, etc.)

[Janny]

Yes, I have the Naxos one, the gold leaf one. I think that the EMI recording by King's is better though. I find the pieces after the Requiem are also better. I have emotional attatchment to Cantate Domino and Hymn to the Creator of Light (and the German pronounciation of the lyrics [the light in-wisible], I sung it in a German choir. ) Despite this I think they are beautiful pieces worth the album itself. The latter piece has text by Lancelot Andrews.

http://www.emiclassics.de/images/cov...4355660527.jpg

Also tempting: Rutter's Requiem and Magnificat.

[Fat middle]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Mahler: Symphony no.10/Simon Rattle (what a strange looking guy...)

LOL : I have that recording too. Number 10 is not my favourite Mahler's though.

Whatever odd-looking, silver-haired he may be, Rattle is definitely a brilliant conductor I've got him in Beethoven's Piano Concerti (with Alfred Brendel) too and I love the way they sound

[hectorberlioz]

Definitely not Mahler's most interesting...it seems too frigid to be Mahler. Bah, oh well. It's my first 'Rattle' recording by the way

Janny, I was looking into Rutter's requiem and Magnificat. And he conducts...I like to have the composer conducting if I can...(for instance, I have Khachaturian conducting his Gayane and Spartacus suites.)
I think I'll get the Rutter Rutter first.

I'm very interested in hearing your Oboe playing Merc...
I can "compose" somewhat now. Perhaps I'll try something for oboe. PM me about oboe workings?

[Mercutio]

I have the files on my computer now, as wma's. Soundclick only let's you upload mp3s. Know any way to convert? or upload wma's?

[Janny]

Blow in one end, sound comes out other. Or were you looking for specifics?

Mercutio, you are on soundclick? Pray elaborate.
To get to MP3, I actually went through a second program, which was about combersome. I think the new WindowsMediaPlayer (10) has a facility, but if not you could just burn the WMAs onto CD-RWs and then rip them back in as MP3s. (Tools>Options>Rip Music>Rip Settings>Format)

[The Witch-King of Angmar]

I think to introduce someone to classical music you need to show someone the works of John Williams, you gotta love it.

[Mercutio]

Originally Posted by Janny

Blow in one end, sound comes out other. Or were you looking for specifics?

Mercutio, you are on soundclick? Pray elaborate.
To get to MP3, I actually went through a second program, which was about combersome. I think the new WindowsMediaPlayer (10) has a facility, but if not you could just burn the WMAs onto CD-RWs and then rip them back in as MP3s. (Tools>Options>Rip Music>Rip Settings>Format)

I am on soundclick as of yesterday, trying to upload the aforesaid music

[Janny]

Should I search for a 'Mecutio'?

[Mercutio]

I'm Mercution

(Mercutio was taken)

But there's nothing there yet.

[Janny]

Ah... say when there are things. Do you not find that it's the intinct to type the 'n' after Mercutio anyway?

Would you be putting up your own compositions?