Weird, and sort of sad...

[snyprrr]

Quote most often heard uttered by the great unwashed:

"It sounds like movie music."

THAT'S why. Blame Korngold (or somebody)...

And just because people are more educated does not make them smart.  I'm sure NASA engineers couldn't boil water.  They just know what they NEED TO KNOW...cause we live in a need to know culture like that.

The only people I've met who like Xenakis...are people I've found that I don't particularly like being around.

So I will take my elitist listening habits into the next room dear...all for ME!!!...and pretend that all this music was written for me to enjoy.

But I accuse the nurses of being elitist.  Some of "these people" look down on us because we don't subscribe to the "cool" as they see it (which, of course, is the status quo of MEDIOCRITY).  As long as it's luke warm and doesn't make waves.
They bring me to blows. A good back handed slap across the mouth.

forgive me, but f*** em.

reading this thread makes me want to hatch a plan for the next "hater" to come my way.

well...you feel lucky...punk?

[Gurn Blanston]

Quote most often heard uttered by the great unwashed:

"It sounds like movie music."

THAT'S why. Blame Korngold (or somebody)...

And just because people are more educated does not make them smart.  I'm sure NASA engineers couldn't boil water.  They just know what they NEED TO KNOW...cause we live in a need to know culture like that.

The only people I've met who like Xenakis...are people I've found that I don't particularly like being around.

So I will take my elitist listening habits into the next room dear...all for ME!!!...and pretend that all this music was written for me to enjoy.

But I accuse the nurses of being elitist.  Some of "these people" look down on us because we don't subscribe to the "cool" as they see it (which, of course, is the status quo of MEDIOCRITY).  As long as it's luke warm and doesn't make waves.
They bring me to blows. A good back handed slap across the mouth.

forgive me, but f*** em.

reading this thread makes me want to hatch a plan for the next "hater" to come my way.

well...you feel lucky...punk?

Well, yeah, but bear in mind that they were busy keeping me alive at the time (with plenty of help from Beethoven and Mozart, of course). So I had to respect them for that, even though they thought I was intelligent.



----------------
Listening to:
English Baroque Soloists / Gardiner Monteverdi Choir - Haydn Harmoniemesse Hob XXII:14 Gratias agimus tibi

[Brian]

Tonight I'm going to see Gustavo Dudamel conduct the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, with eight other college-student friends, at least two of whom have never been to a proper orchestra concert before. Will be very interesting to see the average age of that audience...

Put it this way: I'm going to have a lot to write about tomorrow!

[The new erato]

forgive me, but f*** em.

Doing that to nurses?.......Well, THAT's a thought......

[Sorin Eushayson]

Hey, I'm just glad there's still enough interest in this excellent music that great new recordings are coming out of the industry for us to enjoy!

As long as I have my Mendelssohn I'm a happy camper...  And my Beethoven... And Mozart... 

[Kullervo]

You should have seen the looks I got during the Don Giovanni scene when I played Amadeus at the video store.

[Diletante]

I have had many people over the years say "I'm not smart enough to listen to that music".

Jeez, that's something I'll never understand. When I first started listening to classical music I knew squat about it. I had no idea what a "movement" was! But I didn't care, after all it's friggin' music. You can have a whole theory and philosophy and whatnot behind, but in the end it all boils down to sounds coming out of your speakers.

You don't need to "understand" something in order to like it. Otherwise, who would like women? 

[Gurn Blanston]

Jeez, that's something I'll never understand. When I first started listening to classical music I knew squat about it. I had no idea what a "movement" was! But I didn't care, after all it's friggin' music. You can have a whole theory and philosophy and whatnot behind, but in the end it all boils down to sounds coming out of your speakers.

You don't need to "understand" something in order to like it. Otherwise, who would like women? 

  (well, I really don't want to go there... )

But yes, that's exactly what I think too. I knew squat about music when I started listening. I just knew that I liked what I heard. What else do you need? 





----------------
Listening to:
English Baroque Soloists / Gardiner Monteverdi Choir - Haydn Paukenmesse Hob XXII:9 - Kyrie

[knight66]

Love of music can grow anywhere. I was brought up on a Scottish council house estate. My parents thought Mantovani was 'classical' and constantly yelled at me to turn down my funeral music. I had no friends who liked the kind of music that I did. But I went my own way.

There is quite a bit of classical music smuggled into films and used as background to commercials or documentaries. I think that many people hold in their heads a subconscious pool of classical music.

Mike

[CRCulver]

It's sad that even when the average American becomes interested in classical music, he has nowhere to buy it. Classical CD shopping in the US is now only a giant metropolis thing. The CD stores in shopping malls have reduced their classical section to little more than bargain-priced offerings of only Classical or Romantic-era warhorses, performances decades old at best and of low quality. Borders, which at one time seemed to buck the trend, is decimating its classical sections across the US. Sure, on the Internet there's limitless choice, but for novices it's nice to be able to browse in a real store and, though it's hardly imaginable today, talk with employees who know something about classical.

[knight66]

CRC, That last point that you made was one that was a great influence on me. When I was about 15, the local music shop employed a Polish manageress. She spent hours chatting to me, leading me through music I did not know, giving me good deals to let me swell my collection and knowledge. She told me about earlier generations of singers, got me to compare conductors from the shop discs, helped me to get into Brahms.

When she moved to a larger music store, I followed her. She had been well educated and spoke several languages. As well as music, she introduced me to Zola and Flaubert, Thoman Mann and to good travel writing. I got a liberal education. Now where do you find that these days? Apart from this site of course.

Mike

[Coopmv]

I think it says more about the state of civilization these days .....

With classical music you have to put some effort in to get something out.     You also have to be in-tune with the idiom in order to "speak the same language as the composer", otherwise the sounds don't communicate anything.    For example I LOVE orchestral and instrumental music, but I have never really acquired a taste for opera      

Many people also have pretty short attention spans, and can just about cope with an iPod tune.    I have noticed that over the years my local classical radio station has transitioned from playing whole works to individual movements (and the shorter the better).

The next dark age is approaching      

Agree.  The cultural dark age will be upon us soon.

[The new erato]

I take a less dim view. Using internet, anybody can have a richer selction, as well as listeing to clips, in a way that even the best music stores of a few decades ago, only can dream of. And with no risk of intimidation. And using sites like this, you can get wellinformed advice that for most was uninmaginable a few years ago.

A larger problem is the short attention span promoted by commercial Television etc and generally less indepth activities.

[Brian]

Love of music can grow anywhere. I was brought up on a Scottish council house estate. My parents thought Mantovani was 'classical' and constantly yelled at me to turn down my funeral music. I had no friends who liked the kind of music that I did. But I went my own way.

Funny that your parents should have used that description. We once put on Brahms' Second Symphony and my younger brother called it "funeral music."

[Gurn Blanston]

Funny that your parents should have used that description. We once put on Brahms' Second Symphony and my younger brother called it "funeral music."

My wife does the same, no matter what I am playing it's like "Geez, Gurn, who's funeral is THAT for... " 



PS - Needless to say, she isn't a fan, but it isn't because she hasn't heard every great work ever composed...

----------------
Listening to:
Schubert: Lieder from Poems by Goethe - Matthias Goerne \ Andreas Haefliger - D 161 Lied for Voice & Piano "An Mignon" ("Über Tal und Fluss getragen")

[Dr. Dread]

My wife does the same, no matter what I am playing it's like "Geez, Gurn, who's funeral is THAT for... " 



PS - Needless to say, she isn't a fan, but it isn't because she hasn't heard every great work ever composed...

----------------
Listening to:
Schubert: Lieder from Poems by Goethe - Matthias Goerne \ Andreas Haefliger - D 161 Lied for Voice & Piano "An Mignon" ("Über Tal und Fluss getragen")

My wife isn't a fan either. She likes '80s pop and rock, mainly. What does your wife like? Oh, my wife also likes silence. 

[Gurn Blanston]

My wife isn't a fan either. She likes '80s pop and rock, mainly. What does your wife like? Oh, my wife also likes silence. 

Classic rock with heavy guitars and TV... and she abhors silence. If you put ZZ Top and Mozart out there together, she'd by on "Sharp Dressed Man" in a heartbeat...



----------------
Listening to:
L'Orfeo Ensemble di Spoleto - Fabrizio Ammetto - RV Anh.85 Sinfonia for Strings & Basso continuo in  A 2nd mvmt - Andante

[Jay F]

I take a less dim view. Using internet, anybody can have a richer selction, as well as listeing to clips, in a way that even the best music stores of a few decades ago, only can dream of. And with no risk of intimidation. And using sites like this, you can get wellinformed advice that for most was uninmaginable a few years ago.

And I would give up every one of these "advancements" if I could go back to shopping in the well-stocked record stores of my past.

[Gurn Blanston]

And I would give up every one of these "advancements" if I could go back to shopping in the well-stocked record stores of my past.

Me too. I still don't use the potential of Internet shopping, I do all the "shopping": questioning, discussing etc. beforehand with people I have confidence in, just like I used to do at the shop. Then I go online and just buy the best deal I can find. It is a sorry replacement, but the best I can do for now. I guess music Forums have taken the place of your friendly clerk...



----------------
Listening to:
RV 693 Opera "La Senna Festeggiante" - Le Parlement de Musique / Gester Collot / Karolyi / MacLeod - Tal di me parlo - Al mio seno (L'Age d'or)

[Frumaster]

Jeez, that's something I'll never understand. When I first started listening to classical music I knew squat about it. I had no idea what a "movement" was! But I didn't care, after all it's friggin' music. You can have a whole theory and philosophy and whatnot behind, but in the end it all boils down to sounds coming out of your speakers.

You don't need to "understand" something in order to like it. Otherwise, who would like women? 

But yes, that's exactly what I think too. I knew squat about music when I started listening. I just knew that I liked what I heard. What else do you need? 

Congratulations, you are both wrong.  Sure, at the beginning you're not going to know anything about classical...something more aesthetic will attract you to the music.  But understanding this music is so important, and it will only increase your appreciation and heighten the experience. 

Once you've stayed on the surface for a little while, this music will beg to be explored further.  At some point there is no more sitting on the fence and the music will prove a great discriminator.  If you want something you can't get on local FM radio, if you ever want to  be able to discuss and expand your taste, if you want to make new synaptic connections in the brain, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS MUSIC!!!!!!!  Anything less is failure.  I can't stand the bourgeois 'just enjoy it' pap.  Knowledge is empowerment.