The Classical Chat Thread

[karlhenning]

Well, it's a big piece, Mendelssohn's attempt at emulating Beethoven's Ninth.

Aye.  I haven't quite fallen for it, but I do want to re-visit it.  It's the Reformation I'm not mad over ; )

[Lethevich]

Is Scott Joplin's music something I should look into? I'm not a great fan of jazz and related forms, but this is supposedly a hybrid?

[Drasko]

Is Scott Joplin's music something I should look into? I'm not a great fan of jazz and related forms, but this is supposedly a hybrid?

I love Joplin's piano rags but it is something you'd ultimately need to hear in order to figure out whether you like the style or don't. Thankfully there is a guy on youtube who plays them marvelously, in my opinion:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FB7AC4F189BD2C2F

Joplin also wrote an opera Treemonisha which I haven't heard.

[Lethevich]

Hmm, those are neat, danke!

[12.tone]

Hmm, those are neat, danke!

I've posted four videos in a series of Joplin I did on my Youtube page.  Check them out.  Scroll down the list of uploads and you'll see it listed.  Let me know what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ClassicsHouse

[Opus106]

First Impressions

Variations on Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120 - Ludwig van Beethoven

I have just finshed listened to the Diabelli Variations by Beethoven for the first time. I feel that I need to listen to it many more times to 'grasp' it fully. And that's just from a lay listener's viewpoint. I forgot how the waltz theme went after the first few variations. Perhaps it was a result of the maiden voyage, or, perhaps, Beethoven managed to disguise it masterfully from the get-go. An extreme case of this is variation no. 31, which I found to be such a beautiful piece of music typical of late Beethoven, and far removed from the simple dance that got the ball rolling. I have not even slightest idea of how he got there, but there he did go: a perfectly valid variation that has been accepted for nearly 200 years! And all of this was done "logically" (i.e. based on musical principles) even though the music is all miraculous -- which makes me want to learn music even more. Other highlights for me include the variations nos. 14 and 24. The mood of the music seemed to shift after no. 14. Oh, and the double fugue, of course; although presently it does not  seem to pose a challenge to the likes featured in Op. 106.


P.S.: The recording was Kovacevich's first, on Philips.

[The new erato]

Joplin also wrote an opera Treemonisha which I haven't heard.

Don't expect anything traditional, and neither anything profound (IMO); but it's very fun stuff that I spin occasionally.

[Brahmsian]

First Impressions

Variations on Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120 - Ludwig van Beethoven


P.S.: The recording was Kovacevich's first, on Philips.

That's the recording I have.  There are some great 'variations', or I call them 'movements'.

[Brahmsian]

I'm trying to figure out why, in my listening log book, I write down String Quartet # X, while I write down Symphony No. X

[The new erato]

I'm trying to figure out why, in my listening log book, I write down String Quartet # X, while I write down Symphony No. X

I'm trying to figure out why you manage to keep a listening log book, while I can't. Have thought about it for 30 years.

[Brahmsian]

I'm trying to figure out why you manage to keep a listening log book, while I can't. Have thought about it for 30 years.

Something I've been doing for two years now.  I just enjoy doing it, and I'll jot down some notes too from time to time. 

[karlhenning]

Something I've been doing for two years now.  I just enjoy doing it, and I'll jot down some notes too from time to time. 

I like that.

I've no clue on the variant typography, though, Ray . . . .

[MN Dave]

I'm trying to figure out why you manage to keep a listening log book, while I can't. Have thought about it for 30 years.

Is your pen out of ink?

[The new erato]

Is your pen out of ink?

Something like that. Or rather, a general lack of structure when it comes to relaxing with music. I'm inked out when I've finished work and other chores.

[Lethevich]

And I thought that Moscow orchestra names were confusing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London_Sinfonia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinfonia_of_London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Sinfonietta

I've posted four videos in a series of Joplin I did on my Youtube page.

Hey, thanks, this is ridiculously happy music

[Brian]

And I thought that Moscow orchestra names were confusing...

Wow, that is really ridiculous. It's like the People's Front of Judea, almost!

I did a MusicWeb review of a Naxos CD back in July (Khachaturian Cello Concerto). The orchestra was called the "Russian Philharmonia," which Dundonnell told me was formerly known as the "TV6 Orchestra" (I think). Well, now the Naxos website has changed the CD entry, so that the orchestra is the "Moscow City Symphony Orchestra," which according to its bio page, bears the additional nickname "Russian Philharmonic."

[MN Dave]

Let every listener choose that which interests him. I have nothing against one person liking Mozart or Shostakovich or Leonard Bernstein, but doesn't like Górecki. That's fine with me. I, too, like certain things. -- Henryk Górecki

[Opus106]

Would some explain to me in simple terms what the following means?

The completed score was dated 15 August 1905, and the orchestration was finished in 1906

That line was taken from the entry for Mahler's 7th symphony in Wikipedia. Specifically, I would like to know the difference between completing a score [for a work] and orchestrating it.

[MN Dave]

I'm not a composer but my amateur guess is that all the notes are in place, now which instruments to play them?

[Opus106]

I'm not a composer but my amateur guess is that all the notes are in place, now which instruments to play them?

Aha. Thank you, David.