The Classical Chat Thread

[Ken B]

Aye.

There is a difference of opinion, though.  To you, the opera is dreck.  To another, it is a turd.

I'm flexible on the issue.

[EigenUser]

I'm proud of myself! I watched all of Mahler's 7th in one sitting on the Berlin DCH. And I liked it! I could have sworn that I had listened to all of the movements, but now I'm thinking that I didn't. I love the Arabian sounding melody in the "Nachtmusic I" and I really loved the finale.

This is an interesting thing I learned from Wikipedia:
http://www.youtube.com/v/384CsvbMGO4

[Ken B]

I'm proud of myself! I watched all of Mahler's 7th in one sitting on the Berlin DCH. And I liked it!

Cool.  Breaking the impatience barrier 

Lot's of things now. Have you ever listened to the whole of Mendelssohn's 3, to pick a composer you like? Just don't move on to Mahler 8; that will set you back years.

[Ken B]

Aye.

There is a difference of opinion, though.  To you, the opera is dreck.  To another, it is a turd.

More on the Dreck of Turd.
I bought this on vinyl the day it came out. Rarely have I ever regretted a purchase more.

http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles/2014/06/19/the-mets-staging-of-klinghoffer-should-be-scrapped/

[Karl Henning]

More on the Dreck of Turd.
I bought this on vinyl the day it came out. Rarely have I ever regretted a purchase more.

http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles/2014/06/19/the-mets-staging-of-klinghoffer-should-be-scrapped/

Excellent article, thank you.

[EigenUser]

I'm definitely in a Mahler phase. Today I watched the 4th which was awesome -- lighter than I expected for him, but still great. I'm going to watch "Das Lied von der Erde" during dinner tonight! I like watching the performances as opposed to just listening. "Pure listening" is hard for me because I feel like I should be doing something.

[Ken B]

I'm definitely in a Mahler phase. Today I watched the 4th which was awesome -- lighter than I expected for him, but still great. I'm going to watch "Das Lied von der Erde" during dinner tonight! I like watching the performances as opposed to just listening. "Pure listening" is hard for me because I feel like I should be doing something.

Das Lied seems to split listeners very sharply. Many hate it, others think it one of Mahler's best.
(Some think both those things  )

I'm in the second group.

[EigenUser]

Cool.  Breaking the impatience barrier 

Lot's of things now. Have you ever listened to the whole of Mendelssohn's 3, to pick a composer you like? Just don't move on to Mahler 8; that will set you back years.

Missed this somehow. I haven't heard the Mendelssohn symphonies in awhile -- I should again soon. I much prefer the string symphonies, some of the finest music for string orchestra ever composed, I think.

I do manage to get "Italian" stuck in my head every now and again.

Das Lied seems to split listeners very sharply. Many hate it, others think it one of Mahler's best.
(Some think both those things  )

I'm in the second group.

I liked "Das Lied von der Erde". The last song went on way too long (though it was good), but I loved 3, 4, and 5. I think I'll conquer "Titan" tomorrow. The 8th is last on my list. What is it that you don't like about it? I've heard that it is generally considered one of the weaker symphonies of his, despite the enormous forces needed.

[kishnevi]

I liked "Das Lied von der Erde". The last song went on way too long (though it was good), but I loved 3, 4, and 5. I think I'll conquer "Titan" tomorrow. The 8th is last on my list. What is it that you don't like about it? I've heard that it is generally considered one of the weaker symphonies of his, despite the enormous forces needed.

sticking my finger in....M8 is a work that's very hard to bring off because it's got so many moving parts, so to speak.  I like it very much,  but I'm not sure there's a recording of it which I totally like.   Getting several hundred musicians to get everything right is a true task of conducting and most performances have at least one thing wrong.  For instance, the bass-baritone solo near the beginning of Part II often comes up as a tongue twisting chewed up botch of singing--the main flaw in the MTT/SFO recording, for instance;  and as an example of another famous recording,  the Solti recording, in which Chohn Chirley-Quirk wraps himself up in phonetic knots all the way through that passage.  And if the performers get it right,  the sound engineers get something wrong.....but done right,  and listening to all the transformations Mahler does with the musical material, tying it all together with the great chorale that ends the symphony....

But be warned; it usually tops 80 minutes (or at least comes very close),  with the only musical break coming about twenty minutes in,  at the end of Part I.

[Ken B]

Missed this somehow. I haven't heard the Mendelssohn symphonies in awhile -- I should again soon. I much prefer the string symphonies, some of the finest music for string orchestra ever composed, I think.

I do manage to get "Italian" stuck in my head every now and again.
I liked "Das Lied von der Erde". The last song went on way too long (though it was good), but I loved 3, 4, and 5. I think I'll conquer "Titan" tomorrow. The 8th is last on my list. What is it that you don't like about it? I've heard that it is generally considered one of the weaker symphonies of his, despite the enormous forces needed.

It's like liver puree. Hard to explain why it's awful, but most people understand once they try it 

It's long, it's bloated, and it's muddy. There are some good melodies, but they get lost in the thickness.

[EigenUser]

It's like liver puree. Hard to explain why it's awful, but most people understand once they try it 

I love it! The analogy, that is.

Maybe this should go in the composing/performing section but it isn't worth starting a new thread for this one thing. I recently came across an extremely old and falling-apart copy of a very well-done solo piano arrangement of the 3rd of Debussy's "Trois Nocturnes". The arranger is Gustav Samazeuilh (never heard of him). It appears to be out of print. Is this post-able on a site like IMSLP regarding copyright? It was published in 1923 and I know that this is the cutoff year for PD material in the US. I have really been enjoying playing this beautiful piece and I'd like to share it with others. I tried googling it, but there is almost no information available on this arrangement. What a shame!

If no one here knows, I'll try asking on the IMSLP.

[EigenUser]

I watched Mahler's 1st last night, the "Titan". Stirred up images depicting chilly oceans of methane .

Seriously, though, I loved it. All of it. The first movement has a very "Haydn-y" sounding melody, but it was late-romanticized.

[Ken B]

I watched Mahler's 1st last night, the "Titan". Stirred up images depicting chilly oceans of methane .

Seriously, though, I loved it. All of it. The first movement has a very "Haydn-y" sounding melody, but it was late-romanticized.

[EigenUser]

This is your nightly Mahler Report:

Saw the fifth. I liked it, but not as much as 1 and 7 -- my favorites. I recognized the famous "Adagietto" as well as the horn call at the opening of the scherzo.

Maybe I'll do 9 tomorrow??

[Karl Henning]

I liked Das Lied long before I much liked any of the symphonies, FWIW.

[EigenUser]

I liked Das Lied long before I much liked any of the symphonies, FWIW.

I loved "Das Lied van der Erde", but I thought the last one was wayyy too long. I liked the last song a lot -- very dark music -- but after a while couldn't help but think "ugh, when will it be over?" If it was shorter, I'd say it was my favorite one.

[Ken B]

I loved "Das Lied van der Erde", but I thought the last one was wayyy too long. I liked the last song a lot -- very dark music -- but after a while couldn't help but think "ugh, when will it be over?" If it was shorter, I'd say it was my favorite one.

Ah, the good old days, when record players had a 78 setting.

[Ken B]

Plumbing new depths of stupidity
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1848385

[amw]

Ah, the good old days, when record players had a 78 setting.

Hey, we can do that with computers now!

[audio]http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32084883/06%20Mahler_%20Das%20Lied%20Von%20Der%20Erde.mp3[/audio]


Way better than the original

[Brian]

Hey, we can do that with computers now!

[audio]http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32084883/06%20Mahler_%20Das%20Lied%20Von%20Der%20Erde.mp3[/audio]


Way better than the original

Let the record show: I listened to this entire clip.