Your Own Classical Evolution

[Mirror Image]

Sounds like you have some evolving ahead of you.

No, I don't think so. A person can dislike a composer if they find their music unappealing and, most importantly, emotionally/intellectually stale. Satie is a terrible composer. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

[AndyD.]

No, I don't think so. A person can dislike a composer if they find their music unappealing and, most importantly, emotionally/intellectually stale. Satie is a terrible composer. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

It's one of the cool things about being an individual. I don't happen to like alot of the "atonal" composers of the 20th century.

[Luke]

No, I don't think so. A person can dislike a composer if they find their music unappealing and, most importantly, emotionally/intellectually stale. Satie is a terrible composer. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

A classic example of the I don't like = the composer is terrible school of thought that I hoped only Saul and Teresa subscribed to round here.

FWIW IMO the composer of as sophisticated, affecting and unique a masterpiece as Socrate could never be classified as emotionally or intellectually stale; if one found that particular piece to be either of those things the fact would tell us more about the listener than the composer, I suspect.

[karlhenning]

A person can dislike a composer if they find their music unappealing and, most importantly, emotionally/intellectually stale. Satie is a terrible composer. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

This is a discussion which resurges from time to time. But really, not liking a composer does not make that composer "a terrible composer," in the first place (and generally). In the second (and in particular) Satie as a composer is admired by (to name but two other composers) Luke and myself.

[karlhenning]

A classic example of the I don't like = the composer is terrible school of thought that I hoped only Saul and Teresa subscribed to round here.

FWIW IMO the composer of as sophisticated, affecting and unique a masterpiece as Socrate could never be classified as emotionally or intellectually stale; if one found that particular piece to be either of those things the fact would tell us more about the listener than the composer, I suspect.

I should have known that Luke would preempt me here!

[karlhenning]

At the very least, on the basis of Socrate. And there's Billy Wilder's maxim: You're as good as the best thing you've done.

[AndyD.]

Satie has earned several spins from me. Not my favorite composer, but worth checking out. There are so many composers, it's hard to keep up with them at times, and often we have to be reminded to give somebody another go. Look at Copland, an extra fine composer, whom apparently got a bit forgotten on the What are You Listening To thread.

[Guido]

No, I don't think so. A person can dislike a composer if they find their music unappealing and, most importantly, emotionally/intellectually stale. Satie is a terrible composer. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Its jejune posts like these that make you hard to take seriously as a listener.

[DavidW]

Well if we're done discussing Satie I started off with Beethoven and Bach.  They were best of tapes.  I like the major composers then and I like them now.  I'm pretty boring that way.

I've evolved to hearing more but the only way that my tastes have significantly changed is that in the past several years I've embraced more chamber and vocal music when I used to be orchestral only.  I can think some gmg posters for that.

[karlhenning]

Nothing wrong with those major composers. As Jeeves would say, I believe they have given satisfaction ; )

[karlhenning]

Thread duty:

Most of my misspent youth I knew hardly anything of the classical literature.  Almost the first of this music I got to know, was in transcription for symphonic band: last movement of the Dvořák New World Symphony, the first movement of the Schubert Unfinished, a curiously edited (as I only pieced out years later) version of the final movement of the Beethoven c minor symphony, op. 67, Rossini's overture to La gazza ladra, the Haydn Trumpet Concerto (really; we had an amazing trumpeter in my high school); heck, even a clarinet choir arrangement of Barber's famous Adagio.  Participation in All-State Bands (and, one year, the All-State Orchestra) really expanded my knowledge: the finale of the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony, his Festive Overture, the first two of Debussy's Nocturnes, Rimsky-Korsakov's Procession of the Nobles from Mlada, the Marche au supplice from the Symphonie fantastique.  That's not quite a complete list, but it gives you an idea.

When I got to Wooster expressly to study music, my classical music world exploded beyond any possible boundary.  I think, though, that even that astoundingly expanded musical universe then became, unwittingly, The Known World, and I didn't know (much of) what I didn't know.  And (largely with the assistance of GMGers) my musical horizons have expanded about as much, again, in the past couple of years, as they did back when I was in Wooster.

[DavidW]

Karl, I don't think I saw Stravinsky anywhere in that post.

[Scarpia]

I grew up in a home that had exactly three classical music records.  The 1812 overture (Dorati, Mercury Living Presence)  The Tchaikovsky 1/Rachmaninoff 2 (van Cliburn, RCA) and a Beethoven 5 (later I realized it was the EMI Furtwangler).  The first two I now have on CD, not the Furtwangler.

My interest came when I took an advanced class in music in high school, and started checking lps out of the library, then purchasing them.  As I recall, the first classical lps owned were Mozart Symphony No 41, Krips, Concertgebouw (Philips) and Mozart PC 27, Gilels/Bohm (DG).

[karlhenning]

Karl, I don't think I saw Stravinsky anywhere in that post.

He loomed large at Wooster, Davey : )

[Papy Oli]

I was mostly listening to rock, country rock, and acoustic stuff and only had a couple of classical CDs. It took a proper classical turn when I listened to the Four Seasons on a newly acquired set of high end headphones about 5 years ago and that was a revelation detail-wise.

From there it's just been discoveries after discoveries (mostly hits, a few misses too). Sort of :

- bit of everything to find out about genres
- then mostly symphonies and choral works
- then mahler
- then more mahler
- then more mahler
- and then some more
- and for the last year solo piano
- more solo piano
- and a fair bit of piano too

all fun 

[Philoctetes]

A classic example of the I don't like = the composer is terrible school of thought that I hoped only Saul and Teresa subscribed to round here.

FWIW IMO the composer of as sophisticated, affecting and unique a masterpiece as Socrate could never be classified as emotionally or intellectually stale; if one found that particular piece to be either of those things the fact would tell us more about the listener than the composer, I suspect.

Not to jump off, but...

http://www.good-music-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,2996.0.html

and...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embryons_dess%C3%A9ch%C3%A9s

etc.

[vandermolen]

I listened to the Beatles as a child (saw them twice live - heard only screaming) I also saw, but didn't hear The Monkees live in London  - then I got into American jazz-rock (Chicago/BST etcetc) - also I loved the music of Jimi Hendrix. My seven year older brother loved Bruckner and Brahms and tried to get me interested in their music - as long as he tried I resisted and then when he gave up trying - I became interested. My first classical LP was Rimsky's Scheherazade (Reiner) and I started collected some Bruckner. Then one day on my way home from school (I was about 16/17) I was browsing through the classical LPs at W H Smith's and noticed some by Vaughan Williams - I asked my brother about him and my brother said he was a bit like an English Copland (I loved Copland's Third Symphony which my brother had on LP). I bought an LP of Vaughan Williams's Symphony No 6 (Boult/LPO/Decca Eclipse). The rest is history.

[Mirror Image]

It's one of the cool things about being an individual. I don't happen to like alot of the "atonal" composers of the 20th century.

Perhaps you're not into the atonal composers, but you obviously relish in dissonance since you enjoy Bartok so much. Bartok's SQs are incredibly dissonant works. I think it's all a matter of how open you are.

My dislike for Satie stems from listening to his music and just being disappointed. It didn't strike me as original or creative. These are my opinions of course and everybody has right to voice their own opinion.

[Mirror Image]

A classic example of the I don't like = the composer is terrible school of thought that I hoped only Saul and Teresa subscribed to round here.

FWIW IMO the composer of as sophisticated, affecting and unique a masterpiece as Socrate could never be classified as emotionally or intellectually stale; if one found that particular piece to be either of those things the fact would tell us more about the listener than the composer, I suspect.

So anybody who shares a different opinion than you do is wrong? There is no right or wrong in music, Luke. It's all subjective, but if I look at Satie objectively, then history tells us of his influence on Les Six and other French composers at that time, but I don't care for his music.

If you enjoy Satie, then that is your right, but not everybody enjoys the same composers. I've heard people say terrible things about Bruckner, Shostakovich, and Berg, but you don't see me throwing a temper tantrum because they said something negative about a composer I enjoy.

[Mirror Image]

Its jejune posts like these that make you hard to take seriously as a listener.

Oh jeez....get over it! Why would I care if you took me seriously as a listener or not? All I did was express an opinion.

I had a conversation with my Grandfather a few weeks ago and he was giving me hell for liking Bartok and Stravinsky, but I didn't whine about it. I told him that everybody likes different things. I didn't get all bent out of shape about it, because his opinion or anybody else's opinion will never change how I feel about either of these composers.

If you disagree with my opinion, then great, but don't pull the "I don't think I can take you seriously now" crap with me. That's so juvenile and just, for lack of a better word, stupid.