Schumann vs Mendelssohn

[Brahmsian]

The Handel vs Bach poll thread by Corkin was a landslide victory for Bach (47-16 for Bach).   

I get a feeling a Vivaldi vs Bach thread could actually be a bit closer than that was.

*Ducks and runs dodging giant tomatoes* 

[Philoctetes]

The Handel vs Bach poll thread by Corkin was a landslide victory for Bach (47-16 for Bach).   

I get a feeling a Vivaldi vs Bach thread could actually be a bit closer than that was.

*Ducks and runs dodging giant tomatoes* 

I don't get how it could be a landslide, but perhaps others appreciate different things than I do. I think I would side with Vivaldi, in the poll I proposed.

[Sergeant Rock]

I can.  Mendelssohn's early works bring a smile to my face, but as the years went on, his style seemed to get more and more crimped.   That last string quartet, which is supposed to be a homage to his dead sister, strikes me as the most emotionally stifled work I have ever heard.  It is just saturated with fussy figuration, and never anything that impresses me as an attempt to communicate deep feelings.  Next to that piece, Mozart sounds like Scriabin.

I don't hear it that way. I love op.80

Sarge

[Scarpia]

I don't hear it that way. I love op.80

Well, maybe I'll figure it out someday. 

[Brian]

I really only love one work by each composer. I love Schumann's Fantasie in C, Op 17, like Kreisleriana, the quartets and the song cycles, am OK with the rest of his piano music, and don't at all like his orchestral music. I love Mendelssohn's Octet, like the E minor concerto, first piano concerto, and Symphonies 3-5, and find most of the rest to be "meh." So clicking on this thread I was thinking "Mendelssohn, DUH" but when you frame it as

Fantasie in C vs. Octet
All of a sudden it becomes a dead heat. So we go to the next-favorites from each...

Im wunderschonen monat Mai, Op 48 vs. Symphony No 4 "Italian"

...and all of a sudden, Schumann wins. 

[DavidW]

I'm going to break it down like we did on that other thread:

Vocal: Mendelssohn
Orchestral: tied
Chamber: tied
Piano: Schumann

[Scarpia]

I really only love one work by each composer. I love Schumann's Fantasie in C, Op 17, like Kreisleriana, the quartets and the song cycles, am OK with the rest of his piano music, and don't at all like his orchestral music.

There are a lot of bad recordings of Schumann Orchestral Music, like the Kubelik cycle on DG that convinced me I didn't like Schumann for years.  Played well, the Symphonies can be electrifying. 

This one is surprisingly non-Bernsteinesq (i.e., it is good).



I have high hopes for this one, recently acquired

[Florestan]

I'm going to break it down like we did on that other thread:

Vocal: Mendelssohn
Orchestral: tied
Chamber: tied
Piano: Schumann

I'm in the game.

Gentleman: Mendelssohn
Schizophrenic: Schumann

[karlhenning]

For me, one angle is, which was more gracious to Berlioz? Schumann by a landslide.

[DavidW]

Good one Florestan.

Child prodigy: Mendelssohn

[Brahmsian]

Hottest sister:  Mendelssohn

Hottest wife:  Schumann

[Florestan]

Hottest sister:  Mendelssohn

Hottest wife:  Schumann

Best wife's secret lover composer: Schumann. 

[Brahmsian]

Best wife's secret lover composer: Schumann. 

[Brahmsian]

Best composer promoter (tough one):

Bach - Mendelssohn

Brahms, Schubert (finding the score to the 9th) - Schumann

[Sergeant Rock]

This one is surprisingly non-Bernsteinesq (i.e., it is good).

That Spring Symphony is especially electrifying. Add Barenboim and Szell's cycles to your collection and you've got all the bases covered 


Sarge

[Bulldog]

Nothing from Mendelssohn captivates me as much as Schumann's piano works from the 1830's. 

[Josquin des Prez]

Schumann promoted Schubert as well, which to me is a more significant discovery then Brahms, whom would have made a name for himself anyhow. He also discovered Burgmüller for which i'm pretty grateful.

Somebody one day should translate and publish a collection of his reviews and general writings.

[Florestan]

He also discovered Burgmüller for which i'm pretty grateful.

Norbert or Johann?

[Josquin des Prez]

Norbert or Johann?

Norbert. Schumann says of him that "no death was more deplorable than that of Norbert Burgmüller since the early death of Franz Schubert".

[Florestan]

Norbert. Schumann says of him that "no death was more deplorable than that of Norbert Burgmüller since the early death of Franz Schubert".

Quite so. What are your favorite recordings of NB's music?