GMGer Listening Logs

[Brian]

So one of my new year's resolutions this year was to keep a listening log of all the music I hear, and it went over really well. I started on January 9 (darn, missed a few days) and am 99% sure that every work I listened to from that day on is recorded in the log. Even YouTube parodies are included. The log was a lot of fun to keep, in fact. And analyzing it today has been really interesting.

The rest of this post might only interest me. If you are thinking about keeping a Listening Log, or if you really are out of ideas for New Year's Resolutions, or if you have no idea why anybody would want to keep a Listening Log, this post might be of interest to you, however. I am posting this here, rather than just saving it to my hard drive, so people curious about the purpose of Listening Logs can see what exactly they can do, how much you can learn from them, and the sorts of cool facts you can uncover with them.

First of all, based on the number of lines in the Word document (as reported by line count), I listened to an estimated 2,400 things this year. (3,170 - 365 day headings - 365 gaps between days - 40 lines of analysis = 2400). NOTE: Each work is listed separately, except miniatures. For example, if I listen to a collection of Chopin mazurkas, I write "Chopin mazurkas," but if I listen to ten Beethoven piano sonatas in a row, I list each one separately! Of my total, 92 listens were to non-classical music, including jazz, salsa, and even merely YouTube videos like "Russian lololol song." So 3.83% of my listening was non-classical and a little over 96% was classical.

I didn't have any means of counting, but using the search function and a few good hunches, I came up with a rough list of the most-listened albums:

1. TIE Beethoven symphonies, Abbado/Rome box. 23 listens to individual works (a box so maybe doesn't count?)
1. TIE Beethoven sonatas, Gilels DG box. 23 listens to individual works (a box so maybe doesn't count?)
3. Gershwin by Grofe (not coincidentally, my 2010 Recording of the Year!). 17 listens
4. Mozart: Symphonies 38-41. Scottish CO, Mackerras. 12 listens (#39=9 listens)
5. Sibelius: Symphony No 3. Helsinki, Segerstam. 11 listens
6. TIE Sibelius: Symphony No 6. Pittsburgh, Maazel. 10 listens
6. TIE Ravel: Piano Concerto. Argerich, Abbado. 10 listens

As for the most-listened artists of my year, one name stood out...

Charles Mackerras = 89 listens
(I listened to nothing but Mackerras in the 7 days after his death. However, even excluding that 30-listen marathon, he still comes out on top thanks to his superb Mozart and Czech recordings.)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra = 50 listens
German Radio Orchestras (NDR, WDR, SWR, HR, Saarbrucken, Bavarian, Berlin) = 48 listens
Scottish Chamber Orchestra = 40 listens
Emil Gilels = 40 listens
London Symphony Orchestra = 37 listens

Most-listened composers, one name stood out again.


Beethoven = 260 listens
Sibelius = 167 listens
Dvorak = 165 listens
Chopin = 85 listens
Mozart = 67 listens
Ravel = 66 listens
Shostakovich = 63 listens
Tchaikovsky = 61 listens
Rachmaninov = 57 listens
Brahms = 55 listens
Schubert = 55 listens

Beethoven literally ruled my year from beginning to end; I listened to his string quartets opp 18, 59, and 74 for the first time, got Gilels' incredible sonatas box, and listened to the symphonies constantly. But another symphony cycle got even more play: Sibelius'. I listened to Sibelius' Second Symphony only four times all year, but played his Third symphony an unbelievable thirty times, his Sixth twenty-seven times, and his Fifth twenty-five. Sibelius Symphonies 3-7 account for a bigger share of my 2010 listening than all non-classical music combined.

But the Sibelius listening was a quirky thing. It came in cycles. There are definite, pronounced Sibelius "phases" in my listening; most notably, I listened to almost no Sibelius from May to September before being walloped by a new "phase" of obsessive Sibelistening:



It now seems that I've exited the Sibelius phase and am entering a dry spell of his music.

Living composers accounted for at least 70 listens. (the leaders: 18 Kapustin [in wake of a GMG discussion], 12 Dorman, 7 Henning)
Live music, for at least 84 classical works.
Maybe the single fact I am most proud of: music I had never heard before was played 695 times. 695 "new listens" - or 29% of my total for the whole year. Dang!

Resolutions for this year: 150 living composer listens, 33% "new listens," 5% jazz. It's doable!

[Mirror Image]

But the Sibelius listening was a quirky thing. It came in cycles. There are definite, pronounced Sibelius "phases" in my listening; most notably, I listened to almost no Sibelius from May to September before being walloped by a new "phase" of obsessive Sibelistening:



It now seems that I've exited the Sibelius phase and am entering a dry spell of his music.

I go through Sibelius "phases" as well. I'm in an almost complete dry spell right now. About two years ago, I went through a huge Sibelius phase where I listened to just everything the man composed included his chamber and solo works, which is rare for me.


Now, it seems, I'm very much into a Shostakovich/Nielsen/Vaughan Williams phase. My next phase will probably be Latin American and East European music once again, but then again, who knows?

[Brian]

Sibelius seems to be the only composer with whom I have phases. Beethoven and Dvorak were pretty consistent across the year, as were Mozart and Ravel; I get a certain Chopin "mood" which is different from a phase because it only lasts for a few hours at a time. My normal listening state is one of balance between three or four different ideas - right now, it's a balance between baroque, jazz, and Shostakovich. Like with you, the three or four things I'm listening to at any given moment rotate. But the Sibelius phases are like El Nino, disrupting absolutely everything: when I added my Dvorak listens to that graph, one of the tiny number of no-Dvorak weeks turned out to be the 20-Sibelius-listens week.

[Mirror Image]

Sibelius seems to be the only composer with whom I have phases. Beethoven and Dvorak were pretty consistent across the year, as were Mozart and Ravel; I get a certain Chopin "mood" which is different from a phase because it only lasts for a few hours at a time. My normal listening state is one of balance between three or four different ideas - right now, it's a balance between baroque, jazz, and Shostakovich. Like with you, the three or four things I'm listening to at any given moment rotate. But the Sibelius phases are like El Nino, disrupting absolutely everything: when I added my Dvorak listens to that graph, one of the tiny number of no-Dvorak weeks turned out to be the 20-Sibelius-listens week.

I always like to mix things up a bit. I bounce back and forth between composers, because I always feel that I should be trying to listen to some things that I haven't heard yet, like, for example, Ligeti. I bought the Teldec box set a year ago and I spent a lot of time dodging it. But I finally sat down in the autumn months last year and listened to it. The same ran true for the Second Viennese School. I spent so much time avoiding them and why? Berg ended up being one of my greatest musical discoveries of 2010.

[Brian]

I've just trawled through my listening log again, and here are my 13 favorite discoveries from the 695 works I heard for the first time in 2010.

*Bruckner: Symphony No 8. Munich Philharmonic; Gunter Wand
*Henning: Lost Waters. Mary Jane Rupert, harp
*Stravinsky: The Firebird (1945 Suite). Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra; Kristian Jarvi
*Weinberg: Cello Concerto. Mstislav Rostropovich, cello; USSR SSO, Rozhdestvensky
*R. Fuchs: Clarinet Quintet. Thea King, clarinet; Britten Quartet
*Ravel: Sheherazade. Julie Boulianne, mezzo; Nashville SO, Alastair Willis
*Henning: Viola Sonata. Dana Huyge, viola; Carolyn Ray, piano
*Dvorak: Te Deum. Bach Collegium Stuttgart; Helmuth Rilling
*Bach: Concerto for Two Violins. Gidon Kremer, Oleg Kagan; Moscow PO, David Oistrakh
*Roussel: Symphony No 3. Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Stephane Deneve
*Roussel: Suite in F. Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Stephane Deneve
*Dorman: Piccolo Concerto. Mindy Kaufman, piccolo; Metropolitan Ensemble, Andrew Cyr
*H. Casadesus: Cello Concerto. Daniil Shafran, cello; USSR SSO, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
(reverse chronological order by listen. The original list of favorites was about twice as long. 2010 was a fantastic year!)

Also heard for the first time: Bruckner's Sixth, Bach's Cello Suites Nos 2-5, Mozart's 31st symphony, some Haydn masses and 30 of his keyboard sonatas, and other important things.

[Brahmsian]

I'd like to think that you got the idea from me, Brian. 

Ironically, I stopped doing the listening log in 2010 (did it for both 2009 and 2008).  I probably will go back to doing it at some point.  I had the same criteria for counting one piece of music, depending on the length of the piece.

[Brian]

I'd like to think that you got the idea from me, Brian. 

I did. I've started one for 2011. Join me!

[Henk]

Brian, I'm interested how exactly you did this. I understand that you write down just lines in Word and then analyze it with Excel? Which commando's do you use?

I also use a log. I have just a little notebloc and write down what I've listened. This is handy since I don't listen to complete cd's in one listening. So later, when I've listened to several other cd's, I can continue with the cd and know from what track to continue. My listening to box sets I notate apart from it again (I use my log for this also, so I do this when I clean up my log), so I know what works I've listened to and how many times to keep overview.

[Brahmsian]

I did. I've started one for 2011. Join me!

Well Brian, if you are starting one for 2011, you will find it interesting once 2011 is over.  Doing the comparisons, you will probably (though maybe not) find it striking.  I remember clearly a few glaring differences (went from listening to 1 Stravinsky piece in 2008, up to 70 times in 2009, and 8th most listed to composer).  You will probably find some major differences in some of your listening patterns.

[karlhenning]

I've just trawled through my listening log again, and here are my 13 favorite discoveries from the 695 works I heard for the first time in 2010.

*Bruckner: Symphony No 8. Munich Philharmonic; Gunter Wand
*Henning: Lost Waters. Mary Jane Rupert, harp
*Stravinsky: The Firebird (1945 Suite). Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra; Kristian Jarvi
*Weinberg: Cello Concerto. Mstislav Rostropovich, cello; USSR SSO, Rozhdestvensky
*R. Fuchs: Clarinet Quintet. Thea King, clarinet; Britten Quartet
*Ravel: Sheherazade. Julie Boulianne, mezzo; Nashville SO, Alastair Willis
*Henning: Viola Sonata. Dana Huyge, viola; Carolyn Ray, piano
*Dvorak: Te Deum. Bach Collegium Stuttgart; Helmuth Rilling
*Bach: Concerto for Two Violins. Gidon Kremer, Oleg Kagan; Moscow PO, David Oistrakh
*Roussel: Symphony No 3. Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Stephane Deneve
*Roussel: Suite in F. Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Stephane Deneve
*Dorman: Piccolo Concerto. Mindy Kaufman, piccolo; Metropolitan Ensemble, Andrew Cyr
*H. Casadesus: Cello Concerto. Daniil Shafran, cello; USSR SSO, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
(reverse chronological order by listen. The original list of favorites was about twice as long. 2010 was a fantastic year!)

Also heard for the first time: Bruckner's Sixth, Bach's Cello Suites Nos 2-5, Mozart's 31st symphony, some Haydn masses and 30 of his keyboard sonatas, and other important things.

Delighted to have made the list, and not once but twice.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Delighted to have made the list, and not once but twice.

"He's making a list, and checking it twice."

[Brahmsian]

So far for me, my listening log for the first 4 months of 2011 has Bach in the lead (I'm sure Navneeth has just fainted out there in India).   

Top 20 Composers from Jan-Apr 2011:

Bach                   51
Brahms                   44
Tchaikovsky   43
Beethoven   42
Schubert                   34
Mozart, W.A.   29
Shostakovich   26
Eckhardt-Gramatte   22
Berlioz                   19
Taneyev                   19
Barber                   15
Schumann, R.   14
Sibelius                   14
Haydn                   13
Bruckner                   12
Chopin                   12
Dvorak                   12
Prokofiev                   12
Bartok                    9
Stravinsky    9

[Opus106]

So far for me, my listening log for the first 4 months of 2011 has Bach in the lead (I'm sure Navneeth has just fainted out there in India).   

That happened when you bought the box. Enjoy away, mon cher ami.

[Brahmsian]

That happened when you bought the box. Enjoy away, mon cher ami.

Oh, indeed.  That Hewitt Bach-ox set has been incredible.  I have listened to 1/2 the set so far, and A+++ to all I've listened to.

[Brahmsian]

With permission from the author of this thread, I'm posting my "stats" for the first half of 2011.  My 30 most listened to composers to date for 2011.  I am very well aware that I have ignored (for no reason) composers that would usually have more listening time.  Hey, I'm not perfect, and neither are my listening habits.  Relatively run of the mill list, with a few notables that seem to have risen up in the # of listen ranks.   These are Bach, Chopin, Eckhardt-Gramatte and Barber.

Top 30

1 - Beethoven 88

2 - Bach, Brahms  74

4 - Tchaikovsky  60

5 - Schubert  57

6 - Mozart  48

7 - Shostakovich  34

8 - Schumann  32

9 - Bruckner  26

10 - Dvorak  25

11 - Eckhardt-Gramatte  24

12 - Haydn, Sibelius 21

14 - Prokofiev  20

15 - Berlioz, Chopin, Taneyev  19

18 - Villa-Lobos/Wagner  18

20 - Mahler  16

21 - Barber  15

22 - Bartok/Stravinsky  12

24 - Saint-Saens/R. Strauss 11

26 - Rachmaninov  9

27 - Bizet  8

28 - Adams, John  7

29 - Rimsky-Korsakov  6

30 - Borodin/Hindemith/Mendelssohn  5

[Brahmsian]

Brian, get to work buddy!!!   

[karlhenning]

With permission from the author of this thread, I'm posting my "stats" for the first half of 2011.  My 30 most listened to composers to date for 2011.  I am very well aware that I have ignored (for no reason) composers that would usually have more listening time.  Hey, I'm not perfect, and neither are my listening habits.  Relatively run of the mill list, with a few notables that seem to have risen up in the # of listen ranks.   These are Bach, Chopin, Eckhardt-Gramatte and Barber.

Top 30

1 - Beethoven 88
2 - Bach, Brahms  74
4 - Tchaikovsky  60
5 - Schubert  57
6 - Mozart  48
7 - Shostakovich  34
8 - Schumann  32
9 - Bruckner  26
10 - Dvorak  25
11 - Eckhardt-Gramatte  24
12 - Haydn, Sibelius 21
14 - Prokofiev  20
15 - Berlioz, Chopin, Taneyev  19
18 - Villa-Lobos/Wagner  18
20 - Mahler  16
21 - Barber  15
22 - Bartok/Stravinsky  12
24 - Saint-Saens/R. Strauss 11
26 - Rachmaninov  9
27 - Bizet  8
28 - Adams, John  7
29 - Rimsky-Korsakov  6
30 - Borodin/Hindemith/Mendelssohn  5

Most interesting, Ray.

[Brian]

Brian, get to work buddy!!!   

I really, really need to hear something by Ms Eckhardt-Gramatte! That name is entirely new to me.

-

In the first half of 2011:
347 listens to works I'd never heard before (that's exactly the same pace as 2010's - 695 in the full year)
83 listens to living composers - already more in six months than I heard all last year (70)! So I should be on pace to double my living-composer diet!  47 of the 83 (57%) were works I had never heard before, by the likes of HK Gruber, Aulis Sallinen, Gabriela Lena Frank, John Adams, Christopher Theofanides, William Bolcom, and Henri Dutilleux.

Top Four Composers, 2011 six months:
1. Beethoven, 160 listens
2. Dvorak, 89 listens
3. Ravel, 59 listens
4. Mozart, 49 listens
[Ray, how do you keep track of your top composers? I'm only using a Word file, which makes nearly any kind of data collection inconvenient. I really need to upgrade!]

Top artists:
London Symphony Orchestra, 32 listens
Vermeer Quartet, 31 listens
Charles Mackerras, 27 listens

Top album: Vermeer Quartet Beethoven cycle, 31 listens

Aside from focusing on listening to the Vermeer Beethoven cycle, I've been doing an increasingly good job of maintaining a varied listening diet of different stuff. Last year's diet of Beethoven, Sibelius, and Dvorak, who just between the three of them took up 25% of my listening (!), has relaxed somewhat; they now combine for only 18% of my schedule. In just the last 4 days of June I found time for 26 different composers, ranging from Lully to Glass. The Vermeer Beethoven project is going very well, but so is the resolution to double my living composer consumption, and so too is the resolution to spend less time with the high romantics. The big winner is Maurice Ravel: my listening to Ravel has doubled! But that's peanuts compared to the rise of Stravinsky: after hearing him only 6 times in all 2010, I've given him 19 listens in the first half of this year. True, almost all of them are Petrushka. 

Here's how my 2010 top six composers are faring... first 2010 listens, then in [brackets] listening totals for the first half of 2011
Beethoven = 260 listens [160; a 23% increase]
Sibelius = 167 listens [21 listens; a 75% decrease!]
Dvorak = 165 listens [89 listens; more or less the same]
Chopin = 85 listens [39 listens; more or less the same]
Mozart = 67 listens [49 listens; on the uptick]
Ravel = 66 listens [59 listens already; nearly double!]
[There are about 25 men and women hovering around 20-30 listens, a healthy number, I think.]

[karlhenning]

Top album: Vermeer Quartet Beethoven cycle, 31 listens

Do you mean, you've listened to the entire cycle 31 times, or that there were 31 instances of your listening to items from that cycle, Brian? Just curious . . . .

[Brahmsian]

I really, really need to hear something by Ms Eckhardt-Gramatte! That name is entirely new to me.

Not many available commercial recordings, unfortunately.  This is a shame, but word is there are some new recordings in the midst.

My best suggestion to you or anyone else looking for Eckhardt-Gramatte recordings, to visit and contact the Canadian Music Centre.

Here is their link:  http://www.musiccentre.ca/home.cfm