Unpopular Opinions

Started by The Six, November 11, 2011, 10:32:51 AM

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TheGSMoeller

I don't mind applause in between movements, I would never initiate it, but it also has never bothered me.

pencils


jochanaan

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 15, 2013, 06:58:24 AM
Must be an apt time to bring this back forward:

http://www.youtube.com/v/WpNmIrMMAEQ
Hmmm...I was prepared to snicker, and I actually did at the beginning--but it really isn't bad.  Of course, lots of great early music was based on troubador and drinking songs...
Imagination + discipline = creativity

jochanaan

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 16, 2013, 04:18:56 AM
Woke up, fell out of bed . . . .
Move it up to Morrison: "Well I woke up this mornin' and I got myself a beer." ;D
Imagination + discipline = creativity

Karl Henning

Quote from: jochanaan on August 22, 2013, 06:01:07 PM
Hmmm...I was prepared to snicker, and I actually did at the beginning--but it really isn't bad.  Of course, lots of great early music was based on troubador and drinking songs...

A young lady at the MFA shop had a similar experience. She felt that the organ treatment here transcended the source material  8)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Quote from: jochanaan on August 22, 2013, 06:02:20 PM
Move it up to Morrison: "Well I woke up this mornin' and I got myself a beer." ;D

I exult to say it is many a year since I felt anything like that!  :)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

I mean, I enjoy it as an image . . . .
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

jut1972


jochanaan

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 23, 2013, 04:08:34 AM
I exult to say it is many a year since I felt anything like that!  :)
The world rejoices to read this, I'm sure. :o ;D
Imagination + discipline = creativity

Silk

I think Mozart is very over-rated.  Apart from the last few symphonies, a couple of the piano sonatas, the Mass in C, two or three of the operas, the Gran Partita for Winds and some chamber music it's all so sweet and the endless tonality and saccharine quality has me reaching for something more 'savory'.  Like eating a meal that is all black forest cake.  At my stage much of Mozart is too easy-listening for me, but I was a big fan 30 years ago.  Now my musical tastes have matured and I've left him largely behind, apart from the wonderful works I've mentioned.


kyjo

Richard Strauss' music is no more profound than Johann's. Yep, I just said that and I sure as hell mean it. There's such an egotistical quality to his music that I find immensely appalling. Every time I listen to his music, I come out of it feeling cheated. I can almost see the composer smirking at me from his grave, saying "Ha! I got your attention with that opening, now you'll have to listen to half an hour of my note-spinning!" I was listening to Josephslegende the other night and hated it so much I ejected the disc. At first, I thought my dislike for it stems from the fact that it is one of Strauss' lesser pieces, but I read numerous reviews of it by Strauss fans saying it is an unheralded masterpiece worthy of comparison with Strauss' "best works". ::) It continues to baffle me why Strauss' music is so popular. I even think he's more overrated than Mozart. Back to the J. Strauss comparison, give me The Blue Danube any day over Richard's empty, emotionally detached music! :D

*runs for cover*

Mirror Image

I agree with you, Kyle, about Richard Strauss. Such empty, bloated music. I do have a liking for Elektra and Salome. The Four Last Songs are also quite moving, but that's about it.

kyjo

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 26, 2013, 03:52:35 PM
I agree with you, Kyle, about Richard Strauss. Such empty, bloated music. I do have a liking for Elektra and Salome. The Four Last Songs are also quite moving, but that's about it.

I wouldn't have posted this if you would like Strauss' music, because you're probably the only member here that agrees with me! :D

Mirror Image

Quote from: kyjo on August 26, 2013, 03:57:43 PM
I wouldn't have posted this if you would like Strauss' music, because you're probably the only member here that agrees with me! :D

There are several members who are huge fans of Strauss, but there are some who don't see what the big deal with his music is either. He's quite the polarizing composer to say the least. :)

AdamFromWashington

I don't like Strauss much, either. I used to love the Alpine Symphony, but not so much, anymore. It's too long for the material, IMO. After the summit it all bores me. Except the storm section, but that's not quite enough to redeem the descent. A piece with the climax in the middle seems like a poor idea, anyway. I wish the whole piece was half as long. Thus Spoke Zarathustra never clicked with me past the first two movements, which are lovely. Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegal are fun, but that's it. Strauss's orchestration is very colorful, but too dense for prolonged listening. It all seems bloated. The only work by Strauss I really enjoy is Metamorphosen. Try as I might, I've never enjoyed the Four Last Songs. In the end I have to agree with Strauss himself: he was a "first-class second-rate composer."



kyjo

Quote from: Adam of the North(west) on August 26, 2013, 04:57:37 PM
I don't like Strauss much, either. I used to love the Alpine Symphony, but not so much, anymore. It's too long for the material, IMO. After the summit it all bores me. Except the storm section, but that's not quite enough to redeem the descent. A piece with the climax in the middle seems like a poor idea, anyway. I wish the whole piece was half as long. Thus Spoke Zarathustra never clicked with me past the first two movements, which are lovely. Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegal are fun, but that's it. Strauss's orchestration is very colorful, but too dense for prolonged listening. It all seems bloated. The only work by Strauss I really enjoy is Metamorphosen. Try as I might, I've never enjoyed the Four Last Songs. In the end I have to agree with Strauss himself: he was a "first-class second-rate composer."

Ah, what a relief! John is not the only person that agrees with me! :D Your post largely reflects my own feelings on Strauss' music. If there is one Strauss work which I revisit in the near future, it will be Metamorphosen, which you mention is the only piece by Strauss you really enjoy. IIRC you're not the only person, Adam, who isn't particularly fond of Strauss' music that has said Metamorphosen was his only work that "clicked" with them. Since it was inspired by the tragic Dresden bombings rather than something of a fantastic or narrative nature (like most of his other compositions), I'm thinking Strauss actually put his heart into this work, but, as it's been ages since I've heard it, I can't say anything definite. Kinda reminds me of Mozart. There's only one work he wrote in which he connects with the complex range of human emotions, his Requiem.

Brian

I'm actually going to jump aboard the Richard Strauss hate-train too. And you guys have already identified the two Strauss works I prize above all others: Metamorphosen and the Four Last Songs. There's no shame in that, honestly; the Four Last Songs alone would be enough to make a pretty serious case for his greatness and importance, and they make a convenient and highly symbolic "ending" to the "romantic era." But the famous tone poems hold no interest for me.

Note: I don't know the operas.

Quote from: kyjo on August 26, 2013, 05:14:22 PM
I'm thinking Strauss actually put his heart into this work, but, as it's been ages since I've heard it, I can't say anything definite. Kinda reminds me of Mozart. There's only one work he wrote in which he connects with the complex range of human emotions, his Requiem.
Good news: this is the Unpopular Opinions thread, so I can't yell at you.
Bad news: I can assign you to listen to the 20th piano concerto and watch Don Giovanni.

I have to say, last week when I was moving my late grandmother's things out of her room in the nursing home, one of her neighbors was playing Mozart's 25th symphony full-blast, the first movement. It had a jarring, disturbing emotional effect on me.

kishnevi

Quote from: Brian on August 26, 2013, 07:38:25 PM
I'm actually going to jump aboard the Richard Strauss hate-train too. And you guys have already identified the two Strauss works I prize above all others: Metamorphosen and the Four Last Songs. There's no shame in that, honestly; the Four Last Songs alone would be enough to make a pretty serious case for his greatness and importance, and they make a convenient and highly symbolic "ending" to the "romantic era." But the famous tone poems hold no interest for me.

Note: I don't know the operas.
Good news: this is the Unpopular Opinions thread, so I can't yell at you.
Bad news: I can assign you to listen to the 20th piano concerto and watch Don Giovanni.

I have to say, last week when I was moving my late grandmother's things out of her room in the nursing home, one of her neighbors was playing Mozart's 25th symphony full-blast, the first movement. It had a jarring, disturbing emotional effect on me.

You seem to be part of a decide trend here,  in which I join (although I'm more partial to the operas).  Metamorphosen and Four Last Songs, and don't bother with the rest!

The Mozart opera I would assign would be Nozze di Figaro.

Opus106

Quote from: Silk on August 26, 2013, 03:17:25 PM
I think Mozart is very over-rated.  Apart from the last few symphonies, a couple of the piano sonatas, the Mass in C, two or three of the operas, the Gran Partita for Winds and some chamber music it's all so sweet and the endless tonality and saccharine quality has me reaching for something more 'savory'.  Like eating a meal that is all black forest cake.  At my stage much of Mozart is too easy-listening for me, but I was a big fan 30 years ago.  Now my musical tastes have matured and I've left him largely behind, apart from the wonderful works I've mentioned.

I don't think that's an unpopular opinion, as such. Yes, Mozart is hyped up among the general public (okay, so it's "popular" in that sense), but much of the genius attributed to him by those who know better than the average Joe is mostly the result of his later works, especially the ones you mention and the piano concerti.
Regards,
Navneeth

Geo Dude

Quote from: jochanaan on August 22, 2013, 06:02:20 PM
Move it up to Morrison: "Well I woke up this mornin' and I got myself a beer." ;D

:D