Recordings That You Are Considering

[MN Dave]

Dave, this isn't a lecture, it's just an observation. You have to listen to classical era music (especially keyboard sonatas) with different ears and expectations than you do later music. By and large, it isn't intended to convey great emotion, or paint pictures, it is simply intended to entertain, to display some mastery of rhetoric, to exhibit purity of form and lack of verbosity. Displays of virtuosity were considered vulgar and coarse. Expectations for a grander experience than that are sure to be dashed. I specialize in collecting classical era keyboard sonatas, so I have a lot to compare to here. For the time in which they were composed, Mozart's are brilliant, only Haydn is his peer, and that was really post 1785, when Mozart's were mainly in the can already.

I think Beethoven and Chopin spoiled me for these but I'll give them another shot some time, keeping what you said above in mind. Thanks.

[George]

I've heard Uchida. I own Wurtz. I'm thinking, maybe these sonatas aren't for me. 

That's a fair assumption.

[Gurn Blanston]

I think Beethoven and Chopin spoiled me for these but I'll give them another shot some time, keeping what you said above in mind. Thanks.

Well yes, they would, wouldn't they? 

Classicism = simple beauty 



----------------
Listening to:
Slovak Sinfonietta / Krysa - Mozart - K 534 Contredanse for Orchestra in D - "Das Donnerwetter"

[George]

Dave, this isn't a lecture, it's just an observation. You have to listen to classical era music (especially keyboard sonatas) with different ears and expectations than you do later music. By and large, it isn't intended to convey great emotion, or paint pictures, it is simply intended to entertain, to display some mastery of rhetoric, to exhibit purity of form and lack of verbosity. Displays of virtuosity were considered vulgar and coarse. Expectations for a grander experience than that are sure to be dashed. I specialize in collecting classical era keyboard sonatas, so I have a lot to compare to here. For the time in which they were composed, Mozart's are brilliant, only Haydn is his peer, and that was really post 1785, when Mozart's were mainly in the can already.




----------------
Listening to:
K 509 6 Deutsche Tänze - Slovak Sinfonietta / Krysa - K 509 6 Deutsche Tänze

Yeah for me, there are times when Beethoven is too much, Bach is too complicated, Rachmaninov too intense, Ravel and Debussy too vague, Chopin too dramatic.

At these times only Mozart will do.  0:)

[MN Dave]

I'm in the middle of Bruckner 4 right now  0:) but later on, I'll try some of these again.

[George]

Well yes, they would, wouldn't they? 

Classicism = simple beauty 



----------------
Listening to:
Slovak Sinfonietta / Krysa - Mozart - K 534 Contredanse for Orchestra in D - "Das Donnerwetter"

I had a friend who once said that people should get to know classical music in the order it was created. I think he was onto something. That's why I love to listen to all the Beethoven sonatas in order - the Pathetique has more impact when you hear the 7 previous sonatas. I bet that this effect would be further heightened by hearing Bach for a few months, then Mozart, then Haydn, then Beethoven. 

[MN Dave]

That's why I love to listen to all the Beethoven sonatas in order...

Whenever I do this, I get interrupted for one reason or another and have to start over. That's why I've heard the first five sonatas way more than the others. 

[George]

I'm in the middle of Bruckner 4 right now  0:) but later on, I'll try some of these again.

One last thought - for me, Mozart is easier to appreciate than Haydn. When I listen to Haydn, I often want him to exaggerate more and be like Beethoven. Mozart has a air of perfection that doesn't cause me to want more. I just need to be in the mood for it.

[Gurn Blanston]

I had a friend who once said that people should get to know classical music in the order it was created. I think he was onto something. That's why I love to listen to all the Beethoven sonatas in order - the Pathetique has more impact when you hear the 7 previous sonatas. I bet that this effect would be further heightened by hearing Bach for a few months, then Mozart, then Haydn, then Beethoven. 

Well, whether he was right or not, I am in agreement with him. I was very fortunate to start my listening life with Mozart and Haydn, I think. They gave me a firm basis to appreciate what others were building on without losing sight of the foundation. How can you really appreciate Beethoven's achievement if you don't know where he started from?



----------------
Listening to:
Slovak Sinfonietta / Krysa - Mozart - K 571 German dances (6) for Orchestra #6 in D

[MN Dave]

One last thought - for me, Mozart is easier to appreciate than Haydn. When I listen to Haydn, I often want him to exaggerate more and be like Beethoven. Mozart has a air of perfection that doesn't cause me to want more. I just need to be in the mood for it.

Yeah, I have that Hamelin Haydn set but haven't listened to it much after the first time. 

[George]

Whenever I do this, I get interrupted for one reason or another and have to start over. That's why I've heard the first five sonatas way more than the others. 

Yeah, I turn off the phone and make sure I am alone. I strap on my headphones. I do 5 or so per night. It's actually harder for me to start and not finish. Only Ciccolini and Brendel's Vox set has scared me away. 

[George]

Well, whether he was right or not, I am in agreement with him. I was very fortunate to start my listening life with Mozart and Haydn, I think. They gave me a firm basis to appreciate what others were building on without losing sight of the foundation. How can you really appreciate Beethoven's achievement if you don't know where he started from?

Indeed. 

[MN Dave]

Well, whether he was right or not, I am in agreement with him. I was very fortunate to start my listening life with Mozart and Haydn, I think. They gave me a firm basis to appreciate what others were building on without losing sight of the foundation. How can you really appreciate Beethoven's achievement if you don't know where he started from?

Well, it's not like I've never heard Mozart or Haydn before. I mean, I'm not musically retarded.  They've just never been my favorites. I do like Haydn better than Mozart though--I think.

[Gurn Blanston]

Yeah, I turn off the phone and make sure I am alone. I strap on my headphones. I do 5 or so per night. It's actually harder for me to start and not finish. Only Ciccolini and Brendel's Vox set has scared me away. 

I never heard Ciccolini do Beethoven, but IMO, Brendel/VOX is his major achievement, odd somehow since it came at such a young age. I have listened to this cycle at least 25 times, never tire of it.



----------------
Listening to:
Slovak Sinfonietta / Krysa - Mozart - K 600 6 Deutsche Tänze #3 in Bb

[George]

Yeah, I have that Hamelin Haydn set but haven't listened to it much after the first time. 

The trios are the only Haydn works that have really clicked for me. The quartets I also enjoy, although less consistently.

[Gurn Blanston]

Well, it's not like I've never heard Mozart or Haydn before. I mean, I'm not musically retarded.  They've just never been my favorites. I do like Haydn better than Mozart though--I think.

No, I didn't think you were...   I meant having started out with them. I had the Klien/VOX Mozart for a year before I ever heard a Beethoven sonata (except "Moonlight", of course...).

----------------
Listening to:
Slovak Sinfonietta / Krysa - Mozart - K 600 6 Deutsche Tänze #4 in Eb

[MN Dave]

No, I didn't think you were...   I meant having started out with them. I had the Klien/VOX Mozart for a year before I ever heard a Beethoven sonata (except "Moonlight", of course...).

I may have heard Mozart first but Beethoven sort of grabs you by your lapels and pulls you away from anyone else.

[George]

I never heard Ciccolini do Beethoven, but IMO, Brendel/VOX is his major achievement, odd somehow since it came at such a young age. I have listened to this cycle at least 25 times, never tire of it.

Yeah, I think I bought it on your recommendation. I have it placed in a file with REM's last album "Around the Sun." The file is marked, "Music to revisit when I am over 50." 

[George]

I may have heard Mozart first but Beethoven sort of grabs you by your lapels and pulls you away from anyone else.

If I were still in the business of creating signatures, this would be my new one for sure! 

[MN Dave]

Okay. I'm listening to #11 (because that's the one you listen to, right?) and I am enjoying it very much. So...I have to be in the mood. Or Gurn has to get me in the mood...er...wait...