What are you listening to now?

[North Star]

G'day, Karl!

https://www.youtube.com/v/V7TYJz4we3U

[Karl Henning]

Cheers, Karlo!

[SurprisedByBeauty]

#morninglistening @WienerKonzerthaus


R. Strauss,
Elektra
C.Thielemann / Dresden / Herlitzius, Schwanewilms, Meier, Pape
DG

German link - UK link

#classicalmusic #morninglistening #Thielemann #Strauss @DGClassics @StaatskapelleDD @Schwanewilms

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[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Chavez's Horse Power Suite. Great stuff.

[Todd]

[Florestan]

This music meets all the requirements laid down by Debussy: Music should humbly seek to please; within these limits great beauty may perhaps be found. Extreme complication is contrary to art. Beauty must appeal to the senses, must provide us with immediate enjoyment, must impress us or insinuate itself into us without any effort on our part.

[Karl Henning]

Hmm, why without any effort?  I mean, I'm all for the many instances in which there is no effort;  but why should that condition be mandated?

[Florestan]

Hmm, why without any effort?  I mean, I'm all for the many instances in which there is no effort;  but why should that condition be mandated?

Well, he exaggerated, of course. There is the obvious effort of going to a concert hall, not to mention the financial efforts known only too well to GMGers...

[Karl Henning]

Nor am I sure I can simply sign on to Extreme complication is contrary to art.  For only one thing, complication is relative, and changes over time (we could spell a chord which in our day is rudimentary, but would have been considered impenetrably complicated in the 16^th c.)

For another, art whose construction is bewilderingly complicated can still have an immediately pleasing effect.

[Mookalafalas]

first listen. I like.

[asin] B000000SP2[/asin]

[Wakefield]

R. Strauss,
Elektra
C.Thielemann / Dresden / Herlitzius, Schwanewilms, Meier, Pape
DG

I prefer the book(s). 

[kishnevi]

Kakadu National Park is the largest in Australia. The name comes from a local language (or rather, from European attempts at a local language), and has precisely nothing to do with Beethoven.

Having said that, it's not impossible that the local language was heard as "Kakadu" by a German-speaking person, as it is the German word for cockatoo and we have plenty of those over here.

Thank you.  Living quite literally half a world away from Australia, I know nothing of its parks (beyond the existence of the Great Barrier Reef), so my only association with the name was the Beethoven variations.

Actually this set is a major discovery for me. Paganini's chamber music is delightful and has very little of the dazzling show-offs and the devilishly pyrotechnics he employs in his violin concertos. It's intimate, lyrical and humorous and of course full of lovely tunes.

Looking forward to exploring more, and boy there is more.

From what I remember, Paganini actually wrote a good deal for guitar, more than what is included in that set.

[SonicMan46]

Well, my modest (10 items; 12 CDs) BRO package arrived today - nearly all are Hyperion productions; up first:

Spohr, Louis (1784-1859) - Symphonies Nos. 1,2,3,6 w/ Howard Shelley & Orch Della Svizzera Italiana - already own the disc w/ Nos. 4/5 - I prefer Spohr's chamber works and his symphonies are often considered 'second tier' but still engaging and well done by Shelley and an orchestra that I have little acquaintance - MusicWeb reviews reprinted here - Nos. 1/2 & Nos. 3/6 - Dave

 

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to An Outdoor Overture. Fun piece! Clearly written in that 'Populist' style that he became so famous for in the 30s and 40s.

[Mirror Image]

Now:

Listening to Billy the Kid. An old favorite of mine that I was introduced to as a teenager.

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Nor am I sure I can simply sign on to Extreme complication is contrary to art.  For only one thing, complication is relative, and changes over time (we could spell a chord which in our day is rudimentary, but would have been considered impenetrably complicated in the 16^th c.)

For another, art whose construction is bewilderingly complicated can still have an immediately pleasing effect.

Hey! Debussy wrote two Arabesques...you displayed two Arabesques...hmmmm...

[Karl Henning]

Coincidence? . . .

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Coincidence? . . .

Something tells me...knot (sic).

[springrite]

Coincidence? . . .

Well, just incidences...

[Pat B]

Nor am I sure I can simply sign on to Extreme complication is contrary to art.  For only one thing, complication is relative, and changes over time (we could spell a chord which in our day is rudimentary, but would have been considered impenetrably complicated in the 16^th c.)

For another, art whose construction is bewilderingly complicated can still have an immediately pleasing effect.

My initial reaction was similar, but after re-reading the Debussy quote, I think there is a subtle difference between complexity and complication. Complication might imply unnecessary complexity. Of course, the quote is presumably translated from French, so what he actually said might have a stronger connotation, or a different one, or none at all.

The designs (drawings? engravings?) you attached are ornate, but I'm not sure they qualify as "extremely complicated."