What are you listening to now?

[André]

Excellent recording of this "miniature" Elgar oratorio (half the usual length).

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Jonathan Harvey: Towards a Pure Land

https://www.youtube.com/v/WtGgZQ5V7BQ

[André]

Patrick Hadley: The Trees so High, Symphonic Ballad in A minor, in 4 movements.



Had he titled it a "symphony", this beautiful work would be better known. Beautiful work, fine interpretation by Handley.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Some Kagel piano music and an ensemble version of Ludwig Va (for those wanting an easy access point):

https://youtu.be/6aokm4k7-AA

This looks cool! But what is an easy access point? Do you mean a link to the video on youtube?

[Mirror Image]

No, it seems that many people have a hard time getting into his music for some reason 
(which I don't understand)

It's actually pretty simple for me to explain and I'm only speaking for myself here of course. I don't remember what works I had heard of Kagel's, but it was perhaps two or three of them that I listened to. What I found was a complete lack of taste. Each of the pieces I heard didn't do anything remotely interesting, in other words, they went nowhere. Usually, I can find some kind of access point, but not in the case of Kagel. There was no access points --- it was pure randomness just for the sake of it. You like a lot of music I have zero interest in, but it should never come as any surprise that someone doesn't share your enthusiasms. I'm more into music that has some kind of rhyme and reason to it. Music that is in some way enticing and fetching to the ear and begs for me to return to find something in it that I hadn't heard before. I see no reason to return to Kagel's music. None of it touches my heart or stimulates me intellectually. Again, this was quite simple for me to explain.

[Todd]

Disc four.  More enjoyable, sub-Bachian quality organ music.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

He plays No.3, 6, and 7, and plays them very well! Good sound--not nearly as reverberant as his Bach Partitas disc. And the best part? It cost me just $.01 plus shipping--brand new!

Yeah I snagged that one, too. And I agree the playing is fine but it looks like it might be a CDR. Which is no problem considering the nearly zero cost but it'd be nice if that info were made public.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

No, it seems that many people have a hard time getting into his music for some reason 
(which I don't understand)

That is an interesting observation you have made..........I have never introduced his music to anyone to be able to know this. What I find pretty cool about his music is his ability to be both experimental and fun at the same time. This was an also an aspect of Ligeti's music which owes to his popularity (aside from being featured in 2001 A Space Odyssey). His references to styles already in existence would create a lot of familiarity for people unfamiliar with his music as well.

I am currently listening to this excellent series of works. I would actually like to see what people think of his music when listening to these pieces for the first time! They are often fun and quirky. Kagel mixes up diatonicism and chromaticism a lot, possibly in a similar way that Stravinsky does in his popular Russian period of musical composition as well. There are lots of already familiar types of formal structures when it comes to phrases, periods etc. so there is a lot in this that any classical music fan would be familiar with anyway. I know that I can hear things in this music that aren't too far removed from composers like Britten, Ligeti, Shostakovich, Walton, even Reich at times, or styles like a tarantella, African and Afro-Cuban music. Mostly, elements from those styles have made their way into a plethora of classical compositions and popular music. I would be surprised if people listening to this wouldn't find anything they can at least connect with......it would probably come down to a kind of pickiness in how these styles are uniquely represented by Kagel.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

It's actually pretty simple for me to explain and I'm only speaking for myself here of course. I don't remember what works I had heard of Kagel's, but it was perhaps two or three of them that I listened to. What I found was a complete lack of taste. Each of the pieces I heard didn't do anything remotely interesting, in other words, they went nowhere. Usually, I can find some kind of access point, but not in the case of Kagel. There was no access points --- it was pure randomness just for the sake of it. You like a lot of music I have zero interest in, but it should never come as any surprise that someone doesn't share your enthusiasms. I'm more into music that has some kind of rhyme and reason to it. Music that is in some way enticing and fetching to the ear and begs for me to return to find something in it that I hadn't heard before. I see no reason to return to Kagel's music. None of it touches my heart or stimulates me intellectually. Again, this was quite simple for me to explain.

No access points? Okay this IS surprising because I would have thought based on the music you already like you could hear some similarities anyway..........

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Chopin, Preludes, Rana.

Wow, this is as good as it gets!! Rana is uniquely her own woman, unafraid to put her own stamp on the music. She has a large sound, with wide dynamics, yet fully able to coax the smallest detail into existence with a warmly nimble touch.

She has a unique ability to create waves of architectural designs in sound, depicting myriad moods in stark detail.

All Chopin playing should be this good.



[asin]B008P76WMU[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

No access points? Okay this IS surprising because I would have thought based on the music you already like you could hear some similarities anyway..........

Well, we all like different things.

[Sergeant Rock]

Some Kagel piano music and an ensemble version of Ludwig Va (for those wanting an easy access point):

https://youtu.be/6aokm4k7-AA

Yes, I already see many parallels with Ligeti and Stravinsky.
You'd love this one: https://youtu.be/Piy7Zu4A6Xo

Thanks for posting those links. Never heard, or heard of, Kagel before. Rrrrrrr and Les Idées fixes I really enjoyed. Love that quirky Ragtime-Waltz.

Sarge

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Well, we all like different things.

Well yeah this is true and it is a good thing I believe. You and I know what we like, and I'd say we are both perhaps quite picky with music in terms of what we like and how we like it.

[Sergeant Rock]

Your welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed 

His music is quite varied. It's not just humorous pieces either, many of his orchestral works take on elements from the Darmstadt school and express some more wondrous sentiments.
He's got melodic music too.
Much of his signature style is surrounded by theatrical music, which may not be to everyone's taste. But just like Ligeti, one piece doesn't represent everything he did. 

I will continue to explore; looking forward to the variety.

Sarge

[NikF]

Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor - Domus.

[asin]B000026CIE[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Well yeah this is true and it is a good thing I believe. You and I know what we like, and I'd say we are both perhaps quite picky with music in terms of what we like and how we like it.

QFT (Quoted for Truth).

[San Antone]

Magister Leoninus : Sacred Music From 12th Century Paris, Vol. 2
Red Byrd



One of the best, if not THE best, recordings of this music.

[Mirror Image]

[kishnevi]

Late night de-stressing with some 16th century Hapsburg polyphony
CD 3

The original issue of this being

[The new erato]

You and I know what we like, and I'd say we are both perhaps quite picky with music in terms of what we like and how we like it.

Well, if I knew what I liked at 25, I would never have been on this forum in the first place......