Hello, I'm Sean from Canada!

Started by Secretariat, August 11, 2013, 04:23:32 PM

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Secretariat

Hello Brian and Brewski! Thanks for the warm welcome,

Cheers!

vandermolen

Welcome Sean and I hope that you enjoy this forum. For me Shostakovich's Symphony No. 4 is one of the greatest works ever written, as is Tchaikovsky's 'Pathetique Symphony'.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Secretariat

Hey vandermolen, I really like Tchaikovsky's 4th, 5th and 6th. I pick the 5th as my favourite because of the epic finale however I agree that the 6th is probably his best. As for Mr. Shostakovich, I've been slacking when it comes to discovering his symphonies, I have only heard the 11th and some parts of his others. So I'll make sure to hear the 4th soon.

Thanks for the hello and greeting!

Sean

kyjo

Quote from: Secretariat on August 14, 2013, 02:51:47 PM
Hey vandermolen, I really like Tchaikovsky's 4th, 5th and 6th. I pick the 5th as my favourite because of the epic finale however I agree that the 6th is probably his best. As for Mr. Shostakovich, I've been slacking when it comes to discovering his symphonies, I have only heard the 11th and some parts of his others. So I'll make sure to hear the 4th soon.

Thanks for the hello and greeting!

Sean

Yeah, the finale to Tchaikovsky's 5th is one of my favorite movements in all of classical music. You should definitely explore all of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich symphonies! :) Shostakovich's 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th and 10th symphonies (along with the 11th) are among the greatest works of the 20th century!

North Star

Quote from: kyjo on August 14, 2013, 02:55:21 PM
Yeah, the finale to Tchaikovsky's 5th is one of my favorite movements in all of classical music. You should definitely explore all of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich symphonies! :) Shostakovich's 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th and 10th symphonies (along with the 11th) are among the greatest works of the 20th century!
Add 14 & 15 to that list, otherwise agreed, kyjo.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

kyjo

Quote from: North Star on August 14, 2013, 03:00:33 PM
Add 14 & 15 to that list, otherwise agreed, kyjo.

Indeed, they are all great works (with the possible exceptions of 2 and 3). Nos. 13-15 are tougher nuts to crack than nos. 1-12, for sure. Nos. 13 and 14 are not among my favorites due to the use of vocals, but 15 is a fascinating work. I just wanted to suggest Shostakovich's more accessible, "epic" symphonies to Secretariat because anyone who jumps into Shostakovich for the first time via his later symphonies may be turned off. :)

North Star

Quote from: kyjo on August 14, 2013, 03:08:06 PM
Indeed, they are all great works (with the possible exceptions of 2 and 3). Nos. 13-15 are tougher nuts to crack than nos. 1-12, for sure. Nos. 13 and 14 are not among my favorites due to the use of vocals, but 15 is a fascinating work. I just wanted to suggest Shostakovich's more accessible, "epic" symphonies to Secretariat because anyone who jumps into Shostakovich for the first time via his later symphonies may be turned off. :)
Fair enough. The 5th is probably the best place to start.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

kyjo

Quote from: North Star on August 14, 2013, 03:10:23 PM
Fair enough. The 5th is probably the best place to start.

Thoroughly agreed. :)

Mirror Image

In terms of Shostakovich's symphonies, I always recommend his Symphonies 5 & 10 to newcomers.

vandermolen

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 14, 2013, 06:54:48 PM
In terms of Shostakovich's symphonies, I always recommend his Symphonies 5 & 10 to newcomers.

Yes, I would agree.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Karl Henning

Quote from: kyjo on August 14, 2013, 03:08:06 PM
Indeed, they are all great works (with the possible exceptions of 2 and 3). Nos. 13-15 are tougher nuts to crack than nos. 1-12, for sure. Nos. 13 and 14 are not among my favorites due to the use of vocals, but 15 is a fascinating work. I just wanted to suggest Shostakovich's more accessible, "epic" symphonies to Secretariat because anyone who jumps into Shostakovich for the first time via his later symphonies may be turned off. :)

OTOH, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth were two of the first symphonies of Shostakovich's I heard, and I took to them right away.  There are many listeners who, in fact, find a more modern idiom an attraction.

Another consideration: many people, even now, sing in choruses, &c.  The presence of voices in a symphony is not of itself any immediate negative.

All of which is to say:  there's more ways to the woods than one!
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

Secretariat

Thanks everyone for the feedback on Shostakovich's symphonies!