Great composers whom you like a few works of, but who usually bore you.

[The new erato]

Can't really explain, but I just find his orchestral music so trite, predictable, and, while the surface is lovely, there's nothing beyond this that compels me.

I won't open that can of worms, but you know who I could have said that of....

[Mirror Image]

I won't open that can of worms, but you know who I could have said that of....

[Mirror Image]

James just can't accept that people don't like Stockhausen.

[ibanezmonster]

Keep at it. You will be rewarded in the end and, hopefully not literally, when the 9th will suddenly make sense to you. 

I probably had to listen to it nearly 10 times for it to make sense, but not only does it make complete sense to me now, but it is still my favorite thing for the last 8 or so years.

[DavidW]

I should have wrote that his orchestral music is what I don't like in his oeuvre and his chamber music is where it's at for me.

I feel the same, I don't like his symphony nearly as much as others do.

[Brian]

I feel the same, I don't like his symphony nearly as much as others do.

Faure wrote a symphony?

[Florestan]

Faure wrote a symphony?

Yes, in his wet dreams... 

[DavidW]

Faure wrote a symphony?

I was thinking of Franck!  I've never heard any orchestral work of Faure's outside of the Requiem.  D'oh!

[jut1972]

whispers...
Bach
runs and hides and gets reading his copy of
[asin]0764550098[/asin]

[kyjo]

I should have wrote that his orchestral music is what I don't like in his oeuvre and his chamber music is where it's at for me.

I don't dislike Faure's orchestral music like you do, but I agree that his chamber music contains the pinnacles of his oeuvre.

[kyjo]

Faure wrote a symphony?

Actually, he did, but destroyed it and reused the material in his Violin Sonata no. 2 and Cello Sonata no. 1, according to Wikipedia.

[kyjo]

Of the profound pre-20th century French school .. Fauré, Debussy, Ravel -  Fauré is my own personal favorite of the lot. I love almost everything he did. His lieder cycles; especially the late ones are so .. elliptical and beautiful. And the solo piano music is up there with the best music ever put to paper, especially the later pieces - like those late Nocturnes.

I agree, Faure's Nocturnes are very beautiful. I prefer Debussy and Ravel to Faure, but that's mainly because they composed such amazing orchestral music. The French really had a knack for writing great chamber music IMO.

[71 dB]

Actually, he did, but destroyed it and reused the material in his Violin Sonata no. 2 and Cello Sonata no. 1, according to Wikipedia.

Someone could try to reconstruct the destroyed symphony then... 

[Rinaldo]

whispers...
Bach

I was there too. But St. Matthew's Passion set me on the "right" course. I still feel that Bach is more suited for the analytical listener (unlike my beloved Händel, who's ideal for musical simpletons like me), but he certainly doesn't bore me anymore.

[Madiel]

I get bored with Liszt's piano works mostly but never bored with his orchestral music.  Love his concertos and his 13 tone poems are masterful orchestral scenes.  Power and beauty.  Liszt is Marmite.

Meh. Having listened to 12 out of 13 tone poems in the last year or so, I know that quite a few of them strike me as being overblown and outstaying their welcome.  Whenever I think Liszt has an attractive idea, about 80% of the time he hits me over the head with it again and again until I don't find it attractive any more.

[Madiel]

Oh, and I think that Faure would've been the first to admit that for a considerable part of his career, orchestral music was not his strong point.  Just as well, then, that there isn't actually very much of it.

[Brian]

Oh, and I think that Faure would've been the first to admit that for a considerable part of his career, orchestral music was not his strong point.  Just as well, then, that there isn't actually very much of it.

Agreed; it's a little bit less extreme, but disliking Faure because of his orchestral music is like disliking Sibelius because of his piano music.

[North Star]

Agreed; it's a little bit less extreme, but disliking Faure because of his orchestral music is like disliking Sibelius because of his piano music.

Hmm, The BIS Sibelius edition has 10 CD's of solo piano music, so it's not exactly a small portion of his oeuvre.

[Brahmsian]

Hmm, The BIS Sibelius edition has 10 CD's of solo piano music, so it's not exactly a small portion of his oeuvre.

Wow, I will have to explore.  I wasn't aware that Sibelius had written so much solo piano music.  Thumbs up! 

[Madiel]

Hmm, The BIS Sibelius edition has 10 CD's of solo piano music, so it's not exactly a small portion of his oeuvre.

Except that the Sibelius edition records every transcription and version known to mankind. And one one of those CDs there are 50 tracks of 'a catalogue of themes'.  Some of them less than 10 seconds long.  I certainly know that Sibelius did write some piano music, but I wouldn't use THAT edition as any kind of measure of what 'music' the man wrote.