Hello from (Northern) Virginia!

[EigenUser]

I've been posting for a few weeks and last summer I was occupying some free time going through the old "Mystery Scores" thread. A new one was started: http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,22643.0.html .

I am nowhere near as well-versed in the vast amount of classical music that many people here seem to know and I'd like to get to know more whether it is music I like or not. I tend to be passionate about a select few composers and I like to know their work inside-out. For about half of my life this has been the story with Bartok and within the past few years I have really connected with Ravel, Ligeti, and Debussy. I am a big fan of 20th-century music, but I can also appreciate some Baroque (Bach). Ligeti seems to be the most avant-garde that I'll listen to, but I also enjoy Penderecki a little bit.

I have read a few places that classical music lovers have a large attention span. I assure you that this is not the case with me at all and it is something that really limits me. For instance, I love some of the late-romantic writing of Mahler, Strauss, and Brahms -- but I usually get bored after about 20 minutes (if even that long). The result: I listen to only certain movements at a time (we'll call this the first big no-no of mine). I find almost no connection to the Classical era -- my weakness, not the music's. The closest I get to this is Mendelssohn whose later string symphonies I really enjoy quite a bit (I've performed the 8th and 9th, as well). They're almost like a fusion of some classicism with the contrapuntal writing of the Baroque era.

Usually (but not always) I like to associate music with images (we'll call this the second big no-no). Some people like to say that great art speaks for itself, but I disagree with this statement. Take a piece like Debussy's "La Mer". Would I think of the sea if the work was called something generic like "Symphony"? Probably not. For this reason, I probably would not enjoy it as much. By "speaking for the art" (so to speak) and calling it "La Mer", why should I not think of this as great art if I enjoy it so much? Similar idea with Ligeti's "San Francisco Polyphony" and his musical depiction of the city.

Anyway, I look forward to discovering more music here and to fill in some gaps in what I listen to.

[Pat B]

Welcome to gmg!

I like to listen to works in their entirety. But if listening to a movement at a time is what works for you, then that's what you should do. You're probably in the minority here, but I doubt you're alone.

Your second big no-no is not a no-no at all. You might be interested in this thread.

[Mirror Image]

Welcome aboard! We've already spoke to each many times already and I look forward to getting to know you and your tastes better. All the best!

[bhodges]

Hi EigenUser, and welcome. No reason someone with a shorter attention span can't find plenty to enjoy in classical music. Personally, I love the cathartic experience of listening to a Mahler symphony in its entirety - as engaging as a movie of the same length - but there are plenty of works in the 10-20-minute range, by all kinds of composers. Anyway, enjoy yourself!

--Bruce

[EigenUser]

Thanks, everyone! I like it here. I've been posting for not even a month and I've discovered so much stuff already.

[mc ukrneal]

That's great! Continue to enjoy the journey (and no one said it couldn't be in shorter bits!)...

[kishnevi]

Sounds like you'd be a natural for Webern.....
You might, as a sort of bridge to opera,  investigate song cycles.

I'll be up your way in May, btw,  doing a Civil War thing for a couple of days with relatives:  we'll be part of a group visiting Spotsylvania and related sites 150 years to the day(s) after the battles, and be staying in Fredericksburg.

[Ken B]

Sounds like you'd be a natural for Webern.....
You might, as a sort of bridge to opera,  investigate song cycles.

I'll be up your way in May, btw,  doing a Civil War thing for a couple of days with relatives:  we'll be part of a group visiting Spotsylvania and related sites 150 years to the day(s) after the battles, and be staying in Fredericksburg.

OMG, a newbie and I forgot to peddle Schoene Muellerin! (schubert) This is the place to start with song cycles.

A natural for Webern indeed. Wicked Jeffery, wicked. 

[EigenUser]

Help me decide on a new avatar. I'm sick of seeing this picture of Ravel every time I log in.

[bhodges]

The Ravel photo is nice! But since you asked, I voted for Ligeti. (Just to stir up trouble, does your avatar have to be a composer?  )

--Bruce

[North Star]

Help me decide on a new avatar. I'm sick of seeing this picture of Ravel every time I log in.

I voted for Ravel! 
But since you want to change it, I'll second Ligeti

[Lisztianwagner]

I would honestly suggest to keep the Ravel picture, it's so lovely! But since you want to change, I'll vote for Debussy.

[North Star]

Lots of good options to choose from. 

   
   

[Ken B]

[Mirror Image]

Help me decide on a new avatar. I'm sick of seeing this picture of Ravel every time I log in.

As the others suggested, Ligeti would be the perfect fit for you since you're such a fan of his music.

[amw]

I suggest Vítězslava Kaprálová (Martinů's onetime girlfriend and a composer of significant quality). Way too many boys in people's avatars these days. >.>

[Mirror Image]

I suggest Vítězslava Kaprálová (Martinů's onetime girlfriend and a composer of significant quality). Way too many boys in people's avatars these days. >.>

Never heard a note of her music. In fact, never heard her name mentioned either.

[springrite]

As the others suggested, Ligeti would be the perfect fit for you since you're such a fan of his music.

Ligeti, although he's not very, uh, not very Virginian.

[EigenUser]

I'm going to keep a list here of pieces that I have discovered and been completely taken by since I've been on GMG, just to keep track.
-Thomas Ades' "Asyla" (amw)
-Morton Feldman's "Rothko Chapel" (MirrorImage)
-Maurice Ohana's "Cello Concerto: In Dark and Blue" (sanantonio)
-Walter Piston's "Violin Concerto No. 1" (KenB)

[Ken B]

I'm going to keep a list here of pieces that I have discovered and been completely taken by since I've been on GMG, just to keep track.
-Thomas Ades' "Asyla" (amw)
-Morton Feldman's "Rothko Chapel" (MirrorImage)
-Maurice Ohana's "Cello Concerto: In Dark and Blue" (sanantonio)
-Walter Piston's "Violin Concerto No. 1" (KenB)

Simpson 9 ...