"Aggressive" Classical Music?

Started by mgwolff, June 30, 2014, 07:56:56 PM

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Peter Power Pop

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on September 30, 2014, 03:57:18 AM
It's amusing that we're debating what the OP meant by aggressive; amusing that we continue to recommend music. Does it matter anymore? Did it ever matter? He/she hasn't been back to the forum in three months. Last active, 1 July, the day he arrived  ;D


Sarge

I thought we were all just enjoying the conversation, despite the absence of the original poster. It's like being at a party, and the host stepped out for a while.

Plus, there's the possibility that I had no idea the first post was three months ago.

(You might want to replace that "possibility" with "fact".)

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: Peter Power Pop on September 30, 2014, 05:37:07 AM
I thought we were all just enjoying the conversation, despite the absence of the original poster. It's like being at a party, and the host stepped out for a while.

Plus, there's the possibility that I had no idea the first post was three months ago.

(You might want to replace that "possibility" with "fact".)

This happens quite often. Newbies who ask a question and then, for whatever reason, are never heard from again. You are right, of course: the party continues, as it should. Who knows, he/she may return...and be utterly bewildered by the range of recommendations  ;D

Apropos Power Pop: are you a Blondie fan?

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Mirror Image

Quote from: karlhenning on September 30, 2014, 02:15:00 AM
That's true. The present question, though, is more that there is no one "folder," if you will, of classical music which will be The Ideal Entrée for all listeners. For some, a Mozart symphony, for others, a Tallis motet, for others still, Pierrot Lunaire.

Yep, so whatever strikes this listener's fancy will be a success and hopefully a bridge into exploring more music. :)

TheGSMoeller

Quote from: Mirror Image on September 30, 2014, 06:59:45 AM
Yep, so whatever strikes this listener's fancy will be a success and hopefully a bridge into exploring more music. :)

Don't be so aggressive, John.   ;D

Karl Henning

Quote from: Mirror Image on September 30, 2014, 06:59:45 AM
Yep, so whatever strikes this listener's fancy will be a success and hopefully a bridge into exploring more music. :)

The audacity of hope! 8)
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


Mirror Image

Quote from: karlhenning on September 30, 2014, 07:20:29 AM
The audacity of hope! 8)

Yes, sir! Like sunlight shining through the clouds. I'm a believer. ;D

Sergeant Rock

John, I'm surprised you didn't recommend Eventyr  ???  ;D ;)

Quote from: Mirror Image on January 13, 2014, 10:51:51 AM
I think Holten's performances are hit/miss for many people...I wouldn't call his performance of Eventyr earth-shattering, but he does seem to understand the aggression that lays beneath the surface of the work. His trolls are LOUD!

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Mirror Image

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on September 30, 2014, 07:39:21 AM
John, I'm surprised you didn't recommend Eventyr  ???  ;D ;)

Sarge

Oh boy, I'm going to be the butt of many jokes now I see.... ;D Well, it certainly won't be the first time nor will it be the last. :)

Peter Power Pop

#49
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on September 30, 2014, 05:53:29 AM
This happens quite often. Newbies who ask a question and then, for whatever reason, are never heard from again. You are right, of course: the party continues, as it should. Who knows, he/she may return...and be utterly bewildered by the range of recommendations  ;D

Ah well. Maybe they had other forums* to attend to.

QuoteApropos Power Pop: are you a Blondie fan?

Sarge

Yes indeed. Parallel Lines is one of my all-time favourite power pop albums.

(*Or is that "fora"?)

Karl Henning

Quote from: Peter Power Pop on September 30, 2014, 03:06:05 PM
Ah well. Maybe they had other forums* to attend to.

Yes indeed. Parallel Lines is one of my all-time favourite power pop albums.

(*Or is that "fora"?)

And an exquisite guest appearance by His Frippness.
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

Peter Power Pop

Quote from: karlhenning on October 01, 2014, 03:49:08 AM
And an exquisite guest appearance by His Frippness.

Yes indeed. I'm a fan of King Crimson – especially Discipline-era KC.

Mirror Image

Certainly Shostakovich's "String Quartet No. 8" applies here. 8)

aukhawk

Quote from: Cato on September 30, 2014, 03:26:50 AM
Aggressive?  Spiritually aggressive?  Physically aggressive?
For the latter, Arvo Paert's Third Symphony (I believe) has a section where the musicians argue.   :laugh:
Also try: Cesar Franck's Le Chasseur Maudit (The Wild Huntsman)
For both senses: the 8 symphonies of Karl Amadeus Hartmann, the 6 organ symphonies of Louis Vierne, and of course the works of Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, and Arnold Schoenberg.

I must say, to take the OP's word 'aggressive' and apply it to music by these composers (I'll admit I don't know about Hartmann) seems a bit bizarre to me.
Shostakovitch too, come to that.  Let alone Bach, Mozart, Beethoven as suggested upthread.  I wouldn't use 'aggressive' to describe any music that I've heard by any of these people.
It's such an inappropriate word to use, in a classical music context, either for the composition itself or (as is often used in these fora) for the performance style.  Lots of other better words have been suggested upthread.  A lot of music that I enjoy I might describe as 'challenging'.

listener

"Keep your hand on the throttle and your eye on the rail as you walk through life's pathway."

Jo498

"challenging" is a completely different category of evaluation. The Goldberg Variations may be "challenging" for a listener, because they are long, complex etc. It is not really an impression of the emotions conveyed by the music (although one or two of the pieces might seem aggressive if played in such a fashion)
Whereas "aggressive" is an apparent emotion conveyed by the music. Of course one could discuss whether often defiant, violent or stubborn. E.g. "Mut" from Winterreise is an expression of defiance and the music fits.

I think one could describe many passages in Beethoven as aggressive or angry. Take the beginning of the f minor quartet, the first section (after the "overtura") of op.133, the beginning of the op.10/1 sonata, the coda of the Appassionata...
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Marc

Here's a couple very well-chosen examples :P for the long gone topic starter: two works that make me go wild when hearing them alive and kicking (and even at home):

Bach's Praeludium und Fugue b-moll BWV 544, here played In Cold Blood (the way I like it) by Connie Hensley Golden:

http://www.youtube.com/v/K_U3LEsyQc8

And I will never forget the shock I got when I expectantly first listened to this next compelling piece of music ... expectations were far exceeded!!
Schubert's Streichquartett d-moll D 810, nicknamed "Der Tod und das Mädchen" (after the 2nd movement, which is a series of variations on Schubert's song with that same title).
I also never forget a hefty live experience during my student's years, when this piece was passionately played by the all-dressed-in-black girlie Colorado Quartet.

http://www.youtube.com/v/8fXYjSmR6Bw

premont

Quote from: Marc on October 06, 2014, 09:03:11 AM
Bach's Praeludium und Fugue b-moll BWV 544, here played In Cold Blood (the way I like it) by Connie Hensley Golden:

http://www.youtube.com/v/K_U3LEsyQc8

No need to deny her dexterity, but if we listen to her rather stiff style, there is not much which distinguish it from etwa Karl Richter´s style, except that she does not change stops that often.
γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Marc

Quote from: (: premont :) on October 06, 2014, 10:39:51 AM
No need to deny her dexterity, but if we listen to her rather stiff style, there is not much which distinguish it from etwa Karl Richter´s style, except that she does not change stops that often.

I will consider the founding of a Karl Richter fanclub.

:)

You do have a point, though.
Apparently, in Bach's organ music, I'm able to like more different styles than in other genres. But the fact that you mentioned the register changing matter is really essential to me: I found that in most free organ works I definitely prefer this 'all the way' type of playing, which gives me the exciting thrill of an auditory perception of the perpetuum mobile.

mszczuj

Quote from: karlhenning on September 29, 2014, 06:59:50 AM
Yes.  There's no one way which is right for all listeners.

With exception of BWV 1052.