Pieces You Love, But Don't Like

[AdamFromWashington]

I'm not sure the title quite gets my point across, but I'm not sure what would... 

For me, it's lots of pieces by Janáček.

I would count him amongst my top five favorite composers, probably.

I love almost everything he did. Harmony, rhythm, melodies, orchestration, and yet...

Something doesn't click. I never feel ecstatic about the music. I'm always distant. What annoys me is that I can never really figure out why. Maybe it's the way he doesn't build things up? But no, I like the weird structures... Is it the cragginess of his rhythms? A bit stiff, yes, but he wouldn't be Janáček without them, and like I said, I mostly enjoy the strange rhythms.

I want to break through this wall and enjoy Janáček like I enjoy Beethoven, or Shostakovich, or Mahler, or even Pierre Boulez! Without a veil, as it were. Relaxed, enjoying every moment without thinking about it. But with Janáček my mind wanders and...

Nothing! 

I feel the same way about Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto. Part of it is I wish he used more--I want to say bombast. The third movement sounds like a hundred different conclusions that never reach apotheosis. Each section is almost perfect, I love what he does, I love all the music... But it doesn't gel. I wish he picked one ending and developed it. Let it run for thirty more seconds. But at the same time, I know this is an untrained opinion, and doing what I want would probably ruin the piece.

Keep in mind, I don't mean flat out disliking a piece of music or being indifferent to it. We all know what that's like, and it's nothing special. This is being drawn to a piece, loving every part, but just not enjoying it. 

Does anyone else know what I mean?

Anymore examples?

[Chris L.]

I'm not sure the title quite gets my point across, but I'm not sure what would... 

For me, it's lots of pieces by Janáček.

I would count him amongst my top five favorite composers, probably.

I love almost everything he did. Harmony, rhythm, melodies, orchestration, and yet...

Something doesn't click. I never feel ecstatic about the music. I'm always distant. What annoys me is that I can never really figure out why. Maybe it's the way he doesn't build things up? But no, I like the weird structures... Is it the cragginess of his rhythms? A bit stiff, yes, but he wouldn't be Janáček without them, and like I said, I mostly enjoy the strange rhythms.

I want to break through this wall and enjoy Janáček like I enjoy Beethoven, or Shostakovich, or Mahler, or even Pierre Boulez! Without a veil, as it were. Relaxed, enjoying every moment without thinking about it. But with Janáček my mind wanders and...

Nothing! 

I feel the same way about Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto. Part of it is I wish he used more--I want to say bombast. The third movement sounds like a hundred different conclusions that never reach apotheosis. Each section is almost perfect, I love what he does, I love all the music... But it doesn't gel. I wish he picked one ending and developed it. Let it run for thirty more seconds. But at the same time, I know this is an untrained opinion, and doing what I want would probably ruin the piece.

Keep in mind, I don't mean flat out disliking a piece of music or being indifferent to it. We all know what that's like, and it's nothing special. This is being drawn to a piece, loving every part, but just not enjoying it. 

Does anyone else know what I mean?

Anymore examples?

Well... there are some people I love that I don't necessarily like. I can't think of any music that I love that I don't like, except for the kind of music that harms me spiritually. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[Que]

Shouldn't the title of the thread be the other way around: music you like (appreciate) but not love  (yout heart is not in it) ? 

Q

[AdamFromWashington]

Well... there are some people I love that I don't necessarily like. I can't think of any music that I love that I don't like, except for the kind of music that harms me spiritually. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

That's okay. I just wondered how common this was. Maybe not that common, then? We shall see...

[AdamFromWashington]

Shouldn't the title of the thread be the other way around: music you like (appreciate) but not love  (yout heart is not in it) ? 

Q

Nope. That's the point. There's lots of music I don't love but still like, but I'm talking about music that I love, but don't like... I realize that sounds weird, but I'm being completely serious here. I will accept the explanation that I'm insane, though. 

[The new erato]

I cannot see how you can love something you don't like. You can love the fact that somebody has had the guts and audacity to do it (Grosser Fugues perhaps come to mind) and that it exists; but loving the object in itself is another matter.

[EigenUser]

I'm not sure the title quite gets my point across, but I'm not sure what would... 

For me, it's lots of pieces by Janáček.

I would count him amongst my top five favorite composers, probably.

I love almost everything he did. Harmony, rhythm, melodies, orchestration, and yet...

Something doesn't click. I never feel ecstatic about the music. I'm always distant. What annoys me is that I can never really figure out why. Maybe it's the way he doesn't build things up? But no, I like the weird structures... Is it the cragginess of his rhythms? A bit stiff, yes, but he wouldn't be Janáček without them, and like I said, I mostly enjoy the strange rhythms.

I want to break through this wall and enjoy Janáček like I enjoy Beethoven, or Shostakovich, or Mahler, or even Pierre Boulez! Without a veil, as it were. Relaxed, enjoying every moment without thinking about it. But with Janáček my mind wanders and...

Nothing! 

I feel the same way about Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto. Part of it is I wish he used more--I want to say bombast. The third movement sounds like a hundred different conclusions that never reach apotheosis. Each section is almost perfect, I love what he does, I love all the music... But it doesn't gel. I wish he picked one ending and developed it. Let it run for thirty more seconds. But at the same time, I know this is an untrained opinion, and doing what I want would probably ruin the piece.

Keep in mind, I don't mean flat out disliking a piece of music or being indifferent to it. We all know what that's like, and it's nothing special. This is being drawn to a piece, loving every part, but just not enjoying it. 

Does anyone else know what I mean?

Anymore examples?

Perfect example for me last year would be Messiaen's Turangalila-Symphonie (now I like it and love it!). It had wonderfully sappy and bombastic melodies (which I'm a sucker for ), complex (yet beautiful) harmonies, and all sorts of rhythmic games. Not to mention the superb orchestration. I had trouble with his sound-world initially because of (1) repetition and (2) lots of high-pitched bells (i.e. celesta, glockenspiel, etc. -- made my ears ring). I guess I just got used to it.

I know exactly what you mean, though. "According to (x,y,z) qualities I should like this, but I don't!"

[AdamFromWashington]

Perfect example for me last year would be Messiaen's Turangalila-Symphonie (now I like it and love it!). It had wonderfully sappy and bombastic melodies (which I'm a sucker for ), complex (yet beautiful) harmonies, and all sorts of rhythmic games. Not to mention the superb orchestration. I had trouble with his sound-world initially because of (1) repetition and (2) lots of high-pitched bells (i.e. celesta, glockenspiel, etc. -- made my ears ring). I guess I just got used to it.

I know exactly what you mean, though. "According to (x,y,z) qualities I should like this, but I don't!"

Yes! That's more or less it. I knew I wasn't that far gone. Someone had to know what I meant!

[Jo498]

I am afraid I do not quite get it
"According to (x,y,z) qualities I should like this, but I don't!"
I can understand this but in this case I do not like or love a piece. I can also understand that according to some qualities abstracted from other pieces I like I should NOT like a piece but I do in fact. But aren't these distinctions different than love vs. like?

Whatever, two pieces I feel I should like more than I do (I do not dislike them but not really love them) are Schubert's Wandererfantasie and the Great C major symphony.

[xochitl]

i usually stay away from Britten cos most of his music gives me a sadness that takes days to wear off. i can't put my finger on it. it leaves me in awe and disbelief that music can do that to a person.

on the other hand, much of bach and brahms is so mentally challenging to me i dare not venture into the thicket without a still and receptive mind and a good machete

mozart in minor mode makes me queasy (literally, physically). mozart in major mode makes me roll my eyes most of the time ('oh cmon, you cannot possibly be THIS happy')

this is all music i love unconditionally btw

is this what the OP meant?

[amw]

Sibelius 6 (and 4) leaves me incredibly drained and depressed, same with Vaughan Williams 5.

Feldman's Neither is deeply disquieting. In a different way, so is Schubert's D956. Mozart's last piano concerto carries a charge of profound melancholy, somewhat bittersweet.


For music where I love x, y and z musical qualities without necessarily loving the music itself: Bruckner and Simpson.

For music I love despite it having no redeeming qualities whatsoever: Liszt's Album d'un voyageur III (the Swiss paraphrases) and more than a few Hungarian Rhapsodies. And anything by Johann Strauss II.

[AdamFromWashington]

is this what the OP meant?

That will do (edit: though it's not what I meant). It seems I reached a point where words broke down. I promise I'm capable of cogent thought. I was just expressing a strange emotion that I have. It's very subjective. Something like what you said would probably work better for keeping this thread alive. Something you love and recognize as a masterwork but that leaves you feeling horrible. Shostakovich's 14th Symphony made me feel that way. I've only listened to it all the way through once...

[Jo498]

For music where I love x, y and z musical qualities without necessarily loving the music itself: Bruckner and Simpson.

Do you have any idea what the reason could be that the qualities do not act appropriately together to make you love the music itself?

[amw]

Do you have any idea what the reason could be that the qualities do not act appropriately together to make you love the music itself?

Actually despite the strong similarities of those two composers I sort of have opposite problems with them. Bruckner's music is often just One Thing being repeated over and over again with different accompaniments, endless modulation and no melodies to speak of, but if one takes it at value it can be very compelling. I'll tune out sometimes (or often) but it can be a satisfying experience after the fact. Simpson's music has a lot more stuff in it, interesting harmonic progressions and orchestration and so forth, I always enjoy listening to it, but it adds up to somewhat less than the sum of its parts... perhaps due to the feeling of 'ersatz Bruckner' which isn't totally fair to him really.

[mc ukrneal]

Your description (OP) makes me think the music clicks with you rationally/intellectually (brain), but not emotionally (heart). If that's not it, I really don't quite get it, but that's ok.

[Mirror Image]

I cannot see how you can love something you don't like.

+1 This thread doesn't make a whole lot of sense IMHO.

[jochanaan]

Adam, it sounds as if what you're really saying is that you love individual moments or sections in the music of which you speak, but not the whole.  In other words, for you the whole isless than the sum of its parts...?

For me, mostly if I love something, I like it, and vice versa.  But there are one or two pieces that by all rights I should love, but I don't.  One is Vincent d'Indy's "Symphony on a French Mountain Air."  Big orchestra, colorful orchestration, virtuoso piano writing, excellent development of the initial idea--and yet I just don't get excited about it.  Same with Milhaud's Creation du Monde (which, BTW, should probably be translated "World Premiere" rather than "Creation of the World"); despite its jazzy rhythms and colorful writing, it just doesn't do anything for me.  (And it's not that I don't like French music either!  Berlioz, Debussy and Ravel are among my favorite composers.)

[Chris L.]

Adam, it sounds as if what you're really saying is that you love individual moments or sections in the music of which you speak, but not the whole.  In other words, for you the whole isless than the sum of its parts...?

For me, mostly if I love something, I like it, and vice versa.  But there are one or two pieces that by all rights I should love, but I don't.  One is Vincent d'Indy's "Symphony on a French Mountain Air."  Big orchestra, colorful orchestration, virtuoso piano writing, excellent development of the initial idea--and yet I just don't get excited about it.  Same with Milhaud's Creation du Monde (which, BTW, should probably be translated "World Premiere" rather than "Creation of the World"); despite its jazzy rhythms and colorful writing, it just doesn't do anything for me.  (And it's not that I don't like French music either!  Berlioz, Debussy and Ravel are among my favorite composers.)

Perhaps this thread should've been titled "Music you love but don't like because you can't love it as much as you want to"? Or something to that effect.

Yes, there are pieces like that for me but I just focus on the parts that I do love. One prime example is Brahm's Ein Deutsches Requiem. The first two movements take my breath away and leave me standing in awe, while the rest of it fails miserably to live up to the promise of those first two movements in my opinion. It's not that the rest of it is bad, it's just that it's on such a different level musically that it feels like it belongs to a different work entirely, and leaves me feeling cheated. So for these reasons, this is one work that I both love and dislike, if that makes any sense.

[Mandryka]

Haydn for me.

[AdamFromWashington]

Perhaps this thread should've been titled "Music you love but don't like because you can't love it as much as you want to"? Or something to that effect.

Yes, there are pieces like that for me but I just focus on the parts that I do love. One prime example is Brahm's Ein Deutsches Requiem. The first two movements take my breath away and leave me standing in awe, while the rest of it fails miserably to live up to the promise of those first two movements in my opinion. It's not that the rest of it is bad, it's just that it's on such a different level musically wise that it feels like it belongs to a different work entirely, and leaves me feeling cheated. So for these reasons, this is one that I both love and dislike, if that makes any sense.

That's it! It makes plenty of sense to me. I think you either get it or you don't--if you don't, hearing someone say they both like and dislike something probably sounds like nonsense. If it weren't for the messy and stupid nature of the human brain, it probably would be. And I like your title idea.