Your ideal day's listening

[Mark]

Describe it.

For me, it's up at 7am for tea and toast, and on with Albinoni or Boccherini - Oboe Concerti of the former, Guitar Quintets or Cello Concerti of the latter. I love Baroque music in the morning: light, breezy stuff to put me in a good mood and set me up for the day. Alternatively, a handful of Canteloube's delightful 'Songs of the Auvernge'.

Around mid-morning, and to accompany some coffee and chocolate biscuits, I'd switch to the Classical Period, with Harp Concerti by Wagenseil and Dussek, and maybe some Mozart Piano Sonatas. That gentle move from Baroque to Classical is an easy transition that has me ready to enjoy an afternoon of more 'intense' listening.

Lunchtime, I'd pause for the TV news - half an hour, no more. I'd eat something light, like a salad with some brie, then back to the music with some English song - Bostridge would do nicely here, or a good performance of a Finzi song cycle. Nothing orchestral: just voice and piano accompaniment.

As the afternoon unfolds, I'd be looking along my racks for something a little more challenging. Kabalevsky's Cello Concerti. Shostakovich's Eleventh Symphony. Arnold's or Janacek's String Quartets. Then to follow on immediately (and alter the mood), one of Beethoven's 'brighter' Symphonies - the Seventh, perhaps.

Late afternoon, and time for tea, cakes and more vocal music. Something choral this time. Possibly a Handel Oratorio, or maybe some Palestrina (though generally, I reserve Renaissance music for the calm of the early evening).

After dinner at around 7:30pm, it's relaxing, wistful music only. English, pastoral, perfect for a warm summer evening. Music to which one can dream or get nostalgic. Then at gone 9pm, a big work. Brahms' German Requiem, or a big-boned, 'old-fashioned' interpretation of Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony. Perhaps Mahler's Tenth Symphony, or Walton's First.

As midnight approaches, anything goes. On with the headphones, ease back into a good chair, hot chocolate in a big mug, and grab whatever CD takes my fancy. A perfect end to a perfect day's listening.

[hornteacher]

Any day my students remember to look at the key signature.   

Seriously, for me it would be:

A Bach violin concerto or partita in the morning.
Anything Mozart at lunch.
Something by Copland in the afternoon.
Lots of Dvorak in the evening.
Beethoven at night.
Mendelsson to wind down with.

And Hilary's got to be in there somewhere.

[Mark]

And Hilary's got to be in there somewhere.

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, perhaps? Sure you wouldn't mind her fiddling late at night.

[hornteacher]

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, perhaps? Sure you wouldn't mind her fiddling late at night.

Yep, that's actually the recording that got me hooked on her.  She is so clean in that performance and the finale absolutely flies!

[Don]

I don't listen to music in the morning - do chores instead.  Whatever I listen to in the afternoon determines the night's musical menu.

[Heather Harrison]

This is a tough one; I have so much music around, and my mood varies, so there probably isn't a single ideal.  The following assumes a day when I have little that I have to do besides listen to music.

Early morning - something reasonably uplifting and not overly demanding.  Lighter Baroque music, simpler styles of early music, ragtime, or an uptempo 1950's jazz album.

Mid-morning - My brain is most awake at this time, so this is a good time for something serious.  Mahler, Shostakovich, Bruckner, Beethoven's larger works, a serious Romantic opera (Verdi, Wagner, etc.), large-scale Baroque religious music, or lengthy Indian or Persian classical improvisations.

Lunchtime - Time for a break.  Upbeat Classic-period music, 1920's big band music, swing, early rock & roll, folksy medieval tunes, or African or Latin American pop music.

Afternoon - By this time, I'm often in the mood for something a little out of the ordinary or something entertaining that will also make my mind work a bit.  Serial music, post-World War II avant-garde music, Les Six, Prokofiev, C.P.E. Bach, most varieties of 20th Century opera, music of the ars nova and ars subtilior, Renaissance polyphony, late-1960's psychedelic rock, avant-garde jazz, or traditional music of the Asia/Pacific region.  If I feel like some humor, this is the time for P.D.Q. Bach, Spike Jones, or "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Evening - This is when I wind down.  Something relaxing is nice at this time.  Vaughan Williams (mellower works such as Symphony No. 3), Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, slower-paced Brazilian pop, mellow jazz recordings (i.e. Miles Davis "Kind of Blue"; slower-paced recordings by jazz singers).  Also at this time, I am sometimes in the mood for music that reliably and quickly stirs up my emotions - Puccini's operas, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and many other other late Romantics.

Late night - On an ideal day, I wouldn't stay up late; I don't like to.  When I stay up, the music depends on my mood and on how tired I am.  If I don't really need to fight the desire to sleep, the evening selection will likely continue.  However, if I need to fight it, I will pick music that is either energetic, unpredictable, or downright weird.  The lunchtime selection might reappear, or perhaps the most unusual or humorous side of the afternoon selection.  Or I might even put on some black metal.  John Cage or Karlheinz Stockhausen might even make an appearance.  Of course, after such a night, I'll probably have nightmares.

Heather

[beclemund]

I do not know that an ideal day requires any specific work. I would hope my moods and interests would continue to vary. The perfect day would be partly cloudy and 70 degrees... and I could sleep until noon before waking up, putting on some green tea, setting a chair out on the porch and turning the stereo up.

At about four, I would walk the dogs and worry about lunch. Today, I ate to Irén Marik, which was pleasant enough. I suppose a little piano music is just the thing for a light lunch.

[Que]

Like Mark, I move during the day chronlogically through musical history starting with baroque.
I ussually wind down at the end of the day with some piano or violin music, or some Lieder.

Q

[Bonehelm]

Morning: Mahler 1
'
'
Noon: Mahler 5
'
'
'
Midnight: Mahler 10


I like to run through all Mahler's symphonies in an ideal day's listening.

[hornteacher]

I like to run through all Mahler's symphonies in an ideal day's listening.

Wow, I didn't know the day was long enough!   

[marvinbrown]

Describe it.

For me, it's up at 7am for tea and toast, and on with Albinoni or Boccherini - Oboe Concerti of the former, Guitar Quintets or Cello Concerti of the latter. I love Baroque music in the morning: light, breezy stuff to put me in a good mood and set me up for the day. Alternatively, a handful of Canteloube's delightful 'Songs of the Auvernge'.

Around mid-morning, and to accompany some coffee and chocolate biscuits, I'd switch to the Classical Period, with Harp Concerti by Wagenseil and Dussek, and maybe some Mozart Piano Sonatas. That gentle move from Baroque to Classical is an easy transition that has me ready to enjoy an afternoon of more 'intense' listening.

Lunchtime, I'd pause for the TV news - half an hour, no more. I'd eat something light, like a salad with some brie, then back to the music with some English song - Bostridge would do nicely here, or a good performance of a Finzi song cycle. Nothing orchestral: just voice and piano accompaniment.

As the afternoon unfolds, I'd be looking along my racks for something a little more challenging. Kabalevsky's Cello Concerti. Shostakovich's Eleventh Symphony. Arnold's or Janacek's String Quartets. Then to follow on immediately (and alter the mood), one of Beethoven's 'brighter' Symphonies - the Seventh, perhaps.

Late afternoon, and time for tea, cakes and more vocal music. Something choral this time. Possibly a Handel Oratorio, or maybe some Palestrina (though generally, I reserve Renaissance music for the calm of the early evening).

After dinner at around 7:30pm, it's relaxing, wistful music only. English, pastoral, perfect for a warm summer evening. Music to which one can dream or get nostalgic. Then at gone 9pm, a big work. Brahms' German Requiem, or a big-boned, 'old-fashioned' interpretation of Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony. Perhaps Mahler's Tenth Symphony, or Walton's First.

As midnight approaches, anything goes. On with the headphones, ease back into a good chair, hot chocolate in a big mug, and grab whatever CD takes my fancy. A perfect end to a perfect day's listening.

  Mark, your opening post reads like it came out of a luxury brochure- for sophisticated clients only.    I'd like to personally hire you to coordinate my listening schedule as I am absolutely hopeless with this sort of thing.  Can we negotiate a rate?

  marvin

[Mark]

  Mark, your opening post reads like it came out of a luxury brochure- for sophisticated clients only.    I'd like to personally hire you to coordinate my listening schedule as I am absolutely hopeless with this sort of thing.  Can we negotiate a rate?

  marvin

The full package, including meals and use of the sauna, will cost you just £1,995. Per day.

[Kullervo]

One or two CDs at or around sundown, schedule permitting. 

[marvinbrown]

The full package, including meals and use of the sauna, will cost you just £1,995. Per day.

  WOW    the GOOD LIFE ain't cheap.....ok you got yourself a deal  0:)!

  marvin

[btpaul674]

an ideal day's listening would be finding a new composition or composer I am not familiar with and being able to obsess for the next week over said finding.










or just a bunch of underground hip hop all day would be ideal.

[Bonehelm]

Wow, I didn't know the day was long enough!   

And mind you, I do not take breaks between them!

[Florestan]

I like to run through all Mahler's symphonies in an ideal day's listening.

I did it once. After the third, I began to have second thoughts about Mahler. After the sixth, I considered him as a symphonist vastly inferior to Mozart. After the first part of the eigth, I stopped, telling myself that I need no Mahler in the next 5 years.

(Since then, I've listened to Mhaler more than once, but only one symphony per day.)

[val]

I can only listen to music at night. During the way I am working - I am writting this in the lunch hour.

Besides, when I listen to music I never do anything else.

At night the city is more quiet and I am in a better mood to concentrate only in music.

[Florestan]

I can only listen to music at night. During the way I am working - I am writting this in the lunch hour.

Besides, when I listen to music I never do anything else.

At night the city is more quiet and I am in a better mood to concentrate only in music.

Same here.

[springrite]

Pick out 12 CDs blindfolded and have someone else put the CDs in the player and press PLAY. Surprise! Have done that a few times and every time it was magical!









(Can't say the same for the other person, though. I still remember the look of shock when, after a nice little Mozart CD, Stockhausen's Kontakt was played (or was it some Xenakis?). It was only 10:30 in the morning and that person volunteered to go and buy some lunch to go. She came back at 12:30. )