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[kishnevi]

Coolness.

The back cover of that album, which gives a complete description of what's what on the cover,  with tongue very firmly in cheek, is priceless.  Almost everything you see is a momento of Monk's service in WWII with the French Underground,  including the taxidermied German officer.  I'd post it, but 1) it's too long to quote and 2)everyone who doesn't have that album needs to get it for themselve, anyway,,.,,

[Bogey]

The back cover of that album, which gives a complete description of what's what on the cover,  with tongue very firmly in cheek, is priceless.  Almost everything you see is a momento of Monk's service in WWII with the French Underground,  including the taxidermied German officer.  I'd post it, but 1) it's too long to quote and 2)everyone who doesn't have that album needs to get it for themselve, anyway,,.,,

I may just have to spin that one this afternoon after a triad of grand Canyon Suites.

[kyjo]

Ravel is my new avatar. Man, I love this guy's music. He was a genius through and through. One aspect of his music I really adore is his haunting, unique chord voicings. Pieces like Pavane pour une infante défunte, individual movements such as the slow movement of the PC in G major, or moments such as the Sunrise scene in Daphnis et Chloé are not of this world. They awaken emotions from the very depths of my soul. OK, I'm getting a little carried away now!

[North Star]

Ravel is my new avatar. Man, I love this guy's music. He was a genius through and through. One aspect of his music I really adore is his haunting, unique chord voicings. Pieces like Pavane pour une infante défunte, individual movements such as the slow movement of the PC in G major, or moments such as the Sunrise scene in Daphnis et Chloé are not of this world. They awaken emotions from the very depths of my soul. OK, I'm getting a little carried away now!

Excellent! Ravel is among my very favourite composers. I love the PC's, Ma mère l'oye, Miroirs, Gaspard, the chamber music, the songs, and L'enfant et les Sortilèges.

[kyjo]

Excellent! Ravel is among my very favourite composers. I love the PC's, Ma mère l'oye, Miroirs, Gaspard, the chamber music, the songs, and L'enfant et les Sortilèges.

Great to meet another Ravel fan! To be honest, I love pretty much everything he composed, even L'enfant et les Sortileges, one of the few operas I can really express admiration for (in case you weren't aware, I'm not to keen on opera).

[North Star]

Great to meet another Ravel fan! To be honest, I love pretty much everything he composed, even L'enfant et les Sortileges, one of the few operas I can really express admiration for (in case you weren't aware, I'm not to keen on opera).

Yes, I too love all of it, even if Boléro, Tzigane, and some early pieces aren't among my favourites, that's just because there are so many pieces I like more - and love.

[Brahmsian]

Great to meet another Ravel fan! To be honest, I love pretty much everything he composed, even L'enfant et les Sortileges, one of the few operas I can really express admiration for (in case you weren't aware, I'm not to keen on opera).

Well, there are many, many Ravel fans on GMG.  I'd say a good majority of folks on here are fans of at least some of Ravel's pieces.

[Mirror Image]

My current avatar is the great, if still underrated, Frank Martin. Certainly a composer I've come around to more in the past year. His Cello Concerto was my 'gateway' into his sound-world and really the work that allowed me to get a better grip of his style. Since hearing this work, I've been able to revisit my Bamert Chandos recordings with a greater appreciation and I'm still adding to my collection as I post this message.

[kyjo]

Love your Martin avatar, John! I've changed my avatar as well, this time to the great British composer Malcolm Arnold. His music is full of honest emotion no matter how quirky it may be. I love all of his symphonies, especially nos. 4-6, which are dark, often violent works. The enigmatic Ninth is also a great work. I adore his "lighter" side as well-the English Dances, Cornish Dances and overtures are so infectious! He also wrote what I consider some of the greatest film music ever written, especially The Bridge on the River Kwai.

[Mirror Image]

Love your Martin avatar, John! I've changed my avatar as well, this time to the great British composer Malcolm Arnold. His music is full of honest emotion no matter how quirky it may be. I love all of his symphonies, especially nos. 4-6, which are dark, often violent works. The enigmatic Ninth is also a great work. I adore his "lighter" side as well-the English Dances, Cornish Dances and overtures are so infectious! He also wrote what I consider some of the greatest film music ever written, especially The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Thanks, kyjo. I think I'll leave Martin up here awhile. Love Arnold's music by the way. I still think Symphony No. 9 is one of his most moving musical statements, although he has many of them. I've grown quite fond of Symphony No. 7 more recently, but all his symphonies are worth hearing as are his other orchestral works. I've found myself listening to his concertante works every now and then as well, which he wrote many of these. Out of the three symphonic cycles recorded, whose cycle do you prefer? I own all three of them: Penny, Handley, and Hickox/Gamba. I prefer Penny for his intensity and sheer emotional drive he gives these works and it also helps to have the composer present at the recording sessions.

[kyjo]

Thanks, kyjo. I think I'll leave Martin up here awhile. Love Arnold's music by the way. I still think Symphony No. 9 is one of his most moving musical statements, although he has many of them. I've grown quite fond of Symphony No. 7 more recently, but all his symphonies are worth hearing as are his other orchestral works. I've found myself listening to his concertante works every now and then as well, which he wrote many of these. Out of the three symphonic cycles recorded, whose cycle do you prefer? I own all three of them: Penny, Handley, and Hickox/Gamba. I prefer Penny for his intensity and sheer emotional drive he gives these works and it also helps to have the composer present at the recording sessions.

All three are excellent, but for me it's pretty much a tie between Penny and Hickox/Gamba. Hickox/Gamba, of course, have the advantage of the Chandos sonics, but Penny really drives these works hard, which I love.

[springrite]

Kimi and I.

[kyjo]

Kimi and I.

Haha! That's a cute picture, Paul.

[mahler10th]

My current avatar is a small crab husk, completely dead, which I photographed after positioning it in many different ways on 30 March 2012 in Helensburgh, Scotland.  Poor wee thing it was, lifeless, with no insides...just a wee crab shell which had the appearance of a living thing until I picked up it's emptiness.

(Thesaurus has cheekily suggested I change Helensburgh for 'Cheeseburger' -    )

[kyjo]

My new avatar is Geirr Tveitt, who was easily the greatest Norwegian composer besides Grieg (no disrespect meant to Saeverud, Valen, Halvorsen et al). His music is so individualistic yet he is rarely given credit for it-in this regard he reminds me of Leifs. The overwhelming drive, vigor, and earthy color of his music is simply thrilling. One of my favorite "unsungs" for sure.

[Mirror Image]

My new avatar is Geirr Tveitt, who was easily the greatest Norwegian composer besides Grieg (no disrespect meant to Saeverud, Valen, Halvorsen et al). His music is so individualistic yet he is rarely given credit for it-in this regard he reminds me of Leifs. The overwhelming drive, vigor, and earthy color of his music is simply thrilling. One of my favorite "unsungs" for sure.

Cool, Kyle. I own many recordings of Tveitt's music but need to familiarize myself with his music once again. I own all of the Naxos recordings and only one of the BIS recordings unfortunately (the Hardanger Fiddle Concerti disc), but I plan to add these BIS to my collection at some point.

[kyjo]

Cool, Kyle. I own many recordings of Tveitt's music but need to familiarize myself with his music once again. I own all of the Naxos recordings and only one of the BIS recordings unfortunately (the Hardanger Fiddle Concerti disc), but I plan to add these BIS to my collection at some point.

Nice, John. It certainly wouldn't hurt to pick up those BIS discs, even though the performances on Naxos are already excellent. The sound on the BIS discs is, as usual with the company, superb. Also, BIS recorded some works Naxos didn't get around to, such as Telemarkin, Baldur's Dreams, Sun God Symphony, Prillar and The Turtle.

[Mirror Image]

Nice, John. It certainly wouldn't hurt to pick up those BIS discs, even though the performances on Naxos are already excellent. The sound on the BIS discs is, as usual with the company, superb. Also, BIS recorded some works Naxos didn't get around to, such as Telemarkin, Baldur's Dreams, Sun God Symphony, Prillar and The Turtle.

See purchases thread.

[TheGSMoeller]

A pic taken from the other night of myself conducting in our season opening concert. The crowd went bananas.

[Brahmsian]

A pic taken from the other night of myself conducting in our season opening concert. The crowd went bananas.

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