How do you discover new music?

Roasted Swan · April 05, 2023, 12:00:55 AM

Being involved in music as a child/student/amateur is a great way to discover unknown (to you at that point) music. AB mentions his love of Britten being ignited by being "forced" to work on choral works until there was a light-bulb moment. Trusting your musical guides - often teachers/conductors/directors of those groups is the way in. Via my youth orchestra in my teens I first played then loved then wanted to discover more about the likes of Elgar/Roussel/Debussy/Stravinsky/Mahler/Ginastera/Ruggles but also show music/Leroy Anderson/Morton Gould etc etc. The great thing about being young is being open and enthusiastic. But key of course is having the individual curiousity to discover the next piece, the next composer, the next genre.

The thing I have never understood is the mind-set that goes; "I now know work A by composer B played by performer C - that's all I need from that - I'll just hit repeat whenever I want that again....". Like people who go to an Indian Restaurant because "they love a curry" and always order the chicken korma.

Luke · April 05, 2023, 02:18:14 AM

Quote from: Roasted Swan on April 05, 2023, 12:00:55 AMBeing involved in music as a child/student/amateur is a great way to discover unknown (to you at that point) music. AB mentions his love of Britten being ignited by being "forced" to work on choral works until there was a light-bulb moment. Trusting your musical guides - often teachers/conductors/directors of those groups is the way in. Via my youth orchestra in my teens I first played then loved then wanted to discover more about the likes of Elgar/Roussel/Debussy/Stravinsky/Mahler/Ginastera/Ruggles but also show music/Leroy Anderson/Morton Gould etc etc. The great thing about being young is being open and enthusiastic. But key of course is having the individual curiousity to discover the next piece, the next composer, the next genre.

Changing a few names, this was exactly my experience too, although the bug hit well before my youth orchestra days so I was pretty aware of much of the standard repertoire by then. Still, it introduced me to new things, too.

Without parental record collections to get in the heads of the young and impressionable (because of streaming), and with music education decimated (numerically) and weakened (in quality of outcome) I worry for the future, not just of performance but of an audience even aware of this wonderful art form.

Roasted Swan · April 05, 2023, 07:12:19 AM

Quote from: Luke on April 05, 2023, 02:18:14 AMChanging a few names, this was exactly my experience too, although the bug hit well before my youth orchestra days so I was pretty aware of much of the standard repertoire by then. Still, it introduced me to new things, too.

Without parental record collections to get in the heads of the young and impressionable (because of streaming), and with music education decimated (numerically) and weakened (in quality of outcome) I worry for the future, not just of performance but of an audience even aware of this wonderful art form.

You said it. All the time CM is marginalised in Education the audience (let alone the particiants) will diminish and then it will be easy for governments to parrot the narrative that this should be defunded as its clearly a minority (therefore elitist) pursuit. My old youth orchestra (Simon Rattle's alma mater - can an orchestra be an alma mater....

) is planning a reunion for next year but there are concerns that overall numbers of young people wanting to join are down, engagement with CM in general is down. All the time schools/exam boards etc rush to make music inclusive this actually means pushing CM as a discrete art form to the periphery. I have no problem with all kinds of music being promoted and enjoyed and appreciated but this should not come at the cost of CM as though it can't be promoted and enjoyed and appreciated by anyone.

Luke · April 05, 2023, 07:17:23 AM

Quite. Well, I promise you it doesn't happen in my school. Doing my best Canute impression there...

Karl Henning · April 05, 2023, 07:43:24 AM

Quote from: Luke on April 05, 2023, 07:17:23 AMQuite. Well, I promise you it doesn't happen in my school. Doing my best Canute impression there...

(* chortle *)

lordlance · April 06, 2023, 12:48:37 AM

I was away for a few days and this thread got quite a few replies. Thank you to everyone basically asking me to relax. I know letting go is part of growing up. It's a bit difficult not feeling like it's a shortcoming that I can enjoy such a limited amount of classical music. I've also been slowly wondering if I should just abandon listening to all slow movements because I just haven't enjoyed them in a decade.

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I have no musical literacy to be honest beyond knowing tempi indications. I've read a lot of liner notes throughout the years and I don't understand 50-60% of it because it's all music theory. Is the average record buyer and (much less likely) concertgoer really expected to understand what's written? The remainder of the booklet notes are about the composer's life which also doesn't really contribute to my understanding of the piece in most cases so I find liner notes to be generally pointless.

I will say though that I do enjoy cult of personality so people like Liszt can be fascinating as larger-than-life figures.

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While I'm on the subject - What's the point of telling that the music is going from a G major to F? I don't know what that means and the musicians can hear it, right? What's being illuminated here?

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To @absolutelybaching:

I am a conductor guy before a composer guy and so quite a bit of my music is just from perusing conductors' discographies like of Karajan and Rattle. It doesn't always work but I can't help it, that's classical music for me.

Karl Henning · April 06, 2023, 09:56:24 AM

Any way (or any mélange of ways) that works for you is valid.

foxandpeng · April 09, 2023, 11:40:13 PM

Reading a post in the WAYLT thread about Vagn Holmboe made me think. The post mentioned finding
Holmboe satisfying rather than enjoyable. That's something that resonates with me.

For me, Holmboe is one of those 'hard won' composers. I'm not sure I have ever heard a piece of music by Holmboe that I have initially enjoyed, or been able to follow, or found memorable. Persevering with him, I find his music to be completely compelling. I love his symphonies and string quartets and many other of his concertos and chamber symphonies. Unless I had taken time to listen, re-listen and then re-listen again, the nuances, melodies and fascinating sound world would have been totally above my head and lost on me.

As it is, he is one of my favourite composers by a long distance.

I guess the reason I wanted to post, was because the same driver that sits behind how I listened and came to value Holmboe so highly, sits behind my persevering with PMD or any number of challenging, less tuneful, or less obviously structured works. Close, repeat listening, sometimes only one movement at a time, has proven immensely valuable and is the way I have learned to cherish works that, at first approach, seem beyond my capacity or ability to fathom.

Anyway, two cents on an Easter Monday morning.