Not sure I can afford this

[Daniel]

Hello everyone!  My name is Daniel and I have a bad feeling that this forum is going to cost me lots of money in terms of CD's I end up buying . . .

I have a pretty wide range of interest.  Lately I've been listening to a set of Sibelius symphonies (Segerstam and Helsinki), some CD's of Bach Cantatas from Gardiner's 'Bach Cantata Pilgrimage' and La Gioconda to commemorate Pavarotti.

The one non-modern composer I have a problem with is Mozart.  When I was in high school I went on a field trip to see Cosi fan Tute at Lyric Opera in Chicago and it was pretty much a terrible experience.  Most of the main characters were performed by the understudies and I remember being not very impressed.  And the seats at Lyric are like some kind of torture device.  After that even when I was getting more and more into Classical music I stayed away from opera.  But my mind was changed by Wagner when a set of Beethoven Violin Sonatas that I ordered were accidentally shipped with the first CD of Die Walkure.  But all the way up 'till now I still don't really care for most Mozart.

[The new erato]

You brave soul, welcome. Mozart doesn't make my top ten list of composers either, though he is certainlya head of Elgar!

[knight66]

Welcome, Mozart aside, you are hardly restricted for choice. I hope you enjoy it around here.

Mike

[Maciek]

Welcome!

Don't worry about Mozart. The time will come. Probably. Or maybe not. You'll live with it anyway (even if some people on this forum will tell you that's not possible).

[Larry Rinkel]

I assume you are fairly young. You could go two ways with this:

1) You could say you had a bad experience with Mozart, never bother with him again, and you will indeed find that there is plenty of other music to listen to.

2) Or you could say that sometimes initial experiences can be deceiving. It was a long evening, casting was spotty, seating uncomfortable; and what's more, Cosi is a somewhat rarefied, sophisticated, artificial work that would not be my ideal way to introduce someone to Mozart. Among the operas, Don Giovanni would be a far better choice, or perhaps Figaro. But then there are the major symphonies, quartets and quintets, piano concertos, and more, all of which are shorter, tighter, and more easily absorbed. Hopefully once you "get" those pieces and realize why Mozart has been held in such high esteem by generations of music lovers and musicians, you may be ready to return to Cosi.

The choice of course is yours.

[longears]

Welcome, Daniel.  I first dropped by here a couple of years ago for recommendations for "new" music.  I got some good ones, but also got bitten by the record-collecting bug that's nearly epidemic here.  Segerstam's HPO Sibelius is a fine set.  If you can content yourself with just that one, then GMG shouldn't put you in the poor house!

Stick around, share your discoveries, keep an open mind, and who knows?  You might even end up liking Mozart!

[Harry]

Welcome Daniel, you probably end up in the poorhouse, but then again, you at least have listened to a lot of music!

[BachQ]

Welcome 

[bhodges]

The one non-modern composer I have a problem with is Mozart.  When I was in high school I went on a field trip to see Cosi fan Tute at Lyric Opera in Chicago and it was pretty much a terrible experience.  Most of the main characters were performed by the understudies and I remember being not very impressed.  And the seats at Lyric are like some kind of torture device.  After that even when I was getting more and more into Classical music I stayed away from opera.  But my mind was changed by Wagner when a set of Beethoven Violin Sonatas that I ordered were accidentally shipped with the first CD of Die Walkure.  But all the way up 'till now I still don't really care for most Mozart.

Hi Daniel, and welcome.  As Larry says, sometimes first hearings don't tell the whole story, so who knows, you may warm up to Mozart later.  Meanwhile, there are rafts of other composers who are also worth your time.  Honestly, I think we are incredibly lucky to be alive in an age when there are so many composers, past and present, who have written so much music that there is no way any one person could even hear it all.

--Bruce

[Daniel]

Thanks everyone, for the welcome.

You brave soul, welcome. Mozart doesn't make my top ten list of composers either, though he is certainlya head of Elgar!

Oh, I actually kind of like Elgar!  Have you heard his 1st Symphony?  I think it's pretty good although I haven't been able to appreciate the 2nd as much.  I also like The Dream of Gerontius.  On the other hand, there are a few things of Mozart that I like too.

Among the operas, Don Giovanni would be a far better choice, or perhaps Figaro. But then there are the major symphonies, quartets and quintets, piano concertos, and more, all of which are shorter, tighter, and more easily absorbed.

Don Giovanni was ok when I saw it on DVD.  I've been to several performances of his concerti by the CSO and found them to be very boring.  On the other hand, tonight I went to a performance of his Symphony #39 and it was pretty good.  But the program said the second movement was 'haunting' and 'pasionate' and frankly I don't get a lot of emotion from Mozart's work.  It seems kind of repressed to me.  But I will keep coming back to it every once in a while.

Segerstam's HPO Sibelius is a fine set.  If you can content yourself with just that one, then GMG shouldn't put you in the poor house!

Well . . . actually when I bought that set I already had Symphonies 2, 3, 6, and 7.  The CD that really got me hooked on Sibelius was the Symphony #2 with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.  And after a first listen to Segerstam I still like the Ormandy performance a little better. But I'm really enjoying Segerstam's 1, 7, and 5.  I also have volumes 4 and 5 of Sibelius' piano music from Naxos.

[Hollywood]

Greetings from Vienna, Austria, Daniel. Welcome to the forum. 

Who knows, maybe sometime in the future you will grow to like more of Mozart's music. It is unfortunate that your first Mozart experience was a bad one and that just put you off. There is nothing worse than a musical performance (weither it be an opera, symphony, etc.) being performed badly to put you off listening to that certain music form (opera, symphony, piano concerto, etc.) and to a particular composer. I too, many years ago, heard an opera (I believe it was one by Puccini) for the first time and I was not impressed. This bad experience put me completely off any and all operas. It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I heard Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" that I actually enjoyed it and I decided to listen to some other operas. I was surprised to learn that I began to enjoy some operas and my favorites are Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte", Beethoven's "Fidelio" and Rossini's "The Barber of Seville".

I noticed you  mentioned Wagner's "Die Valkyrie" which is about the only thing by Wagner I really like. Who knows, maybe in time I too will grow to enjoy more of Wagner's music. 

[Que]

Hello everyone!  My name is Daniel and I have a bad feeling that this forum is going to cost me lots of money in terms of CD?s I end up buying . . .

Yes this place is extremely dangerous... I commend your bravery - and welcome!

 But the program said the second movement was 'haunting' and 'pasionate' and frankly I don't get a lot of emotion from Mozart's work.  It seems kind of repressed to me.  But I will keep coming back to it every once in a while.

It definitely sounds like you've been listening to oldfashioned, stodgy and indeed: repressed (!), "conventionally" performed Mozart.
Try HIP (Historically Informed Performance) recordings instead - and the true Mozart will be revealed.
Here's a thread: HIP Mozart.

Q

[SonicMan46]

Daniel - warm welcome to the GMG Forum -    Looks like you already have gotten some great advice - I'll second Que's recommendation to explore Mozart further (a fav of mine, BTW!).

Not sure 'how many' CDs (or other forms of music you collect) you currently own, but 'bargins' do exist out there:  1) Plenty of re-issues in 2-CD or more sets or even large boxes @ great prices - search the forums for composers that interest you for ideas; 2) Check out the Amazon Marketplace, if not already a discovery - can be a danger @ times but I've obtained plenty of 'new' CDs at excellent prices; and 3) Look at BRO ()Berkshire Record Outlet - located on the East Coast; great deals on OOP, discontinued, etc. CDs - just do a search on the record label Hyperion, for example - there's 'treasure' there!

But, good luck and hope to see you posting -