Putting Away Childish Things

[hopefullytrusting]

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Corinthians 13: 11)

Inspired by Glaring Omissions, I've begun to think in sort of the opposite direction - the direction of curation, which we all do to one degree or another - and I began to think what composers have I self-selected to no longer be a part of my standard repertoire, especially those which were once standard (call it a case of musical evolution), and I have one that stands out above the rest (that perhaps makes it glaring, but it isn't an omission - it is a deletion), and that is the work of Erik Satie.

Anyone who has known me on these boards might recall that I used to be an ardent supporter of the work of Satie, especially those who can reach very far back, and, now, I do not own a single track, a single cd - anything by Satie, and if I told my younger self that, I would have laughed. This is not to say that I don't enjoy his music, as I still have recall of what the pieces sound like, especially his Ogives and Embryons desséchés, but I own recordings of neither.

In its place, is music I wasn't ready for when I was into Satie - pre-Baroque to non-Bach Baroque to Haydn minus Mozart, but this is why I always come back to those composers I "missed." The problem doesn't lie with them; my ears simply haven't stretched enough, but I also know that not everything is for everybody, which is why I don't use this technique for pretty much any other composer.

[Kalevala]

I suspect that a lot of us go through phases in terms of listening to music (and perhaps also in terms of other interests/hobbies in life).  It's good to vary things up in life and take a breather from favorite composers/works/recordings and then visit them anew.   

K

[Jo498]

The next step was expressed well by CS Lewis 

"To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/single-post/c-s-lewis-on-writing-for-children

That said, I needed a long break from and rarely listen to some of my favorite pieces of the first year or so of listening to classical music over 35 years ago, e.g. Tchaikovsky's or Grieg's "Bonbons" from Capriccio italien to "Morning mood". Even Tchaikovsky's 5th and 6th or Dvorak's 9th that I accept as great achievements I only listen to very rarely.

[Mandryka]

I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

[Florestan]

One word:  Beethoven

[hopefullytrusting]

One word:  Beethoven

One more word: Agreed.

[AnotherSpin]

Our musical tastes are shaped by endless streams of external influence. No wonder our attention never stands still — it's always shifting. It's not a steady journey from childhood to maturity; it's a dance of change all its own.

[Karl Henning]

To give Beethoven the cold ear has neither my blessing nor my curse, but I certainly have no use for all the LvB orchestras great and small will ɓe programming this year. 

[Kalevala]

One more word: Agreed.

You two are burned out (at least temporarily) on Beethoven?

K

[Florestan]

You two are burned out (at least temporarily) on Beethoven?

K

I've been burned out on Beethoven for many years now and and every attempt at reverting the situation invariably failed. I seem to be well past the point of no return.

[Kalevala]

I've been burned out on Beethoven for many years now and and every attempt at reverting the situation invariably failed. I seem to be well past the point of no return.

Whatever works for you.  We all have our different paths and likes/dislikes/over-exposures at times too.  It's all good.   

K

[hopefullytrusting]

You two are burned out (at least temporarily) on Beethoven?

K

I just have no reason to return. There is so much music to listen to, and "classical" isn't even my favorite genre (probably my 3rd favorite genre).

[hopefullytrusting]

I'm currently putting a childish thing away - YouTube (sadly, I cannot get rid of gmail until next year given how much of my life is tangled up in its web).

[JBS]

I've been burned out on Beethoven for many years now and and every attempt at reverting the situation invariably failed. I seem to be well past the point of no return.

Try Joshua Bell conducting LvB's first two symphonies. He makes them sound like Mozart Symphonies 42 and 43, which should be helpful to you.

[ChamberNut]

Try Joshua Bell conducting LvB's first two symphonies. He makes them sound like Mozart Symphonies 42 and 43, which should be helpful to you.

Interesting! I did not realize that he was also doing some conducting now?

[JBS]

Interesting! I did not realize that he was also doing some conducting now?

He'a been music director of the Academy of St Martin's in the Fields since 2011. According to Wikipedia his current contract runs through 2028. He's also signed a contract to be principal guest conductor of the New Jersey Symphony for four years, starting with the 2025/26 season.
On top of that he also teaches at MIT and Indiana University.

Meanwhile, I discovered I misremembered the symphonies on that recording: they're 4 and 7. It was issued in 2013.

But the Mozart comparison still applies.

[Kalevala]

He'a been music director of the Academy of St Martin's in the Fields since 2011. According to Wikipedia his current contract runs through 2028. He's also signed a contract to be principal guest conductor of the New Jersey Symphony for four years, starting with the 2025/26 season.
On top of that he also teaches at MIT and Indiana University.

Meanwhile, I discovered I misremembered the symphonies on that recording: they're 4 and 7. It was issued in 2013.

But the Mozart comparison still applies.

Boy, I've been out of the loop too!    Thank you for the information.

K

[Den glemte sønnen]

I've been burned out on Beethoven for many years now and and every attempt at reverting the situation invariably failed. I seem to be well past the point of no return.

Interesting. My Beethoven journey is still in a medium swing (notice I didn't say full swing). He's a composer I purposely avoided being overexposed to and I'm glad I went this route to avoid situations such as your own. The same with Chopin and Liszt who are two composers I haven't listened to much, but find their music incredibly rewarding nowadays.

In fact, there are many warhorses, which I haven't worn out, because I have chosen not to overplay them, which, again, like Beethoven was a conscious decision.

[Florestan]

He'a been music director of the Academy of St Martin's in the Fields since 2011. According to Wikipedia his current contract runs through 2028. He's also signed a contract to be principal guest conductor of the New Jersey Symphony for four years, starting with the 2025/26 season.
On top of that he also teaches at MIT and Indiana University.

Meanwhile, I discovered I misremembered the symphonies on that recording: they're 4 and 7. It was issued in 2013.

But the Mozart comparison still applies.

I'll give it a try --- in my teens the Seventh used to be my favorite symphony bar none. Today if I overhear it on car radio I turn it off or change the station. 

Truth is, it's not that much a matter of burning out on Beethoven's music itself (I still listen to some of it every now and then) as of increasingly distancing myself from its underlying aesthetic. As time goes by I'm becoming more and more a reactionary who thinks Beethoven gave music a wrong, even harmful impetus. 

[Karl Henning]

I'll give it a try --- in my teens the Seventh used to be my favorite symphony bar none. Today if I overhear it on car radio I turn it off or change the station. 

Truth is, it's not that much a matter of burning out on Beethoven's music itself (I still listen to some of it every now and then) as of increasingly distancing myself from its underlying aesthetic. As time goes by I'm becoming more and more a reactionary who thinks Beethoven gave music a wrong, even harmful impetus. 

It's really not fair to lay that at Beethoven's feet. An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it.