Serendipity, the faculty or phenomenon of finding things not sought for

[hopefullytrusting]

... or was it synchronicity?

When it rains it pours?

Enough cliches.

A while back I had a thread - Glaring Omissions - where I discovered I had gaps in my listening that should have been obvious given my listening practices - this is not that. In fact, this is quite literal - I recently discovered a whole school of composers that I hadn't heard of (I didn't even know they existed), and I wanted to share them, as their music is most definitely worth listening to.

Let me share how I got there first.

I was looking up the composer Youri Boutsko, and wasn't really finding anything until I found out that sometimes the last name is spelled Butsko.

That led me to a recording: Emancipation of Consonance (solo piano works of Russian New Simplicity played by Lukas Geniusas).

Geniusas led me to: Rarities of Piano Music at Schloss vor Husum from the 2018 Festival (I'll eventually go through this entire festival), specifically DuPont's La Maison dans les Dunes (pianist: Severin von Eckardstein).

I then looked up to see if Severin von Eckardstein recording the entire set, which led to his recording: Dupont & Debussy: Piano Works. I then glanced down at Presto's You may also like ..., and saw an image that drew my immediate attention: Vieri Tosatti: Opera omnia per pianoforte, and this led me to my newest batch of composers (see list below, in the order that I found them, lol).

Vieri Tosatti
Giovanni Rinaldi
Alfonso Rendano
Giulio Ricordi
Franco Margola
Gino Marinuzzi
Amilcare Zanella

[Christo]

... it's how I found this thread. 

[DavidW]

Finding things not sought for is how I got into classical music. My world history teacher played classical music at the beginning of class, and I liked it.

[Elgarian Redux]

Finding things not sought for is how I got into classical music. My world history teacher played classical music at the beginning of class, and I liked it.

Same for me. I went into an English lesson in 1964, and the teacher said (bless that man), "Today we're going to listen to Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, and I'll explain all about a thing called 'the leitmotif' as we go along. The first movement concerns a dream ..."
I was hooked within minutes. That weekend I went into town and bought my first classical LP.

[André]

That's how I buy at least half of my recordings. I always look for bargains on labels known to have off-the-beaten-path repertoire, unknown composers or interesting musicians. Labels like Thorofon, Genuin, Fuga Libera, Sterling, Da Capo, Gramola, CPO, Toccata Classics, Musica Sveciae etc.

I let myself be guided by a sense of discovery. I like to be surprised !

[hopefullytrusting]

I follow a ballerina on Instagram, and she's been working on the Dulcinea Variation, which is something I had not heard, but after having watch her practice it I became entranced and had to look it up, and in that process came across a prolific ballet composer I had never heard of: Ludwig Minkus and his ballet Don Quixote, from whence the variation being worked upon was drawn, so I'm currently looking through recordings to find the best one to listen to.

Also, an aside, a sidenote, there are few things more beautiful, I think, then watching a ballerina dance. Like I never thought beauty could make me weepy, but watching a ballerina does get me close to there, and I now know what Burgess felt when he wrote the follow:

"Oh it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now, came the violin solo above all the other strings, and those strings were like a cage of silk round my bed. Then flute and oboe bored, like worms of like platinum, into the thick thick toffee gold and silver. I was in such bliss, my brothers."

[Number Six]

I follow a ballerina on Instagram, and she's been working on the Dulcinea Variation, which is something I had not heard, but after having watch her practice it I became entranced and had to look it up, and in that process came across a prolific ballet composer I had never heard of: Ludwig Minkus and his ballet Don Quixote, from whence the variation being worked upon was drawn, so I'm currently looking through recordings to find the best one to listen to.

Also, an aside, a sidenote, there are few things more beautiful, I think, then watching a ballerina dance. Like I never thought beauty could make me weepy, but watching a ballerina does get me close to there, and I now know what Burgess felt when he wrote the follow:

"Oh it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now, came the violin solo above all the other strings, and those strings were like a cage of silk round my bed. Then flute and oboe bored, like worms of like platinum, into the thick thick toffee gold and silver. I was in such bliss, my brothers."

Who is she? Can we follow her channel, too?

[hopefullytrusting]

Who is she? Can we follow her channel, too?

Of course, her name is Mackenzie Davis (she is in her second year of professional dancing, I think):

This is a link to her fifth day of practicing: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIChzdwBsjo/

She also has a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@dancingwithmackenzie/videos

[Number Six]

Of course, her name is Mackenzie Davis

Thanks. She seems a treat. I look forward to watching some of her video clips.

I agree with you about ballerinas and beauty. For me, ballerinas, gymnasts, and figure skaters all fit that category. But the latter two are often moving fast, whereas dancers allow us to really appreciate the nuances of what they're doing.

Amazing arts, all three.

[hopefullytrusting]

Thanks. She seems a treat. I look forward to watching some of her video clips.

I agree with you about ballerinas and beauty. For me, ballerinas, gymnasts, and figure skaters all fit that category. But the latter two are often moving fast, whereas dancers allow us to really appreciate the nuances of what they're doing.

Amazing arts, all three.

Ironically enough, I came across Davis through serendipity, as I was viewing my Instagram discovery/explore page, and I saw a ballerina using painter's tape, so I clicked on the video to see what they were doing, and, lol, they were using the painter's tape, functionally, as a bandage, and I love that kind of practically-mindedness and then clicked on the rest of their videos and found them equally charming.

Yes, it is the slowness which allows me to appreciate, but I do respect those other two sports (I include cheerleading in there as well - cheerleading might be the most mind-blowing, spectacular thing I've seen a human do that wasn't legitimate insane like urban running in skyscrapers - only watch this if you have a very, very strong stomach).