Rossini right or wrong on Wagner?

Started by Owen David, May 24, 2023, 05:01:08 PM

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Valentino

Didn't Beethoven say of Rossini that he would have been an excellent composer if he'd put in some work?

I seem to prefer to listen to Wagner. The theatre bit is  quite dull save for the Ring with the machine at the Met.
We audiophiles don't really like music, but we sure love the sound it makes;
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Karl Henning

Quote from: Owen David on May 24, 2023, 05:01:08 PMMr. Wagner has beautiful moments but bad quarters of an hour.

Was Rossini right or wrong?

Is an opinion right or wrong?

Quote from: david johnson on May 25, 2023, 02:30:15 AMchuckle...  Most all composers do that.

Exactly:  Composers having opinions about other composers is non-news ...

Quote from: Florestan on May 25, 2023, 04:02:39 AMMy favorite bon mot about Wagner is by David Randolph, though: Parsifal is the kind of opera that starts at six o'clock and after it has been going for three hours, you look at your watch and it says 6.20.

Minus the derision, this is the nub, isn't it?—either one is happy to let Wagner take the time, or one is not.

I don't often listen to it, but I think Parsifal is largely worth the time.

Quote from: Jo498 on May 25, 2023, 10:08:19 AMSo he was only wrong, not jealous.

After all, had Rossini simply said, "Wagner's music is not to my taste," where's the entertainment value in that?

Quote from: Valentino on May 30, 2023, 04:44:53 AMI seem to prefer to listen to Wagner. The theatre bit is  quite dull [....]

I'd call his self-laudatory Gesamtkunstwerk better in theory than practice. Wagner the poet and dramaturg was not in anything like the same league as Wagner the composer.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

DavidW

My post about Rossini being jealous was just trolling Florestan btw.  It was tongue in cheek.

Florestan

Quote from: DavidW on June 01, 2023, 05:33:56 AMMy post about Rossini being jealous was just trolling Florestan btw.  It was tongue in cheek.

So was my reply, David.  ;)
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Florestan

Karl is right: what composer X says about composer Y might be amusing or not --- but should never be taken seriously.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

DavidW


Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Florestan on May 25, 2023, 04:02:39 AMAsk my avatar.  ;D

He also said with respect to Lohengrin: One can't judge [it] after a first hearing, and I certainly don't intend to hear it a second time.

My favorite bon mot about Wagner is by David Randolph, though: Parsifal is the kind of opera that starts at six o'clock and after it has been going for three hours, you look at your watch and it says 6.20.
Youch--to both!

PD

Pohjolas Daughter

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Jo498 on May 25, 2023, 10:08:19 AMSo he was only wrong, not jealous.

I doubt that Rossini listened to the "real Wagner", i.e. Tristan and later as this was at the end of Rossini's life or later.
Does anyone know if a particular work prompted that remark? Probably Tannhäuser?
Good point!  It would be interesting to see which works he was able to listen to during his lifetime and also which of those he actually heard.

PD
Pohjolas Daughter