Mozart

[Gurn Blanston]

This one's for the Bobster:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/arts/music/11mozart.html?_r=1

Good lord!   Fan-boys are worse than enemies. That sort of purple prose hasn't been in vogue for a good half-century or more. We don't care for it. Clearly, the reviewer didn't either.

[Szykneij]

Strep?

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MensHealthNews/story?id=8349038

[karlhenning]

This one's for the Bobster:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/arts/music/11mozart.html?_r=1

. . . confusingly and repetitively assembled, it stirred only vague curiosity.

Ah, we see the master at whose feet the Bobster tutelaged! 

. . . what I had originally stumbled on was one of the most egregious examples of strained puffery . . .

And Pinkie, for that matter 

[Coopmv]

I might be alone in this but I think that Marriner is flat out great in Mozart.  I still remember buying the tape (yeah it was those days ) of the 25th and 29th and in that opening movement of the 25th the flames were just flying off the violins it was so heated, so passionate.   And the 29th was charming, sublime but not indulgently romantic, just excellent.  After that I bought some of the serenades and some other things that also did not disappoint.  For me Marriner can be pretty dull with other composers, but I feel that he has an affinity for Mozart.

I like Marriner for many of his baroque recordings.  I also like many of his Mozart recordings since I am not hung up on whether a recording is HIP or not HIP.  This Mozart Violin Concertos by the ASMIF with Iona Brown is one of my all-time favorites ...

[Coopmv]

This is an experience I have yet to sample (too many CDs asking me to buy them, and too little cash to do it with), but I am enormously hopeful about it, if it's as revelatory as his Beethoven.

Elgarian,  Most of us have this problem, don't we?  BTW, Mozart is no Mr. Handel.  While I now have most of the Handel operas on CD, which were mostly acquired this year in spite of the fact that I already have a good many of them on LP, I doubt I will do the same for Mozart operas.  I will not get Don Giovanni, Magic Flute and Idomeneo, etc on CD since I already have the LP sets.

[DarkAngel]

Elgarian,  Most of us have this problem, don't we?  BTW, Mozart is no Mr. Handel.  While I now have most of the Handel operas on CD, which were mostly acquired this year in spite of the fact that I already have a good many of them on LP, I doubt I will do the same for Mozart operas.  I will not get Don Giovanni, Magic Flute and Idomeneo, etc on CD since I already have the LP sets.

Can we quote you on that..........
I recall not too long ago in the Handel thread you were saying a similar thing about not needing Handel operas on CD 

What could be more glorious and fullfilling than collecting the great Mozart operas, perhaps his crowning achievement?
Even today they are among the most beloved and treasured operas ever composed by anyone

[Coopmv]

Can we quote you on that..........
I recall not too long ago in the Handel thread you were saying a similar thing about not needing Handel operas on CD 

What could be more glorious and fullfilling than collecting the great Mozart operas, perhaps his crowning achievement?
Even today they are among the most beloved and treasured operas ever composed by anyone

Mozart barely makes it into my top 5 composers list.  While I have over 100 LP's/CD's/open-reels of his works, I own them since no serious classical collections can afford not to have his works represented.  If I do get some of his operas on CD, it will be very selective.  My most recent purchase of Mozart works is the 19-CD set by Christopher Hogwood and the AAM.  I hope to start listening to the set before the weekend is over ...

[Bulldog]

Mozart barely makes it into my top 5 composers list.  While I have over 100 LP's/CD's/open-reels of his works, I own them since no serious classical collections can afford not to have his works represented. 

So if a person has a fantastic collection of pre-baroque recordings, it's not a "serious" collection without any Mozart?

[Elgarian]

BTW, Mozart is no Mr. Handel.

Well ... not so long ago I'd have agreed with you, but I'm currently undergoing the same kind of Mozartian transformation as I experienced with Handel during the last year. In fact I think my Handel explorations have been largely responsible for the change. Coming at Mozart from a Handel/Baroque perspective is a very different experience to approaching him from Wagner and the Romantics (which is how I'd previously attempted it, unsuccessfully). But I now find that, having steeped myself in Handel operas and cantatas, I'm being overwhelmed by Mozart's operas, and all my previous notions about Mozart are being knocked out of the building. Already I can see that I'll have to acquire several versions of the major Mozart operas, both on CD and DVD. Frankly, I never expected to be in such a position.

[DarkAngel]

Well ... not so long ago I'd have agreed with you, but I'm currently undergoing the same kind of Mozartian transformation as I experienced with Handel during the last year. In fact I think my Handel explorations have been largely responsible for the change. Coming at Mozart from a Handel/Baroque perspective is a very different experience to approaching him from Wagner and the Romantics (which is how I'd previously attempted it, unsuccessfully). But I now find that, having steeped myself in Handel operas and cantatas, I'm being overwhelmed by Mozart's operas, and all my previous notions about Mozart are being knocked out of the building. Already I can see that I'll have to acquire several versions of the major Mozart operas, both on CD and DVD. Frankly, I never expected to be in such a position.

Indeed........something tells me Coop will soon have a similar transformation
Although he seems to not appreciate Mozart as a major music composer on any level, but that can change.
There was an old thread here that asked whether people preferred Bach or Mozart and I was surprised how few people
preferred Mozart (like me) vast majority strongly preferred Bach and almost looked down on Mozart

One thing you come to realize is that Mozart often displays a playful and whimsical nature, this should be just under the surface of all great performances. This is one of his endearing features compared to say Bach or Handel

[Coopmv]

So if a person has a fantastic collection of pre-baroque recordings, it's not a "serious" collection without any Mozart?

You are discussing this topic with him right now ...   

[Coopmv]

Indeed........something tells me Coop will soon have a similar transformation
Although he seems to not appreciate Mozart as a major music composer on any level, but that can change.
There was an old thread here that asked whether people preferred Bach or Mozart and I was surprised how few people
preferred Mozart (like me) vast majority strongly preferred Bach and almost looked down on Mozart

One thing you come to realize is that Mozart often displays a playful and whimsical nature, this should be just under the surface of all great performances. This is one of his endearing features compared to say Bach or Handel

I am not counting on it.  My early interests in classical music were for the classical and romantic periods.  Then I went through the transformation to go for baroque and early music and have not looked back ...

[Bulldog]

You are discussing this topic with him right now ...   

Nice job of ducking my question, but that doesn't alter your statement that a serious record collection must have Mozart included.  I wonder why you said that, since it sounds so alien to me (the notion that a serious collection must have particular composers).

[Coopmv]

Nice job of ducking my question, but that doesn't alter your statement that a serious record collection must have Mozart included.  I wonder why you said that, since it sounds so alien to me (the notion that a serious collection must have particular composers).

I ducked no question.  With 7000+ LP's/CD's/tapes (both cassettes and open-reels) in my classical music collection, I believe I qualify to be a serious collector.  This is just my opinion.  If you don't like that, so be it.

[Gurn Blanston]

I ducked no question.  With 7000+ LP's/CD's/tapes (both cassettes and open-reels) in my classical music collection, I believe I qualify to be a serious collector.  This is just my opinion.  If you don't like that, so be it.

Clearly the question is not whether you think you're a serious collector (obviously you do), it's why do you think you need any Mozart in order to qualify for that? For example, I don't have any Händel, or probably any number of other good composers. And yet, I'm serious as a heart attack.  0:)

[Gurn Blanston]

I also don't have any Handel (or very much early music or 20th century classical music for that matter.) As a result, I would never call my collection comprehensive, perhaps that's what Coop meant? He said serious, but perhaps he meant comprehensive?

Well, you may be right there, George. Yes, comprehensive would be more suitable in the context. Of course, it doesn't require 7000+ pieces of media to be comprehensive either. So maybe he means serious AND comprehensive? Can you grade these thing numerically?   

[Coopmv]

I also don't have any Handel (or very much early music or 20th century classical music for that matter.) As a result, I would never call my collection comprehensive, perhaps that's what Coop meant? He said serious, but perhaps he meant comprehensive?

George,  You are absolutely correct.  Serious means comprehensive in my reference.  That is why I actually have a Mahler cycle in my collection, even if Mahler music remains a tough nut for me to crack.  But then even the term comprehensive may be ambiguous.  Just how comprehensive is comprehensive?     0:)

[Gurn Blanston]

Me, I am not a comprehensive collector. I collect what I like. If I didn't love Mozart, I wouldn't own more than a few CDs of his.

Me too. I collect what I like, seriously and comprehensively.

Also, I don't collect what I don't like.

[Coopmv]

Me too. I collect what I like, seriously and comprehensively.

Also, I don't collect what I don't like.

I do not collect "modern" classical music, period.

[Gurn Blanston]

I do not collect "modern" classical music, period.

And rightly so. The oxymoron has always put me off...