Neoromanticism

[Kullervo]

Valentyne Sylvestreff, eh?

i would say that i'd check him out, except he's not even in the Naxos catalog   

Try Valentin Silestrov, the way most English-speaking people spell it.

[karlhenning]

What do the other Members think?

1.  I think it's okay to spell it "Kiev";  that's how we've spelt it in English for a long time.  It's not like we've taken to the truer-to-the-original spellings of Sankt-Peterburg or Moskva.

2.  Items like "he has written six symphonies, sonatas, and two string quartets" strike me as simple facts, and not any matter of either 'pro' or 'con'.

3.  Items like "he writes a lot of pleasant-sounding chords for brass instruments" are at once vague, and a matter of opinion;  pleasant-sounding brass chords are pretty common, though not at all the less pleasant for that.

4.  We many of us still think you're better off saying "I" when what you obviously mean is "I."  You are, though, at liberty to be in as many minds, about as many matters, as it may please you (2nd person singular).

[Sydney Grew]

Items like "he has written six symphonies, sonatas, and two string quartets" strike me as simple facts, and not any matter of either 'pro' or 'con'.

We regret that we are unable to agree with the Member. One of the blights of contemporary music is the number of works which bear silly and facetious titles. We always take that as a sign that we should give such things a wide berth. The fact that a composer has written a number of straightforward symphonies sonatas and string quartets shows does it not that he is a serious person, a dependable and sensible man with his head screwed on the right way.

[karlhenning]

The fact that a composer has written a number of straightforward symphonies sonatas and string quartets shows does it not that he is a serious person

Or shows a lack of imagination.

One does wish for a composer to be imaginative, do not forget.

Dull as dishwater only gets a composer so far, these days.

[greg]

We regret that we are unable to agree with the Member. One of the blights of contemporary music is the number of works which bear silly and facetious titles. We always take that as a sign that we should give such things a wide berth. The fact that a composer has written a number of straightforward symphonies sonatas and string quartets shows does it not that he is a serious person, a dependable and sensible man with his head screwed on the right way.

i seriously hope you don't talk this way in real life.

Or shows a lack of imagination.

One does wish for a composer to be imaginative, do not forget.

Dull as dishwater only gets a composer so far, these days.

only gets them....... to score any Hollywood film that reaches millions of listeners 

[greg]

Try Valentin Silestrov, the way most English-speaking people spell it.

ok, got it..... but they only have one thing- a set of piano pieces called "Kitsch Music". 

[Sydney Grew]

i seriously hope you don't talk this way in real life.

Ah but we do. . . . The Member appears to know but little of the ways of the world at large.

[greg]

You must live in another world, my friend..... if so, i'm very very very very jealous.

(can't imagine someone surviving life using 'We' instead of 'I')... 

so which world do you live in? 1800s England?

[jochanaan]

You must live in another world, my friend..... if so, i'm very very very very jealous.

(can't imagine someone surviving life using 'We' instead of 'I')... 

so which world do you live in? 1800s England?

I guess: the aforementioned Kyiff , or somewhere in the Commonwealth of Independent States (the former Soviet Union).

[longears]

You must live in another world, my friend..... if so, i'm very very very very jealous.   (can't imagine someone surviving life using 'We' instead of 'I')...    so which world do you live in? 1800s England?

Though he's not quite Pinkie nor Poju as you've elsewhere suggested, you have hit on the defining characteristic all these characters share, Greg:  They are the subject of all their posts and aim to make themselves the subject of each thread.  Since they themselves, their feelings, their sensitivities, and their expression of their inner lives are their paramount concerns, they exemplify the Romantic spirit.

[knight66]

Quote from Mr Grew.


"This whole category of "romanticism" is deeply distasteful to the thinking person. We - music critics that is - would be much better off if we dropped it entirely."

[karlhenning]

Gosh.  If we don't find it distasteful, that means we're not sentient, right?

My wife will be so disappointed in me . . . .

[Ten thumbs]

Quote from Mr Grew.


"This whole category of "romanticism" is deeply distasteful to the thinking person. We - music critics that is - would be much better off if we dropped it entirely."

The description 'baroque' makes very little sense either. It implies overornamentation.

[jochanaan]

The description 'baroque' makes very little sense either. It implies overornamentation.

The term "baroque" refers as much to a performing style as to an era.  Back then, musicians played a lot of flashy stuff that wasn't written down, kind of like jazz players have always done.  In fact, I suspect "Baroque" composers never thought they were being baroque--unless they couldn't get that Court or Church position.  Then they really were "baroque."

[JoshLilly]

One of my music major friends here at college (music history, specifically) is excited about, of all things, video game music, and in some rare cases he's really been able to impress me ("Guess who wrote this piano piece." "A student of Rachmaninov?" "A Japanese guy last year for X fantasy game.").

So am I, excited about video game music. I think some of the greatest music written today is for video games. The composer you reference there is almost certainly Nobuo Uematsu, a melodic genius with few rivals in the entire history of music in the tune department. I think he would definitely classify as a neo-Romantic, since his overall sound style usually sounds like it would fit in the 1890s, though many of the actual melodies themselves sound clearly 20th century. In fact, quite a lot of video game music is highly neo-Romantic, and it even surpasses movie music in that regard. There is one of Uematsu's best overtures, in fact, that I'm sure would have been performed in the 1890s and nothing would have seemed out of place.

Note, I'm not a big fan of video games themselves. Many people love video game music that rarely, or even never, play the games. If you want to hear neo-Romantic, I strongly recommend giving it a shot. You may be thinking blips and beeps, but it's not like that at all. While some of that older "blips and beeps" music has been re-scored for piano or even full orchestra, a lot of the newer stuff is originally written for piano, full orchestra, or string quartet, or whatever. Overcoming "serious" music fan's automatic pre-derision toward game music can be difficult, or even impossible, but I swear many of them would be stunned if they'd actually give it a shot.

[greg]

So am I, excited about video game music. I think some of the greatest music written today is for video games. The composer you reference there is almost certainly Nobuo Uematsu, a melodic genius with few rivals in the entire history of music in the tune department. I think he would definitely classify as a neo-Romantic, since his overall sound style usually sounds like it would fit in the 1890s, though many of the actual melodies themselves sound clearly 20th century. In fact, quite a lot of video game music is highly neo-Romantic, and it even surpasses movie music in that regard. There is one of Uematsu's best overtures, in fact, that I'm sure would have been performed in the 1890s and nothing would have seemed out of place.

i actually have to agree here, especially with the bold.....
it's hard to define what a good melody is, but it's easily sensed when you play through a Final Fantasy game... and even his old soundtracks with awful sound quality sold like crazy in Japan!

i'd love to hear him write a symphony.... not sure it'd be great or not, but i'd still love to hear  0:)

[Ten thumbs]

The term "baroque" refers as much to a performing style as to an era.  Back then, musicians played a lot of flashy stuff that wasn't written down, kind of like jazz players have always done.  In fact, I suspect "Baroque" composers never thought they were being baroque--unless they couldn't get that Court or Church position.  Then they really were "baroque."

I'm sure you are right here. Maybe this was because the instruments of the day did not in general have the sustaining power of modern ones. Of course Rococo would be even more ornate. Definitely OTT!

[Brian]

So am I, excited about video game music. I think some of the greatest music written today is for video games. The composer you reference there is almost certainly Nobuo Uematsu, a melodic genius with few rivals in the entire history of music in the tune department. I think he would definitely classify as a neo-Romantic, since his overall sound style usually sounds like it would fit in the 1890s, though many of the actual melodies themselves sound clearly 20th century. In fact, quite a lot of video game music is highly neo-Romantic, and it even surpasses movie music in that regard. There is one of Uematsu's best overtures, in fact, that I'm sure would have been performed in the 1890s and nothing would have seemed out of place.

Note, I'm not a big fan of video games themselves. Many people love video game music that rarely, or even never, play the games. If you want to hear neo-Romantic, I strongly recommend giving it a shot. You may be thinking blips and beeps, but it's not like that at all. While some of that older "blips and beeps" music has been re-scored for piano or even full orchestra, a lot of the newer stuff is originally written for piano, full orchestra, or string quartet, or whatever. Overcoming "serious" music fan's automatic pre-derision toward game music can be difficult, or even impossible, but I swear many of them would be stunned if they'd actually give it a shot.

Wow, thanks for this really informative post! I will be sure to check Uematsu out, in some way that doesn't involve playing the games  , and also Garry Schyman, who wrote the score for "BioShock", which my friend also raves about.

[Grazioso]

Ah but we do. . . . The Member appears to know but little of the ways of the world at large.

We are not amused.

[hautbois]

i actually have to agree here, especially with the bold.....
it's hard to define what a good melody is, but it's easily sensed when you play through a Final Fantasy game... and even his old soundtracks with awful sound quality sold like crazy in Japan!

i'd love to hear him write a symphony.... not sure it'd be great or not, but i'd still love to hear  0:)

The guy who started it all was 久石 譲 (Joe Hisaishi), who composed music for almost all of the films of the famous 宮崎駿 (Hayao Miyazaki), whom was the mastermind behind many epic film productions of Studio Ghibli. Talk about GREAT TUNES. Every tune he has ever written is memorable, my God what talent. For those who are curious, the films of Studio Ghibli's outsell the big productions of Disney in Japan everytime they come out, in fact, one of their animations sold better than Titanic when it was released around the same time. All of the animations are a must see as they pushed the boundaries of animation techniques during their times, had good story lines, and with those soundtracks, oh just so damn enjoyable and recommendable.

Howard