Elgar popularity alert!

[greg]

Xenakis is the greatest composer of all time.




(Well, somebody had to say it.)

i somehow doubt you had your whole heart in that one 


well, at least somebody said it! 

[Maciek]

Better to say it halfheartedly than to think it wholeheartedly and say nothing at all!

[BachQ]

Yeah, all the Elgar bashing. I'm tired of it.

Why is it that EVERY thread must turn into an Elgar thread?

[Brian]

I hope Brian will give you some pleasure, too, next year.

For a fee.

*suggestive wink*

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

For a fee.

*suggestive wink*

Get in training, then.

* sympathetic smirk *

[71 dB]

I guess very few people listen to Elgar's music for Wind Quintet or Etudes Characteristiques for solo violin, Op. 24. Elgar's Cello Concerto is definitely not neglected but how about his part-songs or piano music?

Why is it that EVERY thread must turn into an Elgar thread?

Because I was born. 
This is an Elgar thread, nobody turned it into that.  0:)

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

This is an Elgar thread, nobody turned it into that.  0:)

That's incontrovertible.

[Christo]

Ha, great stuff: a thread wholly devoted to the worship of a devout Roman Catholic - and all sincere devotion stemming from a self-proclaimed anti-religious freethinker. With almost everybody else here witnessing of their disbelief and often not-very-devote sarcasms.

Now for a thread devoted to Boulez, by a Catholic admirer? 

(Perhaps rather in the style of a book I greatly enjoyed: Eric Fenby's memoires on Frederick Delius, called `Delius as I knew him'. As it presents the tale of a devout Catholic young man helping the blind and aged Delius for the sake of his godly gift of music, while Delius was loathsome of all religion and Fenby's catholicism?)

[mahler10th]

I think it is because Elgar is so associated with a particular image of Englishness that he has not been universally accepted.  But even this is something of a misnomer, because Sibelius is associated in a magnificent way with Finland, and he is accepted as a 'great' (and he is.)  Elgar has the 'Edwardian English Gentleman' image which, if it was dropped and replaced with a more appropriate kind of presentation (say, a 'Pioneer of 20th Century English Classical Music' or something more grand), his acceptance and visibilty through the World of 'consumer' classical music would increase greatly. 
It's right there is no shortage of his works on the shelves, but his image needs re-engineered for greater coverage and visiblity.
BTW, I like Elgar very much, his music is rarely feminine - it's mans music.

[karlhenning]

This is an Elgar thread, nobody turned it into that.

Yes, it was an aptly witty jest of Dm's, I think.

[greg]

Well, at least Poju got me to listen to the Elgar symphonies, and I liked them (the Naxos recording, at least).

[karlhenning]

Xenakis is the greatest composer of all time.




(Well, somebody had to say it.)

All right! Now, why does every thread have to turn into a Xenakis thread?!?!!

[greg]

All right! Now, why does every thread have to turn into a Xenakis thread?!?!!

Because he's just THAT awesome. 

[71 dB]

Elgar has the 'Edwardian English Gentleman' image which, if it was dropped and replaced with a more appropriate kind of presentation (say, a 'Pioneer of 20th Century English Classical Music' or something more grand), his acceptance and visibilty through the World of 'consumer' classical music would increase greatly.  It's right there is no shortage of his works on the shelves, but his image needs re-engineered for greater coverage and visiblity.

I agree but how to do this successfully?

BTW, I like Elgar very much, his music is rarely feminine - it's mans music.

How do you define feminine and masculine music? In my opinion Elgar's marches are very masculine but his Cello Concerto in feminine.

Well, at least Poju got me to listen to the Elgar symphonies, and I liked them (the Naxos recording, at least).

Means a lot to me to hear this 

[Brian]

Well, at least Poju got me to listen to the Elgar symphonies, and I liked them (the Naxos recording, at least).

Hey, I should listen to them; maybe I'll like them too. So far I've been nothing but a fan of Elgar.

[mahler10th]

I agree but how to do this successfully?

How do you define feminine and masculine music? In my opinion Elgar's marches are very masculine but his Cello Concerto in feminine.

Hi 71 dB

I don't know how an Elgar 'repackaging' could be sone successfully.  If Elgar hadn't sported that daft moustache of his, he might get a bigger audience.  Perhaps if a major orchestra (BPO, VPO, CSO, etc) with a top conductor and even a major celllist thrown in were to release a well produced and well marketed Elgar set with Elgar portrayed as a 'heavy' and influential (Enigma - perhaps mysterious?) musical figure in the history of English Classical music instead of the Edwardian Gentleman of the Empire he would have a better public reception.

I'm afraid I don't see his Cello concerto as feminine 71 dB.  Unfortunately, I cannot offer an explanation for this. 

[mn dave]

I thought Elgar was popular. What gives?

[Harry]

Elgar is a wonderful composer, and without him the English music scene would not be the same, in other words, one would miss him!

[71 dB]

I thought Elgar was popular. What gives?

As long as the quality of Elgar's symphonies is questioned he is not popular enough. Elgar's popularity is also limited too much in his homeland.

Hi 71 dB

I don't know how an Elgar 'repackaging' could be sone successfully.  If Elgar hadn't sported that daft moustache of his, he might get a bigger audience.  Perhaps if a major orchestra (BPO, VPO, CSO, etc) with a top conductor and even a major celllist thrown in were to release a well produced and well marketed Elgar set with Elgar portrayed as a 'heavy' and influential (Enigma - perhaps mysterious?) musical figure in the history of English Classical music instead of the Edwardian Gentleman of the Empire he would have a better public reception.

I'm afraid I don't see his Cello concerto as feminine 71 dB.  Unfortunately, I cannot offer an explanation for this. 

I don't choose my favorite composers according to insignificant factors. I'm sure the moustache was a very natural choice for Elgar. Fauré had very similar ones (he should be more popular too!). What we need is a new school system that helps young people become less superficial (and to understand multidimensional vibrational fields  ).

[karlhenning]

I don't choose my favorite composers according to insignificant factors.

I love remarks like this!