What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[karlhenning]

Tee-hee!

[Harry]

Joseph Joachim Raff.
Symphony No. 3, "Im Walde", opus 153.
Bamberger Symphoniker, Hans Stadlmair.
Recorded in 1999.

A wonderful work, full of musical surprises, and again excellent counterpoint, and very well written parts for brass, especially in the fourth movement, it nearly blows you away. Not a moment of boredom, it was great fun to keep all the musical strains of ideas together in my head, and make one sound out of it. Thanks to a German friend, who is a fanatic collector of scores, I could study all the newly released material, which he kindly copied for me. That is what basically made me enjoy so much more in these works. I had the same approach with Glazunov's Symphonies, and that was a success also.
Marvelous.

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Joachim-Raff-Symphonie-Nr-3-Im-Walde/hnum/3636763

[MN Dave]

Much better.   

[Franco]

"Zyklus No. 9" can kiss my ass. 

LOL

[jlaurson]

Joseph Joachim Raff.
Symphony No. 3, "Im Walde", opus 153.
Bamberger Symphoniker, Hans Stadlmair.
Recorded in 1999.

Thanks to a German friend [who broke the law] I could study all the [scores]. That is what basically made me enjoy so much more in these works...
Marvelous. [/i]

Say... would you reckon that reading the scores was instrumental, even necessary to enjoy these works quite as much as you did? 

(I only ask, because that's my distinction between 1st rate and 2nd rate (never mind 3rd, 4th, and 5th rate) composers. (I don't generally bother with 6th rate...)

Everyone else: Mind you that, teasing and semantics aside, I'm fully behind Harry's assessment and advocacy of this splendid collection & re-release. Man is it better than the CPO Raff that I got to know some of these works through.

[MN Dave]

LOL

There's a good example. What the heck is Zyklus all about?

[Harry]

And since Christmas is icumen, it doesn't do harm to start already with some festive music. I managed to get at a bargain price a wonderful Weihnachts oratorium, costing me 6,99 euro's with such illuminaries like Ruth Ziesak, Monika Groop, Christoph Pregardien & Klaus Mertens, aided by the Vokalensemble Frankfurt, and on period instruments Concerto Koln, conducted by Ralf Otto.
Well sung and played, this is really a fine addition to my collection.

Recorded in 1991 by Capriccio

[Franco]

There's a good example. What the heck is Zyklus all about?

About ten minutes ...

[MN Dave]

About ten minutes ...

...and that's about it.

[Harry]

Say... would you reckon that reading the scores was instrumental, even necessary to enjoy these works quite as much as you did? 

(I only ask, because that's my distinction between 1st rate and 2nd rate (never mind 3rd, 4th, and 5th rate) composers. (I don't generally bother with 6th rate...)

Everyone else: Mind you that, teasing and semantics aside, I'm fully behind Harry's assessment and advocacy of this splendid collection & re-release. Man is it better than the CPO Raff that I got to know some of these works through.

It helped to enjoy them more, absolutely!
And for everyone who wants to know I never think in terms of rates, either you like the music or not.
It is always a personal assessment, highly subjective, mine included. Objectivity is non existent.
In the mean time, I have a lot of fun with Raff's music.

[Franco]

Well it's a very certain kind of ten minutes.  Can be longer ...

[jlaurson]

It helped to enjoy them more, absolutely!
And for everyone who wants to know I never think in terms of rates, either you like the music or not.

Never, ever? 

Right, my neutral statement is, that he is a first rate composer...

Joseph Joachim Raff.
Suite for Orchestra "Aus Thuringen".
Bamberger Symphoniker, Hans Stadlmair.

What a first rate work, so well scored, and packed with catching melodies, performed first rate, with matching sound.

It is always a personal assessment, highly subjective, mine included. Objectivity is non existent.

Almost fully agree with that... and yet... there is an objectivity that does exist in the sense that quality is not subject to relativism, no matter how thick our interpretation (taste) influences our perception of it.

[karlhenning]

Objectivity is non existent.

Oh, a fallacy!  (Or should I say, from my perspective, that statement is incorrect . . .?)

[listener]

Rossini: Il Signor Bruschino
and an interesting Theresienstadt collection: Schulhoff and Ullmann  2nd Symphonies and string orch. pieces by Haas and Gideon Klein

[Harry]

Never, ever? 

Almost fully agree with that... and yet... there is an objectivity that does exist in the sense that quality is not subject to relativism, no matter how thick our interpretation (taste) influences our perception of it.

I was using this rating system temporarily, as a reaction to all your rates.
Quality is not subject to relativism, that's a good one,......I do not agree with that!
It will go to far to discuss this in this thread, you will agree.

[Harry]

Oh, a fallacy!  (Or should I say, from my perspective, that statement is incorrect . . .?)

Than prove me wrong Karl.

[George]

If there really is no objectivity, then it must be impossible to prove it. No objectivity means that all positions are subjective and therefore no one is in a position to prove that objectivity exists.

[jlaurson]

Quality is not subject to relativism, that's a good one,......I do not agree with that!

I won't argue too much. Just this much:

A bottle of Thunderbird vs. 1987 Caymus Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

The world in which this difference is relative is not a world I (choose to) acknowledge.

In a world full of grays, it is all the more important to differentiate the shades.

Thread duty:


Suk: Asrael Symphony
Ondine (SACD)
Ashkenazy & Helsinki PO

[MN Dave]

1987 Caymus Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Pricey. Luckily music isn't priced like that. It costs the same for Bach and Lady Gaga. 

[Keemun]

Brahms
Symphony No. 2
Haitink
London Symphony Orchestra