Hi to you all.
I registered yesterday and am just beginning to explore the forum. After my first post I realized I should have introduced myself first. Forgive me for the lack of etiquette.
I enjoy classical music since my teens but I am not a musician. My relation to music is based on my personal sensibility and listening experience. When touched by some musical composition I do like to explore different readings, trying to find the richness of the piece through different interpretations I relate with. In this quest I am never looking for perfection (I would not recognize) and I am never able to elect any "best "interpretation of a piece, to order the ones I do like in any rank or to define what is the "correct" style for a piece, the right tempi, to locate a slip of intonation or a missing note.
This is not to say I don't have my personal favorites. And I must also confess that sometimes I have a kind of irrational insensibility to some fine and famous musicians that I may respect but I personally find too rigid or cold or to whom I cannot "connect with" in terms of musical phrasing, freedom or color.
A warm welcome Carlos. I should think you will encounter many like minded folk here. Most of us do not ascribe to the generally accepted appraisal of various famous musicians. We either connect or don't. A bit like the music itself, perhaps it is great, but I might not like it.
What composers or artists are you listening to?
Regards,
Mike
Hello Carlos from lovely Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes and bazillions of mosquitoes.
Welcome, Carlos. Hope you enjoy your stay with us, and we learn from each other. I am a big believer in not ranking or assessing greatness based on my own taste, also. I think you will like it here. :)
8)
----------------
Listening to:
Holmes/Burnett - Hummel Sonata in Eb for Violin & Fortepiano Op 5 #3 3rd mvmt
Thank you for your welcome.
Listenning "program" for today:
- 2 versions of the Brahms 3rd symphony by Pierre Monteux (Concertgebouw and BBC)
- Bach sonatas and partitas by Szigeti - different versions and decades (1930's 1940's 1950')
- Chopin nocturnes - Dino Ciani
- Hommage à Marcelle Meyer - Thara 579-580
Regards,
Carlos
Exquisite taste, my good man. 8)
Welcome Carlos. :)
A warm welcome to you--and that you may never be intimidated by the usually civil, but sometimes--accidentally--rough tone that resonates through the halls of the GMG Forum.
Best wishes and regards,
jfl
Quote from: DavidW on September 12, 2009, 11:20:19 AM
Welcome Carlos. :)
David - love your 'new' avatar - a
Texas Speed Bump - ;D
Carlos - another warm welcome to the GMG Forum - I hope that your enjoy and find plenty of interest here - please post and checkout the 'Composer's Thread' for those that might be of interest - :)
I'd be interested in where you live in Portugal? My only trip to your country was back in the 1970s - mainly Lisbon & the surrounding areas, plus a short visit to the islad of Madeira - just beautiful! I've collected vintage Ports for years but have never made a trip to Oporto or up the Douro River to the actually vineyards - would be a joy for me! :D
Hola Carlos, y saludos de otro Carlos pero de otro continente, y mucho mas al Sur.
Quote from: DFO on September 12, 2009, 05:23:42 PM
Hola Carlos, y saludos de otro Carlos pero de otro continente, y mucho mas al Sur.
Carlos - having studied Spanish in college (can't speak much anymore, unfortunately - :-\) and been to Portugal, the two languages are different; Portuguese seems to have some more of the 'softness' of French pronunciations, but just my superficial impressions - but just curious, if it is easier for a Spanish & Portuguese speaker to understand each other vs. one speaking to a person fluent in Italian or French? Dave :)
Quote from: SonicMan on September 12, 2009, 05:18:19 PM
David - love your 'new' avatar - a Texas Speed Bump - ;D
Hey that's perfect, I'll update my profile now. ;D
Quote from: jlaurson on September 12, 2009, 05:00:58 PM
A warm welcome to you--and that you may never be intimidated by the usually civil, but sometimes--accidentally--rough tone that resonates through the halls of the GMG Forum.
Best wishes and regards,
jfl
So, what are you saying, Jens... >:(
:D
8)
----------------
Listening to:
Christine Faron - Kozeluch Op 15 #1 Sonata in g for Fortepiano 2nd mvmt - Allegro molto
My tone is so rough you could use it in place of sandpaper. ;D
Welcome aboard, Carlos!
Welcome, Carlos! 8)
Bem-vindo à GMG, Carlos!
Quote from: SonicMan on September 12, 2009, 05:32:18 PM
Carlos - having studied Spanish in college (can't speak much anymore, unfortunately - :-\) and been to Portugal, the two languages are different; Portuguese seems to have some more of the 'softness' of French pronunciations, but just my superficial impressions - but just curious, if it is easier for a Spanish & Portuguese speaker to understand each other vs. one speaking to a person fluent in Italian or French? Dave :)
Nope, the language Spanish speakers usually have the fewest problems understanding without prior study is Italian. Portuguese is second, and French is DEFINITELY last. With the written language, the order is Portuguese, Italian, French. Written Portuguese is insanely easy to understand.
I hear Portuguese speakers have an easier time understanding oral Spanish than viceversa. I think it's because Portuguese has more nasal and 'disappearing' sounds, it sounds more 'closed' *. There are actually some Spanish accents that are also 'closed' and I have some trouble understanding them.
* Needless to say, French takes the cake in the 'closed' department.
Quote from: Diletante on September 12, 2009, 06:33:33 PM
Written Portuguese is insanely easy to understand.
I see what you mean here. I've never even studied the language, yet I'm surprised how much I can understand.
Greetings from Beethoven's Heiligenstadt, Carlos. Welcome to the forum. (http://bestsmileys.com/welcome/18.gif)
Welcome to the Forum, Carlos! Greetings from an overcast Delft, Netherlands.
Johan
Quote from: SonicMan on September 12, 2009, 05:32:18 PM
Carlos - having studied Spanish in college (can't speak much anymore, unfortunately - :-\) and been to Portugal, the two languages are different; Portuguese seems to have some more of the 'softness' of French pronunciations, but just my superficial impressions - but just curious, if it is easier for a Spanish & Portuguese speaker to understand each other vs. one speaking to a person fluent in Italian or French? Dave :)
Dave
The same latin root in all. But Spanish-Castellano and Portuguese are indeed closer and easier to be mutually learned and understood. There are even more similarities between Portuguese and the north Spanish-Galego. Many portuguese may be able to naturally understand the basic meaning of a Spanish sentence and even an Italian. Less from French. But the inverse may not be true - in my experience a spoken common portuguese sentence is more difficult to be understood by a spanish or an italian - and sometimes, and it always puzzles me, even by a portuguese speaking brazilian.
Thank you again for the warm welcome.
Carlos
Quote from: SonicMan on September 12, 2009, 05:18:19 PM
[I'd be interested in where you live in Portugal? My only trip to your country was back in the 1970s - mainly Lisbon & the surrounding areas, plus a short visit to the islad of Madeira - just beautiful! I've collected vintage Ports for years but have never made a trip to Oporto or up the Douro River to the actually vineyards - would be a joy for me! :D
I live in Lisbon.
Glad you have such good memmories from your trip to Portugal. I also love vintage Port very much (and also the not so well known, but wonderful, Madeira old vintages).
The visits to the Porto vineyards (around the Douro river) are a must. So you may well have a good reason to come back.
Thank you for your message and wellcome.
Carlos
Hola Carlos, y saludos de otro Carlos pero de otro continente, y mucho mas al Sur.
Carlos al Sur
Gracias y saludos para usted.
Carlos al Norte
Quote from: Diletante on September 12, 2009, 06:33:33 PM
Bem-vindo à GMG, Carlos!
Muito Obrigado pela boa recepção no grupo ( e pelo bom português !)
Até breve.
Carlos
Quote from: jlaurson on September 12, 2009, 05:00:58 PM
A warm welcome to you--and that you may never be intimidated by the usually civil, but sometimes--accidentally--rough tone that resonates through the halls of the GMG Forum.
Best wishes and regards,
jfl
Thanks for the good warning.
But maybe the roughness (or even some sand paper) is sometimes a heathy polish for my own taste or opinions. That´s part of the game and I hope I'll survive to it .
Best wishes
And thank you all again for the warm welcome.
Carlos
Hi Carlos, and welcome from New York City. I've not been to your beautiful country yet, but hope to someday. Among other things, I want to hear a concert in the Casa da Musica in Oporto (below). Have you been there? The building looks absolutely gorgeous.
--Bruce
Hi Bruce.
Yes I did. Casa da Música is now one of the modern architectural icons of Oporto and the programming has a mix of various musical genres and shows. In the "classical" there is much modern and contemporary music. I am sending you below the link to the agenda.
Thanks for the welcome and interest.
Carlos
http://www.casadamusica.com/default.aspx?langSite=eng (http://www.casadamusica.com/default.aspx?langSite=eng)
Welcome, Carlos!
Quote from: ccar on September 12, 2009, 10:34:35 AM
Hi to you all.
My name is Carlos and I live in Portugal.
I registered yesterday and am just beginning to explore the forum. After my first post I realized I should have introduced myself first. Forgive me for the lack of etiquette.
Hi Carlos,
I think I had posted a dozen times before I saw the Introductions section, so I just never did it! (And no one has kicked me out yet. . . ) Welcome to the forum, and have fun!
Olá
Bom dia
I love Portuguese - and have tried learning how to speak (Brazilian), but without not much progress thus far. I also love Fado, and have several CDs of this music.
Nice to have you join us.
Quote from: Franco on September 15, 2009, 11:18:16 AM
Olá
Bom dia
I love Portuguese - and have tried learning how to speak (Brazilian), but without not much progress thus far. I also love Fado, and have several CDs of this music.
Nice to have you join us.
Obrigado Franco.
I am glad to Know your interest in Fado and Portuguese.
As in any other type of music Fado has many different "styles". I am curious to know whitch Fado singers / CDs you love most.
Thanks again for your message and welcome.
Carlos
You are very welcome Carlos, hope you find on GMG what you need. :)
Quote from: ccar on September 16, 2009, 04:19:08 PM
Obrigado Franco.
I am glad to Know your interest in Fado and Portuguese.
As in any other type of music Fado has many different "styles". I am curious to know whitch Fado singers / CDs you love most.
Thanks again for your message and welcome.
Carlos
Some of my favorites are
Christina Branco/Kronos, Sensus
Ana Moura/Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mão
Misia/Garras Dos Sentidos
Marizia/Fado Curvo, Terra
Alexandra/Um Parfum De Fado
But I would greatly appreciate comments and suggestions from you.
Até logo
f
Franco
Franco
You picked a wide and wonderfull selection of new singers.
If you want some more suggestions I would probably try:
1. Camané - a relatively new and very talented singer, with an approach that is quite intimate, in the line of the more traditional small-scale Fado songs and musics (Uma Noite de Fados EMI B00004S6JR)
2. Amália - the portuguese icon of Fado in the last century; she has lots of recordings but personally I would try to get some of the old and more traditional compilations
(Estranha Forma de Vida EMI PORTUGAL B00005NG9I)
Um abraço,
Carlos
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on September 13, 2009, 03:15:00 PM
Welcome, Carlos!
Thank you for your welcome message.
How interesting to have an active composer in a classical music forum.
I looked at your website and found your opus 90 -
Castelo dos Anjos. Being a portuguese, I was curious about the name and the
piece. Can you please give some more details about it ?
Carlos
Welcome aboard and thanks for posting on the historical thread with the Busch cds!
Thank You Bogey.
It was you that mentioned Fritz Busch in the topic and I just wanted to endorse him.
In fact, when I try to re listen a musical piece I am drawn many times to "historical" recordings. Not because they are "historical" but because, in spite of nondigital sound, I feel the music is sometimes given in a more expressive, individual or direct way. In some way it is a pity that these "historical" recordings and artists tend to become inclosed in specialist "archaeological" threads or editions. But perhaps it is the best (or the only) way to revive them. I will gladly continue to post on the "historical" but I hope the moderators will let us continue to suggest some oldies in the more general threads.
Carlos
Quote from: ccar on September 19, 2009, 11:09:27 AM
Thank you for your welcome message.
How interesting to have an active composer in a classical music forum.
I looked at your website and found your opus 90 - Castelo dos Anjos. Being a portuguese, I was curious about the name and the piece. Can you please give some more details about it ?
Thanks for inquiring,
Carlos!
The piece was commissioned by a Boston-area vocal trio,
Tapestry. One of the members has at times done research in Portugal . . . at any rate, when we spoke about the possibility of my writing a piece for them, I was sent some medieval texts on a Christmas theme, most of them in Portuguese (one of them in Spanish). The idea was probably that I should choose one from among them, but in fact I liked all of them, so I set all four as a sort of miniature cantata.
Greetings from Sussex, UK. There are a number of fans her of Portuguese composer Joly Braga Santos - are you familiar with his music?
Quote from: vandermolen on October 23, 2009, 09:06:47 AM
Greetings from Sussex, UK. There are a number of fans her of Portuguese composer Joly Braga Santos - are you familiar with his music?
Yes. And being a newbie I must say how impressed I am to see all the fans and so much interest on his music at the CMF.
He is certainly a wonderful composer. I love his inspired sense of melody, his musical landscapes and, particularly in his first symphonies, what I always sensed as a very portuguese mixture of poetical intimacy and epic ideals. I appreciate the richness and transparency of his orchestration, the elegant directness of his musical speech and the simplicity and humane character of his music. Maybe this was a reflection of who was considered, by those who Knew him, as a very generous and sincere person. Indeed, in a world of so many intelectualistic "creational" dogmas, he had courage to confess he always wanted that people would really enjoy his music.
I didn't Know him personally but I do remember, during my teens, seeing him frequently at the Lisbon concerts and recitals with a very gentle and almost humble attitude.
The Portugal Som edition and, more recently, the effort to revive his work by his friend and conductor Alvaro Cassuto are much to be praised.
Maybe we may now hope seeing Joly Braga Santos in more concert programmes and listening to different interpretations of his compositions by other orchestras and conductors.
Quote from: ccar on October 25, 2009, 11:12:29 AM
Yes. And being a newbie I must say how impressed I am to see all the fans and so much interest on his music at the CMF.
He is certainly a wonderful composer. I love his inspired sense of melody, his musical landscapes and, particularly in his first symphonies, what I always sensed as a very portuguese mixture of poetical intimacy and epic ideals. I appreciate the richness and transparency of his orchestration, the elegant directness of his musical speech and the simplicity and humane character of his music. Maybe this was a reflection of who was considered, by those who Knew him, as a very generous and sincere person. Indeed, in a world of so many intelectualistic "creational" dogmas, he had courage to confess he always wanted that people would really enjoy his music.
I didn't Know him personally but I do remember, during my teens, seeing him frequently at the Lisbon concerts and recitals with a very gentle and almost humble attitude.
The Portugal Som edition and, more recently, the effort to revive his work by his friend and conductor Alvaro Cassuto are much to be praised.
Maybe we may now hope seeing Joly Braga Santos in more concert programmes and listening to different interpretations of his compositions by other orchestras and conductors.
Thanks - and sorry for delayed response. You write very eloquently and perceptively about Braga Santos and I agree with all that you say - he is one of my favourite composers (especially symphonies 1-4 with 3 and 4 being terrific scores). Yes, he sounded like a very nice, gentle soul. Apparently he made no effort to promote his own music (so different to today's egos!) Thematically there are connections with his music and that of British composer Vaughan Williams (do you know any of his music?) Sadly, the Portugalsom label seems to have disappeared although I have managed to pick up some second hand CDs including Symphony No 4 (with choir) and Symphony 5. It would be great if the Portugalsom recordings could be reissued.
Best wishes
Jeffrey
Quote from: vandermolen on October 27, 2009, 01:12:44 AM
Thematically there are connections with his music and that of British composer Vaughan Williams (do you know any of his music?) Sadly, the Portugalsom label seems to have disappeared although I have managed to pick up some second hand CDs including Symphony No 4 (with choir) and Symphony 5. It would be great if the Portugalsom recordings could be reissued.
Best wishes
Jeffrey
Thank you for your interesting comments. Unfortunately, the Vaughan Williams I have listened to is not much. But I remember being impressed by some works/recordings - Symphonies no.2 and no.6 by Barbirolli and particularly no.4 by Mitropoulos.
And what particular Portugal Som recording are you looking for ?
Carlos
Quote from: ccar on October 27, 2009, 03:52:28 PM
Thank you for your interesting comments. Unfortunately, the Vaughan Williams I have listened to is not much. But I remember being impressed by some works/recordings - Symphonies no.2 and no.6 by Barbirolli and particularly no.4 by Mitropoulos.
And what particular Portugal Som recording are you looking for ?
Carlos
Carlos,
Perhaps you would like Vaughan Williams Symphony No 5 and 3, these are amongst his greatest works, and perhaps have the most in common with Braga Santos (Symphony No 5 in particular). The Portugalsom CD I am especially looking out for has Brags Santos Symphony No 3 with the London Symphony Orchestra. According to another Braga Santos fan here (Christo) it is a better performance than the one on Marco Polo. I'd also be interested to here the Portugalsom recordings of symphonies 1 and 2 (I have 4 and 5 in my collection).
Best wishes
Jeffrey
Quote from: ccar on October 25, 2009, 11:12:29 AM
Yes. And being a newbie I must say how impressed I am to see all the fans and so much interest on his music at the CMF. He is certainly a wonderful composer. I love his inspired sense of melody, his musical landscapes and, particularly in his first symphonies, what I always sensed as a very portuguese mixture of poetical intimacy and epic ideals. I appreciate the richness and transparency of his orchestration, the elegant directness of his musical speech and the simplicity and humane character of his music. Maybe this was a reflection of who was considered, by those who Knew him, as a very generous and sincere person. Indeed, in a world of so many intelectualistic "creational" dogmas, he had courage to confess he always wanted that people would really enjoy his music. I didn't Know him personally but I do remember, during my teens, seeing him frequently at the Lisbon concerts and recitals with a very gentle and almost humble attitude. The Portugal Som edition and, more recently, the effort to revive his work by his friend and conductor Alvaro Cassuto are much to be praised. Maybe we may now hope seeing Joly Braga Santos in more concert programmes and listening to different interpretations of his compositions by other orchestras and conductors.
Warm greetings from the Netherlands! And another Braga Santos fan here. I "discovered" his music from the Portugalsom cd's, but agree with you that it is Alvara Cassuto who really put him on the map. Four years ago, I even travelled (a bi) through the Alentejo in order to learn about his most favourite landscape - which helps explain certain aspects of his wonderful music, to my ears.
Long live Braga Santos! (And now we continue bit by bit with his teacher Luís de Freitas Branco, especially with each new release of his music on Naxos, also by Cassuto. Whatdo you hold of him?)
Quote from: Christo on October 31, 2009, 12:08:39 AM
Warm greetings from the Netherlands! And another Braga Santos fan here. I "discovered" his music from the Portugalsom cd's, but agree with you that it is Alvara Cassuto who really put him on the map. Four years ago, I even travelled (a bi) through the Alentejo in order to learn about his most favourite landscape - which helps explain certain aspects of his wonderful music, to my ears.
Long live Braga Santos! (And now we continue bit by bit with his teacher Luís de Freitas Branco, especially with each new release of his music on Naxos, also by Cassuto. Whatdo you hold of him?)
Christo
I am again very impressed by such genuine interest and love for a distant, unknown but talented composer. And how wonderful the idea you had of coming to the Alentejo to feel the inspiration behind the music. It is indeed a fascinating land, particularly in the Spring when the myriads of wild flowers colour the unique landscape.
I leave you a link about Luis de Freitas Branco and other Portuguese composers. I hope you may find some good references there.
http://sites.google.com/site/patrimoniomusical/branco-luis-de-freitas (http://sites.google.com/site/patrimoniomusical/branco-luis-de-freitas)
Carlos
Quote from: ccar on November 01, 2009, 12:25:55 PM
Christo
I am again very impressed by such genuine interest and love for a distant, unknown but talented composer. And how wonderful the idea you had of coming to the Alentejo to feel the inspiration behind the music. It is indeed a fascinating land, particularly in the Spring when the myriads of wild flowers colour the unique landscape.
I leave you a link about Luis de Freitas Branco and other Portuguese composers. I hope you may find some good references there. http://sites.google.com/site/patrimoniomusical/branco-luis-de-freitas (http://sites.google.com/site/patrimoniomusical/branco-luis-de-freitas)
Carlos
Hi Carlos,
Many thanks, interesting indeed. BTW, people like me, myself including :-) manage to read Portuguese as well, as far as it doesn't differ to widely from Spanish, Latin, French, Italian, Romanian - in short, the other Romance languages that "we" learnt to read, more or less. Most of what I know about Braga Santos, I learnt from Portuguese sources.
(Well, I'm still curious after your personal opinion of the music by Luís de Freitas Branco ... :-)
I should add myself to the (exclusive) circle of Braga Santos lovers, or 'Experts' as we like to call ourselves, BSE for short. ;)
Joking apart - he is a wonderful composer with a remarkable stylistic affinity with some contemporary British composers, as vandermolen already said. And not only Vaughan Williams, E.J. Moeran too (he wrote a really great Symphony in G)
Quote from: Jezetha on November 01, 2009, 12:46:59 PM
I should add myself to the (exclusive) circle of Braga Santos lovers, or 'Experts' as we like to call ourselves, BSE for short. ;)
Joking apart - he is a wonderful composer with a remarkable stylistic affinity with some contemporary British composers, as vandermolen already said. And not only Vaughan Williams, E.J. Moeran too (he wrote a really great Symphony in G)
Yes, I agree about the Moeran / BS connection. It was great to see the Moeran live in London last summer.
Quote from: Christo on November 01, 2009, 12:39:56 PM
Hi Carlos,
Well, I'm still curious after your personal opinion of the music by Luís de Freitas Branco ... :-
Christo
Thank you for your interest and comments. It is not easy to give an "opinion" to the JBS and LFB "experts" of this Forum. Your love and Knowledge about the music of these Portuguese composers is very impressive.
As many have said before Luís Freitas Branco the composer certainly reflects his rich and multiple personality as a man. Through his works we may travel into very different compositional styles, coming from a cultivated aristocrat of the late XIX century, into the social and political modernistic movements of the XXth. Some of his pieces may evoke Richard Strauss, Cesar Franck, Debussy or even the ethnic approach of Bela Bartok. But any similarities with major composers of his own time should not demerit the character and quality of his compositions and his natural musical talent. Just look at the short but brilliant Scherzo Fastastique, composed when he was only 17, the "classical" beauty of the Cello and Piano sonata or the modernity of the string quartet.
In fact, the individual character of Luís Freitas Branco as a composer may be affirmed by his own words in an interview, published in a Lisbon newspaper when he was only 19:
"I have the strongest interest in proving to my country that in my music I am truly a Portuguese. .../... It is true I have been inspired by the processes of great musicians of my time – as it must be. But in fact there is unconsciously in my work some sort of meridionalism which does not belong to those masters – it comes from my blood."
Carlos
(http://www.geneall.net/img/pessoas/pes_42116.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Pk-di39hejs/R2yQhGjfE5I/AAAAAAAAAOE/b0B0rmlS4Ws/s200/LFB_Quarteto+Cordas.jpg)