I'm still partial to Rued Langgaard's "Amok! A Composer Explodes"
Elgar: The Music Makers. :)
Thomas Tomkins: A Sad Pavane for These Distracted Times
Aulis Sallinen: Some Aspects of Hintrik Peltoniemi's Funeral March
Geirr Tveitt: Syrgjeleg song um ein tom brennevinsdunk.
"Sad song of an empty keg of spirits". From Hardingtonar.
Langgaard: Carl Nielsen Our Great Composer is another good one (I might not approve of it, though...)
Aye, a little snarky 8)
Off the top of my head:
Skalkottas: Catastrophe in the Jungle
Alkan: Marcia funèbre, sulla morte d'un Pappagallo
Ornstein: Suicide in an Airplane
Quote from: The new erato on October 08, 2013, 09:09:52 AM
Geirr Tveitt: Syrgjeleg song um ein tom brennevinsdunk.
"Sad song of an empty keg of spirits". From Hardingtonar.
My kind of song...or rather, an experience I hope not to have ;)
Sarge
Langgaard: "Yon Hall of Thunder" (the 10th Symphony)
Henning: "Irreplaceable Doodles"
Sarge
Nielsen: Serenata in vano. :D
Opus 111
8)
Quote from: sanantonio on October 08, 2013, 10:54:26 AM
Call me an iconoclast, but my favorite names for classical works are styled along the lines of String Quartet, No. 11 ...
:D
Nah, we'll just call you a boring old fart :D ;)
Sarge
Quote from: Gurn Blanston on October 08, 2013, 10:57:46 AM
Opus 111
8)
That's very surprising. I thought your favorite name was Opus 125 8)
Sarge
Langgaard's Symphony no. 14 has some wacky movement titles to say the least:
I. Introductory Fanfare
II. Unnoticed Morning Stars
III. The Marble Church Rings
IV. The Tired Get Up for Life
V. Radio-Caruso and Forced Energy
VI. Dads' Rush to the Office
VII. Sun and Beech Forest
Symphony Number One
Britten: Simple Symphony
α': Boisterous Bourrée
β': Playful Pizzicato
γ': Sentimental Sarabande
δ': Frolicsome Finale
Sinfonia Domestica
The Apocalyptic Symphony
The Rake's Progress
Black Angels
The Helicopter Quartet
Quartet for the End of Time
The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
Life With an Idiot.
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on October 08, 2013, 10:59:47 AM
That's very surprising. I thought your favorite name was Opus 125 8)
Sarge
Favorite work, yes. But Opus 111 rolls so trippingly off the tongue, it just sounds great! :)
8)
Interesting thread.
Pettersson: 'The Dead in the Marketplace' (always puts me in a good mood)
Atterberg: Sinfonia Funebre
Dello Joio: Meditations on Ecclesiastes
Bernstein: Jeremiah Symphony
Birtwistle: The Triumph of Time (which I have never heard)
Sibelius: Tapiola
Novak: The Storm
Kabelac: Mystery of Time
Bax: Nympholept
Sainton: Nadir
Le Sacre du printemps
Quote from: vandermolen on October 08, 2013, 12:29:53 PM
Dello Joio: Meditations on Ecclesiastes
Dello Joio! One of my favorites: Final Alice.
Sarge
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on October 08, 2013, 12:43:21 PM
Dello Joio! One of my favorites: Final Alice.
Sarge
No, Sarge, that's
Del Tredici who composed
Final Alice (a magical work BTW). Don't worry, I get the two mixed up sometimes. :)
Quote from: vandermolen on October 08, 2013, 12:29:53 PM
Kabelac: Mystery of Time
I agree. Such a fitting name for this masterpiece.
Some more that come to mind:
Bernstein: Symphony no. 2 The Age of Anxiety
Rautavaara: Symphony no. 7 Angel of Light
Villa-Lobos: Symphony no. 2 Ascension
Holmboe: Symphony no. 8 Sinfonia Boreale
Williamson: Symphony no. 1 Elevamini
Alwyn: Harp Concerto Lyra Angelica
Karlowicz: Symphony in E minor Rebirth
Berwald: Symphony no. 3 Singulière
Szymanowski: Symphony no. 3 Song of the Night
Hartmann: Symphony no. 1 Versuch eines Requiem
Brian: Symphony no. 5 The Wine of Summer
Nielsen: 'The Inextinguishable'
'Helios'
Quote from: kyjo on October 08, 2013, 01:13:30 PM
Some more that come to mind:
Bernstein: Symphony no. 2 The Age of Anxiety
Rautavaara: Symphony no. 7 Angel of Light
Villa-Lobos: Symphony no. 2 Ascension
Holmboe: Symphony no. 8 Sinfonia Boreale
Williamson: Symphony no. 1 Elevamini
Alwyn: Harp Concerto Lyra Angelica
Karlowicz: Symphony in E minor Rebirth
Berwald: Symphony no. 3 Singulière
Szymanowski: Symphony no. 3 Song of the Night
Hartmann: Symphony no. 1 Versuch eines Requiem
Brian: Symphony no. 5 The Wine of Summer
I certainly agree with the Berwald, Holmboe and Williamson selections.
Sauguet: Expiatoire Symphony.
Parsadanian: Symphony No 2: 'To the Memory of the 26 Commissars of Baku'
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf
Sparky's Magic Piano
Gymnopédies
Gnossiennes
0:)
Quote from: vandermolen on October 08, 2013, 12:29:53 PM
Birtwistle: The Triumph of Time (which I have never heard)
Birtwistle's generally hard to beat, title-wise:
Carmen Arcadiæ Mechanicæ Perpetuum
The Axe Manual
... agm ...
On the Sheer Threshold of the Night (stand well clear of anyone trying to say that one)
Five DistancesI also like Josquin's
Missa L'Homme Armé super voces musicales for doing exactly what it says on the tin.
Quote from: kyjo on October 08, 2013, 01:02:25 PM
No, Sarge, that's Del Tredici who composed Final Alice (a magical work BTW). Don't worry, I get the two mixed up sometimes. :)
Of course it's Del Tredici, d'oh! One bottle of great Barbera and two gin and tonics = mental confusion ;D
Sarge
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on October 08, 2013, 01:40:44 PM
Of course it's Del Tredici, d'oh! One bottle of great Barbera and two gin and tonics = mental confusion ;D
Sarge
;D ;D
Nas - I Delayed People's Flights By Walking Slowly In Narrow Hallways
Dance of an Ostricized Imp (Frederic Curzon)
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on October 08, 2013, 10:01:52 AM
Langgaard: "Yon Hall of Thunder" (the 10th Symphony)
Henning: "Irreplaceable Doodles"
Sarge
I've made the Big Time, and in the company of
Rued!
Quote from: karlhenning on October 09, 2013, 02:56:31 AM
I've made the Big Time, and in the company of Rued!
But in your credit you're not as rude.
Quite a few Zappa titles suit this thread....
"Dance of the Just Plain Folks"
"My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama"
"Seven Types of Industrial Pollution"
"The Voice of Cheese"
"The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression"
"Canard du Jour"
"It Ain't Necessarily the St James Infirmary"
"The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue"
"Amnesia vivace"
Quote from: karlhenning on October 09, 2013, 02:56:31 AM
I've made the Big Time, and in the company of Rued!
You'll be issued your short pants momentarily. Wear those high waters with pride!
Sarge
Quote from: karlhenning on October 09, 2013, 03:02:33 AM
Quite a few Zappa titles suit this thread....
"Dance of the Just Plain Folks"
"My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama"
"Seven Types of Industrial Pollution"
"The Voice of Cheese"
"The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression"
"Canard du Jour"
"It Ain't Necessarily the St James Infirmary"
"The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue"
"Amnesia vivace"
Brown shoes don't make it
America drinks and goes home
Peaches and regalia
Son of Suzy Creamchees
the possibilities are endless.....
Les Barricades mystérieuses - F.Couperin
Tropismes pour des amours imaginaires - Jacques Ibert
Les Cyclopes by Rameau.
Ein Heldenleben because I love saying it, just rolls off the tongue.
And the greatest title ever, even outside of music... A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Kyjo, Vandermolen: cool lists. 8) I especially like the Angel of Light.
Another cool one I enjoy is The Trout
(http://outsmartingfish.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/bull-trout-fishing.jpg)
Quote from: ChamberNut on October 09, 2013, 04:45:59 AM
Another cool one I enjoy is The Trout
One of my friends had that piece ruined for her forever by a guy who decided to put on a "Trout" quintet CD and then over the course of the piece he'd say things like "see now he's tugging trying to get the fish back in the boat!" complete with full elaborate pantomiming of the act of catching a fish for 30 minutes.
Quote from: Brian on October 09, 2013, 04:50:46 AM
One of my friends had that piece ruined for her forever by a guy who decided to put on a "Trout" quintet CD and then over the course of the piece he'd say things like "see now he's tugging trying to get the fish back in the boat!" complete with full elaborate pantomiming of the act of catching a fish for 30 minutes.
:laugh:
I now wish Schubert would have embarked on a multiple piano quintet project with varying instrumentation for each work, on a series of freshwater fish. :D
Some Strausses' works:
An der schönen blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube)
G'schichten aus dem Wienerwald (Tales from the Vienna Woods)
Wo die Zitronen blühen (Where the Lemons Blossom)
Nordseebilder (North Sea Pictures)
Trau, schau, wem! (Take Care in Whom You Trust!)
Seid umschlungen, Millionen! (Be Embraced, You Millions!)
Unter Donner und Blitz (Under Thunder and Lightning)
Sphären-Klänge (Music of the Spheres)
Quote from: Brian on October 09, 2013, 04:50:46 AM
One of my friends had that piece ruined for her forever by a guy who decided to put on a "Trout" quintet CD and then over the course of the piece he'd say things like "see now he's tugging trying to get the fish back in the boat!" complete with full elaborate pantomiming of the act of catching a fish for 30 minutes.
This is priceless! :laugh:
Re: Zappa
Quote from: The new erato on October 09, 2013, 03:17:38 AMthe possibilities are endless.....
Indeed. I'm somewhat partial to
Frogs With Dirty Little Lips
I always liked the title (K)ein Sommernachtstraum. :) Apparently, this translates to Not Midsummer Night or something along these lines.
Thirteen Ways to Describe the Rain
And one of my not-so-great works:
Fantasy of an Incompetent Composer in B flat for Unaccomplished Pianists
I don't know if I can claim it a favourite, but I am definitely fascinated by a Holmboe piece that I'm not sure there's any recording of.
It's called Musik for fugle og frøer (Music for Birds and Frogs). And the original version is for 2 flutes and 16 bassoons...
Quote from: DavidW on October 09, 2013, 04:44:11 AM
Kyjo, Vandermolen: cool lists. 8) I especially like the Angel of Light.
8) Yeah, I like Rautavaara's musical titles a lot. Others beside
Angel of Light include the Double Bass Concerto
Angel of Dusk,
Cantus Articus,
Isle of Bliss, PC 3
Gift of Dreams and Symphony 6
Vincentiana.
Another one that comes to mind is Rangstrom's Symphony no. 3
Song under the Stars.
Einstein on the Beach >:D
Frounberg's What Did the Sirens Sing, as Ulysses Sailed by?, both a name and a warning.
And my personal favourite, Tristan Perich's lovely qsqsqsqsqqqqqqqqq (http://youtu.be/JInDkJeUAe0).
Quote from: sanantonio on October 09, 2013, 11:26:10 AM
With that instrumentation, there does not need to be a recording to imagine what it sounds like.
:)
Well exactly! That's one reason I think it's such a good title. The title + knowing the instrumentation is enough to create an aural image.
Mozart's K231 B flat major canon "Leck mich im Arsch".
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 09, 2013, 06:43:23 AM
I always liked the title (K)ein Sommernachtstraum. :) Apparently, this translates to Not Midsummer Night or something along these lines.
"Not a summer night's dream"
Sarge
Somehow I missed this topic?!
The easy answer: the works of Karl Henning!
e.g.
Radiant Maples
Blue Shamrock
Starlings on the Rooftop
Heedless Watermelon (all-around fave)
and
I See People Walking Around Like Trees
At the risk of sounding like a totally uncritical Ligetian, I will say that Ligeti was a master of names. "San Francisco Polyphony", "Clocks and Clouds", "Lontano", "Atmospheres", "Ramifications", "Apparitions"... and not to mention the individual names of the piano etudes (in English, "Blocked Keys", "Autumn in Warsaw", "Metal", the untranslatable "Galomb Barong").
Messiaen fares well in this category, too. I love the word "Turangalîla". The title "Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum" ("...and we wait for the dead to rise") always makes me think of the much-hyped zombie apocalypse.
Feldman's works entitled with their instrumentation really do a surprisingly nice job of representing his music. Simple, yet enigmatic.
And we can't forget Adams' "Gnarly Buttons" or "Short Ride in a Fast Machine".
Let me put in a kind word for Debussy and truth in advertising. La Mer properly indicates how watered-down the musical substance is.
>:D
In general I like "something number X". If the music needs a name, it needs more than a name.
Quote from: Ken B on May 24, 2014, 03:47:01 PM
Let me put in a kind word for Debussy and truth in advertising. La Mer properly indicates how watered-down the musical substance is.
>:D
In general I like "something number X". If the music needs a name, it needs more than a name.
I don't think that great art must speak for itself. I mean, it
can, but I don't think it is any kind of measure of greatness. If a name helps me enjoy music, why should said music be considered lesser? Sorry for my mini-rant, but I feel strongly about this. 8)
"La Mer" is watered-down. I think it's supposed to be, and I don't think that this is a bad quality. I was thinking the other day that much French impressionist music isn't substantial like Brahms or Bartok is. It's more like Jupiter or Saturn as opposed to Mars or Venus -- an organized cloud of gas that gets thicker and thicker as you get closer -- until it is a solid.
Even though I love "La Mer", I find the following remark made by a critic at the premiere very amusing. Enjoy!
Quote
The audience expected the ocean. Something big, something colossal, but there were served instead with some agitated water in a saucer.
Sciarrino has some good titles. I'll suggest his Nono memorial piece for piano, Perduto in una città d'acque (the title refers to Venice).
Quote from: EigenUser on May 24, 2014, 12:14:10 PM
At the risk of sounding like a totally uncritical Ligetian, I will say that Ligeti was a master of names. "San Francisco Polyphony", "Clocks and Clouds", "Lontano", "Atmospheres", "Ramifications", "Apparitions"... and not to mention the individual names of the piano etudes (in English, "Blocked Keys", "Autumn in Warsaw", "Metal", the untranslatable "Galomb Barong").
Messiaen fares well in this category, too. I love the word "Turangalîla". The title "Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum" ("...and we wait for the dead to rise") always makes me think of the much-hyped zombie apocalypse.
Feldman's works entitled with their instrumentation really do a surprisingly nice job of representing his music. Simple, yet enigmatic.
Agreed! Ligeti was a master of extra-musical crutches, and Feldman more careful to not use them.
>:D but also :blank:
Symphony No. 6
Quote from: karlhenning on October 09, 2013, 03:02:33 AM
Quite a few Zappa titles suit this thread....
And Charles Mingus, too.
"Reincarnation of a Love Bird"
"Better Git It in Your Soul"
"The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife are Some Jive Ass Slippers"
"The Chill of Death"
"Monk, Bunk, and Vice Versa (Osmotin')"
"Please Don't Come Back from the Moon"
"If Charlie Parker Were a Gunslinger There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats"
Quote from: Jay F on May 24, 2014, 05:09:16 PM
Symphony No. 6
A winner! 8)
Alkan: L'incendie au village voisin
(Fire in the Neighboring Village)
Quote from: North Star on May 25, 2014, 02:26:36 AM
A pathetic answer.
North Star, you need to be a bit more pastoral!
Quote from: Moonfish on May 25, 2014, 02:49:33 AM
North Star, you need to be a bit more pastoral!
Or tragic.
Quote from: edward on May 24, 2014, 04:15:49 PM
Sciarrino has some good titles. I'll suggest his Nono memorial piece for piano, Perduto in una città d'acque (the title refers to Venice).
+1.
Janacek always had some cool names for his works, especially the operas. RVW had some cool titles for many of his works as well.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 25, 2014, 07:27:49 AM
Janacek always had some cool names for his works, especially the operas. RVW had some cool titles for many of his works as well.
Like
Symphony No. 6 :laugh:
Quote from: Moonfish on May 25, 2014, 02:49:33 AM
North Star, you need to be a bit more pastoral!
Actually, Moonfish, you need to be a bit more tragic.
Quote from: Ken B on May 25, 2014, 08:02:08 AM
Like Symphony No. 6
:laugh:
:D No, like
The Lark Ascending,
In the Fen Country,
Flos Campi,
Job: A Masque for Dancing,
The Running Set,
The Pilgrim's Progress,
The Poisoned Kiss, etc.
"Pigs on the Wing"
an early opera by SPOHR, live the title, don't know if I could sit through it though
'Alruna, die Eulenkönigin' (Alruna, Queen of the Owls')
I'm surprised I'm the first to bring P.D.Q. Bach into this thread! "Iphigenia in Brooklyn", "Concerto for Horn and Hardart", "The Art of the Ground Round", "Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion", and my personal favorite (just discovered on Wikipedia): "Lip My Reeds"! (S. 32') ;D
On a more serious note, I'm rather partial to "The Poem of Ecstasy."
Beim Schlafengehen (my favorite of The Four Last Songs)
Quote from: jochanaan on June 02, 2014, 07:42:00 AM
I'm surprised I'm the first to bring P.D.Q. Bach into this thread! "Iphigenia in Brooklyn", "Concerto for Horn and Hardart", "The Art of the Ground Round", "Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion", and my personal favorite (just discovered on Wikipedia): "Lip My Reeds"! (S. 32') ;D
On a more serious note, I'm rather partial to "The Poem of Ecstasy."
Isn't there one called "Concerto for Piano vs. Orchestra"? :laugh: I think that would be a fitting title for Bartok 1.
Quote from: EigenUser on June 15, 2014, 01:11:47 PM
Isn't there one called "Concerto for Piano vs. Orchestra"? :laugh: I think that would be a fitting title for Bartok 1.
That's
P.D.Q. Bach.
But it's a rather pointless joke, as concerto already has (also) that meaning: conserere (to tie, to join, to weave) & certamen (competition, fight)
got to dig into the jazz bag here ...
"All the Things You Could Be by Now If Sigmund Freud's Wife Was Your Mother" (Charles Mingus)
also love this one by Hank Mobley: "Funk in Deep Freeze"
Quote from: king ubu on June 17, 2014, 01:41:37 PM
got to dig into the jazz bag here ...
"All the Things You Could Be by Now If Sigmund Freud's Wife Was Your Mother" (Charles Mingus)
Very good. Honorable mention: "The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive-Ass Slippers"
Quote from: karlhenning on June 17, 2014, 03:56:33 PM
Very good. Honorable mention: "The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive-Ass Slippers"
That was indeed the other one that popped to mind immediately! :)
All My Hummingbirds have alibis
Quote from: karlhenning on June 17, 2014, 03:56:33 PM
Very good. Honorable mention: "The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive-Ass Slippers"
Where do we rank "If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lotta Dead Copycats"?
Quote from: EigenUser on June 15, 2014, 01:11:47 PM
Isn't there one called "Concerto for Piano vs. Orchestra"? :laugh: I think that would be a fitting title for Bartok 1.
Hmmm...Interesting viewpoint. Especially since I feel that in Bartok 1 the piano is even more closely integrated with the orchestra (especially the percussion section) than in most major concertos... :)
Quote from: jochanaan on June 18, 2014, 06:38:48 AM
Hmmm...Interesting viewpoint. Especially since I feel that in Bartok 1 the piano is even more closely integrated with the orchestra (especially the percussion section) than in most major concertos... :)
Technically, yes (highlighted by his desire to have it performed with the percussion up front next to the piano). But, it is a very "bangy" concerto where the soloist and orchestra are vying for attention, especially toward the end/recapitulation of the 1st movement. Then there are sections that seem like the piano and orchestra are chasing each other, mainly in the third movement. I love this piece so much -- it may be my favorite PC! It's always fighting with Bartok 2 for that slot.
No love for Piano Sonata № 1 in G Major? . . .
Quote from: Brian on June 18, 2014, 06:37:27 AM
Where do we rank "If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lotta Dead Copycats"?
Straight to the top! Next to "Lisa's Too Short to Run for President" :)