You're on a desert island, but only allowed three composers to listen to for the rest of your life, who would they be and why?
My picks:
Debussy, Mahler and Strauss
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 19, 2021, 07:49:49 AM
You're on a desert island, but only allowed three composers to listen to for the rest of your life, who would they be and why?
My picks:
Debussy, Mahler and Strauss
Did you say why ? :)
VW
Miaskovsky
Sibelius
In a bit of a rush now, but Sibelius because I can listen to his music regardless of what mood I am in - something about the elemental power of nature I think. Have to be loyal to NYM and VW's music has always meant a great deal to me.
Two of my three picks are easy: JS Bach & Haydn, party because of the depth of the catalogues, and the fact that I'm practically always in a humor to listen to them. The third? For the piano works and concerti, Prokofiev beats Stravinsky by a nose.
Scelsi, Schnittke and probably Takemitsu rather than Penderecki so as to get plenty of variety with quiet, contemplative works as well as the absorbing and awe-inspiring compositions. Varese didn't produce enough and Ligeti didn't produce enough I really like.
Quote from: steve ridgway on May 19, 2021, 08:20:27 AM
Scelsi, Schnittke and probably Takemitsu rather than Penderecki so as to get plenty of variety with quiet, contemplative works as well as the absorbing and awe-inspiring compositions. Varese didn't produce enough and Ligeti didn't produce enough I really like.
Nice selection.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 08:01:41 AM
VW
Miaskovsky
Sibelius
In a bit of a rush now, but Sibelius because I can listen to his music regardless of what mood I am in - something about the elemental power of nature I think. Have to be loyal to NYM and VW's music has always meant a great deal to me.
Nice.
My top three have been pretty consistent over the past few years: Sibelius, Dvořák, and Atterberg. The music of these composers so often fills me with life-affirming joy due to their melodic gifts and their innate sense of creating narrative, drama, and atmosphere.
Quote from: kyjo on May 19, 2021, 08:41:13 AM
My top three have been pretty consistent over the past few years: Sibelius, Dvořák, and Atterberg. The music of these composers so often fills me with life-affirming joy due to their melodic gifts and their innate sense of creating narrative, drama, and atmosphere.
If you didn't pick Atterberg, I would've screamed "What's wrong with you?" But thankfully, that didn't happen. :)
Mine are: Dvorak, Beethoven and Shostakovich.
Their oeuvres are considerable enough to keep me entertained all my life.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 19, 2021, 07:49:49 AM
You're on a desert island, but only allowed three composers to listen to for the rest of your life, who would they be and why?
My picks:
Debussy, Mahler and Strauss
Thumbs up for Strauss. I could have included him in my list.
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on May 19, 2021, 07:57:57 AM
Did you say why ? :)
Yes, indeed. I suppose I should answer my question more thoroughly. ;)
Debussy - For his intimate beauty, mainly for the solo piano, melodies and chamber music, but, of course, he wrote some notable orchestral works, too. Not to mention his operatic masterpiece,
Pelléas et Mélisande.
Mahler - His symphonic music I could spend so many hours just being consumed by his sound-world. Also, those works like
Das Lied von der Erde and the song cycles are heavenly and I wouldn't want to be without them.
Strauss - For his operas, tone poems, lieder and concerti. There is so much great music here and of such variety that I'd never feel bored, but it also helps when his music is flat-out gorgeous and has great surges of energy that never fail to move me.
Quote from: steve ridgway on May 19, 2021, 08:20:27 AM
Scelsi, Schnittke and probably Takemitsu rather than Penderecki so as to get plenty of variety with quiet, contemplative works as well as the absorbing and awe-inspiring compositions. Varese didn't produce enough and Ligeti didn't produce enough I really like.
Very nice list, indeed. I had forgotten you were a big fan of these three composers. I, too, love their music.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 08:01:41 AM
VW
Miaskovsky
Sibelius
In a bit of a rush now, but Sibelius because I can listen to his music regardless of what mood I am in - something about the elemental power of nature I think. Have to be loyal to NYM and VW's music has always meant a great deal to me.
I certainly agree with Vaughan Williams and Sibelius --- I love their music. I'm less keen on Myaskovsky, but he did write some good music. But these are
your picks and they're good ones for sure.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 19, 2021, 08:46:11 AM
Mine are: Dvorak, Beethoven and Shostakovich.
Their oeuvres are considerable enough to keep me entertained all my life.
Cesar, I had a hunch that Beethoven would be in your desert island picks. ;)
My first two choices are obvious: Mozart and Schubert.
For the third place there's stiff competition between Vivaldi (some of the most joyous and life-affirming sacred music ever composed, exactly what I'll be needing on a desert island), Haydn (L'isola disabitata immediately springs to mind --- pun :laugh:), Chopin (nothing like a purple ocean sunset over some melancholy piano music, right?) and Tchaikovsky (PC1 to remember my youth, The Nutcracker to cheer me up and the rest of his works to wallow in dreams, passions and great tunes). And I'd do my best to try to smuggle in Rachmaninoff too.
Quote from: Florestan on May 19, 2021, 09:32:46 AM
My first two choices are obvious: Mozart and Schubert.
For the third place there's stiff competition between Vivaldi (some of the most joyous and life-affirming sacred music ever composed, exactly what I'll be needing on a desert island), Haydn (L'isola disabitata immediately springs to mind --- pun :laugh:), Chopin (nothing like a purple ocean sunset over some melancholy piano music, right?) and Tchaikovsky (PC1 to remember my youth, The Nutcracker to cheer me up and the rest of his works to wallow in dreams, passions and great tunes). And I'd do my best to try to smuggle in Rachmaninoff too.
Hopefully, a more decisive answer will arise, Andre. :)
Had it been five years ago, Beethoven and Brahms would have definitely been part of my DI3, but that is no longer the case.
If it were today:
Bruckner - Nothing moves me or stirs my soul quite like a Bruckner symphony. And that has only gotten more potent with time, not less.
Shostakovich - Such a varied composer, who excelled in so many different areas, and excelled in different moods. From the deep and heavy to the frivolous and light hearted.
Dvořák - This is a more recent "rediscovery" of sorts, there are just so many great works that he wrote. One of the great melodists.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 19, 2021, 10:03:20 AM
Hopefully, a more decisive answer will arise, Andre. :)
I'm afraid it won't. I just can't. Sorry. :)
Interesting thread and interesting responses. However, I'm supposed to be getting ready for my daughter's wedding on Friday and my wife takes a dim view if, instead of doing that, I'm online to my 'cat group'. So, I may be a bit out of touch for a day or two.
;D
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 10:25:44 AM
Interesting thread and interesting responses. However, I'm supposed to be getting ready for my daughter's wedding on Friday and my wife takes a dim view if, instead of doing that, I'm online to my 'cat group'. So, I may be a bit out of touch for a day or two.
;D
Congratulations on your daughter getting married. I hope it all goes well, Jeffrey!
Quote from: OrchestralNut on May 19, 2021, 10:30:28 AM
Congratulations on your daughter getting married. I hope it all goes well, Jeffrey!
Thank you so much! Much appreciated. Don't want to derail this great thread but it's a big day for us. She asked for my musical suggestions for the marriage, but I doubt whether she'll be playing Miaskovsky's 6th Symphony ;D
It's complicated because her delightful husband to be is Canadian and his family can't come over. So, Friday will be a small scale event with, hopefully, a larger celebration in the future when his family can join us. We have Canadian connection as my wife's family lived there for many years and my dad trained there as an RAF navigator during WW2. Now, back to 'Desert Island Discs'
:)
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 10:36:30 AM
Thank you so much! Much appreciated. Don't want to derail this great thread but it's a big day for us. She asked for my musical suggestions for the marriage, but I doubt whether she'll be playing Miaskovsky's 6th Symphony ;D
It's complicated because her delightful husband to be is Canadian and his family can't come over. So, Friday will be a small scale event with, hopefully, a larger celebration in the future when his family can join us. We have Canadian connection as my wife's family lived there for many years and my dad trained there as an RAF navigator during WW2. Now, back to 'Desert Island Discs'
:)
Your daughter is in good hands, she is marrying a Canuck! :D
You mean, Miaskovsky's Cello Concerto is not proper wedding music?? :o ;)
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 10:25:44 AM
Interesting thread and interesting responses. However, I'm supposed to be getting ready for my daughter's wedding on Friday and my wife takes a dim view if, instead of doing that, I'm online to my 'cat group'. So, I may be a bit out of touch for a day or two.
;D
Wow! Congratulations to your daughter, Jeffrey. I wish her much happiness in this new chapter of her life. My only hope is the chap she's marrying is a good person and will treat her well. I also hope he gets along with you and your wife. Nothing worse than a son-in-law who is a jerk.
Quote from: Florestan on May 19, 2021, 10:15:04 AM
I'm afraid it won't. I just can't. Sorry. :)
No problem, but as a consequence your third slot doesn't count. ;)
Quote from: ultralinear on May 19, 2021, 10:45:12 AM
| Shostakovich | - for the psychological complexity as much as the musical |
| Beethoven | - for the piano sonatas, in the first instance |
| Nielsen | - for the joy of his music, never tire of it |
Nice list, ultralinear. 8)
That is great to hear, VdM, congratulations, and nice with those common references across the Atlantic.
I can relate to most of the choices here, 4 composers would be somewhat easier. But they'd have to be substantial and varied oeuvres, and I might-might go for Mozart, Nielsen and, partly for something challenging to continue to explore, Nørgård.
Biggest losses would probably be Bruckner, Mahler, Stravinsky and Beethoven. But then, I also like the idea of VW, Myaskovsky, and (maybe) Sibelius ...
Quote from: OrchestralNut on May 19, 2021, 10:39:16 AM
Your daughter is in good hands, she is marrying a Canuck! :D
You mean, Miaskovsky's Cello Concerto is not proper wedding music?? :o ;)
Haha - I think that it would be a great choice!
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 19, 2021, 10:43:31 AM
Wow! Congratulations to your daughter, Jeffrey. I wish her much happiness in this new chapter of her life. My only hope is the chap she's marrying is a good person and will treat her well. I also hope he gets along with you and your wife. Nothing worse than a son-in-law who is a jerk.
Thank you very much John - he seems to be a lovely person, kind and thoughtful, so we are hopeful. They both have a good sense of humour which I think is very important in marriage!
OT
Thanks for all the lovely comments re my daughter getting married. I just wanted to say that it was important for me to communicate this happy news with this group.
Not many changes in my case...
In alphabetical order:
Pierre Boulez
Claude Debussy
Richard Wagner
(Igor Stravinsky's regular visits to my desert island would be most welcome).
And congratulations, vandermolen! Great news.... :)
Quote from: ritter on May 19, 2021, 12:06:18 PM
Not many changes in my case...
In alphabetical order:
Pierre Boulez
Claude Debussy
Richard Wagner
(Igor Stravinsky's regular visits to my desert island would be most welcome).
And congratulations, vandermolen! Great news.... :)
Thank you! :)
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 11:14:34 AM
Thank you very much John - he seems to be a lovely person, kind and thoughtful, so we are hopeful. They both have a good sense of humour which I think is very important in marriage!
Quite nice to read, Jeffrey. Wishing them the best.
Quote from: ritter on May 19, 2021, 12:06:18 PM
Not many changes in my case...
In alphabetical order:
Pierre Boulez
Claude Debussy
Richard Wagner
(Igor Stravinsky's regular visits to my desert island would be most welcome).
And congratulations, vandermolen! Great news.... :)
Nice list if a bit predictable, Rafael. ;)
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 11:18:07 AM
OT
Thanks for all the lovely comments re my daughter getting married. I just wanted to say that it was important for me to communicate this happy news with this group.
Lovely news. May it be a fantastic day, and more importantly, a stunning marriage.
Arnold Bax, because I'm listening to him on repeat at the moment, and loving his symphonies.
Sibelius...because, Sibelius
Vagn Holmboe, because I find him fascinating. Never immediately easy, always rewarding. Symphonies win. Kairos is still really hard to get my head round even after many listens.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 19, 2021, 07:49:49 AM
You're on a desert island, but only allowed three composers to listen to for the rest of your life, who would they be and why?
My picks:
Debussy, Mahler and Strauss
John, I am surprised that you decided not to bring one second Viennese school composer with you. :)
Ten years ago, I would have predicted Delius, Koechlin and Shostakovich for your choices.
Quote from: OrchestralNut on May 19, 2021, 01:09:57 PM
John, I am surprised that you decided not to bring one second Viennese school composer with you. :)
Ten years ago, I would have predicted Delius, Koechlin and Shostakovich for your choices.
Yeah, I certainly considered Schoenberg or Berg for example and I was leaning towards Schoenberg, but I don't think I could have gone with either one of them since if I thought about more deeply. Yes, I don't doubt that my tastes have changed for better or for worse, but when you spend so many years with this music, you begin to refine your tastes and with my own choices I think I've got to the essence of who I am as a listener and what I like when all is said and done. Not that I don't love many other composers' music of course.
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 19, 2021, 08:54:27 AM
Cesar, I had a hunch that Beethoven would be in your desert island picks. ;)
Am I so predictable? :P
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 10:25:44 AM
Interesting thread and interesting responses. However, I'm supposed to be getting ready for my daughter's wedding on Friday and my wife takes a dim view if, instead of doing that, I'm online to my 'cat group'. So, I may be a bit out of touch for a day or two.
;D
Congratulations, Jeffrey! My best wishes for their marriage.
Quote from: ultralinear on May 19, 2021, 10:45:12 AM
| Shostakovich | - for the psychological complexity as much as the musical |
| Beethoven | - for the piano sonatas, in the first instance |
| Nielsen | - for the joy of his music, never tire of it |
I was deciding if including Nielsen, but his output is not as large as others. He's certainly one of my top symphonists.
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 10:25:44 AM
Interesting thread and interesting responses. However, I'm supposed to be getting ready for my daughter's wedding on Friday and my wife takes a dim view if, instead of doing that, I'm online to my 'cat group'. So, I may be a bit out of touch for a day or two.
;D
Congrats Jeffrey, all the best to you and your family.
TD:
Tough call but I have to drop Mahler, I have to drop Bruckner. I would probably drop Beethoven even though I love his sonatas. Well, that's my old top 3 gone then.
If only for variety of styles for a lifetime on a desert island, I would have to go:
1 -
Haydn (on the strength of the SQ, Piano trios and symphonies)
2 -
Fauré or Debussy or Ravel - Any of the 3 would do. Maybe Fauré would edge it at this time.
3 -
JS Bach - if only because I could use this time to discover the 200+ cantatas and (re)discover all the rest of his works as well.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 19, 2021, 01:46:41 PM
Congratulations, Jeffrey! My best wishes for their marriage.
Thank you Cesar, Olivier and Danny!
:)
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 19, 2021, 01:49:13 PM
I was deciding if including Nielsen, but his output is not as large as others. He's certainly one of my top symphonists.
Nielsen could keep one busy for awhile if you start digging into his songs, chamber music, choral works, solo piano and operas. Of course, he's most known as a symphonist and orchestral composer in general, but there are some gems outside of this genre.
What a difficult question! With a gun to my head I would probably pick:
Beethoven - just couldn't be without the late string quartets and piano sonatas.
Nielsen - mainly for the symphonies but there's also plenty of chamber music and songs for variety.
Vaughan Williams - there has to be a British composer in there, and if I can only have one it's the obvious choice!
Of course on a different day the answer might be different...
Quote from: vandermolen on May 19, 2021, 10:25:44 AM
Interesting thread and interesting responses. However, I'm supposed to be getting ready for my daughter's wedding on Friday and my wife takes a dim view if, instead of doing that, I'm online to my 'cat group'. So, I may be a bit out of touch for a day or two.
;D
Congratulations to your daughter, hope it all goes well! :)
Quote from: Mirror Image on May 19, 2021, 02:35:09 PM
Nielsen could keep one busy for awhile if you start digging into his songs, chamber music, choral works, solo piano and operas. Of course, he's most known as a symphonist and orchestral composer in general, but there are some gems outside of this genre.
I've listened to his operas and I love them, likewise his chamber music, but the solo piano music and choral works have left me a bit cold. I don't know his songs yet. I'm definitely more drawn to his orchestral works.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 19, 2021, 03:56:10 PM
I've listened to his operas and I love them, likewise his chamber music, but the solo piano music and choral works have left me a bit cold. I don't know his songs yet. I'm definitely more drawn to his orchestral works.
Outside of the orchestral works, I really only know
Maskarade, which is a fun romp of an opera and some of the chamber works.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 19, 2021, 08:46:11 AM
Mine are: Dvorak, Beethoven and Shostakovich.
Their oeuvres are considerable enough to keep me entertained all my life.
Nice!
The nature of the question privileges composers with large outputs where you're unlikely to repeat works frequently. As such I would probably have to pick Haydn, Mozart and Segerstam Bach
Quote from: Mountain Goat on May 19, 2021, 02:56:15 PM
Congratulations to your daughter, hope it all goes well! :)
Many thanks - nice to see another inclusion of VW.
Okay, John, I've made up my mind.
Mozart.
Liszt - because this way (1) I'd also have Schubert, Beethoven, Berlioz, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and others; (2) I could imaginary travel to Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Spain and even Romania; (3) I could meditate about Dante, Goethe, Lamartine, Hugo, Lenau, Rafael, Michelangelo and others; (3) last but not least, I'd have great music for both Easter and Christmas.
Verdi --- because what I'd miss most on a desert island would be people, and his operas would supply them in spades.
Jeffrey --- congratulations to your daughter, may she have a long, happy and fruitful marriage.
Beethoven, Bach and Brahms I think. Because of the breadth, depth and quality of their music. Very traditional I know, and it pains me to neglect the 20th century with a lot of favorites (Stravinsky could well fit the previous description), as well as a variety of earlier music down to the 15th century which I listen to quite a lot. Haydn and Schubert could have deserved a place as well and could perhaps have substituted for Brahms, but there it is. A man has got to do what a man has got to do.
There would be so much agonizing over who to leave behind I would just take Mozart.
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on May 19, 2021, 08:06:24 AM
Two of my three picks are easy: JS Bach & Haydn
Yes, you speak for me there too, Dr H. And the third is
Byrd - Richard Turbet once commented to the effect that if music were held equal to literature in British culture, then Byrd would be set alongside Shakespeare, which sounds about right to me.
Quote from: DaveF on May 20, 2021, 04:20:50 AM
Yes, you speak for me there too, Dr H. And the third is Byrd - Richard Turbet once commented to the effect that if music were held equal to literature in British culture, then Byrd would be set alongside Shakespeare, which sounds about right to me.
Nice,
Dave!
Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on May 19, 2021, 08:06:24 AM
Two of my three picks are easy: JS Bach & Haydn, party because of the depth of the catalogues, and the fact that I'm practically always in a humor to listen to them. The third? For the piano works and concerti, Prokofiev beats Stravinsky by a nose.
Funny,
Karl. Before reading any replies to the thread, my immediate choices were also
JS Bach &
FJ Haydn, for same reasons. For the third place, I could see going with
Chopin,
Sibelius,
Debussy,
Ravel,
Prokofiev,
Monteverdi,
Schubert,
Dvořák,
Schönberg,
Bartók,
Martinů,
Janáček or
Josquin, but at least my first thought for the third spot was
Stravinsky. I have to say I didn't really consider
Prokofiev with sufficient seriousness at that time.
Quote from: North Star on May 20, 2021, 07:02:05 AM
Funny, Karl. Before reading any replies to the thread, my immediate choices were also JS Bach & FJ Haydn, for same reasons. For the third place, I could see going with Chopin, Sibelius, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Monteverdi, Schubert, Dvořák, Schönberg, Bartók, Martinů, Janáček or Josquin, but at least my first thought for the third spot was Stravinsky. I have to say I didn't really consider Prokofiev with sufficient seriousness at that time.
A kindred soul!
Although my musical trinity is Bruckner, Mahler and Wagner they are too limited (little chamber music, little or no important piano music) to consider all three as the only music I'd have for the rest of my life. Instead, my desert island picks would be Haydn, Beethoven and one of the trinity. Today it's Mahler.
Sarge
Quote from: Florestan on May 20, 2021, 02:04:11 AM
Okay, John, I've made up my mind.
Mozart.
Liszt - because this way (1) I'd also have Schubert, Beethoven, Berlioz, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and others; (2) I could imaginary travel to Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Spain and even Romania; (3) I could meditate about Dante, Goethe, Lamartine, Hugo, Lenau, Rafael, Michelangelo and others; (3) last but not least, I'd have great music for both Easter and Christmas.
Verdi --- because what I'd miss most on a desert island would be people, and his operas would supply them in spades.
Jeffrey --- congratulations to your daughter, may she have a long, happy and fruitful marriage.
Thank you very much Andrei :)