A follow-up to the "Your Desert Island Symphony" thread, which has seen widespread acclaim. ;) ;D Anyway, same as before, please think about your choice and if you want to explain why you chose the work, then that is perfectly fine and certainly encouraged. Have fun!
Ernest Bloch: String Quartet No.1
An epic work of symphonic dimensions. I find it powerful, brooding, eloquent and moving, all qualities that I greatly admire in music. It's also very long so I'm sure that I would keep hearing new things in it:
(//)
Brahms Clarinet Quintet - played by the Melos Ensemble
Mozart - Divertimento (String Trio) in E-flat major KV 563.
Despite its innocuous title this is a spiritual journey from darkness to light perfectly fit for a desert island.
This is a very easy one for me:
Schubert - String Quintet in C major
The trio section of the schrezo moves me unlike any other music.
Honourable mention:
Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence String Sextet.
Impossible for me, I'd probably settle for Beethoven's op.131 or 132.
Schubert String Quartet No. 13 in A minor D.804 (Op.29) "Rosamunde"
Quatuor Terpsycordes is my favorite performance:
(https://photos.imageevent.com/sgtrock/oct2009/SchuQTerp.jpg)
Sarge
Quote from: Jo498 on December 31, 2021, 03:50:34 AM
Impossible for me
Honestly, for me too but as of late I've been listening to mostly Mozart so it had to be one of his works. Had I been in a Schubert phase, my choice would have been different (possibly the Arpeggione Sonata). But really there are so many chamber works I love from so many composers that it's impossible to make an immutable choice.
Quote from: OrchestralNut on December 31, 2021, 03:48:30 AM
Schubert - String Quintet in C major
Honourable mention:
Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence String Sextet.
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on December 31, 2021, 04:13:41 AM
Schubert String Quartet No. 13 in A minor D.804 (Op.29) "Rosamunde"
I considered all three as well before setting to Mozart for the reason stated above. 8)
Easy one for me: Le Marteau sans maître!
Best wishes for 2022 to all... :)
My vote goes to Martinů's Chamber Music No. 1, H. 376, which is written for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, harp and piano. This is one of Martinů's last works and it is tinged with melancholy and a yearning quality. There are several performances of it now, but my favorite is this one on Supraphon:
(https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/kc/fe/f97x3vpbxfekc_600.jpg)
Quote from: Florestan on December 31, 2021, 03:14:31 AM
Mozart - Divertimento (String Trio) in E-flat major KV 563.
Despite its innocuous title this is a spiritual journey from darkness to light perfectly fit for a desert island.
Same here.
Hard to choose among:
Beethoven Op 131
Kodaly Duo Op 7
Mozart Clarinet Quintet
Brahms Piano Quintet
Quote from: Florestan on December 31, 2021, 03:14:31 AM
Mozart - Divertimento (String Trio) in E-flat major KV 563.
Despite its innocuous title this is a spiritual journey from darkness to light perfectly fit for a desert island.
That last movement is heavenly!!!
Quote from: OrchestralNut on December 31, 2021, 03:48:30 AM
This is a very easy one for me:
Schubert - String Quintet in C major
Ditto - really easy choice for me.
I only get one?
Good grief. 2022 is already bringing the tough decisions.
Faure, piano quintet no.1. Because it's the best work for capturing this magical midpoint in Faure's career where everything has a yearning to soar, and it made me hooked on Faure, and Susan Tomes/Domus, and heck the Hyperion label in general.
Honorable mentions to half the damn genre.
Quote from: Madiel on December 31, 2021, 12:01:38 PM
I only get one?
Of course not, just pretend that you do --- and only today. :D
Quote from: OrchestralNut on December 31, 2021, 03:48:30 AM
This is a very easy one for me:
Schubert - String Quintet in C major
The trio section of the scherzo moves me unlike any other music
That's my choice for #1 as well! That slow movement is otherworldly...
Second choice? Hmmm... Ravel's
Introduction and Allegro? Brahms' Piano Quintet? Beethoven's Cello Sonata in A major? So many choices...
I could break it down by genre, but I'm not going to bother, since it's Brahms's String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
Quote from: vandermolen on December 30, 2021, 11:57:58 PM
Ernest Bloch: String Quartet No.1
An epic work of symphonic dimensions. I find it powerful, brooding, eloquent and moving, all qualities that I greatly admire in music. It's also very long so I'm sure that I would keep hearing new things in it:
(//)
Fantastic choice, Jeffrey. A dense and fascinating work of epic proportions.
Sooo many candidates to choose from.
Since I have to give an answer, there is a triple tie between Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio, Brahms's String Quintet No. 2. and Schubert's String Quintet.
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on December 31, 2021, 02:10:46 PM
Fantastic choice, Jeffrey. A dense and fascinating work of epic proportions.
Thanks Cesar!
A very happy new year to you.
Messiaen, Quartet for the End of Time
(That said, I certainly couldn't listen to it every day. Too intense.)
--Bruce
Quote from: vandermolen on December 31, 2021, 02:37:56 PM
Thanks Cesar!
A very happy new year to you.
Likewise, Jeffrey! I wish you all the best, including your family. Many blessings!!
Virtually impossible, but some combination of LvB 130, 131, and 127, with the Mendelssohn Octet, Schubert C major quintet, Brahms G major sextet, and Brahms G minor piano quartet. And the Webern Concerto for Nine Instruments as dessert.
Haydn Opus 33
Quote from: Brewski on December 31, 2021, 02:41:54 PM
Messiaen, Quartet for the End of Time
(That said, I certainly couldn't listen to it every day. Too intense.)
Maybe it works and you don't need to spend too long on that island ;)
Quote from: (poco) Sforzando on December 31, 2021, 04:26:17 PM
Virtually impossible, but some combination of LvB 130, 131, and 127, with the Mendelssohn Octet, Schubert C major quintet, Brahms G major sextet, and Brahms G minor piano quartet. And the Webern Concerto for Nine Instruments as dessert.
Not a bad selection from my POV, but I would add some Shostakovich and Bartok, and skip the Mendelssohn and Webern, however much I like them.
One work? Probably the op 131.
Quote from: The new erato on January 01, 2022, 02:48:37 AM
oit a bad selection from my POV, but I would add some Shostakovich and Bartok, and skip the Mendelssohn and Webern, however much I like them.
One work? Probably the op 131.
Shostakovich 8 and Bartok 5 could be added. Staying with the Mendelssohn.
So many worthy candidates, of course! But I have to go with that late masterwork by my favorite composer of chamber music: Dvorak's String Quartet no. 13 in G major, op. 106. This complex, fascinating work encapsulates just about every emotion and character known to humankind, and is of course filled with Dvorak's trademark tunefulness and lyricism in every bar. Each movement takes the listener on an unpredictable, colorful journey. The incredibly poignant - and by turns, mysterious and even angry - slow movement alone is enough to secure this work's position at the top of my affections. To say nothing of the vitality of the first movement, the sheer rhythmic brilliance of the scherzo, or the Haydnesque wit of the finale! An absolutely stunning work which never ceases to amaze me.
Quote from: kyjo on January 01, 2022, 06:37:16 AM
So many worthy candidates, of course! But I have to go with that late masterwork by my favorite composer of chamber music: Dvorak's String Quartet no. 13 in G major, op. 106. This complex, fascinating work encapsulates just about every emotion and character known to humankind, and is of course filled with Dvorak's trademark tunefulness and lyricism in every bar. Each movement takes the listener on an unpredictable, colorful journey. The incredibly poignant - and by turns, mysterious and even angry - slow movement alone is enough to secure this work's position at the top of my affections. To say nothing of the vitality of the first movement, the sheer rhythmic brilliance of the scherzo, or the Haydnesque wit of the finale! An absolutely stunning work which never ceases to amaze me.
A wonderful piece, Kyle. I love it, too. A follow-up to this post, what would your favorite recording be of the SQ No. 13? I'm not sure if I could decide between the Panocha or Pavel Haas.
Quote from: ritter on December 31, 2021, 04:54:23 AM
Easy one for me: Le Marteau sans maître!
Best wishes for 2022 to all... :)
Interesting. A challenging choice.
Quote from: (poco) Sforzando on December 31, 2021, 04:26:17 PM
Mendelssohn Octet, [...] Brahms G major sextet, and Brahms G minor piano quartet.
I think we all need several desert islands, each with its own work. :D
Quote from: amw on December 31, 2021, 12:59:10 PM
I could break it down by genre, but I'm not going to bother, since it's Brahms's String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
Absolutely astonishing piece of music. I don't think I've ever heard it before, so thanks for mentioning.
Quote from: Mandryka on January 01, 2022, 09:22:31 AM
Absolutely astonishing piece of music. I don't think I've ever heard it before
:o :o :o
Quote from: Florestan on January 01, 2022, 09:23:21 AM
:o :o :o
If I have I can't remember, it's like, completely fresh sounding to me. Which is nice.
Quote from: Mandryka on January 01, 2022, 09:28:04 AM
If I have I can't remember, it's like, completely fresh sounding to me. Which is nice.
Absolutely.
Quote from: Florestan on January 01, 2022, 09:29:11 AM
Absolutely.
Anyway, that'll do for my choice now. I will share the desert island with AMW.
Quote from: Mandryka on January 01, 2022, 09:29:41 AM
I will share the desert island with AMW.
The question is, will she share it with you? :D
Quote from: Mandryka on January 01, 2022, 09:22:31 AM
Absolutely astonishing piece of music. I don't think I've ever heard it before, so thanks for mentioning.
It's an interesting one; I know multiple people who can't stand Brahms yet make an exception for that piece only. This even applies to musicians, with the string sextets being among the few Brahms pieces to have received multiple recordings by period-instruments ensembles that otherwise never touch him: L'Archibudelli (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd3Cu6m6srs) emphasising the passionate and romantic (in the sense of love) aspects of the piece, Hausmusik (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElHsRvynIK4) turning in a more polished, languid, fin-de-siècle performance. The former isn't exactly my "reference" performance, because there isn't anything quite like it, but it most closely matches how I think the piece
should be played.
Musically speaking it's a unique work in terms of texture. Every movement has its own characteristic form of textural blurring, ways of making the notes run together: bariolage in the first movement, mordents and trills in the second, heterophony and imitation in the third and measured tremolos in the last. There is also a high degree of motivic unity via intervallic relationships; the first movement focuses on rising fifths, the second movement focuses mostly on falling fourths, whereas the third movement is based on rising fourths and the last movement resolves everything by focusing on falling fifths. At the final iteration of its secondary theme, consisting exclusively of falling fifths, the ensemble also reintroduces all of the textural blurring techniques of the previous movements (bariolage, trills and heterophony), establishing a satisfying feeling of "full circle". There's a sense of emotional purity that results from all of this, even though the texture creates endless ambiguities (harmonic, phrasing) and the way the piece has been received is usually as being "about" romantic love (probably accurately). One could of course argue that love and passion are very "pure" emotions and we only regard them differently because of cultural hangups about sex and intimacy.
Anyway, welcome to the desert island, I guess.
It would be a short stay as I have similar feelings about this piece as Brewski with the Messiaen.
This is hard. On one hand you the LvB Violin sonatas and his SQs. There's also the Tchaikovsky A minor Piano Trio, some Dvorak Trios, quartets and the Piano Quintet and of course there is the one and only Schubert. In the end I've opted for a choice made by others in this thread:
Schubert String Quintet in C major D956.
It's long and it has that absolutely gorgeous slow movement. Second place goes to the "Arpeggione" especially as performed by Rostropovich and Britten.
I'll play the Quintet now - the Hollywood String Quartet with Kurt Reher as the extra cellist. Yes, it's mono but it's absolutely sublime. I've yet to find a stereo version that matches it
Quote from: Daverz on December 31, 2021, 06:48:07 PM
Haydn Opus 33
An entire Haydn opus seems like a terribly unfair advantage.
Quote from: Madiel on January 01, 2022, 09:13:08 PM
An entire Haydn opus seems like a terribly unfair advantage.
If applies for Beethoven too, so I choose his Op. 59.
Quote from: amw on January 01, 2022, 10:54:57 AM
It's an interesting one; I know multiple people who can't stand Brahms yet make an exception for that piece only. This even applies to musicians, with the string sextets being among the few Brahms pieces to have received multiple recordings by period-instruments ensembles that otherwise never touch him: L'Archibudelli (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd3Cu6m6srs) emphasising the passionate and romantic (in the sense of love) aspects of the piece, Hausmusik (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElHsRvynIK4) turning in a more polished, languid, fin-de-siècle performance. The former isn't exactly my "reference" performance, because there isn't anything quite like it, but it most closely matches how I think the piece should be played.
Musically speaking it's a unique work in terms of texture. Every movement has its own characteristic form of textural blurring, ways of making the notes run together: bariolage in the first movement, mordents and trills in the second, heterophony and imitation in the third and measured tremolos in the last. There is also a high degree of motivic unity via intervallic relationships; the first movement focuses on rising fifths, the second movement focuses mostly on falling fourths, whereas the third movement is based on rising fourths and the last movement resolves everything by focusing on falling fifths. At the final iteration of its secondary theme, consisting exclusively of falling fifths, the ensemble also reintroduces all of the textural blurring techniques of the previous movements (bariolage, trills and heterophony), establishing a satisfying feeling of "full circle". There's a sense of emotional purity that results from all of this, even though the texture creates endless ambiguities (harmonic, phrasing) and the way the piece has been received is usually as being "about" romantic love (probably accurately). One could of course argue that love and passion are very "pure" emotions and we only regard them differently because of cultural hangups about sex and intimacy.
Anyway, welcome to the desert island, I guess.
It would be a short stay as I have similar feelings about this piece as Brewski with the Messiaen.
Enjoying Hausmusik. Urbane and nonchalant - like an English gentleman.
Quote from: absolutelybaching on January 02, 2022, 09:16:37 AM
I'll take Britten's String Quartet No. 3, please...
To me, give me a shot of his 2nd. Oh God, a wonder from start to finish, and I like it the best because of its witty, optimistic nature, a smartly constructed piece, with lots of fascinating counterpoint, cleverly adapted to a medium like the string quartet.
I'm gong to offer a bifurcated response.
As far as recordings are concerned, the Schubert String Quintet in C major on Testament by the augmented Hollywood String Quartet stands alone, imho. The companion is Verklaerte Nacht, and is likewise singular in execution.
As far as music is concerned, i.e. historical importance, emotional impact what have you, Beethoven's Op. 131 likewise stand's alone, imho.
Fortunately, we get to live with both! ;)
Quote from: Mirror Image on January 01, 2022, 06:40:52 AM
A wonderful piece, Kyle. I love it, too. A follow-up to this post, what would your favorite recording be of the SQ No. 13? I'm not sure if I could decide between the Panocha or Pavel Haas.
The Pavel Haas recording is pretty hard to beat! I haven't heard the Panocha's version of the 13th actually, but of course their Dvorak that I have heard is superb.
Quote from: kyjo on January 06, 2022, 07:30:32 PM
The Pavel Haas recording is pretty hard to beat! I haven't heard the Panocha's version of the 13th actually, but of course their Dvorak that I have heard is superb.
Yes, indeed. I think you'll enjoy the Panocha as well, Kyle.
I didn't have to think about this one at all, the answer popped into my head as soon as I saw the thread title: Schubert's String Quintet in C. Not surprised to see I'm not the first to choose this. It has been my favourite chamber work for as long as I can remember, even more so since an amazing experience I had at a concert a few years ago - it was a chamber music festival dedicated to Schubert, with a whole day of concerts. The last started at 9pm and was the String Quintet, I nearly didn't bother because I was really tired by this point, but also really wanted to hear this piece live so I went anyway. From the start I struggled to keep my eyes open, and was soon at the point where I was physically incapable of staying awake - but the music was too good to fall asleep to, so my brain seems to have come up with an ingenious solution to shut down all functions apart from listening to the music. For the rest of the concert I was in a trance-like state, fully aware of the music but of absolutely nothing else - being "at one with the music" is the best I can describe it. When I "came to" during the final chord it felt like I had been gone for several years. To this day listening to this piece brings me back to that evening, and I can't imagine ever tiring of it, even if it's all I had to listen to on an island!
Runners up: Beethoven String Quartets op. 131 and 132, either of Brahms's String Sextets, Robert Simpson's String Quartet No. 9.
Quote from: Mountain Goat on January 10, 2022, 03:48:47 PM
I didn't have to think about this one at all, the answer popped into my head as soon as I saw the thread title: Schubert's String Quintet in C. Not surprised to see I'm not the first to choose this. It has been my favourite chamber work for as long as I can remember, even more so since an amazing experience I had at a concert a few years ago - it was a chamber music festival dedicated to Schubert, with a whole day of concerts. The last started at 9pm and was the String Quintet, I nearly didn't bother because I was really tired by this point, but also really wanted to hear this piece live so I went anyway. From the start I struggled to keep my eyes open, and was soon at the point where I was physically incapable of staying awake - but the music was too good to fall asleep to, so my brain seems to have come up with an ingenious solution to shut down all functions apart from listening to the music. For the rest of the concert I was in a trance-like state, fully aware of the music but of absolutely nothing else - being "at one with the music" is the best I can describe it. When I "came to" during the final chord it felt like I had been gone for several years. To this day listening to this piece brings me back to that evening, and I can't imagine ever tiring of it, even if it's all I had to listen to on an island!
Runners up: Beethoven String Quartets op. 131 and 132, either of Brahms's String Sextets, Robert Simpson's String Quartet No. 9.
Thanks for posting that lovely memory. FWIW, I have been to a few concerts while tired -- whether the evening began late, or jet lag (e.g., seeing a concert right off the plane), they have often been wonderful experiences. Something about being so tired that your brain slightly shuts down, so the music can flood in. I wouldn't want to be in that state regularly, but now and then...
--Bruce
Quote from: Brewski on January 10, 2022, 04:08:29 PM
Thanks for posting that lovely memory. FWIW, I have been to a few concerts while tired -- whether the evening began late, or jet lag (e.g., seeing a concert right off the plane), they have often been wonderful experiences. Something about being so tired that your brain slightly shuts down, so the music can flood in. I wouldn't want to be in that state regularly, but now and then...
--Bruce
That's interesting, I've mentioned it to a few people but until now no-one else has been able to relate to this experience - maybe "normal" (non-GMG) people just wouldn't go to a concert if they are that tired! :laugh:
I had another similar experience not long afterwards, this time with Fauré's Requiem, though it wasn't as intense. I was working as a postman at the time so on both occasions a very early morning start was responsible!
Quote from: (poco) Sforzando on December 31, 2021, 04:26:17 PM
Virtually impossible, but some combination of LvB 130, 131, and 127, with the Mendelssohn Octet, Schubert C major quintet, Brahms G major sextet, and Brahms G minor piano quartet. And the Webern Concerto for Nine Instruments as dessert.
An outstanding list! I'm so glad someone mentioned the Mendelssohn Octet - just such joyful music, so full of life! I can't believe I forgot it in my "honorable mentions"... really just an astounding work.
And speaking of octets, let's not forget Schubert's! Impressive in scale, and full of lovely tunes.