For me, Jacqueline Du Pre.
(http://www.brianmicklethwait.com/education/archives/JduPre.jpg)
Hers was the first 'name' I ever knew in classical music, aside from those of major composers. I remember reading an article about her and her sister, Hilary, around the time of the release of this:
(http://www.jasononline.com/emilywatson/hilary_and_jackie-14.jpg)
I'd never heard her music at that point, but her life fascinated me. When eventually I did hear her famous recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto, it left me breathless: she became a heroine for me from that day forward.
If I had to pick another, I'd go with cellist, Maria Kliegel:
(http://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/kliegel2.jpg)
I was captivated by her playing immediately, and I have almost every one of her many discs on Naxos. I've also seen her play live at St. John's Smith Square in London on the occasion of the inaugural Naxos Live! annual concerts. I sat just feet from her, and know that she could tell how much I was adoring her performances because we later corresponded by email and she remembered the smile on my face.
Aaah, hero worship. Ultimately pointless, but childishly delicious. :)
Paganini :-X
Quote from: greg on October 27, 2007, 07:12:19 AM
Paganini :-X
Nothing wrong with that. Unless, like him, you're planning to sell your soul to get virtuoso talent. >:D
Penn'orth, Nobody does it better :D
(http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~san/bjoerling9.jpg)
Sir Thomas Beecham, obviously for his conducting, but also his wit.
(http://www.mucd.de/Bilder/beecham_pic.gif)
(http://www.andromeda.at/mus/mpic/mil_pic07.jpg)
Nathan Milstein
Q
Mahler. Big, brassy, audacious, a bit of a rebellious outsider, and not yet inducted into the canon when I was a teen.
(http://www.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/rz3a035/mahler2.jpg)
Mozart ....... well past the point of healthy worship .........
My memory truly is bad: the actual first 'name' I knew in classical music (though only from his Last Night of the Proms appearances) was conductor, Sir Andrew Davis:
(http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/images/2006/3354/45007776a3648_md.jpg)
His work on those occasions used to delight me, and I loved his rhymed speeches based on the season's performances. But I chose Du Pre because I didn't connect Davis with anything other than the BBC Proms, and certainly didn't know he'd made any recordings.
The great Jascha :D
Il'ya Murometz, actually... ;D
Or if you wanted a real person, look to the left.
Tchaikovsky, and his 5th Symphony was a particular work of his that had me lulled into doing nothing else than listen to it, EVERY DAY FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS. :o
I've grown out of that now, kind of. :D
(http://www.rgrossmusicautograph.com/71/argerich71.jpg)
Couldn't find a photo that I really liked (she was too old in all of them), but this video, I like! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0nInkOn0zQ)
I'll probably get shit for this, but this is the man who drew me into the classical realm. I have told this story before, but when I was a kid I grew up in NY and was in receptive distance from the Vassar College radio station, which played EVERYTHING. One night I heard this music that was absolutely engaging. I couldn't stop listening to it. I found out after the piece that it was Schoenberg and the piece, if memory serves me correctly was Verklärte Nacht. Before that I only had a few classical records which I had no passion for. Suddenly I gained an interest in them too (a Beethoven and a Bach).
(http://www.gaffurio.it/schoenberg_lavagna.gif)
Quote from: Mark on October 27, 2007, 07:49:53 AM
My memory truly is bad: the actual first 'name' I knew in classical music (though only from his Last Night of the Proms appearances) was conductor, Sir Andrew Davis
Heard him conduct the Pittsburgh in a terrific performance of Sibelius's 5th recently. Raised him a couple of notches in my estimation.
Quote from: George on October 27, 2007, 09:30:08 AM
(http://www.rgrossmusicautograph.com/71/argerich71.jpg)
Couldn't find a photo that I really liked (she was too old in all of them), but this video, I like! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0nInkOn0zQ)
Wow, she look's really hot in that photo, very sultry... >:D
Quote from: Peregrine on October 28, 2007, 10:12:41 AM
Wow, she look's really hot in that photo, very sultry... >:D
Yeah, check out the video. :o
Quote from: George on October 28, 2007, 10:14:03 AM
Yeah, check out the video. :o
What a babe! (http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/tongue/tongue0022.gif)
Quote from: Peregrine on October 28, 2007, 10:23:00 AM
What a babe! (http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/tongue/tongue0022.gif)
(http://www.myemoticons.com/avatars/our-favourites/images/hubba_hubba.jpg)
(http://www.karajan.org/en/biography/img/pic_bio_ms_16.jpg)
And he still is. In fact, Karajan is one of the very few people that I have come to accept as alternative "father figures" to me, perhaps because as I've said before, the reason I'm not pursuing one of my "dream" careers, in music (conducting), is that I would have at best done the same as the man above. And so I would rather listen to the work of that man, him being as imperfect as anyone, but also as alike to me (or me to him) as few. I understand Karajan. :)
Concerning Argerich, didn't she marry a series of co-workers, anyway? :P
Quote from: Renfield on October 28, 2007, 10:29:12 AM
(http://www.karajan.org/en/biography/img/pic_bio_ms_16.jpg)
Concerning Argerich, didn't she marry a series of co-workers, anyway? :P
There's certainly gossip about her 'ahem' appetite...(http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/confused/confused0068.gif)
Quote from: Renfield on October 28, 2007, 10:29:12 AM
Concerning Argerich, didn't she marry a series of co-workers, anyway? :P
And?
That's where many people meet their significant other. :-\
Quote from: George on October 28, 2007, 01:03:27 PM
And?
That's where many people meet their significant other. :-\
I meant it with regard to the likelihood of her sleeping with people in her immediate proximity. :P
Quote from: Renfield on October 28, 2007, 01:16:12 PM
I meant it with regard to the likelihood of her sleeping with people in her immediate proximity. :P
I knew I should have taken that job as page-turner for her. :-[
;)
Quote from: George on October 28, 2007, 01:18:45 PM
I knew I should have taken that job as page-turner for her. :-[
;)
Head turner, more like. ;)
This guy [having a 'bad hair' day] ;)
(http://www.carus-verlag.com/images-intern/img/Bach.jpg)
Quote from: longears on October 28, 2007, 09:33:26 AM
Heard him conduct the Pittsburgh in a terrific performance of Sibelius's 5th recently. Raised him a couple of notches in my estimation.
Tricky one, is Davis. Sometimes absolutely on the money, sometimes wide of the mark. Bit like Rattle, really. But I usually put a good deal of faith in both.
Quote from: Mark on October 28, 2007, 05:18:02 PM
Tricky one, is Davis. Sometimes absolutely on the money, sometimes wide of the mark. Bit like Rattle, really. But I usually put a good deal of faith in both.
You know, according to my sources, even Karajan tended to be like this; apart from the amazing streak of superb performances that marked his
very late years, of course. :)
Bruno Walter.
(http://www.maurice-abravanel.com/338-03_bruno_Walter_conducting3.jpg)
I like Harry...his ability to organize is spectacular:
(http://www.classical-composers.org/img/tchaikovsky.jpg)
Shostakovich - I got hooked on his symphonies as I listened to them at the Boston Public Library.
Unfortunately, his music making excites me.
(http://www.wdr.de/radio/wdr3/musikfestspiele2004/images/photos/harnoncourt1.jpg)
Howard ;D
Artur Rubinstein, from the moment I saw him playing in concert Brahms 3rd Sonata.
(http://sp1.mm-a3.yimg.com/image/2792006785)
Composer
(http://sp1.mm-a3.yimg.com/image/2563872512)
performer
Beethoven
Reiner
Well firstly, Callas (no surprise there then)
(http://www.medea59.de/callas030.jpg)
then Schwarzkopf
(http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/culturevulture/archives/schwarzkopf200.jpg)
and Janet Baker
(http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/8/83/180px-JanetBaker.jpg)
Among instrumentalists and conductors, 3 already mentioned Martha Argerich, Jacqueline Du Pre and Karajan.
(http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/05.15/photos/19-french1-450.jpg)
Pierre Boulez.
Aside from his output, his rhetorical style really just hit home for me. It's hard to imagine, today, that the kindly old man with the awful comb-over could have terrified the musical establishment for much of his professional life and been a major factor in Igor Stravinsky's work in dodecaphony. There's something to be said for that sort of personality, even if you don't like him, his style, or his works.
Composer: Johann Sebastian you-know-who.
Conductor: Arturo Toscanini.
Instrumentalist: Marcel Tabuteau, the longtime Philadelphia principal oboist.
These three remain heroes to this day, although my taste in conductors has evolved to where Toscanini is no longer an automatic favorite.
First on the right; second on the left:
(http://home.flash.net/~park29/ormsib2.jpg)
Quote from: Mark on October 27, 2007, 07:04:00 AM
For me, Jacqueline Du Pre.
(http://www.brianmicklethwait.com/education/archives/JduPre.jpg)
She was my first classical crush....
My hero:
(http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1963/1101630222_400.jpg)
(http://homepage3.nifty.com/szell-chronology/szell-top1.jpg)
Sarge
Quote from: johnQpublic on October 30, 2007, 09:45:05 AM
First on the right; second on the left:
(http://home.flash.net/~park29/ormsib2.jpg)
I'm sorry to say I don't quite recognize those two apparent legends...
R: Ormandy
L: Sibelius
Quote from: jochanaan on October 30, 2007, 10:01:58 AM
I'm sorry to say I don't quite recognize those two apparent legends...
Sibelius and Ormandy
Sarge
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on October 30, 2007, 10:08:18 AM
Sibelius and Ormandy
:-[ :-[ My eyesight must be worse than usual today! :-\ :-\
Quote from: Norbeone on October 27, 2007, 09:22:36 AM
Tchaikovsky, and his 5th Symphony was a particular work of his that had me lulled into doing nothing else than listen to it, EVERY DAY FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS. :o
I've grown out of that now, kind of. :D
Someone who talks about the fifth without saying the fourth or sixth is better. This is still my favorite symphony but i try to restrain myself to only a few listens a month, i don't want it ever to get old.
I don't remember which one was first, so I'll post both:
Horowitz
(http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/6522/horowitzkk6.jpg)
Perlman
(http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4575/perlmanjf7.jpg)
I posted my first hero yesterday...and today the post is gone! Weird. I'll redo it then:
(http://photos.imageevent.com/sgtrock/gm2/1101630222_400.jpg)
(http://photos.imageevent.com/sgtrock/gm2/szell-top1.jpg)
Sarge
man, i miss the good old days, when time had cool people on the cover:
(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601451119,00.html)
My first Classical Hero was Mozart, and in so many ways he still remains a hero. That's how I got into opera in the first place. Mozart's operas opened the path that led me to WAGNER. It went something like this:
Mozart -> Puccini -> Verdi -> R. Strauss -> WAGNER 0:)
marvin
Quote from: sonic1 on October 27, 2007, 09:40:01 AM
I'll probably get shit for this, but this is the man who drew me into the classical realm. I have told this story before, but when I was a kid I grew up in NY and was in receptive distance from the Vassar College radio station, which played EVERYTHING. One night I heard this music that was absolutely engaging. I couldn't stop listening to it. I found out after the piece that it was Schoenberg and the piece, if memory serves me correctly was Verklärte Nacht. Before that I only had a few classical records which I had no passion for. Suddenly I gained an interest in them too (a Beethoven and a Bach).
(http://www.gaffurio.it/schoenberg_lavagna.gif)
I'm with you.
Verklärte Nacht was one of the first pieces that really engaged me as well. From there it was only a short jump from Schoenberg to Brahms.
Quote from: marvinbrown on October 31, 2007, 08:19:00 AM
My first Classical Hero was Mozart, and in so many ways he still remains a hero. That's how I got into opera in the first place. Mozart's operas opened the path that led me to WAGNER. It went something like this:
Mozart -> Puccini -> Verdi -> R. Strauss -> WAGNER 0:
It must be a comfort to know you can always retrace your steps. ;)
Quote from: The Poopy Flying Monkey on October 31, 2007, 06:55:15 AM
man, i miss the good old days, when time had cool people on the cover:
(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601451119,00.html)
Yeah.
(http://www.flammor.com/israel/HitlerTime.jpg)
Quote from: longears on November 01, 2007, 05:30:56 AM
It must be a comfort to know you can always retrace your steps. ;)
Yes its fantastic, I remember the first operas that I bought from each of these composers:
With Mozart it was the Magic Flute, with Puccini it was La Boheme, with Verdi it was Aida, with Strauss it was Salome and with WAGNER I made a BIG MISTAKE and started with Tristan und Isolde.... I tell you it was a real struggle at first but now its my favorite opera of them all :).
marvin
Quote from: Corey on November 01, 2007, 05:37:37 AM
Yeah.
(http://www.flammor.com/israel/HitlerTime.jpg)
:-X
Quote from: marvinbrown on November 01, 2007, 08:10:14 AM
With Mozart it was the Magic Flute, with Puccini it was La Boheme,
It sounds like I've followed your path quite precisely so far! ~ except before Die Zauberflote there was Carmen. I had contemplated listening to Tristan; which Wagner opera would be a better starter?
Quote from: brianrein on November 06, 2007, 01:53:47 PM
It sounds like I've followed your path quite precisely so far! ~ except before Die Zauberflote there was Carmen. I had contemplated listening to Tristan; which Wagner opera would be a better starter?
I would start with Tannhauser or Lohengrin (I am not a very big fan of The Flying Dutchman as an introduction to Wagner- I am sure many would disagree with me). Lohengrin has the very popular "here comes the bride" tune and is very lyrical. Tannhauser has some beautiful accessible music (the overture is memorable). In addition both of these operas are shorter than Wagner's mature works and they carry the same themes of love, death and redemption which you will encounter in his mature works- except Die Meistersinger of course. I am also a very big fan of Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg-I get goose bumps everytime I hear the "prize song". The problem with Tristan und Isolde is that is that it is musically
very heavy. For a newcomer to Wagner it can be an ordeal to sit through once you get passed the overture and the singer starts- I would definitely try Lohengrin and Tannhauser to get a "feel" for Wagner then attempt Tristan und Isolde- hope this helps.
marvin
The first classical concert I ever attended was conducted by Serge Koussevitsky. Naturally he became an instant hero. In a short while however, he was supplanted by Arturo Toscanini. And still later by Charles Munch. Pierre Monteux and Leonard Bernstein, all of whom it was my pleasure to know while I was employed at Tanglewood. Obviously I was NOT one of their confidants or bosom buddies. But I did see them functioning as "people" and not just as the great musicians they were. And THAT was a pleasant occurence.
Quote from: Iago on November 06, 2007, 02:56:49 PM
The first classical concert I ever attended was conducted by Serge Koussevitsky. Naturally he became an instant hero. In a short while however, he was supplanted by Arturo Toscanini. And still later by Charles Munch. Pierre Monteux and Leonard Bernstein, all of whom it was my pleasure to know while I was employed at Tanglewood. Obviously I was NOT one of their confidants or bosom buddies. But I did see them functioning as "people" and not just as the great musicians they were. And THAT was a pleasant occurence.
Very impressive. Not that I am assuming you've any need to hear that, but I will still voice my admiration for anyone currently alive to have heard Koussevitsky (and presumably Toscanini) live, while also having met Munch, Monteux and Bernstein in person. :)
Concerning Wagner,
brianrein, and though I'm not the most typical of listeners, I started with Parsifal: and I'm still there! (Though not in the sense of being stuck.) ;)
Renfield,
Thank you for your compliment. but I don't in any way consider myself "ancient". I will be 72 yrs of age in January, and I saw Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony (courtesy of my grandparents)when I was about 6-8 yrs of age (don't remember exactly). Living in NY, I then became very interested in the NBC under Toscanini. In my 20s, I worked at Tanglewood as a "gofer". That's how I met Munch, Monteux and Bernstein. Rehearsals and press conferences were far more enlightening (and enjoyable) than were the actual concerts.
Quote from: Iago on November 06, 2007, 05:13:52 PM
Renfield,
Thank you for your compliment. but I don't in any way consider myself "ancient". I will be 72 yrs of age in January, and I saw Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony (courtesy of my grandparents)when I was about 6-8 yrs of age (don't remember exactly). Living in NY, I then became very interested in the NBC under Toscanini. In my 20s, I worked at Tanglewood as a "gofer". That's how I met Munch, Monteux and Bernstein. Rehearsals and press conferences were far more enlightening (and enjoyable) than were the actual concerts.
Still very impressive, to the eyes of a person born a year before Herbert von Karajan died (1988).
I can only know most of the musicians (especially conductors) I admire so much through old videos, indirect sources, and of course recordings. But in "in the flesh" is different: it alway is. :)
(http://www.marxist.com/images/stories/art/beethoven014.jpg)
Quote from: Bogey on November 06, 2007, 06:39:06 PM
(http://www.marxist.com/images/stories/art/beethoven014.jpg)
Well said. 8)
Quote from: Bogey on November 06, 2007, 06:39:06 PM
(http://www.marxist.com/images/stories/art/beethoven014.jpg)
I wonder where he's off to? To visit his "immortal beloved" perhaps??
marvin
Quote from: marvinbrown on November 07, 2007, 06:17:20 AM
I wonder where he's off to?
Somewhere where there's some real ice for him to skate on ...
Quote from: marvinbrown on November 07, 2007, 06:17:20 AM
I wonder where he's off to? To visit his "immortal beloved" perhaps??
marvin
Marvin, he's off to see a Wagner opera .........
Quote from: Herzog Lipschitz on November 07, 2007, 06:31:43 AM
Marvin, he's off to see a Wagner opera .........
LOL :D oh thats really good- I loved that response!! :D
marvin
Quote from: Herzog Lipschitz on November 07, 2007, 06:31:43 AM
Marvin, he's off to see a Wagner opera .........
"Uh, mein Herr, where's the nearest time travel station?" Or better yet, "When does the next swan leave?" ;D
Quote from: Bogey on November 06, 2007, 06:39:06 PM
(http://www.marxist.com/images/stories/art/beethoven014.jpg)
I just love that picture- look at him- proud, self assured, and possessing talent in spades.....in the words of Mozart "this man will make a great name for himself in the world." 0:) Yes I can easily see how he would be the first classical "hero" for many.
marvin
(http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=8489&rendTypeId=4)
Quote from: Bogey on November 06, 2007, 06:39:06 PM
(http://www.marxist.com/images/stories/art/beethoven014.jpg)
I also like this one as well:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XpYxGOWjL._AA280_.jpg)
Quote from: Mark on November 07, 2007, 06:18:13 AM
Somewhere where there's some real ice for him to skate on ...
;D
Beethoven on ice...
Quote from: Peregrine on November 10, 2007, 10:47:58 AM
Beethoven on ice...
With lots of lovely young women in very short skirts!
Oh, wait a minute...that would be
Brahms on ice!
(And if there were lots of cute little boys:
Saint-Saëns on ice?)
Quote from: longears on November 10, 2007, 10:55:11 AM
With lots of lovely young women in very short skirts!
Oh, wait a minute...that would be Brahms on ice!
(And if there were lots of cute little boys: Saint-Saëns on ice?)
Brahms was a ladies man?? ??? I thought Alban Berg and Chopin were ladies men??
marvin
Quote from: marvinbrown on November 10, 2007, 12:32:15 PM
Brahms was a ladies man?? ??? I thought Alban Berg and Chopin were ladies men??
marvin
And Schubert.
Quote from: sonic1 on October 27, 2007, 09:40:01 AM
I'll probably get shit for this, but this is the man who drew me into the classical realm. I have told this story before, but when I was a kid I grew up in NY and was in receptive distance from the Vassar College radio station, which played EVERYTHING. One night I heard this music that was absolutely engaging. I couldn't stop listening to it. I found out after the piece that it was Schoenberg and the piece, if memory serves me correctly was Verklärte Nacht. Before that I only had a few classical records which I had no passion for. Suddenly I gained an interest in them too (a Beethoven and a Bach).
(http://www.gaffurio.it/schoenberg_lavagna.gif)
What a cool post!
For me, it was originally J.S. Bach and Paganini, but my middle-of-life "discovery" of Mozart, J. Haydn, Wagner, Mahler, and Beethoven changed that all around.
My first "hero" was Pavarotti. If it were not for him, I doubt I'd be here today.
Quote from: Anne on November 10, 2007, 02:36:10 PM
My first "hero" was Pavarotti. If it were not for him, I doubt I'd be here today.
What? He was your ... father? ???
;D
Quote from: Mark on November 10, 2007, 02:38:06 PM
What? He was your ... father? ???
;D
"I am your father Luciano!"
Quote from: edward on November 10, 2007, 02:53:47 PM
"I am your father Luciano!"
"Join me... and together we can collaborate with the Spice Girls. It is your
destiny."
Quote from: Solitary Wanderer on October 28, 2007, 01:31:12 PM
This guy [having a 'bad hair' day] ;)
(http://www.carus-verlag.com/images-intern/img/Bach.jpg)
If that was his hair... ;D
Quote from: Mark on November 10, 2007, 02:38:06 PM
What? He was your ... father? ???
;D
;D :D ;D :D ;D
Monteverdi. Yes it all started when I accidentally downloaded a song called Monteverdi - Magnificat.mp3
I dont know what I was originally searching for, maybe lesbian porn or something.
Quote from: beer on November 11, 2007, 01:53:42 AM
Monteverdi. Yes it all started when I accidentally downloaded a song called Monteverdi - Magnificat.mp3
I dont know what I was originally searching for, maybe lesbian porn or something.
lesbian porn -> [..] -> Monteverdi - Magnificat.mp3
Am I the only one facing difficulties in filling the gaps, here? :P
It's a joke, Rennie.
Quote from: longears on November 11, 2007, 04:34:41 AM
It's a joke, Rennie.
Well yes, but quite a transcendental one! :o
Quote from: George on October 27, 2007, 09:30:08 AM
(http://www.rgrossmusicautograph.com/71/argerich71.jpg)
Couldn't find a photo that I really liked (she was too old in all of them), but this video, I like! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0nInkOn0zQ)
the interviews in French and English are worth watching. Lucky to speak all these languages fluently. her manner is very alluring too
Quote from: George on October 27, 2007, 09:30:08 AM
Couldn't find a photo that I really liked (she was too old in all of them), but this video, I like! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0nInkOn0zQ)
ah doesn't she look peachy in that polka-dot dress... :-*
(http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/61/321161.jpg)
Quote from: sidoze on November 11, 2007, 04:54:15 AM
the interviews in French and English are worth watching. Lucky to speak all these languages fluently. her manner is very alluring too
Quote from: Drasko on November 11, 2007, 08:28:10 AM
ah doesn't she look peachy in that polka-dot dress... :-*
(http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/61/321161.jpg)
She can tinkle my ivories, anytime...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUG9ERn2So
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FQR0Zae_alM
:)
Quote from: Peregrine on November 11, 2007, 08:33:00 AM
She can tinkle my ivories, anytime...
Or she could simply
tinkle on some ivories...
Quote from: Haffner on November 11, 2007, 08:35:34 AM
Or she could simply tinkle on some ivories...
Yep, I'm not picky!
;D
Quote from: Haffner on November 11, 2007, 08:35:34 AM
Or she could simply tinkle on some ivories...
Someone has a wierd fetish. ::)
Quote from: George on November 11, 2007, 10:54:16 AM
Someone has a wierd fetish. ::)
Only joking,
George. Gross.
Returning to the topic in hand...
Beethoven (Sixth) and Wagner (Prelude Meistersinger).
Quote from: Jezetha on November 11, 2007, 12:20:35 PM
Returning to the topic in hand...
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2330/1935324535_3802ec5493.jpg)
Well, actually he is not my hero, just couldn't resist posting this. ;D
You can buy it from hmv.jp with '42 Beethoven 9th for measly 170 euros.
http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/2651229 (http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/2651229)
Quote from: Jezetha on November 11, 2007, 12:20:35 PM
Returning to the topic in hand...
Beethoven (Sixth) and Wagner (Prelude Meistersinger).
Two pieces of musics are your heroes? ???
Quote from: Mark on November 11, 2007, 12:29:15 PM
Two pieces of musics are your heroes? ???
Hm, I must have been a bit too concise... What I meant was - Beethoven and Wagner were my first heroes, the Pastoral Symphony and the Prelude to 'Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg' being the first classical pieces that completely obsessed me for weeks on end.
Quote from: Jezetha on November 11, 2007, 01:15:15 PM
Hm, I must have been a bit too concise... What I meant was - Beethoven and Wagner were my first heroes, the Pastoral Symphony and the Prelude to 'Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg' being the first classical pieces that completely obsessed me for weeks on end.
Gotcha! ;)
Quote from: Jezetha on November 11, 2007, 01:15:15 PM
Hm, I must have been a bit too concise... What I meant was - Beethoven and Wagner were my first heroes,
0:) these two are my current heroes 0:)
marvin
The first disc that I ever bought was Mahler's 1st with the VPO and Maazel. It's still the best version I've heard of this symphony. I'm not much of a Mahler guy anymore, but he was my first 'hero.'
My first classical hero conductor:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYAYtjHX1Z4/TlaGUonA6eI/AAAAAAAACDU/ijLQPmxg9Wo/s1600/Happy%2BBirthday%2Bleonard%2Bbernstein.jpg)
My first classical hero composer:
(http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Lib-BIG/Bartok-Bela-04.jpg)
Probably Mozart, definitely a composer rather than a performer anyway.
It's fun to resurrect moribund threads. Fun to read about what people were thinking in the olden days, in the long, long ago, in the before time.
And those people. Some very interesting posters no longer posting here. Driven off, perhaps, by The Provider.
Anyway, I'm sure I had heroes before John Cage, but he was definitely the first hero I met in person. And by no means the last, either. I eventually arranged my life so that I was meeting my heroes all the time. And now, of course, I don't have any heroes at all.
Lots of nice friends, though. I think that's better. Friends are better than heroes. (Friends that I worship, yes. Be fair! (http://api.ksys.no/files/18/_Silje__portretter__20.08.2005_033.jpg)
Composer: Beethoven. His was the first "real" music I played on the piano when a child (though I played Bach on the flute even earlier, but I did not consider the flute my instrument). Even now, there's Beethoven, and then all the others.
Performer: Van Cliburn. He was the first big-name performer I heard/saw when a child, and I still have LPs of his music I got when a teenager.
I also tend to think hero worship isn't that good a thing, everyone is human with faults as well as virtues. And I never had pictures of people stuck up on the wall of my bedroom anyway. :D
For me a 'hero' is an inspiring presence, a friend who accompanies me on my inner journey. No worship is involved, only love and a recognition of similarities.
Right. The fact of the phrase hero worship indicates that worship is not any intrinsic component of recognizing a hero.
LvB
Duh. ;D
TWU!
?
That Was Unexpected (I think...)
Oui.
Quote from: starrynight on March 20, 2012, 02:31:53 AM
I also tend to think hero worship isn't that good a thing, everyone is human with faults as well as virtues.
I'd like to use this comment, if I may, to express my sense of frustration. Whenever I talk about the artists I most admire, or am profoundly grateful to, or indeed (in a manner) love, someone, somewhere, will tell me that 'hero worship' is a bad thing -
as if that's what I was talking about. But I never, never, speak in terms of 'worship'. I wouldn't (
couldn't) 'worship' any human being, living or dead. And it's blindingly obvious that every human being has faults, even the best of us. I am quite baffled about why this issue so often crops up.
Because, by contrast, admiration, gratitude, and love are among the finest responses that human beings are capable of. Elgar the man was often a difficult companion and a poor friend, but I admire him immensely for all sorts of other reasons; I shall be forever grateful to him for the great changes his music has brought about in me; I feel a depth of affection and kinship with him through his music that I don't feel with any other composer (actually, it's not dissimilar to the feelings I have for my dearest friends). But this is a million light years away from 'hero worship'.
Why is there this confusion between something that on the one hand is banal and foolish (hero worship), and something that, on the other, is fine and intensely human (admiration and gratitude)? I don't get it.
Quote from: Elgarian on March 20, 2012, 05:34:44 AM
I'd like to use this comment, if I may, to express my sense of frustration. Whenever I talk about the artists I most admire, or am profoundly grateful to, or indeed (in a manner) love, someone, somewhere, will tell me that 'hero worship' is a bad thing - as if that's what I was talking about. But I never, never, speak in terms of 'worship'. I wouldn't (couldn't) 'worship' any human being, living or dead. And it's blindingly obvious that every human being has faults, even the best of us. I am quite baffled about why this issue so often crops up.
Because, by contrast, admiration, gratitude, and love are among the finest responses that human beings are capable of. Elgar the man was often a difficult companion and a poor friend, but I admire him immensely for all sorts of other reasons; I shall be forever grateful to him for the immense changes his music has brought about in me; I feel a depth of affection and kinship with him through his music that I don't feel with any other composer (actually, it's not dissimilar to the feelings I have for my dearest friends). But this is a million light years away from 'hero worship'.
Why is there this confusion between something that on the one hand is banal and foolish (hero worship), and something that, on the other, is fine and intensely human (admiration and gratitude)? I don't get it.
My hero!!
Oh, wait...
Quote from: MN Dave on March 20, 2012, 05:36:45 AM
My hero!!
Oh, wait...
Right, that does it. Now, you are
Doomed!
Quote from: MN Dave on March 20, 2012, 05:39:24 AM
0:)
Oh yes, I know what you're thinking: 'But it's my pleasure to be doomed'.
Well you just wait. That's all.
Yea, even Doom is contained in The Shed. For a limited time only, 10% off Doom . . . .
Quote from: Elgarian on March 20, 2012, 05:40:52 AM
Well you just wait. That's all.
This is easy. I'm
always waiting.
Nice dissonance between that post and your av.
Quote from: MN Dave on March 20, 2012, 05:43:20 AM
This is easy. I'm always waiting.
Waiting? That wasn't 'waiting'. This time you'll find out what
real waiting is!
The 10%-off promotional does not apply to Waiting.
Quote from: karlhenning on March 20, 2012, 05:42:53 AM
Yea, even Doom is contained in The Shed. For a limited time only, 10% off Doom . . . .
Although it might cost that bit extra (even with the discount), this is the best Doom there is.
Quote from: karlhenning on March 20, 2012, 05:53:37 AM
The 10%-off promotional does not apply to Waiting.
But if you wait long enough, it might.
Quote from: Elgarian on March 20, 2012, 05:53:46 AM
Although it might cost that bit extra (even with the discount), this is the best Doom there is.
The best Doom that money can buy!Quote from: Elgarian on March 20, 2012, 05:55:08 AM
But if you wait long enough, it might.
But wait! There's . . . .
My first classical hero was Johann Sebastian Bach. As a kid, I immensely enjoyed playing his little keyboard pieces, especially that famous Bourrée from the E-minor lute suite and the two Inventionen in C-Major and D-minor.
He continued to be my classical hero when I seriously began listening to classical music (radio, vinyl). During my teenage years, my fave Bach performer was Nikolaus Harnoncourt. So, he's kind of an early hero, too.
Thanks to Lucia Popp (she's also an early heroine), my first classical heroine was Susanna, bride-to-be of Figaro in Mozart's opera. I was rather jealous of that lucky b*st*rd .... he should have married his mother! :P
My first classical hero was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ;D If I seriously started loving classical music, it was because of his outstanding works, especially symphonies No.40 & 41, and Le Nozze di Figaro, which were the very first Mozart's pieces I listened to.
Though he had to share the position with Herbert von Karajan, who was the first conductor I knew and who became my favourite one from that moment; I've always enjoyed his performances so, so much, absolutely beautiful! ;D
(http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa159/Gurn_Blanston/haydn2-1.jpg)
Surprisingly enough, it actually was Haydn. My Dad had a LP with Symphonies 94 & 100 on it and even at 10 years old, I liked the hell out of it (and managed to shorten its lifespan for him too!). I think that's why, when I cam back to Classical 20 years ago, Haydn was where I started out again. :)
8)
Quote from: Gurnatron5500 on March 20, 2012, 06:22:17 AM
Surprisingly enough, it actually was Haydn.
You could not have known, but I am not surprised (and nice pun on the Hob. I:94)!
My first classical hero was most likely Bach, and the concertos, solo violin & cello music were the first classical music I loved.
Or it might have been Beethoven, too, with his 5th piano concerto.
Quote from: Elgarian on March 20, 2012, 05:34:44 AMWhy is there this confusion between something that on the one hand is banal and foolish (hero worship), and something that, on the other, is fine and intensely human (admiration and gratitude)? I don't get it.
Perhaps because some see something that isn't there, as they supply it from within themselves. It is not the fault of the one who admires another's work, but of the one who reads of the admiration and fails to see what is clearly stated.
I understand your frustration.
I might have found mine.
http://www.youtube.com/v/SJU0lC3iHaY
I would have to say Alban Berg. I have been listening to classical music for a couple of years when one day I happened upon the MET broadcast of Wozzeck. I was totally blown away. A few days later I stopped by a friend's place and told him about it. He played me the LP of Lulu. Wow!
OK, now Berg has moved down a few spots in my book, well below Mahler, Bach, etc. But he is still one of my favorite and I will always remember him as my first real hero in classical music.
Quote from: Gurnatron5500 on March 20, 2012, 06:22:17 AM
(http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa159/Gurn_Blanston/haydn2-1.jpg)
Surprisingly enough, it actually was Haydn.
I don't quite know why, Gurn, but reading this raised a warm smile, and a nod of understanding, and a feeling that all seems inexplicably right with the world today.
Quote from: owlice on March 20, 2012, 07:13:18 AM
Perhaps because some see something that isn't there, as they supply it from within themselves. It is not the fault of the one who admires another's work, but of the one who reads of the admiration and fails to see what is clearly stated.
I understand your frustration.
Of course here's the other side of the coin. Maybe it's worth being misunderstood for the sake of the heightened pleasure when one
is understood! Thanks.
Quote from: Elgarian on March 20, 2012, 07:56:49 AM
Of course here's the other side of the coin. Maybe it's worth being misunderstood for the sake of the heightened pleasure when one is understood! Thanks.
What? I don't understand.
Sarge
(* munches popcorn *)
If I said Hercules, would I be misunderstood?
Quote from: chasmaniac on March 20, 2012, 08:38:34 AM
If I said Hercules, would I be misunderstood?
;D :D ;D
Sarge
Shostakovich for me. When I was a young teenager, I'd take the subway from Revere to Boston (Mass.), walk over to the Boston Public Library, listen to a whole bunch of recordings in a listening booth and inevitably take a few Shostakovich LP's back home. That was back in the late 1950's when the LP was king. Now we've regressed all the way to digital downloads - tiny products for humans who keep getting bigger.
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on March 20, 2012, 08:04:36 AM
What? I don't understand.
Sarge
I think we may have now arrived at the
third side of the coin, Sarge.
Quote from: karlhenning on March 20, 2012, 08:26:26 AM
(* munches popcorn *)
Is that the special Doom-flavoured popcorn you've got there, Karl?
Quote from: Elgarian on March 20, 2012, 08:51:33 AM
I think we may have now arrived at the third side of the coin, Sarge.
Cool. I love that little thin band that runs all the way around.
That's the side that one uses to do the spinning thing with coins that I like.
New poll: do you like the ridged third side or the smooth third side?
(Heh heh heh. I said "ridged.")
Quote from: owlice on March 20, 2012, 07:13:18 AM
Perhaps because some see something that isn't there, as they supply it from within themselves. It is not the fault of the one who admires another's work, but of the one who reads of the admiration and fails to see what is clearly stated.
I understand your frustration.
Except that nobody was saying anything about Elgarian, so perhaps the assumptions are from another direction. :D And some people somewhere could well go over the top and beyond the music and perhaps supply things from themselves rather than that which is in the music. Does it matter if someone does? Maybe not, except in so far as some may find it limiting in discussion.
Quote from: Marc on March 20, 2012, 05:59:54 AM
My first classical hero was Johann Sebastian Bach. As a kid, I immensely enjoyed playing his little keyboard pieces, especially that famous Bourrée from the E-minor lute suite and the two Inventionen in C-Major and D-minor.
He continued to be my classical hero when I seriously began listening to classical music (radio, vinyl). During my teenage years, my fave Bach performer was Nikolaus Harnoncourt. So, he's kind of an early hero, too.
Thanks to Lucia Popp (she's also an early heroine), my first classical heroine was Susanna, bride-to-be of Figaro in Mozart's opera. I was rather jealous of that lucky b*st*rd .... he should have married his mother! :P
Bach, Harnoncourt, Susanna, Popp.
Suddenly I realize (again):
first loves are eternal. :-*
(https://gregscottmoeller.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/duperrued.jpg?w=500&h=271)
SuperRued
Quote from: starrynight on March 20, 2012, 11:18:31 AM
Except that nobody was saying anything about Elgarian, so perhaps the assumptions are from another direction
As I explained, I was using the opportunity to raise an issue that has often puzzled and frustrated me about the common assumption that hero worship and admiration are the same thing, and I was discussing the matter in general terms. (I regard the issue as an important one, which is why I raised it.) I'd say there's quite a big difference between what I said (and why I said it), and what you think I said (and why you think I said it).
Oh, I think so.
Quote from: starrynight on March 20, 2012, 11:18:31 AM
Except that nobody was saying anything about Elgarian, so perhaps the assumptions are from another direction.
Right, and no one said, nor implied, that something was said about Elgarian.
If I may, I'd like to take this opportunity to say something about Elgarian.
I like Elgarian. I like reading his (her) posts, even when I disagree with what she (he) says.
I also wish English had a gender neutral pronoun other than "it." Or that "it" didn't sound silly when referring to humans.
In my time remaining, I'd like to say how much I enjoy Karl's new avatar.
Thank you, and good night.
Classic hero:
(http://img4.myrecipes.com/i/may1/hero-sandwich-ck-223242-l.jpg)
Quote from: karlhenning on March 20, 2012, 03:18:06 PM
Classic hero:
(http://img4.myrecipes.com/i/may1/hero-sandwich-ck-223242-l.jpg)
I need to know where I can buy a sandwich with a sparkler on top. Always been a fantasy of mine.
Shosty
Shasta
Quote from: springrite on March 20, 2012, 07:49:38 AM
I would have to say Alban Berg. I have been listening to classical music for a couple of years when one day I happened upon the MET broadcast of Wozzeck. I was totally blown away. A few days later I stopped by a friend's place and told him about it. He played me the LP of Lulu. Wow!
OK, now Berg has moved down a few spots in my book, well below Mahler, Bach, etc. But he is still one of my favorite and I will always remember him as my first real hero in classical music.
Some would call Berg an anti-hero. ;) :D, but I love his music so much.
Paganini.
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 20, 2012, 06:12:00 PM
Some would call Berg an anti-hero. ;) :D, but I love his music so much.
We seem to share a love for the anti-hero type ;D
Quote from: springrite on March 20, 2012, 09:46:01 PM
We seem to share a love for the anti-hero type ;D
So it would seem...:)
Quote from: James on March 20, 2012, 04:14:18 PM
I agree, it is odd when you see grown adults participating in "hero-worship" Ugh ..
Kids & young adolescents OK, but they eventually grow out of it (you'd hope) ..
American culture seems to be big on this sort-of thing.
I don't quite get why some participate on a thread only to try to subvert it with their own (mis-)interpretation of the thread's subject, to sneer at it (love for the straw man?), and gee, this is suddenly reminding me of something from years ag... well, never mind; let us instead look again to the thread's title question:
Your first classical 'hero'? Quotation marks included!!
And it stands to reason that... oh, look, as people have posted, their
first classical 'hero' was identified in their childhood/when an adolescent:
Quote from: owlice on March 19, 2012, 11:38:45 PM
... when a child ...
... when a child ...
... when a teenager...
Quote from: Marc on March 20, 2012, 05:59:54 AM
...As a kid...
... During my teenage years...
Quote from: Gurnatron5500 on March 20, 2012, 06:22:17 AM
... even at 10 years old...
Quote from: Bulldog on March 20, 2012, 08:50:41 AM
When I was a young teenager ...
And if one doesn't have a
first classical 'hero'? There
are other threads, but perhaps I'd just be returning one rudeness with other should I point that out, so I won't.
Quote from: some guy on March 20, 2012, 02:56:35 PM
I like Elgarian. I like reading his (her) posts, even when I disagree with what she (he) says.
Hang on. My dear chap, does this mean that in all the discussions we've had over the years, you were sometimes
not persuaded by the unassailability of my logical arguments? I mean ... I'm cut to the quick!
I think mine would be an individual who did a lot to introduce classical music to me - he was a country/folk musician, with a lot of rock influence on his music, but what he mostly listened to at that time was classical, especially Bach and Stravinsky. He'd majored in music in college, and he knew his stuff, introducing me to stuff like Schoenberg and Crumb and ... lord, so long ago I can't remember.
Quote from: Elgarian on March 21, 2012, 01:43:02 AM
Hang on. My dear chap, does this mean that in all the discussions we've had over the years, you were sometimes not persuaded by the unassailability of my logical arguments? I mean ... I'm cut to the quick!
I disagree with that entirely.
Quote from: karlhenning on March 21, 2012, 02:12:25 AM
I disagree with that entirely.
That's OK though Karl, because you're my hero.
(* bows *)
Quote from: Elgarian on March 21, 2012, 01:43:02 AM
Hang on. My dear chap, does this mean that in all the discussions we've had over the years, you were sometimes not persuaded by the unassailability of my logical arguments? I mean ... I'm cut to the quick!
Well, if my brain were better.... ;)
Quote from: karlhenning on March 21, 2012, 09:00:07 AM
(* bows *)
Isn't it
I who am supposed to do the bowing, Karl? Or are the rules for hero worship different these days?
Quote from: some guy on March 21, 2012, 09:12:08 AM
Well, if my brain were better.... ;)
Well, then you'd win more arguments ... but maybe we'd
love you less. Gosh, life's tough.
[It is
always good to swap a few words with you, actually. But you know that.]
Quote from: Elgarian on March 21, 2012, 09:15:12 AM
Isn't it I who am supposed to do the bowing, Karl? Or are the rules for hero worship different these days?
Hang on, I think this may be some lettuce in my ear . . . .
Quote from: Elgarian on March 20, 2012, 12:58:55 PM
As I explained, I was using the opportunity to raise an issue that has often puzzled and frustrated me about the common assumption that hero worship and admiration are the same thing, and I was discussing the matter in general terms. (I regard the issue as an important one, which is why I raised it.) I'd say there's quite a big difference between what I said (and why I said it), and what you think I said (and why you think I said it).
To be honest I don't think I was replying to you, someguy just brought up the point so I ended up elaborating on it as I have before on the board. :D