Music = Color

[Dana]

Brahms 3rd Symphony = The color of the trees in Autumn
Bach C-major Violin Sonata = Blue
Brahms 2nd Viola/Clarinet Sonata = Dark Orange
Vaughan-Williams Sea Symphony = Hazy green
Rebecca Clarke Viola Sonata = Red

Contribute.

[The Six]

What's with these terse commands on the internet these days? An order like "Contribute." doesn't make me want to do so.

[eyeresist]

Brahms 3rd Symphony = The color of the trees in Autumn
Vaughan-Williams Sea Symphony = Hazy green

Brahms 3rd symphony = mossy old stone in late afternoon sun
VW Sea Symphony = bilge


Brahms 4th symphony = jet black with silver highlights (outer movements), sea gray (inner movements)
VW 9th symphony = darkest shades of blue and green

Mahler 4th symphony = light blue; 5th symphony = brassy ; 6th symphony = deep green; 7th symphony = dark blue; 8th symphony = all shades of red.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Brahms 4th symphony = jet black with silver highlights (outer movements), sea gray (inner movements)

Strangely, I am influenced by external factors when feeling the "color" of music. My first recording of Brahms' 4th was Carlos Kleiber on a DG LP. Because it was the "yellow label," I thought of it as "golden" or brass-colored music; because the cover art was a steel-gray photo of Kleiber, there were some steel-gray characteristics to the sound too.

[eyeresist]

Nothing strange about that at all! There are probably a variety of factors that influence the perceived "colour" of music, beyond its harmony and instrumentation.

[karlhenning]

What's with these terse commands on the internet these days? An order like "Contribute." doesn't make me want to do so.

Right. But it's a nice change from Discuss.

[karlhenning]

Nothing strange about that at all! There are probably a variety of factors that influence the perceived "colour" of music, beyond its harmony and instrumentation.

Yes, but it seems a bit strange to me, to attribute a single color to a 40-minute multimovement work which includes a great deal of contrast.

Matisse, The Conversation = G-flat Major

[ChamberNut]

Vaughan Williams - A Sea Symphony - Pea Soup Green

[karlhenning]

RAY!!!

There's always one, isn't there 

[ChamberNut]

Schubert - String Quintet in C (bright sunny yellow and clear azure sky)

Brahms - Clarinet Quintet (multi-coloured autumn leaves)

[ChamberNut]

RAY!!!

There's always one, isn't there 

0:)  I didn't want to disappoint you, Karl. 

[ChamberNut]

Shostakovich - Symphony No. 10 RED

[jochanaan]

Strangely, I have never associated music with color unless some external factors--often record jackets--suggested it to me.  To me, color is one thing, music another.  And like Karl, I cannot see how such multifaceted compositions as Brahms' Fourth Symphony and Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony can be associated with ONE color...

(I might add that I do not share the antipathy to A Sea Symphony that has been expressed on this thread.  It's a big, late-Romantic work to be sure, so I can see why it makes some who prefer smaller, leaner works "seasick," but I like it a lot.  And I cannot imagine a better recording than the classic Adrian Boult/LPO from--I believe--the 1950s.)

[rappy]

Brahms 3rd Symphony = The color of the trees in Autumn

Wrong.

Brahms 1st Symphony = black = winter
Brahms 2nd Symphony = white = spring
Brahms 3rd Symphony = green = summer
Brahms 4rd Symphony = yellow = autumn

[mahler10th]

Michael Torke
Colours

It's a veritable prism full of colours.   

[greg]

Shostakovich - Symphony No. 10 RED

BLACK

[Opus106]

BWV 846, by Glenn Gould

It's a darkened room. A kitchen, I think. But there's a window at the other end, and light streaming in from the outside just manages to illuminate a silvery metallic sink. The tap has not been closed properly and I hear the water dripping.

(Generally BWV 846 evokes in me the scene of a clear stream of water flowing over small rocks.)

[DavidRoss]

I don't suffer (enjoy?) synesthesia and I'm not aware of colors coming to mind when I listen to music, but I'll pay attention next time and let you know. 

[Florestan]

I don't want to spoil the party, but the frequent association of Brahms with autumnal colors is a stereotype. 

[DavidW]

I don't suffer (enjoy?) synesthesia and I'm not aware of colors coming to mind when I listen to music, but I'll pay attention next time and let you know. 

I think synesthesia requires a brain tumor.  Since we are sound in mind and body will simply have to enjoy the music as is.