A Pig Says Hi

[Polednice]

Polednice, I'm jealous about how many people from talkclassical welcomed you to the forum that didn't welcome me.



Edit: Nevermind. It turns out they showed up on my welcome thread too. Eventually. Anyway, we're going to have a good time here, I hope.

It's the familiarity of my wonderful forum name that brought them here.

[Karl Henning]

I've certainly had an interest in Sibelius because I'm a fan of Scandinavian culture generally, although I'm yet to make a breakthrough with him. I went to a very off-putting concert of his 5th Symphony once, and my opinion of him hasn't recovered since - the third movement was lovely, obviously, but I found the rest rather rambling and non-descript. I'll try some of the others you mention.

Might have been a lackluster performance, or it might have been sunspots, or it might have been any number of mischances.  The Fifth is dynamite!  Give it another shake sometime.

[Karl Henning]

Polednice, I'm jealous about how many people from talkclassical welcomed you to the forum that didn't welcome me.

Well, if it's any consolation (and it may not be) I've never been to talkclassical.

Fact is, GMG is such a grand place (IMO), I've never been curious about talkclassical.

There are many other avenues where I do explore a vibrant curiosity, of course.

[Elgarian]

it might have been sunspots

As usual, straight to the heart of the matter, Karl. Sunspots are associated with solar flares, and solar flares with increased solar wind, and increased solar wind means extra bombardment of the Earth's atmosphere by charged particles. And that blows the snow off the trees in Finland, and melts the ice. Ergo, Sibelius's 5th sounds flabby. It's just schoolboy Physics, really.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Welcome, and I hope you contribute many interesting listening notes.

[Karl Henning]

The header for this thread makes me smile, thinking of that bit of audio vérité on Lumpy Gravy: "I hear you've been having trouble with pigs and ponies" . . .

[North Star]

Might have been a lackluster performance, or it might have been sunspots, or it might have been any number of mischances.  The Fifth is dynamite!  Give it another shake sometime.

Serious table-pounding!

[Brian]

Hello, Polednice!

I'm 22, consider Dvorak my favorite composer, blog like a madman (nice site, by the way), and took an MA (actually MRes) in early modern English literature in the UK. But we may well not be the same person, as I'm Brian and I live in Texas now.

Of the four symphonic poems, Polednice was the first to be my favorite, but then my favorite was Holoubek for quite some time. Now I think I'm on Zlatý kolovrat most of the time, although the repetition in Vodník keeps getting more and more appealing the more I listen to Janacek.

[madaboutmahler]

My dislikes include late, bombastic Romanticism (so no Mahler for me, though I can stand a bit of Bruckner), and, though there are a few Handelian exceptions, I'm not very keen on Baroque music.

After some wonderful concerts I've attended recently, my tastes have been developing more for composers like Prokofiev and Shostakovich, and - particularly because of a composition I'm working on at the moment - I have a particular interest in first-half 20th century English composers. So far, I very much enjoy Vaughan Williams and some Britten, but I am yet to be taken aback by Elgar.
So hi!

This is not a good start.... 
But I am also a massive fan of the other composers you mention as favourites, so I am sure we'll get on rather well... maybe you'll come to love Mahler some day.... otherwise I'll fetch my Mahler hammer again.

Welcome!

[Mirror Image]

well... maybe you'll come to love Mahler some day

I doubt it!

[TheGSMoeller]

<---------A Monkey says "Welcome"

This place could use more animals. 
(not really sure what this statement means  )

[Karl Henning]

And if the animals are made of fabric, so much the better.

[TheGSMoeller]

And if the animals are made of fabric, so much the better.

Yes, also a much easier clean up.

[jowcol]

And if the animals are made of fabric, so much the better.

We all have our personal tastes.  Some of us prefer those that are inflatable, since they  provide both convenience and discretion to the discriminating animal lover.

[Polednice]

Hello, Polednice!

I'm 22, consider Dvorak my favorite composer, blog like a madman (nice site, by the way), and took an MA (actually MRes) in early modern English literature in the UK. But we may well not be the same person, as I'm Brian and I live in Texas now.

Of the four symphonic poems, Polednice was the first to be my favorite, but then my favorite was Holoubek for quite some time. Now I think I'm on Zlatý kolovrat most of the time, although the repetition in Vodník keeps getting more and more appealing the more I listen to Janacek.

It's great that we share such tastes and interests! Polednice is still my favourite of his tone poems, perhaps for purely sentimental reasons, but I do love Holoubek as well - I think that has a more tender lyricism to it. Vodnik is great fun too, but I'm yet to give Zlaty kolovrat a proper listen.

I always like finding people who say Dvorak is their favourite - people always like him, but they never seem to put him in their top five. I think he's just amazing.

Oh, and as for forum animals, clay FTW, but I can see the bonus in inflatable creatures...

http://www.youtube.com/v/e6raVzrbqrM

[jowcol]

Oh, and as for forum animals, clay FTW, but I can see the bonus in inflatable creatures...

http://www.youtube.com/v/e6raVzrbqrM

That is the type of moving love ballad we need more of on this forum.  I'm touched that you shared it with me.

[Pierre]

From one pig to another, hi!

I very much approve of your current love of Prokofiev, Vaughan Williams and Britten. You may well find yourself falling for Elgar - the way in for me was his gentler, less (dare I say it) bombastic works like Nursery Suite, and Wand of Youth which is both fun and rather touching. But meanwhile there's so much to discover in those first three composers - have fun!