Hello from New Zealand

[Crassus]

Hi everyone,

As the heading states I'm from New Zealand. I'm a Business Analyst by profession who first started listening to serious music when I was 15 (44 years ago). Quite honestly listening to great music has been a big part of my life and been important soul food and has sustained me during the dark times.

My taste in composers and musical genre's/styles is extensive though my first love is Mozart, as I've got older I now rank J. S. Bach on the same level.
Some of the other composers I like are:
Beethoven (especially the String Quartets)
Schubert
Haydn
Brahms
Wagner (love the music but not the man)
Bruckner
Mahler (I don't buy into the neurotic thing as much as others seem to)
Sibelius
Bartok
Berg, Webern, Schoenberg
Tchaikovsky
Prokofiev (love his piano music)
Shostakovich

Favourite conductors
Carlos Kleiber, Karajan, and Furtwangler

Favourite Pianists
Gilels, Richter, Brendel, and Zimerman

Other things about me:
History fascinates me (anything from ancient through to modern history)
I'm a political junkie
I love great cinema (not modern Hollywood blockbusters)

[North Star]

Welcome to GMG, Crassus!

[david johnson]

Greetings and welcome. 

[Mirror Image]

Welcome aboard! I hope you enjoy yourself here. Fantastic list of composers, btw.

[Ken B]

Hail Marcus Licinius, and welcome.

PS, you might want to avoid the Parthian thread.

[aligreto]

Hello and welcome. With an appreciation of such a range of composers as you list you should enjoy yourself here 

[Camphy]

Welcome!

[mc ukrneal]

Welcome and enjoy yourself!

[Spineur]

Welcome !

With your musical tastes you will have many friends here.
I was in New Zealand a couple years ago around Christmas.  Did 4 o the great walks: Tongariro, Wanganui river, Kepler Track and Routeburn.  Great fun !!

[SimonNZ]

Welcome! Which part of NZ are you in? (if its okay to ask, its fine if you'd rather not say)

[ritter]

A warm welcome from the antipodes!

Hope you have a good time here on GMG.

Regards,

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Woohoo another 2nd Viennese school fan! Welcome to GMG!

[Hollywood]

Hi there Crassus. Greetings from Mozart's Vienna. Welcome to the forum. 

[Ken B]

Hi there Crassus. Greetings from Mozart's Vienna. Welcome to the forum. 

Hey, LTNS! Welcome back to you too?

[Crassus]

Many thanks for the warm welcome everyone!!

[bhodges]

And another welcome from me, Crassus. Quite an eclectic list of composers there (= good). Hope you enjoy yourself!

--Bruce

[Andante]

Gday crassus, Similar tastes to mine, where about in Gods Own? not a jafa! 

[vandermolen]

Welcome from me too.
Do you like the music of your compatriot Douglas Lilburn?
His first two symphonies and Aotearoa Overture are favourites of mine.

[Andante]

Is it just me or is Lilburn NZs Sibelius? 

He studied under Ralph Vaughn Williams.

[SimonNZ]

I know that 

I mean that he seems to me to have that sort of cultural idol that Sibelius does. Granted, he's not as popular as Sibelius but still.

I haven't noticed or heard anything like that. The very few times I hear him mentioned by locals its largely to express indifference - perhaps after hearing him they assume he's a Brit who settled here as an adult. It always surprises me when people from elsewehere speak of him in glowing terms (not that I have anything against him).

Someone like Gareth Farr seems to get mentioned much more regularly as a homegrown composer to be proud of.

edit: on the other hand, the biography of Lilburn that University Of Canterbury published a few years ago was actually a good seller - so maybe there's more interest than I hear about from just my small circle of classical friends etc

http://www.cup.canterbury.ac.nz/catalogue/Douglas_Lilburn.shtml