Classical/Traditional Music

[Carpe Mortem]

Once Upon a Time in the West? Who said it wasn't great? The only thing it lacks is Clint Eastwood but otherwise it's just as great as any of the spaghetti westerns

People have said it's kinda boring. Never did end up watching it, good reminder.

 

[Onder]

It's like the biggest western classic. Among Good Bad and Magnificent Seven.

 

[Draehl]

Been listening to this station in Fallout 4. There's some nice contrast between this beautiful music and wandering around a wasteland capping super mutants and raiders.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

On the way to St.Louis on Saturday night, my girlfriend and I listened to Mozart. Not my favorite. Way too happy for my liking

 

[Onder]

I've always appreciated Bernstein for his conducting but I've never paid too much attention to his own compositions. I mean sure I've heard West Side Story, but that's the kind of thing that is almost hard to avoid even if you try. It's strange because he's one of my favorite people and I've listened to like a majority of the common classical repertoire with him. Today I'm breaking the ices with the Chichester Psalms / some Symphonies cd.

Do you guys have a favorite Bernie? Are you fans of this Bernie's writing? I'm sure you are.

 

[viewerfromnihil]

I've given a few of his compositions some listens and nothing has caught my ear. It's too bad, because I like everything else about him. His Harvard lectures on "The Twentieth Century Crisis" are superb.

 

[Onder]

Boulez died.

Not much more to be said here. Probably the most important figure of classical music that was still alive. Now we should only listen to music composed or conducted by him for like the next week or so.

EDIT: Starting with something not very typical for him, but week is a long time, we have time to get to the most important stuff:

 

[viewerfromnihil]

His Prometheus is superb. His interpretations of Schoenberg are generally my go to. Also, his interpretation of Mahler's 9th blows Bernstein's out of the water. I'll have to put on a few of his compositions and performances tonight.

 

[Onder]

His Prometheus is superb. His interpretations of Schoenberg are generally my go to. Also, his interpretation of Mahler's 9th blows Bernstein's out of the water. I'll have to put on a few of his compositions and performances tonight.

I'm listening to his seventh Mahler right now. The entire set is perfect. I have plenty of his Schoenberg in my iTunes as well.

Do you favor any of his compositions in particular?

 

[CiG]

Once Upon A Time In The West doesn't need Clint Eastwood.

 

[viewerfromnihil]

I'm listening to his seventh Mahler right now. The entire set is perfect. I have plenty of his Schoenberg in my iTunes as well.

Do you favor any of his compositions in particular?

I'm actually not a big fan of his compositions, but put on a few last night anyways. Post-Schoenberg serialism is generally just too hard to get into (Webern excepted). From what I understand, his second piano sonata is supposed to be his best. As far as total serialism goes, it's a good listen, but it's still strict serialism. Granted, Boulez's serialism is still more expressive sounding than, say, Babbitt's, but it takes total concentration to into, which requires a certain mood and devotion to truly appreciate, and I don't have what it takes to do it for long, unless you catch me on a night with Absinthe.

 

[Matt]

As a former concert pianist and organist I generally listen to a lot of solo organ and piano pieces. Lizt, Vierne, Widor, Chopin etc. Here's some cool pieces I used to play and shit

 

[Onder]

I have to bump this thread to report from an amazing concert I was to on thursday. Czech Phil. I suppose some of you are familiar with Péter Eötvös, well he was conducting Ligeti Melodien, Lutosławski symphony 3 and his own concerto for percussion. I'm familiar with all those three composers and the whole thing was incredible but I got especially absorbed in the Lutosławski and I really need to listen to more of his shit.

I'm now listening to one of the Chandos cds of his orchestral works to catch up.

But yeah, Ligeti ruled as well obviously. Ligeti is God.

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

God damn it, y'all need some roots music. American folk, country, and blues has produced some sublime stuff. Rev. Gary Davis is one of the most mindblowing guitarists I've ever heard, between his virtuosic technique, colorful sense of tonality and refusal to "cheat" (meaning he emphatically insisted on never using attachments like capos or slides to acheive those kinds of sounds). To top it all off he was a blind man, excellent singer, and a titanic influence on American rockers of the 60's like Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead. There's Lead Belly too, another virtuosic guitarist, the difference being he was a folk singer, he wasn't blind, and played a 12 string, not a 6 string. Can't forget Charley Patton either, great guitarist, an influence on almost every great Delta bluesman, and the owner of one of the fiercest, low and growly sets of pipes in blues history.

 

[Onder]

Metropolitan Opera suspends James Levine after sex abuse claims.

Kevin Spacey shit all over again.

 

[viewerfromnihil]

Metropolitan Opera suspends James Levine after sex abuse claims.

Kevin Spacey shit all over again.

Yikes.

On a related note, the orchestra in Münster put on a nice little performance of Brahm's first symphony last month, with an out of place atonal piece preceding it. I cherish those moments, looking at the unsuspecting listeners in the crowd, shifting in their seats like they're being violated and counting every second to the piece's end.

I'll be back tomorrow treating myself to a date to see another odd combination of composers, John Adams, Stravinsky, and Carl Maria von Weber.

 

[Onder]

Listening to Klaus Lang's Missa Beati Pauperes Spiritu. A modern take on the good old mass. Didn't expect it to be this calm and peaceful. Very nice piece of music.

It's like combination of some old baroque mass and ambient in the end.

 

[viewerfromnihil]

@Onder Are you familiar with Arvo Pärt? I discovered him a few months ago and have been quite impressed with his work.

 

[Onder]

@Onder Are you familiar with Arvo Pärt? I discovered him a few months ago and have been quite impressed with his work.

Yeah a lot of the stuff on ECM is pretty good. I don't find some of that uber minimalistic stuff like For Alina very impressive, it can get pretty tedious. Choral and orchestral stuff can sound cool though, like Adam's Lament or Lamentate.

I still haven't heard some of the ECM set, like the Miserere cd.

 

[viewerfromnihil]

Yeah a lot of the stuff on ECM is pretty good. I don't find some of that uber minimalistic stuff like For Alina very impressive, it can get pretty tedious. Choral and orchestral stuff can sound cool though, like Adam's Lament or Lamentate.

I still haven't heard some of the ECM set, like the Miserere cd.

Agreed. I'm not much of a fan of minimalism generally and had the same impression from that piece. In any case, I do really enjoy his Tabula Rasa and the symphonies of his that I've heard. I haven't listened to Miserere yet.