What are you listening to now?

[Peter]

Listening to bits and pieces from the "Hall of Fame" programme on Classic FM which takes place each Easter. Listeners vote for the "Top 300 Classical Works." I usually manage to hear some of it each year. It annoys the hell out of me but I have a sort of awful fascination for it.

Ghastly condition you've got there Michael - try some Bartok!

[Michael]

Ghastly condition you've got there Michael - try some Bartok!

Or Cage! I don't think Bartok has appeared once in the 300!

[Bonn1827]

Michael and Peter save me! We are listening to our national FM "Classic" (how I hate that word) network and a "first experiences" of classical music program: you know the sort of thing, a countdown of sorts. The usual suspects, i.e. octogenarians, talk about how they first learned about "classic music" - usually during the war, and their boring, petty chatter all about that. I loathe these programs as they are a sort of "Reader's Digest" (do any of you know that erstwhile magazine?) compendium of "pop" classics. Herbert von Karajan features heavily (as he is usually the only conductor known). God help me this Easter, when we should have some of the works mentioned elsewhere on this blog. I am at my holiday home by the sea and, sadly, didn't bring me CDs with me. I'm craving "Diabelli Variations" or similar. Seriously, it is making me cranky and irritable - such are the "withdrawal symptoms"!!!!

[Peter]

Or Cage! I don't think Bartok has appeared once in the 300!

No somehow I didn't think Bartok would be on the list - probably give most classic fm listeners a heart attack! Now Cage is a very good choice Michael especially 4'33 which must be the most practical piece ever 'written' as anyone can perform it anywhere and it's different every time - just make sure you've got a watch handy - I'm particularly fond of it during PM's questions, especially the humorous first movement which provides a welcome contrast with the sedate 3rd movement!

[Peter]

Michael and Peter save me! We are listening to our national FM "Classic" (how I hate that word) network and a "first experiences" of classical music program: you know the sort of thing, a countdown of sorts. The usual suspects, i.e. octogenarians, talk about how they first learned about "classic music" - usually during the war, and their boring, petty chatter all about that. I loathe these programs as they are a sort of "Reader's Digest" (do any of you know that erstwhile magazine?) compendium of "pop" classics. Herbert von Karajan features heavily (as he is usually the only conductor known). God help me this Easter, when we should have some of the works mentioned elsewhere on this blog. I am at my holiday home by the sea and, sadly, didn't bring me CDs with me. I'm craving "Diabelli Variations" or similar. Seriously, it is making me cranky and irritable - such are the "withdrawal symptoms"!!!!

Your only refuge may be BBC radio 3 live! The listen live link is near the top on the right.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/

[Bonn1827]

Re Cage: oh very droll, Peter! You know there'd be audiences around who wouldn't understand Cage's music!!!!! (That includes me!)

Thanks for the link to BBC3 - it's apparent that you are absolutely spoiled for choice over there in the UK!! As we speak I'll bet Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee are talking on our national FM network about how they first heard a Beethoven symphony - opening notes of 5th - and what a "revelation" it was!! Or Litolff's "Scherzo Symphonique"!! I think we need to accept that people do like "classical music" and move on from there...!!! But I think this is really a cynical move to shore up listeners for the network - resulting in a huge dumbing-down effect! I'll be accused of being a snob, but I want to know where serious art music lovers are to go!

Do you know today they played the Moog Synthesizer music of Bach!!

[Michael]

Michael and Peter save me! We are listening to our national FM "Classic" (how I hate that word) network and a "first experiences" of classical music program: you know the sort of thing, a countdown of sorts. The usual suspects, i.e. octogenarians, talk about how they first learned about "classic music" - usually during the war, and their boring, petty chatter all about that. I loathe these programs as they are a sort of "Reader's Digest" (do any of you know that erstwhile magazine?) compendium of "pop" classics. Herbert von Karajan features heavily (as he is usually the only conductor known). God help me this Easter, when we should have some of the works mentioned elsewhere on this blog. I am at my holiday home by the sea and, sadly, didn't bring me CDs with me. I'm craving "Diabelli Variations" or similar. Seriously, it is making me cranky and irritable - such are the "withdrawal symptoms"!!!!

I actually don't mind people talking about their first experiences of classical music but what drives me mad about this particular poll are "the usual suspects". Does anyone ever get tired of "Pachelbel's Canon" or Bruch's violin concerto or the Radetzky March? (In fairness, I must admit that Beethoven features heavily in the Top Ten every year and maybe that's why I listen - in the hope that a string quartet will creep in there one day.)
I don't actively dislike the popular pieces but they are played to death.
(I wonder could I get an appearance on "Grumpy Old Men?")
And don't ever travel again without CDs!

[Bonn1827]

OK Michael, I won't forget the CDs!!

I listened last night to BBC 3 and they had a wonderful "new releases" program about a collection of CDs of Richter in Hungary, covering 30 years of his astonishing career. I think the co-host was once at reviewer in "Gramophone", to which I subscribed from the early 80's for some 20 years or so. It was great to hear all this but I was saddened to hear about the master's declining health and performance issues - which I hadn't heard discussed before.

The ensuing program had as a guest a hero - Stephen Kovacevich. I was shocked to learn about his "minor stroke" in 2007!! He says he's fine now and I heard him in recital in Sydney last November. He's such an intelligent and interesting musician!! How I remember him from my youth when I worked in ABC Music Department and he was practicing on the floor below in preparation for his Sydney concerts.

Re; the lists thing. The only list I like these days is the Franz variety of Liszt!
As my musical tastes have evolved I've found myself happier leaving "popular" classics behind me. They actively irritate me, especially when rather cloyingly described as "lovely", "beautiful", "nice". For me, music is always far more than this - I can't help myself, sorry!! And the idea of incessant "stories" about "first encounters" - well, as I said before, a cynical ploy to engage more listeners and "dumb down" the network in the process.

[Roehre]

Good Friday:

Wagner:
Parsifal – Prelude and Karfreitagszauber

Ostrcil:
Calvary-variations opus 24 (1928)

Gubaidulina:
7 Words (1982)

Kuula:
Stabat Mater (1918/ compl.Madetoja 1919)

On R3:
MacMillan:
St.John Passion


Yesterday:

Keuris:
Clarinet quintet (1988)

Schnittke:
String Quartet no.3 (1983)

Rieti:
Serenata per violino e piccola orchestra (1931)

(Hear and Now)
Kurt Schwertsik:
...in keltischer Manier... Concerto for Alphorn and Small Orchestra op. 27 (1975)
Irdische Klange Symphony op.37 (1980)
Uluru op.64 (1992)
Funf Naturstücke op.45 (1984)
Mit den Riesenstiefeln op.60 (1991)

[Chris]

Happy Easter, all!

Today I am finishing up my journey through the Bach cantatas. It has been quite a ride - so much wonderful music. I would say the biggest surprise and one that really stuck with me through the whole thing was BWV 209 - a secular cantata (none of which I had ever heard before) that was really wonderful. The sinfonia and that soprano aria are still in my head despite all the music I have listened to since then.

My thanks to Bach for leaving us such great music and to Ton Koopman for finding a way to complete his project and bring us all these excellent recordings.

[Roehre]

Today:

French early polyphony (11th C):
Mass for Easter

Ruppe:
Muziek voor Paaschfeest 1797

Beethoven:
Variations on “See the conquering hero comes” WoO 45

Karlowicz:
Symphony in e-minor opus 7 “Resurrection” (1902)

Saxton:
Music to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ (1988)

[Peter]

Mozart's glorious piano concerto no.23 in A major - glorious sunny outer movements separated by that sublime slow movement.

[Megan]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Rondo (finale) from Piano concerto no.22 in E flat major
Performer: Annie Fischer (piano) Performer: Philharmonia Orchestra Performer: Wolfgang Sawallisch (conductor)


I thought this piece sounded very Beethovenesque in that it has a very intense brooding quality.

[Bonn1827]

Oh, and how we love that brooding!!!

[Megan]

Johannes Brahms - Ave Maria, Op. 12
Performer: NDR (North German Radio) Chorus (female section) Performer: Gerhard Dickel (organ)