What are you listening to now?

[Peter]

Schubert piano sonata in A minor Op.42 - quite a rarely performed work but certainly a great sonata and well worth getting to know. It lacks the immediacy I think of some of the earlier sonatas but repeat listenings reveal its subtleties.

[Sorrano]

Preston, what was your impression of the Mozart Concerto?

I listened to the #25, which is probably my favorite of them, and quite enjoyed the rendition. Also, listened to Clementi's Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3. The first, I thought was better, but I did enjoy both.

[Preston]

I was surprised by the darker themes in the 1st and 3rd movements when I first heard it. I guess I was just not expecting them. I like the 3rd mov. a lot. Overall, I enjoyed it- and think it is time for another box set- Mozart. Thanks for asking, Sorrano.

I am currently listening to and reading a little about the 25th concerto... I have never heard it either.

[Sorrano]

I've been listening to Bach's Moose Quartet (Bach as in P. D. Q.), with the "Muss es sein?" (Is it a muss?) and "Es muss sein" (It is a muss!).

[Megan]

Haydn's Emperor Quartet.

[Megan]

Rachmaninov's Vespers.

[Quijote]

LvB Eroica, the Scherzo : a super, foot-stomping (at the right pace) movement that I danced to with my young daughter of 6 years. What fun ! Who needs to sit in a stuffy concert hall when you can play it at nearly ear-splitting volume on the Hi Fi. Besides, it annoys my (French) neighbours no end.

[Sorrano]

Sounds to me like a great way to enjoy the music!

[Preston]

I've been listening to Bach's Moose Quartet (Bach as in P. D. Q.), with the "Muss es sein?" (Is it a muss?) and "Es muss sein" (It is a muss!).

Sorrano, I had to comment because everytime I see this post of yours I start laughing!

The moose quartet- Is it a moose? It must be a moose!

LOL! Literally, I am laughing now! Thanks for that joke.

[Preston]

LvB Eroica, the Scherzo... I danced to with my young daughter of 6 years. What fun !

That sounds like it will become a beautiful memory Philip. It is always good to get things like that on video camera!

[Sorrano]

This morning it was Ives' Symphony No. 3. For some reason I had the urge to go to Church.

Anyone else an Ives fan?

[Sorrano]

This morning the radio presented the Overture to "Das Liebesverbot", as well as the Prelude to "Parsifal", Wagner's first and last Operas. It's amazing what a little maturity can do for a composer.

[Quijote]

With reference to Henryk Mikołaj Górecki's death today, I am decidedly not listening to his Symphony of Sorrows (N° 3). May I explain? I was going to post the link to a short article from the Guardian newspaper, but this has now been updated and I can no longer find reference to the cant I abhor. So, relying on my memory, I can relate what "got my goat", so to speak.
The original article writer related Górecki's uncompromising advice to would-be musicians (and aspiring composers studying under him) : "If you can live without music for 3 or 4 days, better you give up music and spend your time with a beer or a girlfriend".
Let us look closely at this nonsense. All musicians (in his view) are - by definition - male (or, at a push, lesbian). Quite.
Furthermore, how is one to define "living without music for 3 or 4 days"? Not hearing the art, or not practicing (in whatever guise) the art? There are days when I "go without music" in any applied sense, but music is around us at all times. Can I go without actually playing music for several days at end? Yes, easily, especially on holiday. I call this sort of journalism "cant" because it reinforces the ridiculous reification of the composer/musician as "aesthete" or "mystic".

[Quijote]

Beer or girlfriend? We note the priority.

[Quijote]

Sorry to go off topic momentarily, but in a French bar when you ask for "une blonde" it means a lager or Pils-style beer. As a gentleman, I do prefer both "blonde" and "blond".
Adieu, Górecki. I hope wherever you are you can drown your "sorrows" (Hah! See above) in the "blond(e)" of your choice.