Thomas Hardy's 'Return of the native'.
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Originally posted by Peter View PostThomas Hardy's 'Return of the native'.
For me, the two novels I particularly like are "Far From the Madding Crowd" and "Jude the Obscure". There was a great film made of "Far from the Madding Crowd" starring Alan Bates and Julie Christie, with excellent music by Richard Rodney Bennett (not sure of the spelling, here). If ever I need a quick example of what "pastoral" means in music RRB would be my choice (after LvB, of course).
At school I had to study Hardy for my A-level English exam, plus TS Elliot (yawn, can't remember the work, something to do with God) and the "Terrible Sonnets" of Gerald Manley Hopkins. I remember writing an excellent essay that tried to link GMH's "Terrible Sonnets" with LvB's late string quartets, but the teacher gave me a poor mark for my insights. The curse I laid on him still stands today...Last edited by Quijote; 07-03-2010, 03:55 PM. Reason: Beware the curse of Philip, drama Queen par excellence
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Originally posted by Philip View PostSeems we have yet another aspect in common - I have always greatly admired Hardy's novels. I do not say "great minds think alike", but maybe "birds of the same feather flock together", which is why we enjoy sparring with each other (as certain birds do tend to "peck each other" when in confined spaces).
For me, the two novels I particularly like are "Far From the Madding Crowd" and "Jude the Obscure". There was a great film made of "Far from the Madding Crowd" starring Alan Bates and Julie Christie, with excellent music by Richard Rodney Bennett (not sure of the spelling, here). If ever I need a quick example of what "pastoral" means in music RRB would be my choice (after LvB, of course).
At school I had to study Hardy for my A-level English exam, plus TS Elliot (yawn, can't remember the work, something to do with God) and the "Terrible Sonnets" of Gerald Manley Hopkins. I remember writing an excellent essay that tried to link GMH's "Terrible Sonnets" with LvB's late string quartets, but the teacher gave me a poor mark for my insights. The curse I laid on him still stands today...'Man know thyself'
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Originally posted by Peter View Post[...] I once had such scorn poured on my essay 'Brahms, the German master' in which I sought to prove he was not THE German master that it nearly resulted in pistols at dawn - looking back I realise I took things a bit too seriously in those days!!
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An interesting artricle here for those that place great store in "hardware" (Bechstein, Steinway, Yamaha, Stradivarius, etc.).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010...ri-violin-sale
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Tonight I'm starting to re-read Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", following a discussion on a televised "Book Show". I haven't touched it since post-graduate studies but my son, aged 34, thinks this the most wonderful book ever written and has read it twice. I look forward to a long, possibly intermittent, journey with this one...
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Originally posted by Bonn1827 View PostTonight I'm starting to re-read Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", following a discussion on a televised "Book Show". I haven't touched it since post-graduate studies but my son, aged 34, thinks this the most wonderful book ever written and has read it twice. I look forward to a long, possibly intermittent, journey with this one...'Man know thyself'
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Actually, that's what one of the panelists said on the book show I was watching. She said she preferred "War and Peace" because she found Anna and Vronsky "unsympathetic" characters to the reader, but she "understood" their attraction to each other!! An unusual observation, I thought.
So, Tolstoy "recanted" on "Anna"? I'm not sure we should "allow" authors to do this. What about Sondheim and his feelings about "West Side Story"? He claimed he was embarrassed about the "purple prose" sung by the teens in the musical and wished he'd never written these. I guess he'd never read Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", then?!!!
When I taught Extension English I gave the students "Pygmalion", which Shaw had later commented about (regarding interpretation) and for which he provided an extensive "postlude", if you will. I remember saying to the kids: "whom should we believe; the tale or the teller"? I think this a valid point when literature is finally in the public domain. It has to "stand" or "fall" on its own merits, regardless of what the author/composer later claims.
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Interestingly, that last sentence could apply (in a sense) to "War and Peace". As far as I can remember, the original ending was a bit vague, especially regarding Nicolai Rostov and Princess Maria. It was some years before Tolstoy decided to add the famous epilogue in which most of the loose ends are tied up.
Only a couple of years ago, an earlier draft of the novel was published in which Prince Andrei did not die!
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I just started reading the book Oliver Cromwell by John Morrill (from the Very Interesting People Series). I just recently discovered that my 10 times great grandfather was Sir Oliver Cromwell the Lord and Protector's uncle (so this makes him my first cousin 11 times removed).
"God knows why it is that my pianoforte music always makes the worst impression on me, especially when it is played badly." -Beethoven 1804.
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Originally posted by Hollywood View PostI just started reading the book Oliver Cromwell by John Morrill (from the Very Interesting People Series). I just recently discovered that my 10 times great grandfather was Sir Oliver Cromwell the Lord and Protector's uncle (so this makes him my first cousin 11 times removed).
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Originally posted by Michael View PostHave you got a round head?'Man know thyself'
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