Composers you've warmed to and cooled down from?

SDC Legendz Repertoire
21

I find this a fascinating subject, one that has interested me for many years!
Why is it that you simply stop listening to certain music (I limit myself to “classical” or “art” music here) while you never tire of listening to a handful of select composers?

To the last category, in my case, belong only Beethoven, Debussy and Ravel, I have loved their works from the beginning and the appreciation was always a constant factor.

I see that certain people have the same issue with Chopin and Mozart as I had.
I loved Chopin in my formative years as a teenager, but later, when studying music professionally in my early 20s, I even despised him at a certain point! Instead, I started to discover and focus on Liszt. It seems that there’s a sort of conflict between the two in terms of appreciation…only now, in my early 50s, I can enjoy and value them both at the same time.

For a long time I thought of Zart as a superficial, “pretty-pretty” lightweight composer, but that was before I discovered his operas and some of his symphonies and chamber music. On a whole, I never like to play him on da 88 but when I do, I try to imagine other instruments or a vocal approach.

The great Russian romantics (Tchai, Rach, Scrib) I mainly enjoyed in my 20s and 30s, but in the last 10 years or so I hardly listen to them anymore. Instead I developed a taste for Medtner and Prokofiev, mainly.

Then there are composers that only came in the form of a craze, like Mahler, Varese or a handful of other more modern composers. I used to be addicted to Mahler Symphonies, for about a year I didn’t listen to anything else…now I can’t really stand his music anymore, instead I focus more on antipode Sibelius.

Then there are composers that I’ve only learned to appreciate in recent years, like Grieg, Brahms and Fauré - they now belong to my favourites.

A separate case is Bach…as a youngster I hated his music - but gradually in my 20s I started to appreciate him but only by means of Busoni and other Romantic transcriptions. Gradually that changed too and now I prefer him in pure unadorned form - which means I also like to listen to HIP performers.

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22

I am glad that my interest in classical music is broader than most here.

I don’t listen to opera, however. Have never tried to get into it. Is it worth it? I don’t know

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23

This seams quite random, no? I mean Medtner has much more in common with Tchaikovsky, Scriabin and Rachmaninov then Prokofiev. If you had said Prokofiev and Shostakovich, that would have made sense.

Not saying that you aren’t making sense, just saying that there doesn’t seem to be a principle here, it’s just that you have stopped liking some composers and started liking some composers more.

24

I’ve never hated Bach, but for a long time I just found him dull and academic. Things changed about 8-10 years ago, and I don’t remember why, but I think it was since I began to see through that wall of mathematical polyphony then and understand the artistic side of what he was expressing. That’s when I began to get hooked on works beyond the DWK, which I think even Bach himself would have agreed is more academia than art, and it just increased when I finally found good recordings of his organ works, orchestral suites etc where you have him unfettered by the small scope of the instrument, writing for concert use, and in case of the organ for his natural means of expression as it were.

But I think just age and life experience is as important as any of the above. In general I’ve opened up more and more to this Germanic robustness you have in Bach, Beethoven, etc. Hence also Rembrandt, for a Dutch take on the same world view. Their works are rooted in actual humanity, while Rach, Chop etc deals more with an excited, stylized, or imagined world.

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25

Bach-Busoni Chaconne vs Bach-Brahms Chaconne?

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Busoni hands down

27

Brahms right hand down :whale:

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28

The only reason I see to play it is that you can munch on a banana at the same time :wink:

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29

I think you’re right - I’ve never been fond of Shostakovich, except some of the 24 P & Fugues. And I still like late Scriabin and Mussorgsky for example, though I rarely listen to or play their music in recent years…but it all might change again in future.

30

Definitely worth it. But you need to invest some time to study librettos, to know background things, also about compositional techniques. Would be a terrible waste if you were never to discover musical masterpieces of Wagner, Verdi, Puccini etc.

31

Operatic Parazheeyatz > Actual Operaz :pimp: :sunglasses:

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32

Lol no way. The most expressive instrument is the human voice, even da 88 can’t come close.

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33

Den y da fuck iz u at da SDC n not zum vocalzheeyatz forum :sunglasses:

I think dat moz operaz can n zhud be cuntdenzd into zhort zheeyatz

in orda fo dem to make zenze in a narrative dramadick way tru it haz to lazt longa but diz only zervez to dilute da potency ov da actual muzical material

diz y i c OPERA az a cumpromized artform n parazheeyatz az a zumwut mo pure artizdick experience :sunglasses:

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34

Listen to Carmen, then get back to me.
The ‘potency’ argument could equally be applied to piano or classical music in general. Why not just 3 minute sheeyats like in pop music, it’s more potent no?
Anyway, the human voice is way more limited than da 88, so even if it’s not as expressive, da 88 is still the king of instruments.

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35

And when it does, it’s usually by trying to emulate the human voice.

I agree, I’m not in to singing at all but I have recorded a nationally famous soprano a few times and it’s been jarring experiences hearing her up close.

36

Jarring in what sense? Your country has produced some of the greatest singers of all time; Nilsson, Gedda and the greatest of all tenors, Björling.

37

Gosh, I thought Gedda was German.

Jarring as in (?) striking, impactful, shocking, etc. It spoke more directly to you than an instrument does.

38

Oh I see! Generally when I think of this word, it has negative connotations.
Gedda was half Russian btw, which is why his Russian was always perfect.

39

Yes hence the question mark… That probably wasn’t a kosher way of using the word.

I’m hardly experienced, but with singers I’ve only noticed it with females though. I guess that I’ve found it so startling could have something to do with the natural attraction of the female voice too. Like it or not, we’re pre-programmed.

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40

Had a good chuckle at this. :sunglasses:

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