What piece was "defining moment"?
Raymond Hall
news:20030914043635...@mb-m14.aol.com...
|
| >The first time I listened to
| >Tristan was one of the defining moments in my life - a moment I'm
| >still trying to come to terms with.
|
| Is there one single piece that stands out from all others as marking in
some
| sense a defining moment in your life? Or, failing that, is there any
single
| piece that stands out as a unique experience in your life, especially in
the
| sense of transforming your thinking about life or music or shaking you to
the
| core or of opening new doors, etc. etc. I started this thread because
Billy's
| comments induced the following (I hope not too far over the top or
excessively
| lengthy) rhapsody from me:
|
Individual moments are far too many to say what stood out. Maybe the closing
bars of the first movement of Prokofiev's 5th (heard live at Portsmouth),
and hearing the tam-tams, sealed for me, without any further question, that
classical music (as defined by Prokofiev) was the way to go.
But two instances of communal experience stood out. My good friend Peter,
(fellow graduate at the time, who went on to do his Ph.D at Guildford), his
girlfriend's Dad, and another good friend, came around to listen to my new
hi-fi setup. Ginormous speakers, gigantic amplifier, and a middling
turn-table fitted with a Shure M71 (?????) magnetic cartridge, enabled us to
listen to, and for some reason, maybe fate chose, the Tchaikovsky 6th as
played by Ormandy and the great Philadelphia orchestra on Columbia. At the
end, our faces were streaked with tears, our eyes red with tears, we were
barely able to speak, (tried to do so in manly fashion), and we merely
mumbled short words such as, "yeah ... good .. nice sound .. blaa .. blaa",
and they all very quickly stumbled off back home. An event we rarely spoke
about afterwards. After all, men don't really cry do they? And neither do
they want reminding of such events either. A macho thing.
The other instance was when listening with my father to Rachmaninov, not an
uncommon occurence, when Rach's Isle of The Dead truly spoke to me with its
power, and I mentioned this to my Dad. From then on, my Dad always used to
tease me, when this piece was chosen and listened to, as being Raymond's
favourite piece. But the reality is, and was, that this music DID enter a
level of consciousness from which I am glad I have never recovered.
Odd, but re-reading the above demonstrates three Russian composers. They
really do reach the heart.
Regards,
# http://www.users.bigpond.com/hallraylily/index.html
See You Tamara (Ozzy Osbourne)
Ray, Taree, NSW
Joshua Kaufman
As you may know, I'm younger than most of you -- I'm only 25.
Back when I was 12 or so, I got a synthesizer, not a very good one but
it could still hook up to my computer and play MIDI to a limited extent.
At that point, I only really knew a bit of classical from piano lessons,
and wasn't too interested in much more, aside from loveing everything by
Scott Joplin. But though a set of commercial MIDI files I got and a few
downloaded my dad gave to me, I became more interested in music in
general, and got a much better synthesizer right after I turned 14.
It was around then that one of my favorite MIDIs was a few-track version
of Rhapsody in Blue. I had already been sequencing some music into my
computer - Joplin other piano, and some choir music from school, and so
on. My dad suggestion I get the FULL Rhapsody in Blue, and I now had a
much more capable synth. So on Halloween (11 years ago, yeah I still
remember ^_^) I go downtown and find the score. I ended up getting to
know the piece really well, but they next time I went there it was
checked out, so my dad suggestied a few other things -- I ended up with
Peter and the Wolf, Eine Kliene, and Danse Macabre. It sort of just
stemmed from there, and all through high school I borrowed various
scores for computer input, and even bought a bunch. Probably 11th grade
I started buying CDs too.
-Joshua
--
AOL-IM: TerraEpon
Norman Schwartz
came around to listen to my new
> hi-fi setup. Ginormous speakers, gigantic amplifier, and a middling
> turn-table fitted with a Shure M71 (?????) magnetic cartridge, enabled us
to
> listen to, and for some reason, maybe fate chose, the Tchaikovsky 6th as
> played by Ormandy and the great Philadelphia orchestra on Columbia.
If it were number 4, instead of 6 it might have really been "fate". My
defining moment arrived when I first heard a large orchestral performance
(can't recall what was played). Then, and only then, did I become aware of
that which recordings and hi-fi rigs could only hint at. That lead to my
interest in hearing other music, audio systems and RECORDINGS. Ormandy's
Columbia "Pathetique" is and remains to this day a knock-out for me as well.
Simon Smith
david...@aol.com (David7Gable) wrote:
> In the "Favourite composers/repertoire?" thread, M. Quentin went so far
> as to single out one piece that had constituted a kind of defining moment
> in his life before going on to suggest a few of the reasons why:
>
> > The first time I listened to Tristan was one of the defining moments in
> > my life - a moment I'm still trying to come to terms with.
>
> Is there one single piece that stands out from all others as marking in
> some sense a defining moment in your life? Or, failing that, is there
> any single piece that stands out as a unique experience in your life,
> especially in the sense of transforming your thinking about life or music
> or shaking you to the core or of opening new doors, etc. etc.
These threads are great fun. I can think of two 'defining moments'. The
first was when, after a series of quite random chances, I ended up with a
ticket to Parsifal. I'd never heard an opera by Wagner before, in fact I'd
never heard any opera all the way through and I'd certainly never been to
one live. But along I went, and it almost feels as though I'm still reeling
from the shock to this day. Nothing prepared me for the impact of that
music, which became and remains an obsession. (I think I now own 11
Parsifals, which is not as many as some, but is still perhaps an
indicator.) And from there I gradually started to acquaint myself with the
other Wagner operas. But Parsifal still stands above all other music, for
me.
The second and slightly stranger one was the first time I heard a piece by
Schnittke (Cello Concerto No.1). Schnittke totally changed the way I
thought about music, about composition (very much so in that case) and even
about piano playing. Since then I've become an obsessive collector of his
music also, and have learned as much of it as I am able.
--
Simon Smith | http://www.ingemisco.com/
"I am myself only in music. Music is enough for a whole lifetime - but a
lifetime is not enough for music." - Sergei Rachmaninov
David Hurwitz
>Again, the revelation of these things induced a certain stupefaction, and I
>still haven't recovered.
>
>-david gable
Obviously.
Dave Hurwitz
William Quentin (Bloom)
<hallr...@bigpond.com> wrote:
>Individual moments are far too many to say what stood out. Maybe the closing
>bars of the first movement of Prokofiev's 5th (heard live at Portsmouth),
>and hearing the tam-tams, sealed for me, without any further question, that
>classical music (as defined by Prokofiev) was the way to go.
>
>But two instances of communal experience stood out. My good friend Peter,
>(fellow graduate at the time, who went on to do his Ph.D at Guildford), his
>girlfriend's Dad, and another good friend, came around to listen to my new
>hi-fi setup. Ginormous speakers, gigantic amplifier, and a middling
>turn-table fitted with a Shure M71 (?????) magnetic cartridge, enabled us to
>listen to, and for some reason, maybe fate chose, the Tchaikovsky 6th as
>played by Ormandy and the great Philadelphia orchestra on Columbia. At the
>end, our faces were streaked with tears, our eyes red with tears, we were
>barely able to speak, (tried to do so in manly fashion), and we merely
>mumbled short words such as, "yeah ... good .. nice sound .. blaa .. blaa",
>and they all very quickly stumbled off back home. An event we rarely spoke
>about afterwards. After all, men don't really cry do they? And neither do
>they want reminding of such events either. A macho thing.
>
Great story! :-) Tchaikovsky's 6th is one of my musical touchstones
as well; if I'd been present at your listening party, I probably would
have been in tears as well.
>The other instance was when listening with my father to Rachmaninov, not an
>uncommon occurence, when Rach's Isle of The Dead truly spoke to me with its
>power, and I mentioned this to my Dad. From then on, my Dad always used to
>tease me, when this piece was chosen and listened to, as being Raymond's
>favourite piece. But the reality is, and was, that this music DID enter a
>level of consciousness from which I am glad I have never recovered.
>
>Odd, but re-reading the above demonstrates three Russian composers. They
>really do reach the heart.
>
I agree, minus Rachmaninov (who I've never really connected with,
although I do like Isle of the Dead - it's the only Rach recording I
own). I tend to go through the day with a medley of Moussourgsky,
Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Prokofiev tunes running through my head.
If I ever make a jazz album, I've got a pretty good medley of Pictures
at an Exhibition and Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev's) all worked out.
;-)
William Quentin (Bloom)
>But if there is one piece that constituted a defining moment in my life,
>without any doubt it's Pli selon pli:
Thanks for the great post, David. It's been a while since I last
listened to Pli Selon Pli. You've made me want to go and listen to it
right now!
-Billy
David7Gable
>I started buying CDs too.
That was the fatal moment for your wallet!
-david gable
David7Gable
There are a lot of young geezers here. And those of us in our 40's consider
ourselves comparatively young!
-david gable
Alan Watkins
> In the "Favourite composers/repertoire?" thread, M. Quentin went so far as to
> before going on to suggest a few of the reasons why:
>
> >The first time I listened to
> >Tristan was one of the defining moments in my life - a moment I'm
> >still trying to come to terms with.
>
> Is there one single piece that stands out from all others as marking in some
> sense a defining moment in your life? Or, failing that, is there any single
> piece that stands out as a unique experience in your life, especially in the
> sense of transforming your thinking about life or music or shaking you to the
> comments induced the following (I hope not too far over the top or excessively
> lengthy) rhapsody from me:
>
> Tristan that constituted that defining moment for me. Nevertheless, the first
> time I heard the Liebestod (on an ancient André Kostelanetz record of my
> uncle's, no less!) it absolutely knocked my socks off. I couldn't believe
> anybody could do that. It was one of the first experiences that made me not
> only realize the power music could have but consciously to begin thinking about
> it.
>
> The first time I heard the Symphonie fantastique I had a similarly overwhelming
> experience--the kind that knocks the wind out of your sails--this time because
> of Berlioz's naked expression of "mal d'isolement." Again there was a kind of
> stupefaction that such things could be done.
>
> But if there is one piece that constituted a defining moment in my life,
> without any doubt it's Pli selon pli:
>
> gradual move from puzzlement to understanding, which made me so unprecedentedly
> conscious of how musical languages are constructed in the listener's experience
> by the music itself;
>
> Because of the perspective Boulez's music affords the listener, a perspective
> far removed from the perspectives granted by all of the dynamic and goal
> oriented music in the Western tradition from Haydn to Carter, a perspective
> like sitting at the still center of the universe or floating through outer
> space quietly paying attention to the fantastical micro-activity buzzing and
> glinting around you, continuously "cresting into one's present," to borrow from
> a John Ashbery poem;
>
> Because of its "Frenchness," by which I mean an incredible sense of poetry or
> fantasy, the manner in which Pli selon pli was at once overwhelmingly
> Eroica-powerful yet made of the most refined filigree. Because of Pli selon
> pli's voluptuous, enchanting, and bejeweled Frenchness, its sensuous immediacy,
> and the continuous streaming of its untrammeled flow, listening to it was like
> tapping deep into the source of the sense of poetry and fantasy at the heart of
> music itself, a source far deeper than the conventional markers that framed and
> channeled the flow in the other music I knew;
>
> Because of its "frâicheur," a freshness never found in the overripe music of
> later Romanticism, a freshness like the freshness characteristic of new shoots
> pushing up through the soil after spring rain or the fugitive effects that the
> impressionist painters tried to capture in their paintings or Rimbaud tried to
> capture in Illuminations, a freshness that makes Pli selon pli as bracing as a
> cool glass of water on a summer day.
>
> Again, the revelation of these things induced a certain stupefaction, and I
> still haven't recovered.
>
> -david gable
As previously posted, my defining moment was very simple but it was
really defining because it not only helped shape my deep love of music
but my life.
It was watching a TV performance of the Polotsvian Dances at the age
of eight, seeing the timpani solo and deciding there and then that I
was going to do that for a living. Apparently, I announced that fact.
Every time I have played that solo, which has been quite a lot over
the years, it's been a very special thrill for me and I still love it!
There have been many other defining moments as you come across music -
Janacek was one and getting to know all the Dvorak symphonies was
another - but for obvious reasons it has to be that first moment when
the wonderful world of music opens up to you.
Being from what might be described as a "non musical" family I had
never seen a set of timpani in my life and to be in charge of those,
making THAT sound........sighs. Boys never grow up, I suppose.
Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins
Andy Evans
father, who didn't stray much beyond Bach, Handel and Mozart, had bought the
disc for a rather tame fugue written by alec Templeton - Mr Bach goes to town.
This never did much to me. He never played the other side. It occurred to me at
some point to put the other side on. I could scarcely believe my ears - the
Benny Goodman band in full swing playing Farewell Blues. I was transfixed. I
must have played it all day, and after that my ambition was to play whatever
the hell that music was. I discovered it was called 'jazz' and I've been a jazz
musician ever since - amateur and professional. I don't know if any of you know
that track - I can't see it anywhere. Please tell me if you know of where it's
on CD. Farewell Blues - big band.
=== Andy Evans ===
Visit our Website:- http://www.artsandmedia.com
Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.
Robert G Adams
discover it myself. I was thirteen when I first heard the Beethoven Ninth
(Horenstein in a radio broadcast). It wasn't the last movement that caught
my attention but rather, the first two. The opening strains of the work
seemed to transport my soul to another world. Then came the" lightning
bolts" that open the scherzo. As bizarre as it probably sounds to many, I
can honestly say that this work caused me to perceive life as having a much
greater depth and meaning than I had ever imagined. It still has that effect
on me--it's the one piece of music that I can always turn to when I need to
reacquaint myself with my humanity.
"David7Gable" <david...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030914043635...@mb-m14.aol.com...
Samir Golescu
On Mon, 15 Sep 2003, Robert G Adams wrote:
> I grew up without any exposure to classical music in my family so I had to
> discover it myself. I was thirteen when I first heard the Beethoven Ninth
> (Horenstein in a radio broadcast). It wasn't the last movement that caught
> my attention but rather, the first two. The opening strains of the work
> seemed to transport my soul to another world. Then came the" lightning
> bolts" that open the scherzo. As bizarre as it probably sounds to many, I
> can honestly say that this work caused me to perceive life as having a much
> greater depth and meaning than I had ever imagined. It still has that effect
> on me--it's the one piece of music that I can always turn to when I need to
> reacquaint myself with my humanity.
Beautiful. I also am most impressed with the Ninth's first movement -- not
even Bruckner went that far in that direction of symphonism. . . in a way
Beethoven's Ninth is "Bruckner's Tenth Symphony".
Now that you probably know many more Ninths, do you still reserve a
special place in your soul for Horenstein's (which I have not heard)?
regards,
SG
Daniel
Schubert's Piano Sonata 960 and Wanderer Fantasie (Alfred Brendel,
Philips Silverline, 1987) was my first classical CD. I heard it in a
record store, and it was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever
heard. I had to have it. I bought Mozart's 23rd and 27th Piano
Concertos that day, also by Brendel on Silverline.
However, I didn't start to become obsessive about classical until I
got my third CD, Mahler's 8th by Tennestedt, which had gotten an award
in Gramophone. One of my three classical friends (the one whose
Gramophone I'd read) said, "Well, you have to hear it by Solti." My
friend the critic said, "No, Bernstein." I bought the Bernstein
because it also had the 6th. Thus was I inducted into the fellowship
of those who buy different *versions* of things.
Scott Kurtz
Holst's The Planets in 1962 awakened an interest in classical music for me.
Subsequently, it was Debussy's Nocturnes, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, and
Messiaen's Three Little Liturgies in 1964, Charles Ives Symphony No. 4 in
1965, Arnold Schoenberg's Quartet No. 2 and Moses und Aron in 1966,
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Momente in 1967, and Vagn Holmboe's Sinfonia
Borealis in 1968 that I tend to regard as landmarks in my growing immersion
in classical music.
George Skandalidis
Evans) wrote:
>I don't know if any of you know
>that track - I can't see it anywhere. Please tell me if you know of where it's
>on CD. Farewell Blues - big band.
Watch for wrap. My guess is the first link is what you're after.
--
George Skandalidis
Thessaloniki
Greece
kk
music.
For me, it has been several, but to this day I can't stop thinking of my
reaction the first time I heard Anton Webern's "Five Movements for String
Quartet," op. 5 (performed by the La Salle quartet).
In the opening of the first movement, there are three chords played col
legno. The impact of these three chords hit me like something physical
rather than aural. I was stunned, awed, excited, and several other emotions
all at once. It was my first exposure to any of the music of Webern, and
after hearing that one piece, he immediately became one of my very favorite
composers. I kept replaying the first movement; I don't know how many
times that day. Eventually I did make it through the entire work. I'd
never heard something like that produced by a string quartet.
-kk
Dan Koren
> from all others as marking in some sense a
> defining moment in your life?
>
Yes.
Tchaikovsky PC #1.
Chopin Preludes.
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet.
Chopin 4th Ballade.
Chapeau Bas.
Chopin 2nd Ballade.
Amsterdam.
Chopin 1st Ballade.
Sibelius 4th.
Chopin Mazurkas.
Pictures.
Franck Symphony.
Tchaikovsky PC #2.
Don Giovanni.
Schubert 9th.
Schubert 8th.
Le Plat Pays.
Scriabin 5th Sonata.
Fontessa.
Schubert 5th.
Schubert 4th.
Romeo and Juliet.
Concerto for Cootie.
Bach Violin Double.
Bruckner 9th.
Bruckner 8th.
Nantes.
Wanderer.
Waltz for Debby.
Bruckner 7th.
Misty.
Bruckner 5th.
Scriabin Vers la Flamme.
Bruckner 4th.
Francesca da Rimini.
Take Five.
Mahler 9th.
Sibelius Tempest.
Mozart 40.
Mozart 41.
Death and the Maiden.
Schubert D887.
Schubert D956.
Bud on Bach.
Albeniz Iberia.
Rachmaninov PC #4.
St. Louis Blues.
Brahms 3rd.
Les Bourgeois.
Pathetique.
Mahler 5th.
Brahms 1st.
Azahara.
Brahms PC #2.
Mozart K453.
Tappiola.
Mozart K466.
Tchaikovsky PC #3.
Mozart K491.
Liszt Sonata.
Mozart K499.
Mozart K546.
Sibelius 7th.
Mozart K608.
Chopin Sonata #3.
Probably 100 more....
dk
Curtis Plumb
I'll see your Fontessa and raise one Django.
notrump15-17
to
> single out one piece that had constituted a kind of defining moment in his
life
> before going on to suggest a few of the reasons why:
>
> >The first time I listened to
> >Tristan was one of the defining moments in my life - a moment I'm
> >still trying to come to terms with.
>
some
notrump15-17
Dan Koren
You must have been incredibly thirsty on that day! ;-)
dk
normanstrong
Sonata in A must have been a "defining moment", since I studied the
violin as a result!
Norm Strong
Robert G Adams
recently found an inexpensive CD of that very performance with the Vienna
Pro Musica.
I bought the CD and listened to it. I expected to recapture some of the awe
I felt at my first hearing. That didn't happen--the music was the same but I
had changed . It's a very good performance, but I have come to like others
better. I've never found the "perfect" Ninth, but I think the
Szell/Cleveland recording remains my favorite.
"Samir Golescu" <gol...@uiuc.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.GSO.4.31.03091...@ux8.cso.uiuc.edu...
Simon Smith
"Dan Koren" <dank...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "David7Gable" <david...@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:20030914043635...@mb-m14.aol.com...
> >
> > Is there one single piece that stands out
> > from all others as marking in some sense a
> > defining moment in your life?
> >
>
> Yes.
>
[snip snip snip snip snip]
> Rachmaninov PC #4.
It's very reassuring to see that there's someone else out there to whom
this piece is so important.
Dan Koren
news:1fb38532...@sds46.clare.cam.ac.uk...
> In message <3f658683$1...@news.meer.net>
> "Dan Koren" <dank...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > "David7Gable" <david...@aol.com> wrote in message
> > news:20030914043635...@mb-m14.aol.com...
> > >
> > > Is there one single piece that stands out
> > > from all others as marking in some sense a
> > > defining moment in your life?
> > >
> >
> > Yes.
> >
> [snip snip snip snip snip]
> > Rachmaninov PC #4.
>
> It's very reassuring to see that there's someone
> else out there to whom this piece is so important.
>
In general I like late Rachmaninov (say, opp# >= 30)
better than earlier Rachmaninov.
dk
Deryk Barker
> I hadn't heard the Horenstein recording in over twenty years until I
> recently found an inexpensive CD of that very performance with the Vienna
> Pro Musica.
> I bought the CD and listened to it. I expected to recapture some of the
> awe I felt at my first hearing. That didn't happen--the music was the same
> but I had changed .
If that's Vox Allegretto release, it's a travesty - fake stereo and even a
dip in the sound in the adagio where the single-LP issue changed sides.
Having heard how EMI's original LP transfer did less than justice to his
Mahler 4, I shouldn't be surprised if this were partly to blame.
But can one ever really recapture that first sense of wonder? I also
remember being astonished by the first movement of the 9th when I first
heard it (in this case it was the 1961 Karajan). I've lost count of how
many performances I own now, but I don't expect ever to feel that same
surprise again - how could I?
> It's a very good performance, but I have come to like
> others better. I've never found the "perfect" Ninth, but I think the
> Szell/Cleveland recording remains my favorite.
I don't believe there can ever be a perfect performance of a masterpiece. I
certainly wouldn't want to be without Furtwaengler's 1942 or his 1954
Lucerne, Klemperer's 1964 NPO (on video), Bru"ggen's, ....
--
Deryk Barker (To email remove nospam.)
Donald Rice
a one-two combination. I heard Kostelanetz' "Opera Without Words" of
"La Boheme" and thought it was a great way to avoid listening to those
screechy and huffing and puffing opera singers. The music was just the
sort of hyper-emotional sloppy romantic stuff that would appeal to an
adolescent in the throws of hormone-induced angst. Till I got to college
and became friendly with a guy who played Debussy's Clair de Lune on the
dorm piano. He played excerpts for me of that same "La Boheme" with
Bjorling and de los Angeles and for the first time I was thunderstruck
by the emotional power of a trained operatic voice that was utilized
with taste and respect for the music. That began my mature obsession
with classical music in 1957. This friend had a large collection of lps
which helped form my taste for Toscanini's Beethoven, Callas, and lots
more. In 1959 I saw my first live opera - Boris - which merely confirmed
the obvious that I was hooked.
A second occurred during a hot summer outdoor concert at Lewisohn
Stadium when I heard Bartok's "Concerto For Orchestra" conducted by
Zubin Mehta. I realized that I was sweating a lot more than the ambient
temperature seemed to require and I realized that I was so intensely
captivated by the music that I was being pushed aroung by the logic of
the movements and also by the realization that I really could
"understand" Bartok for the first time. This led to the quartets and
MSPC and lots more.
A final transforming moment occurred for me when I found this forum and
boldly questioned David Gable's posting of a section of the discography
of the Juilliard String Quartet. This led to a private email from a
lurker who was/is a Juilliard fan. He offered to trade some of his rare
Juilliard recordings and I responded with offering some of mine but I
only had lps of these. (They have still not been issued on cd.) This led
to my learning to "restore" lps and email and trading encounters with
the most fascinating group of people ever to enrich my life. So I owe a
lot of the joy and satisfaction of my "later years" to David Gable- to
whom I've sent some of my "restorations" including the Beethoven op. 131
from my old RCA lp. He's introduced me to the New Music Quartet and some
other stuff but I'm still awaiting the moment of epiphany for Carter and
Boulez! (-:
Don
David7Gable wrote:
>In the "Favourite composers/repertoire?" thread, M. Quentin went so far as to
>single out one piece that had constituted a kind of defining moment in his life
>before going on to suggest a few of the reasons why:
>
>
>
>>The first time I listened to
>>Tristan was one of the defining moments in my life - a moment I'm
>>still trying to come to terms with.
>>
>>
>
>Is there one single piece that stands out from all others as marking in some
>sense a defining moment in your life? Or, failing that, is there any single
>piece that stands out as a unique experience in your life, especially in the
>sense of transforming your thinking about life or music or shaking you to the
>core or of opening new doors, etc. etc. I started this thread because Billy's
>comments induced the following (I hope not too far over the top or excessively
>lengthy) rhapsody from me:
>
>I know exactly the kind of experience you're talking about, although it wasn't
>Tristan that constituted that defining moment for me. Nevertheless, the first
>time I heard the Liebestod (on an ancient André Kostelanetz record of my
>uncle's, no less!) it absolutely knocked my socks off. I couldn't believe
>anybody could do that. It was one of the first experiences that made me not
>only realize the power music could have but consciously to begin thinking about
>it.
>
>The first time I heard the Symphonie fantastique I had a similarly overwhelming
>experience--the kind that knocks the wind out of your sails--this time because
>of Berlioz's naked expression of "mal d'isolement." Again there was a kind of
>stupefaction that such things could be done.
>
Tom D
> > These threads are great fun. I can think of two 'defining moments'. The
> first was when, after a series of quite random chances, I ended up with a
> ticket to Parsifal. I'd never heard an opera by Wagner before, in fact I'd
> never heard any opera all the way through and I'd certainly never been to
> one live. But along I went, and it almost feels as though I'm still reeling
> from the shock to this day.
That (attending Parsifal) also stands out as my biggest "defining
moment". At the time, I was a relative classical music novice (not yet
a collector of recordings) and almost totally ignorant of opera.
David7Gable
I guess what slightly me surprised me about your list was all of the Schubert,
Bruckner, and Mahler on it. I guess your allergy to German music doesn't
extend to the Austrian tradition of which these names are pillars. Also
curious whether your interest in Don Giovanni extends to any of the other
Mozart operas.
-david gable
David7Gable
My experience with Pli selon pli unfolded over a period of a couple of months
or maybe a little longer. What I'm thirsty for now doesn't exist: another Pli
selon pli.
-david gable
David7Gable
>lot of the joy and satisfaction of my "later years" to David Gable- to
>whom I've sent some of my "restorations" including the Beethoven op. 131
>from my old RCA lp.
Very kind of you to say so, but I can assure you that you have returned the
favor many times over with your transfers of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven
string quartets. Not only do you have an unerring knack for finding the finest
classical chamber music performances available, but your loving transfers from
LP sound phenomenal, much better, unfortunately, than many transfers available
on commercial labels. As Don knows, I have also shared his tranfers with the
happy few. I've also referred to them obliquely on this newsgroup from time to
time, but without feeling that it was my place to name Don by name.
Fortunately, I am now able to thank him publicly.
-david gable
David7Gable
>in classical music.
What always amazes me is the extraordinary range of your listening, Scott.
-david gable
David7Gable
>even Bruckner went that far in that direction of symphonism. . . in a way
>Beethoven's Ninth is "Bruckner's Tenth Symphony".
Samir, I wish you could be persuaded to amplify this a bit. I'd especially
like to know more precisely what you mean by "that direction of symphonism."
The first movement of the 9th is certainly an unbelievable achievement, but
it's so archetypically Beethovenian I'm curious to know what in it you find
Brucknerian. Not only is its character Beethovenian, but its form is exactly
what I would expect from a massive and "terrible" (original non-pejorative
meaning) first movement from a Beethoven symphony. It's in sonata form; the
closing section of the expo reaffirms the principal theme with arpeggiations of
the local tonic; there's a massive development section with, among other
things, lots of the kind of counterpoint you find in Beethoven's development
sections to effect restless travel; there's a massive climactic fortissimo
arrival to mark the recap; there's a big coda very much of a piece with the
codas in the first movements of the other Beethoven symphonies. For example,
the crescendo in the passage from 35 to 17 measures before the end of the
movement is just the kind of thing I expect to find at that point within the
coda from the first movement of a Beethoven symphony: cf. the "Rossini
crescendo" at more or less the same spot in the Eroica's first movement.
-david gable (infinitely more familiar with Beethoven's than Bruckner's
symphonies)
Dan Koren
But have you tried 4'33"?
dk
David7Gable
>
>But have you tried 4'33"?
>
>
Sorry. I prefer music to "music."
-david gable
Lena
> >dk [whose long list I've snipped]
>
> I guess what slightly me surprised me about your list was all of the Schubert,
> Bruckner, and Mahler on it.
I guess what surprised me was the number of defining moments on it... :)
With that much definition, the Korenesque nebulously tentative style
we're all used to may be a thing of the past. :):)
Lena
J. R. Robinson
> [...]
>
> Is there one single piece that stands out from all others as
> marking in some sense a defining moment in your life? Or,
> failing that, is there any single piece that stands out as a
> unique experience in your life, especially in the sense of
> transforming your thinking about life or music or shaking you
> to the core or of opening new doors, etc. etc.
>
> [...]
>
> -david gable
I was a latecomer to classical music, and my initial listening
was dominated by orchestral and solo-piano music. There were
some key works that unlocked doors to other areas:
Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn and strings got me into vocal
works in general, and Vaughan Williams' <Dona nobis pacem>
expanded my interest to choral music. This eventually led to
Tallis' <Spem in alium>, which then kindled my interest in
Renaissance music. I just sort of oozed into opera and lieder
and other vocal areas from there. (I hadn't noticed it before,
but I have England to thank for my interest in vocal music.)
I can trace my interest in chamber music back to 1981. Someone
had advised me to get a recording of the Franck Violin Sonata and
to be sure to get it on Deutsche Grammophon because "that's the
best label." When I walked in the door of the record store, a
brand-new DG release of the Franck Sonata was prominently
displayed on the New Releases rack -- it might even have been a
"Special Import" -- so I bought the expensive LP without a
second's thought. I didn't take to the Franck Sonata, but it was
coupled to a magically evocative recording of Szymanowski's
<Mythes> by Kaja Danczowska and Krystian Zimerman.
J. R. Robinson
Denver, Colorado
Richard Schultz
: But have you tried 4'33"?
I only have the Celibidache recording -- the one that clocks in at 2 hours
and 17 minutes. . .
-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"You go on playing Bach your way, and I'll go on playing him *his* way."
-- Wanda Landowska
Dan Koren
news:bk8osb$fkn$4...@news.iucc.ac.il...
> In article <3f66d9e3$1...@news.meer.net>, Dan Koren <dank...@yahoo.com>
wrote:
>
> : But have you tried 4'33"?
>
> I only have the Celibidache recording -- the one
> that clocks in at 2 hours and 17 minutes. . .
>
You mean the poster of Brigitte Bardot?
dk
David7Gable
>and 17 minutes. . .
>
Did Cage do the arrangement for large orchestra or is Celi responsible?
-david gable
Deryk Barker
> In article <3f66d9e3$1...@news.meer.net>, Dan Koren <dank...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> : But have you tried 4'33"?
>
> I only have the Celibidache recording -- the one that clocks in at 2 hours
> and 17 minutes. . .
Here we go again....
ESH Tooter
cherished musical experiences - a little help from my friends.
As I think about how I might answer this question, I'd have to say that the
defining moments were most often times when I gathered with others in front of
a pair of speakers or more recently in cyberspace and shared music with
like-minded music lovers who focused my attention where it had not looked
before.
Tooter
gggg...@gmail.com
> David7Gable wrote:
>
> > [...]
> >
> > Is there one single piece that stands out from all others as
> > marking in some sense a defining moment in your life? Or,
> > failing that, is there any single piece that stands out as a
> > unique experience in your life, especially in the sense of
> > transforming your thinking about life or music or shaking you
> > to the core or of opening new doors, etc. etc.
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > -david gable
>
> I was a latecomer to classical music, and my initial listening
> was dominated by orchestral and solo-piano music. There were
> some key works that unlocked doors to other areas:
>
> Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn and strings got me into vocal
The following recent list of recommended recordings may be of interest:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/mwi-recommends.htm
ljk...@aol.com
Larry Kart
ljk...@aol.com
> The Robert Craft-Bethany Beardslee recording of Berg's "Altenberg Leider" (Columbia), especially No. 1. At age 17 or so, don't think I'd heard much Second Viennese School music before that, but this particular work and this performance struck me as, at once, overwhelmingly beautiful and full of a logic all its own, albeit a logic that was strange and new to me. From that point on, no well-performed Second Viennese School music of value sounded less than logical and necessary to me.
>
> Larry Kart
Larry Kart
Lawrence Chalmers
> In the "Favourite composers/repertoire?" thread, M. Quentin went so far as to
> single out one piece that had constituted a kind of defining moment in his life
> before going on to suggest a few of the reasons why:
>
> >The first time I listened to
> >Tristan was one of the defining moments in my life - a moment I'm
> >still trying to come to terms with.
>
> sense a defining moment in your life? Or, failing that, is there any single
> piece that stands out as a unique experience in your life, especially in the
> sense of transforming your thinking about life or music or shaking you to the
Lawrence Chalmers
AB
> Also, at about age 14, the Mozart String Quintets (the last three) played by the augmented Barchet Quartet in a Vox Box. Before that, much classical music sounded to me like Mantovani, and I found it more or less nauseating (I was a jazz fan). But the beauty and logic of these works was immediately grasped and a whole world opened up to me, from Bach to Tchaikovsky, Mahler and beyond.
>
> Larry Kart
I was completely stunned by the incredible tone, phrasing, vibrato and everything else about the playing and thus began my life long obsession with Kreisler. It took just a few notes to feel the impact. i went home in a musical 'daze' Never thought a violin could be played like that..that day I abandoned Heifetz:-)
AB
AB
Frank Berger
knocking my socks off the first time I head it (and every
time since) is Prokofiev's 2nd sonata for violin and piano
(op. 94a).
Bozo
Probably listening to my parents' 78 set of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Symphony with Ormandy / PO and their lp of Rubinstein's last recording of the Chopin Ballades, then hearing Van Cliburn play the Barber Sonata live in Des Moines.
P
> >On Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 2:38:38 PM UTC-5, AB wrote:
>
> Probably listening to my parents' 78 set of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Symphony with Ormandy / PO and their lp of Rubinstein's last recording of the Chopin Ballades, then hearing Van Cliburn play the Barber Sonata live in Des Moines.
No doubt many here will scoff, but watching the movie Shine in college is what really opened my eyes to the world of classical piano, my gateway drug. I had taken piano lessons as a kid, but never got far past Mozart, Scarlatti, and easy Beethoven. Hearing Rachmaninoff and Liszt brought my interest to an entirely new level.
In college, I had a friend who was a piano graduate student who turned me on to Chopin. I can never thank him enough. I remember the first time I heard the A-flat Polonaise, the Winter Wind Etude, the B minor Scherzo, all magical moments for me.
I once attended a concert where Pletnev played Bach's Chaconne (Busoni) and several other pieces that I don't recall. However, in one of the encores, he played Scriabin's Etude Op. 8 No. 2, and the piece absolutely took my breath away. It was the beginning of a long-standing love of Scriabin's music.
Working at a summer job in between semesters in college, I remember the first time I heard Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsody (Thibaudet/Ashkenazy) over headphones plugged into my work computer. At the 18th variation, I just stopped working and had to fight back tears at the beautiful sounds I was hearing.
Learning Chopin's Scherzo #3, by far the most difficult piece I ever learned to play. My fingers can no longer do it, but I'll never forget the thrill of those runs up and down the keyboard at the end of that piece.
I happened to hear "Nessun Dorma" in a Bose store in Park City. I didn't by the speakers, but I ran out and bought the CD (Pavarotti/Mehta) soon thereafter and went on an opera binge which lasted several years.
Discovering Medtner a few years ago after I stumbled across this newsgroup has been revelatory as well. In fact, your posts and those of your predecessors has been a constant source of enjoyment and has opened my eyes to dozens of composers and performers I may never have stumbled across.
There are countless other moments, but these are the ones freshest in my mind. Discovering a new work, a new composer, a new artist is always a pleasure. Classical music is an ocean, and I've still only explored a few coves.
-P
ljk...@aol.com
>
> Larry Kart
LK