I have a craving to hear macabre music. Things along the lines of Camille Saint-Saës’ Danse Macabre. I know I have Hector Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique and the version of Night on Bare Mountain that appeared in Fantasia.
What music would you recommend in this vein?
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omg_teh_funnay and I were talking about classical music
and some interesting ideas came up. So I thought I would post about
one of them here. I’m going to preface the idea by asking the detail
oriented folks to put it on hold for a while. I know that these
statements are generalizations and there are many exceptions. The
point isn’t to find the one true answer but to discuss the idea.
The one that I’m posting about is that the classical composers of the past were not artists creating unapproachable works, but musicians creating music for the people. We see them as artistic geniuses today because they happened to create profound music that stood the test of time. As such they have a lot more in common with the Beatles than John Cage. For another comparison I can’t imagine anyone rioting at the opening performance of anything by Philip Glass but the opening of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring had a lot in common with some rock concerts.
So the idea is what popular music of from the 60s and later will be considered classical three hundred years from now. What should be quickly forgotten? What has been largely forgotten but should be remembered? I think the Beatles will be remembered. Sadly I think that Kansas will not although they should be.
I was listening to the Naxos Classical Music Spotlight this morning and yet again they've made me fall in love with some new music. Today it was the music of Orlando Gibbons performed by Tonus Peregrinus (band website). If I wasn't in the middle of my purchasing blackout period I would have bought this recording.
Have I mentioned how much I love Naxos lately? If you didn't know they are a record label that provides high quality classical music at very affordable prices. If you love music but can't afford releases from other record labels you should definatly check them out.
After spending some time thinking more about classical music I searched and found the Seattle Philharmoic Orchestra. Holy crap those tickets are affordable! I'm seriously considering picking up a pair of tickets to each performance. Is there anyone out there who would like to be my date? It's a chance to get to know me better and enjoy some good music.
To be honest I don't know much about John Cage (Wikipedia) other than he composed 4'33". Today I was listening to the Naxos Classical Music Spotlight podcast and the subject was John Cage and his Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (Naxos 8.559042). So now I know quite a bit more about Mr. Cage and his compositions. I found the sonatas and interludes highlighted in the podcast interesting but I don't know if I would call them good music.
The sounds made by the prepared piano are very unusual. At first I would have said that there were musicians playing a piano and other percussion instruments. In fact it's one musician playing a piano. The piano has had nuts, bolts and other items attached to the strings which change the sound quite a bit. This led to some very interesting sounds during the performance.
I thought that some passages were very musical while others were just jumbles of random noise. A few times it sounded like the pianist was just banging on the keyboard. I won't say it wasn't music but I have to say it's not the kind of music that I normally enjoy. This piece was different because I spent most of the time thinking about the notes and how the music progressed. I think I'll have to get the CD and listen to the whole thing.
Thankfully Naxos has excellent recordings at great prices. I don't think I've ever seen one that was more than $10. That means I can collect and enjoy a lot more classical music because I'm more willing to experiment. That reminds me I need to find a music store with a good classical selection. Something like Classical Millennium but here in Seattle.
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timeasmymeasure
