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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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In Reply to: A guy likes 18th, 19th century "classical" music. What do you play for him posted by tinear on September 27, 2006 at 17:26:22:
tinear,My musical tastes have had an odd progress from being interested in music only up to the 1750's that progressed to Classical, then post-Romantic to 20th C and contemporary. The more I listened, the wider my taste became.
Besides the Kronos Quartet recording idea, I was thinking that keyboard and chamber works generally are often more accessible and engaging and I would suggest Prokofiev piano works, "Sonata No.7" esp. as the final "Precipitato" is just astounding modern and so infectiously energetic. But "Visions Fugitive"- 20 some vignettes and so much of Profiev's piano music is just plain fun. The 5 Piano Concertos are also great peices and though angular and strongly rhythmic, there is not enough dissonance to offend. Also, there are the String Quartets which to me have a lot of late Beethoven influence- and again there's a kind of Prokofiev "fire" that keeps me returning. Also, Prokofiev wrote the "Classical Symphomy" which sounds very 19th C., but introduces quite a few nice turns of modern phrase.
Shostakovich is not all Leningrad Winter angst. If your friend at all likes keyboard music, I'd recommend Shostakovich's "Preludes and Fugues" Op 87 which are strong evocations of Bach "Well-Tempered Klavier" but in a modern language- these are inventive- 18th C counterpoint wrapped in a Bartokian cloak- if J.S. Bach and Stravinsky had a baby-he would have written this- fun stuff.
Then, there's Bartok and besides the delightful "Mikrocosmos" - a wonderful set of piano miniatures, in my view, the Bartok String Quartets are astounding works- and in such a refined conversational language the modernity melts away. I think anyone that appreciates late Beethoven will find these attractive.
The other composer I think makes a strong case for modern composition is Benjamin Britten. His vocal writing is amazing- I think even the writing for chorus in his operas is among the finest ensemble vocal writing ever and his "Michaelangelo Sonnets" are like very modern Schubert Lieder.
Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" is both modern and dynamic, yet still impressionistic.
Orff's, "Carmina Burana" is sung to Mediaval Latin text, but is a rollicking good time in the "Pictures" vein, and the rhythms are memorable.
Stravinsky fades in and out of chaotic, angular music but "Pulchinella" and "Firebird" and esp the very classical "Dumbarton Oaks" will not stretch for example the Mahler lover very far.
Suprisingly convincing for serial writing is John Adams' "Nixon in China"- it's fun as can be.
My thinking is that introducing someone to more modern music works better with shorter, episodic- lots of small pieces, and smaller scale works and it helps if it's strongly rhythmic in a jazzy, upbeat way.
Cheers,Bambi B
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Follow Ups
- Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Bartok, Britten, Stravinsky, Orff, Adams - Bambi B 06:39:25 09/29/06 (0)
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