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Grex > Music1 > #43: Music that makes you say, "Oh...my...god!" | |
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srw
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response 50 of 67:
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Sep 20 06:35 UTC 1995 |
I don't let anyone call me that on Grex. That's reserved for
neighborhood kids until about the time they go to high school.
As a pianist, you will certainly enjoy the Carnival of the Animals.
Other "swans" I like besides "Le Cygne" from Carnival are:
Sibelius "Swan of Tuonela" - mournful but beautiful,
Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake Ballet - hours and hours of great stuff.
(especially Dance of the Swans)
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md
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response 51 of 67:
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Sep 20 11:51 UTC 1995 |
The 2nd movement of Bartok's 2nd piano concerto. Goosebump city.
If you like old-fashioned electronic music, try the "Summer"
movement from Wendy Carlos's "Sonic Seasonings." There are some
representational nature sounds, mostly frogs and insects, but the
movement eventually settles down to a dense, abstract electronic
passage that rises and falls in a slow rhythm that always reminds
me of the poet Richard Eberhart's "summer, massive and burning."
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md
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response 52 of 67:
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Sep 20 13:26 UTC 1995 |
Charles Ives's "The Unanswered Question." It's a gimmicky piece
that once you get the gimmick you don't say "Oh my God" anymore.
You probably don't even listen to it anymore. The first time you
hear it, though, it's great.
If endless swoony pastel loveliness does it for you, try
Debussy's opera "Pelleas et Melisande." If you like to feel
insignificant before the awesome power of Nature, try Debussy's
"La Mer" (The Sea).
Speaking of which, try Sibelius's tone poem "Tapiola," which is
said to depict the immense boreal forests of Finland in all their
grim and sometimes terrifying beauty. The first time you listen
to it, turn the lights down and the volume up, then close your
eyes and let the music carry you away. (I hate the title --
sounds like "tapioca." In Finnish, it means "Tapio's home,"
Tapio being the Finnish god of the forest -- kind of like Pan,
only bigger and meaner.) Tapiola was Sibelius's last major work
before he fell silent for the last thirty years of his life.
It's his "last word," so to speak. The more late-late romantic
music I listen to, the more Tapiola sounds to me like the "No
Exit" sign at end of that road.
Does anyone listen to Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common
Man" anymore? It's been played to death over the years. For
instance, it was played recently on a special about the British
monarchy. (??) But I believe it still retains its original
awesome power if you keep your mind open. Copland used it in his
Third Symphony, which can be very "Oh my God"-ish itself in a
populist way.
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birdlady
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response 53 of 67:
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Sep 20 17:13 UTC 1995 |
Steve...the reason I keep wanting to call you Mr. Weiss is because I'm friends
with Jeremy. It's a habit for me to call my friends' parents by their formal
names. I've been friends with a guy named Mike for over 15 years, and I
*still* say Mr and Mrs LaCross. =)
<sorry...drift = off>
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srw
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response 54 of 67:
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Sep 21 04:56 UTC 1995 |
I understand birdy, it's a sign of respect, and shows that you to be
(it's an old-fashioned term) well-bred. Just don't do it here, OK?
I can relate to the Copland and Sibelius talk.
Sibelius and Copland have both written some of my favorites.
The March from the Karelia Suite always finds me listening to the
trumpet accents (and loving them). It's popular, deservedly.
Like Tapiola, it is written in honor of an area of land.
In this case it is the lake-filled and forest-filled area East of Finland
called "Karelia", in what is now Russia. The suite is lighter and more popular
in its appeal than the deeper and more brooding tone poem "Tapiola".
It's hard to pick my favorite Copland. Yes, the fanfare is great.
the whole 3rd movement is fun. The ballet suites are all terrific.
How do you pick from these? I am in awe of them all.
(Exception: The music in the rape scene from Billy the Kid is
very graphical, but too strident to be hardly enjoyable.)
OK. I pick Appalachian suite.
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md
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response 55 of 67:
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Sep 21 13:13 UTC 1995 |
After reading Mr. Weiss's recommendation in response #47, I listened
to Saint Saens' Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso again. I love this
piece. It's full of tremendous fun, with lots of sly nudges and
winks in the rondo section. The music itself doesn't exactly make
me say "Oh my God," although the breezy coda comes close. My CD
(one of the Bernstein/Prince Charles-with-the-mediocre-watercolors-
on-the-front series) also has Saint Saens's 3rd Symphony, the "Organ
Symphony." Bernstein's sloppy conducting and the antiquated ADD
sound don't do the piece justice, but even on this flawed disc the
Organ Symphony is capable of knocking you on your butt.
Shostakovich's 4th Symphony. There's a great new CD by Mstislav
Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra. I've really never
been able to make heads or tails of this symphony, but the music in
last movement is just amazing. The only reason you don't say "Oh my
God" when it's over is you're sitting there in stunned silence. The
liner notes (do we still call them that?) suggest that this symphony
is Shostakovich's response to Mahler. (chelsea please note.) It
does seem extremely Mahlerian in spirit, although the sound is what
you might have expected from Mahler only if he had lived into the
1930s and gotten all crazy and modern.
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birdlady
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response 56 of 67:
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Sep 21 19:29 UTC 1995 |
<grins at Michael>
Okay, Steve...I'm sorry, Steve...I'll get used to this somehow... =)
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srw
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response 57 of 67:
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Sep 21 20:18 UTC 1995 |
Some of my responses listing music I liked was directed at birdy's question
and not the real topic (Oh my God) of this item. Sorry for drifting.
I never been able to make much of Shostakovich's 4th symphony either,
but it has been a long time since I tried. I am amused by the concept
of Mahler having gotten "all crazy and modern" and I might try again.
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md
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response 58 of 67:
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Sep 21 20:40 UTC 1995 |
The trick is making it through the first 15 or 20 minutes of the
last movement.
Re Sibelius, there's an excellent CD by Vladimir Ashkenazy that
has the Karelia Suite and Tapiola, as well as Finlandia. I think
I mentioned Sibelius's 5th symphony up above. I enjoy all of his
symphonies, especially 2, 4, 5 and 6. The 6th is my favorite,
but it's one of the least "Oh my God"-ish symphonies ever
written. Of his tone poems, Tapiola is my favorite, but I also
love "Night Ride and Sunrise."
Re Copland, Appalchian Spring is my favorite Copland ballet, too.
One of my prize possessions is a score of Appalchian Spring that
Aaron Copland autographed for me 35 years ago, after conducting
it at Tanglewood. The quiet coda, right after the famous "Simple
Gifts" variations, is my favorite part. Also, I love Copland's
music for the movie version of "Our Town." When I was a kid
growing up in small-town New England listening to Copland's "Our
Town" on a scratchy old 10" LP (anyone else remember 10" LPs?), I
thought it captured the essence of small-town New England.
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srw
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response 59 of 67:
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Sep 22 06:25 UTC 1995 |
My favorite part of Appalachian Spring is the first dance. It follows the
opening slow section. I like all the rest, too.
I also like "Quiet City" for trumpet and bassoon. It is very different
from all the other Copland, and yet it is still Copland.
It's not an Omigod experience, just a pretty portrait, and interesting
use of the trumpet.
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md
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response 60 of 67:
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Sep 22 14:06 UTC 1995 |
Yes, "Quiet City" is wonderful, and it might make a certain type
of person say omigod, who knows? Some of the episodes from
"Rodeo" are great, too. Copland really invented that sound.
There's a lot of "American"-sounding movie and TV music,
especially in westerns, that never could've been written if
Copland hadn't shown everyone how, first in the ballets "Billy
the Kid," "Rodeo" and "Appalachian Spring," and then in his own
film scores, like "Our Town" and "The Red Pony."
Note for Aaron Copland fans: Copland wrote an opera called "The
Tender Land" that he extracted a couple of scenes from for an
orchestral suite. I think a CD of Copland conducting it has been
released. Highly recommended, if you like the "Copland sound."
(Can you tell I'm an Aaron Copland fan? True fact: I named my
son Aaron after him.)
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srw
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response 61 of 67:
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Sep 23 11:59 UTC 1995 |
That Copland sound is quite unique, although the sound of most composers
is unique as well, in fairness.
Back in 1989 when my older son was in the High School Orchestra ('cello)
and they were lucky enough to get a chance to go on a European tour (Vienna),
they prepared "Hoedown" from Rodeo, and found that it was the most popular
thing they played to those audiences.
They were very attracted to anything that derived from the American
Frontier West.
Copland's music is one of the great American exports.
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md
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response 62 of 67:
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Jan 3 19:35 UTC 1996 |
An 18-year-old LP of The Clash made my 11-year-old son go "Oh my
God" the other day. He and his buddies are into Green Day, NIN,
Offspring, etc., and evidently are under the impression that this
type of music is a recent invention. The only thing that
convinced him The Clash were doing it eight years before he was
born was the extremely not-cool clothes and hairstyles the group
are wearing on the album cover. He made me tape "Clash City
Rockers" and "I'm So Bored with the USA" for him (I being the only
one in the house who remembers how to work the turntable), and
played them for some friends over the weekend. The Clash are now
the latest thing at my house. Amazing.
(It really is amazing how little the sound of rock music changes.
Styles go in and out of fashion, and are sometimes given new names
like "alternative," but the styles were all pretty much cast in
stone a quarter of a century ago.)
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orinoco
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response 63 of 67:
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Jan 6 16:04 UTC 1996 |
barring changes due to advancing technology, it's amazing how right you are.
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carson
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response 64 of 67:
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Jan 7 03:20 UTC 1996 |
What does it for me is St. Etienne's version of "Only Love Can Break
Your Heart." Powerful stuff, IMO.
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md
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response 65 of 67:
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Jan 9 17:07 UTC 1996 |
[Re rock music: When I was in junior high school back in the late
1950s, rock 'n' roll was brand new and was causing quite a stir among
the older generation, who thought it signified the end of
civilization. One especially frantic English teacher staged a debate
on "resolved, rock and roll is a permanent part of American musical
culture." I think he was hoping we'd see the absurdity of the idea,
and hence the silliness of our attachment to Elvis Presley, Buddy
Holly, Chuck Berry, et al. Not a bad idea, actually -- I mean, who
knew? The "pro" side had a hard time of it (how do you prove that
something will be permanent?) and the "con" side carried the day
easily by pointing to such short-lived and forgotten dance crazes as
the Charleston, the Lambeth Walk, etc. Who'd've thought back then
that forty years later not only would rock 'n' roll still be the
dominant music, but that the outcome of a debate on something as
seemingly absurd as "resolved, rock 'n' roll caused the collapse of
world communism" would be far from certain? Meditating on the entire
history of rock music can be an "Oh my God" experience all by itself.]
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orinoco
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response 66 of 67:
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Jan 23 20:50 UTC 1996 |
Amazing...a parenthetical comment longer than virtually any response
I've ever written....
;.
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cosmos
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response 67 of 67:
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Nov 16 02:29 UTC 1996 |
I need help with finding a name of a band I really like this one song and
cannot find out the name of it some of it goes like this "Hes going for
distance, hes going for speed...She all alone all alone in the time of need"
Ive heard it on 96.3, 101.1, 102.9 and 89X Please If you know the name to this
song mail me !!(cosmos@cyberspace.org)
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