an attempt at a general "What are you currently digging re. classical music" thread

anyone have any recs for "difficult" classical music? it's always been a kind of slurry undifferentiated background music genre for me and i think the way for me to get around that is to seek out examples that are deliberately antagonistic. I don't know how successful a strategy this will be because I have the same problem with metal.

lachenmann - string quartets

finnissy - english country-tunes

Philip - don't think of this stuff as "deliberately antagonistic" (or to flip a coin, things that might be "beautiful"). I don't think there is much intention for any composer worth listening to be that (Lachenmann, as an example, would interrogate the idea of an idealised beauty that is bandied about but he wouldn't set out to make something deliberately ugly as its a reactianory move).

The first classical things I listened to Webern and Steve Reich and I never had those ideas. Then again I had few ideas about anything, so I appreciate its harder.

Can you go to any contemporary recitals? xp

And if you can't see English Country Tunes playing in yur town soon there is footage of Michael Finnissy playing it in 1984 on youtube (only 25 mins or so, about half of it)

Philip--

Elliott Carter - Double Concerto

thanks for the recs! I didn't really know where to go from nancarrow(sp?) or nico muhly.

Also, Xenakis - Jonchaies

phil: i would just explore influences, regions, time periods. frinstance if you like nancarrow's player piano music you should explore ligeti's etudes, &c

Eonta is my go to Xenakis these days.

Philip - v few classical mixed composer sets that work as albums but Trio Surplus worked up some inspiration. Quite unexpectedly varied yet within a tight spectrum, whether Liza Lim mining talking to the dead or Xenakis as having an almost lightly easternised vibe on Dmaathen, which actually is not his best on its own but works with the rest of the record.

Best of all is A Book of Maps by Ian Willcock.

I attended the recording of this BBC Symphony orchestra performance of some John Zorn works on Saturday - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ppw1t. Some of it, the first piece in particular, was absolutely stupendous. Wasn't so keen on the works that had soloists however. They weren't bad by any means but the pieces seemed to work best when the orchestra was working as a whole, without a focal point.

phil: i would just explore influences, regions, time periods. frinstance if you like nancarrow's player piano music you should explore ligeti's etudes, &c

― #YOLO magic orchestra (clouds), Monday, January 14, 2013 4:52 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is p much how I learned classical music. Aside from the above method of branching out, you can also make good discoveries by following performers. As in, I loved this recording of Jan DeGaetani singing composer X, maybe I'll check out this record of Jan DeGaetani singing composer Y.

Surprised you've never heard that Nono piece, Paul!

I don't have an easy time appreciating his tape pieces. Something about them. Maybe his tendency to collage together a lot of unmanipulated instrumental and vocal sounds, and that omnipresent muddy reverberation. Just not drawn to that sound world the way I am to Davidovsky's, say, or to the "Acousmatic" school's (if I may lump them together)…

The only Nono in my collection is the ~20 minute extract from Prometeo on an Abbado/Berlin PO Prometheus-themed disc.

Maybe his tendency to collage together a lot of unmanipulated instrumental and vocal sounds, and that omnipresent muddy reverberation.

Ah ok that piece won't persuade you as I really like a lot of those things. My favourite is Non consumiamo Marx, a collage of sounds from Paris '68.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsWMioCPUJU

Found this piece which mentions Non... here:

On March 6, 1970, at the close of the Second International Free Composers Tribune in Prague, the final composer to be represented at the conference, Luigi Nono, spoke for more than 10 minutes before a large audience of mostly Czech musicians, vigorously criticizing my score for the short film “Pour,” which preceded his presentation. Although the protocol of the tribune permitted each composer only 10 minutes to speak about his or her own music, Nono took those 10 minutes to speak about mine, concluding with a scathing condemnation of my use of vernacular music.

Nono then went on for another 10 minutes about the making of his own work, especially pointing out the theoretically correct choice of the pre-recorded sounds he had employed. He then played a tape of his composition “Non Consumiamo Marx.” When the piece was over there were three people left in the hall at the Janacek Composers’ Club at 3 Besedni Street: Luigi Nono, Mr. Okurka (the technician who operated the tape recorder and sound system) and me.

The choral works I connect with far more readily …

Love Sara Dolce Tacere myself. I think a concert w/Renaissance works and choral pieces by Nono and Bussotti would be a must for me.

(I must say I connect with most Nono I've heard, although I need a refresher on some of the works form the 50s so thx Nilmar)

i don't know nono that well, promoteo, hay que caminar, the string quartets

liebeslied is on one of the wien modern albums that abbado recorded late 80s / early 90s, some pristine live recordings of ligeti, boulez, kurtag etc

Another good Nono piece is "A floresta é jovem e cheja de vida"

Gonna start making my way through Newman's sonatas. They strike me as no other, like updates on older classical sources yet not as physical, also played by Finnissy.

Here is a cut from the CD on MODE

not as physical like yer modernists I mean

Really enjoying Julius Eastman - Unjust Malaise (it's on Spotify). Great piece here on new music box:

http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/In-Search-of-Julius-Eastman/

That set was the biggest surprise - Julius had a real Cage-ian do it yourself ethos from his compositions, a very indepedently minded spirit to his music.

Hello classical music enthusiasts.

Question: If I am totally fixated on David Munrow's version of Lamento Di Tristano, but don't particularly love the other versions that I've heard, what is it that I'm liking? The only thing I can think of is that the beginning sounds ridiculously similar to Willow's Song (before the faster dance portion), and I like his story and that seems to put a stamp of YES on everything. Musically I can only guess it's the spareness and drone? I am just trying to figure out how to find more, but I don't even know what I'm searching for. It's not the songs, but the way he arranges them, I guess. Maybe I would like some weird old Sino-Russian music or something?

I would put this on the Early Music thread but I feel like this one is ok for weird questions.

That's him doing the Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggg bit on Dinosaur L 'Go Bang' too! And yeah 'very independently minded' gets right to it. Love that story about him performing a Cage piece and his interpretation involved stripping a male model and it totally pissing Cage off.

Note -- It's partially the songs, but I don't love all of them like I love that particular one.

got some nice vinyl for myself the other day:

poulenc - stabat mater (angel)

music for a great cathedral - the choir of st. paul's cathedral (guild)

haydn - theresa mass (argo)

ravel - chansons medecasses/sites auriculaires frontispice/sonata for violin & cello (nonesuch)

brahms - symphony no. 2 - boult/baker/london phil (angel) (couldn't remember if i had this or not)

america sings 1920-1950 (vox box) (barber, carter, cowell, foss, ives, piston, etc, etc.)

america sings volume v - american choral music after 1950 (vox box) (bergsma, carter, bruckman, harrison, etc, etc.)

josquin desprez - marian motets (archiv)

bach - motet: jesus, priceless treasure and sacred part-songs - choir of king's college, cambridge (argo)

monteverdi & gesualdo - motets & madrigals - monteverdi choir (argo)

britten - part songs - elizabethan singers (argo)

bach cantatas - elly ameling (philips)

hugo wolf - lieder/schumann - frauenlibe und leben - helen watts/geoffrey parsons (l'oiseau lyre)

brahms - the young brahms: early songs - fischer-dieskau/moore (angel)

anyway, my kind of stuff. and i am such a sucker for those argo and l'oiseau lyre pressings. and guild! never see them around these parts. can you get old guild pressings in the dollar bins in the u.k.?

I haven't heard the Munrow version, I have a version played by some hardcore authenticity obsessed people. The opening theme is played on something that sounds like a hammered dulcimer. This gives off a similar vibe to me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2zRuYWl4aU

May be way off though, dunno! x-posts

Really enjoying Julius Eastman - Unjust Malaise

'Gay Guerilla' on that set is one of my favourite pieces of music ever - would love to see it performed, one day

lechera, u'd probably enjoy the clemencic consorts recording of gabrieli's canzonas and sonatas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9eL2akC6r0

Wow that Harry Partsch song sounds like awesome dream sequence music. Hm, I have heard that guy's name but never looked into it. Is this representative? Sorry for all the questions. I am trying to figure out what I am currently digging re: classical.

I'll c/p your recommendation for later, clouds. Thank you.

america sings 1920-1950 (vox box) (barber, carter, cowell, foss, ives, piston, etc, etc.)

america sings volume v - american choral music after 1950 (vox box) (bergsma, carter, bruckman, harrison, etc, etc.)

WANT

LL I think u would dig the Partch CD titled 'Historic Speech-Music Recordings' as an intro to his world.

Welcome to the classical thread where no one but me and scott ever wanna talk about old fart pre-WWII stuff!

*crosses arms*

Gonna have to do some ear research on the Munrow/Tristano question. But I just scared up something rly interesting; it sounds like there is a Henze composition that Munrow fans need to hear (let me know if this Google Books link works or not):

http://books.google.com/books?id=uxB39t7O3FcC&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=david+munrow+lamento+di+tristano&source=bl&ots=9dG-FrHyWW&sig=zdr9M4-OoEvbNDb02DIbajU8Nlc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qiD4UJ-VGuqy0QHQp4GYCQ&ved=0CF4Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=david%20munrow%20lamento%20di%20tristano&f=false

AND CLOUDS

xpost

That album title is deliciously boring. I love it, will investigate.
I had already counted clouds among my allies ;)

also I am all for including early music in cm discussions. Especially with how much we talk about post-war stuff itt and how much the post-war avant garde was thinking about early music in their own work.

yeah it is a hella dry title but it includes works that quote hobo inscriptions from the railings of train stations and transcribed cries of san fran newsboys!

this is magical cd which includes a nice version of the partch piece:

http://www.allmusic.com/album/just-west-coast-mw0001407432

any bach experts here? i have a bach question on the sandy bull thread...

Thanks for asking, bc now I looked at that thread and I never knew abt Sandy Bull before now! If that album is on spotify I can prob ID the bach pc for you...

What? Trade you a Harry Partch for a Sandy Bull. He's great!
I'll be back when I have something more to report about what I am currently digging. Thank you thread!

Really enjoying Julius Eastman - Unjust Malaise (it's on Spotify). Great piece here on new music box:

http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/In-Search-of-Julius-Eastman/

― Crackle Box, Thursday, 17 January 2013 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Sad article, have a quite a few compositions of perfs from many composers that were transferred from tape to mp3s which should be getting a wider issue (not to mention a clearer recording in some cases), with good liner notes so as to perhaps encourage more enthusiasm and performance and understanding.

So much is tied up in older cassettes where you need to contact the people performing, or excellent performances that are tied up in publishing hell.

Welcome to the classical thread where no one but me and scott ever wanna talk about old fart pre-WWII stuff!

Getting organized here, give me a minute :-)

awesome dn there!

Was hoping someone would listen to the Newman I posted earlier and tell me what other old fart 19th century stuff it sounds like?

When I started posting here I thought we'd discuss classical music from other eras, hoping to make new links too.