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Classical ♫ Music only | Some you listen now or recently, some you love...
- Thread starter NorthSky
- Start date
This thread could use a little colour. So how about some African-American classical?
By the way, Sony recently reissued the CBS Black Composer series from the 70s.
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Composer-Complete-Album-Collection/dp/B07HGGBXDH
I've been spending a lot of time listening to Gerd Schaller's Bruckner cycle, a wonderful series of recordings and among those unusual recordings that genuinely bring something fresh and original to works we believe we're very familiar with thanks to numerous excellent existing options.
Amusingly I just mentioned this is another thread. Haven’t heard it yet, so won’t comment on it. But I bet cello players are a bit pissed off, as if violinists don’t already have a huge repertoire already, they start pinching the Crown Jewels from other string instruments!
I'm listening to "Doctor Atomic" by John Adams:
https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Atomi...s=gateway&sprefix=adams+doctor,aps,210&sr=8-1
I got into the operas of John Adams fairly recently. I used to laugh at my father because his taste in music pretty much started and stopped at Verdi and Pucinni but I realised that although my tastes were quite wide I had basically ended up listening to 19th Century Austro-German composers (particularly Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner and Wagner) for the vast majority of my listening sessions and was in a rut. I love 20th century Russian music (particularly Prokofiev) but even there I was becoming very stuck in my ways. So I decided to make a conscious effort to listen to new music (well, new to me), I really struggled with some, for example Ligetti (in fairness probably no more than I struggle with Mahler) and am not sure Glass is really music however I have fallen in love with the music of Adams. I know some of the stories are controversial and for sure I'd recommend nobody approach his operas if they are wanting to find out about historic events but as musical theatre/opera some of his works are really rather wonderful I think.
https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Atomi...s=gateway&sprefix=adams+doctor,aps,210&sr=8-1
I got into the operas of John Adams fairly recently. I used to laugh at my father because his taste in music pretty much started and stopped at Verdi and Pucinni but I realised that although my tastes were quite wide I had basically ended up listening to 19th Century Austro-German composers (particularly Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner and Wagner) for the vast majority of my listening sessions and was in a rut. I love 20th century Russian music (particularly Prokofiev) but even there I was becoming very stuck in my ways. So I decided to make a conscious effort to listen to new music (well, new to me), I really struggled with some, for example Ligetti (in fairness probably no more than I struggle with Mahler) and am not sure Glass is really music however I have fallen in love with the music of Adams. I know some of the stories are controversial and for sure I'd recommend nobody approach his operas if they are wanting to find out about historic events but as musical theatre/opera some of his works are really rather wonderful I think.
I saw it a few years ago in our local opera house - it was a fantastic performance.
If you like this you may also like:
- The Passenger by Mieczysław Weinberg
- The Dead City by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
- Wallenberg by Erkki-Sven Tüür
A few years ago I stumbled upon a sampler with 2 CDs called MoMu Meisterwerke des 20. Jahrhunderts (master works of the 20th century). The focus of this sampler is on "listenable" music, because many people think of 12-tone scale music only. The result was that I bought 20 CDs of composers on this sampler.
Thanks for those recommendations, which I will certainly investigate! I have found that it has been rather rewarding to make the effort to get to know music that I had previously made little or no effort to try. Of course some of it I have just not enjoyed or grown to like even after making some effort, but I have found some really rather wonderful works, such as Nixon in China and Doctor Atomic and even some Ligetti pieces. I find with Ligetti some of his work is really very beautiful and others awful (well, in my opinion), like I say I have a similar feeling about Mahler despite Mahler's status as one of the giants of music nowadays.
I share this opinion
. I like the choir works like those Stanley Kubrick used in 2001. I listened once to an opera (or kind of) and the singing was unbearable.I didn't knew that Ligeti has written this.Come on, Bohemian Rhapsody doesn't count.
I didn't knew that Ligeti has written this.
Oops, context is everything; I thought you meant some random opera, not Ligeti specifically.
Everyone seems to love that Barbara Hannigan video of her singing from the "Mistère du Macabre", but I never got what the jailbait outfit had to do with it.
Wait, there was singing in that video?
Have you tried Glass’ Akhnaten? I saw it at the ENO this year, hypnotic music, amazing stage show. Admittedly, pretty similar to other Glass I’ve heard (and mostly liked), so might not do anything for you.
My main contemporary love is Reich. Music for 18 Musicians is one of my favourite live performances, and I like pretty much all his work I’ve heard.
Schnittke popped up on my radar thanks to Radio 3, and I’ve found him interesting, but rarely played live.
Ligetti on the other hand gets a lot of live play (Yuja Wang) where he can be fun, but I’m not so sure about recorded works.
Regarding “new to me” music, I’ve also headed in the opposite temporal direction, and found to my surprise I rather like a lot of harpsichord music, which I’d previously dismissed.
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I will try that Glass piece, thanks for the recommendation!
Currently listening to Bruckner's 8th performed by the Munchner Philharmoniker conducted by Sergiu Celibidache. Not a recording for those new to Bruckner perhaps but it is an extraordinary performance. To stretch a symphony for 20 - 25 minutes beyond other performances is a recipe for soul destroying tedium but Celibidache pulled it off and the result is mesmerising.
Currently listening to Bruckner's 8th performed by the Munchner Philharmoniker conducted by Sergiu Celibidache. Not a recording for those new to Bruckner perhaps but it is an extraordinary performance. To stretch a symphony for 20 - 25 minutes beyond other performances is a recipe for soul destroying tedium but Celibidache pulled it off and the result is mesmerising.
onofno
Active Member
Yuja Wang
Rachnlaninov prélude Live
Rachnlaninov prélude Live
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Old Listener
Senior Member
Flash mob - ode to joy
Robin L
Master Contributor
The sound is better than I remembered, the phrasing owing to Glenn Gould and Sergi Rachmaninov in equal measure. Sviatoslav Richter's recording of the Well Tempered Clavier is one of the pianist's greatest achievements.
Sounds lovely via my Moto + Sennheiser HD599 headphones:
Sounds lovely via my Moto + Sennheiser HD599 headphones:
Robin L
Master Contributor
I heard this—Billy Strayhorn's arrangement— before hearing the original orchestration. "Sugar Rum Cherry" is a rare treat:This thread could use a little colour. So how about some African-American classical?
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