What's your poison?

Probaly the Bartok quartets - I adore them, but no one else I know shares my passion. I made an ex-girlfriend listen to Das Lied von der Erde a few years ago, and that was the end of that...!

EW

I had a similar experience with the Bartok. Whilst out with a friend I encouraged him to buy the Takac's recording with the words, 'It's one of the most wonderful CDs you'll ever buy'. I found he hated it so much he returned it to the shop the next day and has never listened to a word I say about music since without getting a funny look on his face.

quote:

Originally posted by stephenjohn:
I had a similar experience with the Bartok. Whilst out with a friend I encouraged him to buy the Takac's recording

That's my favourite recording of the Bartoks too!

EW

I have a problem persuading some of my friends as to the merits of Thelonious Monk, but I did manage to convert my piano-playing mother

What is poison for me is Anton Bruckner. To me he is all over the place in his music and can't keep a theme involving. I try keeping an open mind because many people feel he is great, but I have yet to find something by him that does not bore me to tears.

Charles

quote:

Originally posted by chuck777:
What is poison for me is Anton Bruckner. To me he is all over the place in his music and can't keep a theme involving. I try keeping an open mind because many people feel he is great, but I have yet to find something by him that does not bore me to tears.

Charles

I don't know about "all over the place", but he can be long-winded, repetative and a shade bombastic. Then again, he can be absolutely fuckin sublime too, as in the slow movement of the 9th. The masses are quite something too.

EW

On the classical front, I have always stuggled in my advocacy of Hindemith. Don't know why, I think the violin concerto and Mathis are great.

I once played Gorecki's deeply moving 3rd symphony to a girlfriend and she spent the whole time looking at me as if I were mad. She had a stage pass to watch a boy band (whatever that is) called 'Take that' or something similar and wanted me to go with her and try as hard as I might I could not understand why she would want to inflict so much suffering on me and she could not understand why I would not want to 'enjoy the fun' even if only to keep her company. There really is no accounting for taste, why do we even try?

quote:

Originally posted by Huwge:
On the classical front, I have always stuggled in my advocacy of Hindemith. Don't know why, I think the violin concerto and Mathis are great.

Do you know the Nobelissima Visione? I played it once, and have never heard it since, but I think it lovely, and certainly worth knowing. Generally I struggle to understand where Hindemith's harmonic language leads!

Fredrik

Dear Friends,

I must be lucky, for though I mostly play music which friends don't know, I make converts (to classical music) with what I love the best, though I don't think the Art Of Fugue is much use to beginers! The greatest music seems (generally) to communicate on a more or less Universal level, which is why, perhaps in troubled times, people turn to the Universal classics, which so sooth and comfort the soul in their deep humanity, and consoling power.

All the best from Fredrik

quote:

Originally posted by Fredrik_Fiske:
Universal classics

Sounds like a record label!

quote:

which so sooth and comfort the soul in their deep humanity, and consoling power.

..although most people these days quite prefer some thumping jungle music.

EW

Fredrik,

I seem to remember hearing this many years ago, also in concert. It is not easy to find recorded music - it took me a long time to get the complete Mathis der Maler. I need to check with my Dad as he has some extra stuff on vinyl that has never made it to CD.

It's funny, there is certain music that just speaks to one. Hindemith is one of those composers, together with Shostakovich, Schubert and Beethoven (particularly his chamber music) that work for me.

Huw

If friends express an interest in music I tend to give them a copy of something by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to broaden their horizons. A few are inspired, most just think it is horrible.

Bruce

quote:

a copy of something by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

It's a mustt, mustt

After more thought, realised no one else I know likes Shostakovich's final string quartet as much as I do [my wife calles the second movement psycho-music] and never met anyone else whose favourite Bob Dylan album was Planet Waves

I have Shostakovich's 15th paired with the the 8th on the original Fitzwilliam Quartet LP and it is one of my favourite discs.

quote:

Originally posted by Earwicker:

quote:

Originally posted by Fredrik_Fiske:
Universal classics

Sounds like a record label!

EW

Oh dear, Mr Earwicker ,

That could be taken as adverising. Entirely an accident I can promise you!

As for people enjoying a thumping, belted ( and in my book thunderingly tedious!) rhytm, well this is very true, but it has one big advantage for me. Not far way from me lives one such enthusiast. Nobody takes any notice of me, playing classical stuff at inaudible levels in the middle of the night, when 'matey' plays his favourite 'music' so it is audible' in another building!'

All the best from Fredrik on Poets Day - P*** off early. Tomorrow's Saturday! Yo!

quote:

Originally posted by Huwge:
Fredrik,

I seem to remember hearing this [Nobeissima Visione] many years ago, also in concert. It is not easy to find recorded music - it took me a long time to get the complete Mathis der Maler. I need to check with my Dad as he has some extra stuff on vinyl that has never made it to CD.

It's funny, there is certain music that just speaks to one...

Huw

Dear Huw,

I have failed to find this on a recording, which is a shame. As for music speaking to one, I do indeed find that old Bach is the greatest in speaking directly, and seemingly to me. Quite amazing, and that makes the effort of concentrating so worthwhile!

All the best from Fredrik

quote:

Originally posted by Fredrik_Fiske:
Generally I struggle to understand where Hindemith's harmonic language leads!

Actually, it's not so much where it leads, it's how it gets there.

Almost all of Hindemith's pieces, no matter how far the harmonic language has ventured, end with a simple major triad, the most basic and accessible harmonic component. Supposedly he did this so that even as he challenged the listener's ears, he always brought it back home "for the people," so to speak.

I love that about Hindemith's music, and I love his music in general ... although harmonically challenging, it's very melodic and lyrical, and its harmonic pallette straddles the gray area between tonality and atonality. In particular, I love the piano sonatas and the flute sonata.

-Fred

Dear Fred,

I take your point in that the way I expressed it was not quite how you took it! I know it comes home harmonically, of course, and what I was talking of was a more general point. Given the general tendency of music to veer towards chromaticism from Liszt and Wagner onwards, leading to the almost inevitable breakdown that led to the cul-de-sac of the Tone Row and the second Viennese School, if you study Hindermith's harmony it becomes obvious that it is little more than what any competent hymnal editor would achieve in correcting or re-harmonizing normal hymn-tunes, BUT with one note wrong in almost every chord. It really is very easy to parody!

It seems rather odd to me and once I twigged this simple fact (or theory which can easily be seen as not so far off beam!), it became quite hard for me to take the music all that seriously, but that ceratinly did not prevent me from completely enjoying the Nobelissima Visione!

I guess you may think this is a cheek, but I am sure I have heard of 'Fred Simon.' I hope you will not mind if I wonder if you are somewhat famous.

All the best from Fredrik

quote:

Originally posted by Fredrik_Fiske:
I guess you may think this is a cheek, but I am sure I have heard of 'Fred Simon.' I hope you will not mind if I wonder if you are somewhat famous.

Hi Fredrik,

Sorry for the late reply.

Some may consider me "somewhat famous," others, somewhat infamous.

Decide for yourself ... you can start here:

http://www.thenaimlabel.co.uk/artists/simon_main.htm

and here:

http://www.opendoormanagement.com/fredsimon/index.html

All best,
Fred

I swoon for ELO and the (old) Moody Blues; most dudes I hang with think I'm soft. As an American, I also find my advocacy of Oasis a hard sell (Yanks don't "get" Noel and Liam's, er, confidence and Northern wit.)

quote:

Originally posted by erik scothron:
I once played Gorecki's deeply moving 3rd symphony to a girlfriend and she spent the whole time looking at me as if I were mad. She had a stage pass to watch a boy band (whatever that is) called 'Take that' or something similar and wanted me to go with her and try as hard as I might I could not understand why she would want to inflict so much suffering on me and she could not understand why I would not want to 'enjoy the fun' even if only to keep her company. There really is no accounting for taste, why do we even try?

There may be no *accounting* for taste, but there is still taste itself; and Gorecki's 3rd, even on its worst day, will outclass the puerile efforts of any boy band always and all the time...and so we try.

That which poisons me would have to be 90% of the indie-pop I have ever heard, which, given my location, is hard to avoid. But then I do love the Grateful Dead who, I know, are a poison to many.
dan'l

quote:

Originally posted by erik scothron:
I once played Gorecki's deeply moving 3rd symphony to a girlfriend and she spent the whole time looking at me as if I were mad. She had a stage pass to watch a boy band (whatever that is) called 'Take that' or something similar and wanted me to go with her and try as hard as I might I could not understand why she would want to inflict so much suffering on me and she could not understand why I would not want to 'enjoy the fun' even if only to keep her company. There really is no accounting for taste, why do we even try?

It's very personal i think.
Here in my "pit" there's only me and a good friend when he wants to come and see me.
My mother sometimes ask me when i'll get married and if there's some women around.
I do answer that i'll do it when i'll find one able to appreciate an evening of records and nothing else.
Maybe a bottle of red as well.
This means never.
Btw is not such a tragedy.

quote:

Originally posted by dsteady:
That which poisons me would have to be 90% of the indie-pop I have ever heard, which, given my location, is hard to avoid. But then I do love the Grateful Dead who, I know, are a poison to many.
dan'l

Dan'l - the Grateful Dead are not poison to me. I have all of the albums up to Blues for Allah and a Phil Lesh album (I think you may have recommended) on order. I've also got some Garcia and Weir solo efforts. Favourite: Anthem of the Sun - it is incredible even after all the years.

It was unfortunate that when John Peel started playing some excellent new wave music that he made the unfortunate remark that he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life playing records by the Grateful Dead on his programme. I think some people got the idea that to say they liked the Dead was unfashionable. However, I speak as someone who likes the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe, Creedence Clearwater Revival as well as the Clash, Desperate Bicycles and Half Man, Half Biscuit. I also like the Beatles.

As for Poison it has to be Alice Cooper - Poison being one of his many classics and the best track on Trash. If there is a better rock album than Love It To Death then I haven't heard it.