Kids are all grown and out of the house, so lots of time freed up. At the same time, I can no longer spend 2-4 hours/day on the mountain bike. I'm also playing less (guitar/piano), so I'm listening more.
I'm actually working more (recent promotion), but that only fuels my need for creative outlets (have also become a gourmet chef across multiple cuisines.... which my wife and friends have been enjoying greatly).
And to top it all off, I'm suddenly obsessively attuned to how much great music there is out there, that life is short and I want to get to know as much of it as I can while I can. And it continues to be produced at a rate faster than I can catch up, especially considering how much backtracking I have to do.
I have no idea how long I can keep up the pace along with all my other hobbies and life requirements, but I'm going to ride this wave while I can and as long as it is fun and rewarding.
Kids are all grown and out of the house, so lots of time freed up. At the same time, I can no longer spend 2-4 hours/day on the mountain bike. I'm also playing less (guitar/piano), so I'm listening more.
I'm actually working more (recent promotion), but that only fuels my need for creative outlets (have also become a gourmet chef across multiple cuisines.... which my wife and friends have been enjoying greatly).
And to top it all off, I'm suddenly obsessively attuned to how much great music there is out there, that life is short and I want to get to know as much of it as I can while I can. And it continues to be produced at a rate faster than I can catch up, especially considering how much backtracking I have to do.
I have no idea how long I can keep up the pace along with all my other hobbies and life requirements, but I'm going to ride this wave while I can and as long as it is fun and rewarding.
That's awesome!!! It's a great resource whenever I want to dabble! AND congrats on your promotion!
You should chime in The Great Thrash Debates in mine & Mercury's threads! I know you know that stuff too!
Kids are all grown and out of the house, so lots of time freed up. At the same time, I can no longer spend 2-4 hours/day on the mountain bike. I'm also playing less (guitar/piano), so I'm listening more.
I'm actually working more (recent promotion), but that only fuels my need for creative outlets (have also become a gourmet chef across multiple cuisines.... which my wife and friends have been enjoying greatly).
And to top it all off, I'm suddenly obsessively attuned to how much great music there is out there, that life is short and I want to get to know as much of it as I can while I can. And it continues to be produced at a rate faster than I can catch up, especially considering how much backtracking I have to do.
I have no idea how long I can keep up the pace along with all my other hobbies and life requirements, but I'm going to ride this wave while I can and as long as it is fun and rewarding.
That's awesome!!! It's a great resource whenever I want to dabble! AND congrats on your promotion!
You should chime in The Great Thrash Debates in mine & Mercury's threads! I know you know that stuff too!
I do pop in there once in a while as a silent spectator. As yet, I haven't felt I've really had anything to offer. I do love me some thrash and I have my favorites, but I just don't have the breadth of appreciation there across the spectrum of artists being discussed. I have checked out a few of the albums there I wasn't already familiar with, and a few even made their way into some of my year lists.
Ludwig Von Beethoven - Symphony #6 Year: 1803-1808
Bernard Haitnik/Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi/Cleveland Symphony Orchestra
Rating: 3.75 Stars
Day 6 with the Lockwood landed me on my least favorite of Beethoven's symphonies. I was hoping to gain some insight from the book which would enhance my appreciation of this popular work. I didn't really glean anything from the literature that altered my look at the 6th, but I did enjoy this particular listen more than usual. That was, however, largely movement dependent. A nice listen, but I still feel about it much like others feel about the other even numbered symphonies all sandwiched between those towering titans of the symphonic repertoire... the 6th seems pleasant, but lightweight enough I just can't get jazzed about it. Now I love the 2nd, 4th, and 8th, but only really like the 6th, I think because the programmatic elements anchoring the 6th further push my drift away from my expectations. I generally avoid any separation of individual movements from their complete works, but with this one, there's a couple movements I like as individual tone poems and I can pass on the rest. I did enjoy this stream of Haitnik/BPO more than I usually enjoy the 6th, I think because he seems to do a better job of fusing the symphonic form and programmatic elements than in my Dohnányi/CSO.
Ludwig Von Beethoven - Symphony #7 Year: 1811-1812
Bernard Haitnik/Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi/Cleveland Symphony Orchestra
Rating: 5 Stars
I'm back at my Lockwood's book inspired tour of Beethoven's symphonies. Not really wanting to hear my current versions of this great symphony, this time I'm streaming another Bernstein (Vienna Philharmonic, 1979), which was spectacular.
Early on in my classical journey, I named the 7th as a fave, but couldn't really pit my finger on why. I just dug it.
Between this listen and reading the Lockwood book, I think I can now articulate how and why this sits so well with me.
In the 7th, rhythm joins melody and harmony as an equal partner. The rhythmic unity that pervades all four movements is a real attention grabber and holder. Even the slow movement has a rhythmic intensity that creates and maintains captivating momentum.
Ludwig Von Beethoven - Symphony #8 Year: 1811-1812
Seiji Ozawa/Boston Symphony Orchestra
Rating: 5 Stars
Back into Beethoven's symphonies with the Lockwood book this morning.
The eighth is such a unique and unexpected work... and it is marvelous beyond words. Its particularly amazing that at this point, Beethoven would write his shortest symphony, and that, at least on the surface, it would seem to once again reach back to Haydn. I recall a historic review of Beethoven's violin concerto that complained that he took a paragraph to say what should be said in a single sentence. No such claim could be made here!
The amazing thing is how much, especially structurally, melodically, and harmonically is packed into that relatively brief space. This thing is dense, but manages to also be both regal and filled with light at the same time. Astonishing.
The melodious first movement is also grand beyond my abilities to adequately express it as such. It also has a brilliantly unexpected and well executed coda. The slow movement is very short, and isn't a truly slow movement, yet it fits perfectly. And is that the most stately minuet ever!?! The Ozawa I listened to today brings out all that stateliness without becoming staid; it makes it both royal and human at the same time.
The book spends some ink on what drove Beethoven to change direction so dramatically at this point, and offers a few hypotheses. I don't think it's all that complex, personally. He'd already written the 3rd, 5th, and 7th, and he may have just decided he didn't need to set another length record or pound the listener with all that dire minor key pathos. It was just time to bring the grand beauty (with his most recent innovations) in a more compact, digestible, and most importantly, listenable package. It may have been purely organic, or he may have had something to prove. Either way, I find the result to be positively smashing.
I have several recordings of this marvelous work, but none of them bring out the symphonies great attributes better than this live performance by Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
I’m an avid lover of the ninth and also have different recordings of it; and I know the 3rd and the 5th fairly well but the 8th was never really on my radar; so your view on it really makes me want to finally make the effort; unfortunately that particular version is not available in Belgium on youtube
Ludwig Von Beethoven - Symphony #9 Year: 1822-1824
Riccardo Mutti/Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Rating: 5 Stars
Finished the Lockwood book in conjunction with a fresh listen of Beethoven's 9th.
What struck me this time was just how amorphous that initial introduction is. You just don't know where it's going or what it's setting you up for. It's beautiful, captivating even, but not at all obvious. That mystery ends up making the rest of the movement even more powerful.
The next thing I think I realized for the first time is the sublime beauty of the Adagio. That two long, powerful, fast movements preceded it again enhance that realization. That one mind could produce both such power ands such beauty still boggles my mind.
Funny thing, as I was playing the symphony, my wife (not a big music fan and not at all knowledgeable of Beethoven) was disappointed I wasn't playing something else. Then as the final movement started and the Ode to Joy melody made its first appearance, she suddenly smiled and said what wonderful music this is.
This melody continues to amaze. Almost 4 full measures of straight quarter notes.... what could be more simple? And yet for nearly two centuries it has captivated casual listeners and professionals alike. I continue to marvel also at how versatile it is... from that gentle instrumental intro early on to the grand choral exposition that becomes the centerpiece of the finale, so much is asked of that simple, but anything but modest theme, and it carries it all off magnificently.
I hear new wonders in this work, every time I listen. Now, I'm actually itching for another opportunity to attend a live performance.
Great to see you highlighting Classical music in addition to your other diaries, Fischman! I can't help but be pleased that you began with probably my favorite (and imo, very possibly the "greatest") artist of all time, Beethoven.
Pretty hard to top that set of symphonies!
Anyway, it's just great to see both Jazz (on your other diary) and now Classical (this one) being highlighted, appreciated, reviewed and discussed on this site, the vast majority of which is devoted to Rock (and genre offshoots). Note that I don't mean that as a "surprise" or a "complaint" -- of course Rock is going to get the most representation here and that will probably never change -- just that the site could always use more people exploring and sharing views on Jazz and Classical music as well. _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
Charles Koechlin - Quintette "Primavera" Year: 1936
Centre National de Musique de Chambre d'Aquitaine
Rating: 4.25 Stars
So after the grand and massive Beethoven 9th, I decided to relax with something a little less demanding and this little quintet from French composer Charles Koechlin was just the ticket. Personally, I'm a big fan of both the flute and the harp, and think they go very nicely together, so adding them to a string trio to form a quintet seems full of promise. I'm happy to say that in this piece, that promise is more than fulfilled. This is a most delightful piece of music; the kind that will put a smile on the face of anyone who isn't a total sourpuss. There is an abundance of lively melody, all pulled together into 15 minutes of joy. What really takes this over the top into the most joyous territory is that Koechlin is an absolute master of fugue, and he lashes those melodies together into these uplifting rounds that give me inexplicable joy as they appeal simultaneously to my heart (with the lovely melody) and mind (with their logical flow and precision). If you ever need a break and have 15 minutes to spare, just stream this and then you'll be revived and ready to return to the world.
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