We apologise for the delay in transmission...
Bach, J.S. - Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (all 6)
Bach, J.S. - 15 Sinfonias (or 3-Part Inventions)
Beethoven - Cello Sonata No.2
Beethoven - Sextet for Horns and String Quartet
Bizet - Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No.2
Brahms - 3 Intermezzi, op.117
Chaminade - Viens! Mon bien-aime!
Franck - Variations Symphoniques for Piano & Orchestra
Handel - Love and Hymen, Hand in Hand from the opera Hercules
Haydn - Piano trio No.31
Hindemith - Kammermusik No.7
Liszt - Anees de Perelinage, 2nd year: Italy
Mozart - Piano Sonatas 7 and 9 (K.309 and 311)
Schumann - Kreisleriana, 2nd movement
Schumann - selections from Myrthen
Sibelius - The Swan of Tuonela
Strauss, R. - Don Juan
Stravinsky - Feu d'artifice (Fireworks)
As the pop music list grew, the the classical music list shrunk - although there are a couple of fairly large items here. The biggest listening exercise was undoubtedly the set of 6 works for solo violin by Bach. And it was a rather enjoyable one. I was actually a bit surprised to discover that I enjoyed the three Sonatas the most, because arguably the most famous sections are both from the Partitas - the Chaconne in No.2 and the Prelude in No.3. Both of those are marvellous, but the works as a whole didn't attract me as much as the sonatas.
Partita No.3 in particular seemed a bit of a disappointment. The tricky thing with classical music is that it's hard to know, without multiple versions, whether your reaction to a piece is because of the composition or because of the performance. So, at the moment I don't know whether to blame Bach or Henryk Szeryng. But I really should give them both praise for my enjoyment of the sonatas.
I'm still working through my New Year's Eve purchases - the Franck, Haydn, Hindemith and the Schumann songs all complete their respective CDs. A pretty good crop on the whole. It will be interesting to see when I get back to some of them in the ordinary course of listening. I've only got one new purchase that I still haven't listened to yet.
I'm working through my Mozart collection (essentially the piano sonatas and some symphonies) in a chronological order at the moment, albeit very slowly. This month's stop was in Mannheim. Soon I'll be listening to a couple of works from Paris around the time that Mozart's mother died. I find that getting a bit of context around pieces enhances my listening experience. It helps me get a sense of a composer's overall body of work.
I do a similar thing with popular music as well, but because it's current it's that much easier to be aware of things like chronology. It's all too easy with a classical composer to think of their collected works falling out of the sky, fully formed. But in reality their style developed and changed, and their contemporaries heard this before they ever heard that, or heard that already knowing this.
So, with Mozart, he's been moving from a very talented 17 or 18-year-old to a considerably more mature composer at the age of 21. The skill with which he integrates his ideas is increasing. Because of the small size of my current collection, it won't be all that long before he's establishing himself in Vienna.
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Wednesday 4 May 2011
April 2011 - Popular Music
Right, time for the next exciting instalment!
Tori Amos
Boom Crash Opera - Boom Crash Opera
Kate Bush - Lionheart
Kate Bush - The Sensual World
Toni Childs - House of Hope
City on a Hill (project) - Sing Alleluia
Frou Frou - Details
Patty Griffin - Downtown Church
Incubus - Make Yourself
Elton John - Madman Across the Water
Nik Kershaw - The Works
Nik Kershaw - To be Frank
Joni Mitchell - Night Ride Home
Moloko - I Am Not A Doctor
Roisin Murphy - Overpowered
Powderfinger - Vulture Street
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Seal - Seal [1991]
Seal - Human Being
Something for Kate - Beautiful Sharks
Sting - The Dream of the Blue Turtles
Thrice - The Alchemy Index (complete)
So much music (considerably more than last month), and so little space in which to discuss it...
Abnormally Attracted to Sin officially becomes the first album to make multiple appearances, although it's by no means the first album I listened to more than once.
I've already noticed this blog affecting my listening in ways I didn't intend. Suddenly I find myself thinking 'oh, I can't listen to that, I listened to it last month'. Well, why the hell not? It's as if I think people will be bored or roll their eyes if the list has repetitions. Whereas I seem perfectly happy to listen to something multiple times within a month, because 'no-one will know'.
The new Radiohead album happened to be an April 1 purchase. Yes, I waited for it to come out on CD, I'm quaint like that. I don't know exactly how many times I listened to the album, but it was in fairly high rotation the first couple of weeks as I got to know it. The very first listen didn't give me a favourable impression, particularly for the first 3 tracks, but then that frequently happens. Music that's complex and interesting enough to sustain my interest in the long term is often too complex to be grasped the first time around. The opening track in particular is something that takes some unpicking.
House of Hope was the very first CD I ever owned. In fact, I got it for Christmas before I even had a CD player, as it was known I was getting the player for my birthday. I still find it a satisfying album, nearly 20 years later. Age has not wearied it. I still have the CD player as well, although it's beginning to detiorate a bit and the cassette unit is shot to pieces.
No Australian acts last month, but I seem to have made up for it this time around with a healthy dose of Australian rock. The Badloves (okay, they're not so rock), Boom Crash Opera, Powderfinger and Something for Kate all got some airplay.
Of those, SFK would definitely be my personal favourite. Why they haven't had more success is beyond me. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Paul Dempsey's lyrics frequently involve sentences that go for 3 or 4 lines, and that kind of stream-of-consciousness isn't something that fits with the easy, disposable qualities that radio requires.
Tori Amos
- Under the Pink
- Boys for Pele
- Scarlet's Walk
- Abnormally Attracted to Sin
- Audience bootlegs - Phoenix 19 November 2001, San Diego 20 November 2001 (1st show)
Boom Crash Opera - Boom Crash Opera
Kate Bush - Lionheart
Kate Bush - The Sensual World
Toni Childs - House of Hope
City on a Hill (project) - Sing Alleluia
Frou Frou - Details
Patty Griffin - Downtown Church
Incubus - Make Yourself
Elton John - Madman Across the Water
Nik Kershaw - The Works
Nik Kershaw - To be Frank
Joni Mitchell - Night Ride Home
Moloko - I Am Not A Doctor
Roisin Murphy - Overpowered
Powderfinger - Vulture Street
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Seal - Seal [1991]
Seal - Human Being
Something for Kate - Beautiful Sharks
Sting - The Dream of the Blue Turtles
Thrice - The Alchemy Index (complete)
So much music (considerably more than last month), and so little space in which to discuss it...
Abnormally Attracted to Sin officially becomes the first album to make multiple appearances, although it's by no means the first album I listened to more than once.
I've already noticed this blog affecting my listening in ways I didn't intend. Suddenly I find myself thinking 'oh, I can't listen to that, I listened to it last month'. Well, why the hell not? It's as if I think people will be bored or roll their eyes if the list has repetitions. Whereas I seem perfectly happy to listen to something multiple times within a month, because 'no-one will know'.
The new Radiohead album happened to be an April 1 purchase. Yes, I waited for it to come out on CD, I'm quaint like that. I don't know exactly how many times I listened to the album, but it was in fairly high rotation the first couple of weeks as I got to know it. The very first listen didn't give me a favourable impression, particularly for the first 3 tracks, but then that frequently happens. Music that's complex and interesting enough to sustain my interest in the long term is often too complex to be grasped the first time around. The opening track in particular is something that takes some unpicking.
House of Hope was the very first CD I ever owned. In fact, I got it for Christmas before I even had a CD player, as it was known I was getting the player for my birthday. I still find it a satisfying album, nearly 20 years later. Age has not wearied it. I still have the CD player as well, although it's beginning to detiorate a bit and the cassette unit is shot to pieces.
No Australian acts last month, but I seem to have made up for it this time around with a healthy dose of Australian rock. The Badloves (okay, they're not so rock), Boom Crash Opera, Powderfinger and Something for Kate all got some airplay.
Of those, SFK would definitely be my personal favourite. Why they haven't had more success is beyond me. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Paul Dempsey's lyrics frequently involve sentences that go for 3 or 4 lines, and that kind of stream-of-consciousness isn't something that fits with the easy, disposable qualities that radio requires.
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