19 Dec
2012
19 Dec
'12
12:48 a.m.
On Wed, December 19, 2012 10:01 am, Chris Cannam wrote:
On 18 December 2012 00:37, Ralf Mardorf
<ralf.mardorf(a)alice-dsl.net>
wrote:
Some of the more attentive might have noticed several refrains in that
piece that have made it into popular film scores. Jaws is there and a few
more very famous movies have taken chunks out of that Symphony. Makes
sense too. The piece is well known so it saves on expensive
learning/rehearsal time in expensive studios and the producers don't have
to pay any copyright fees either.
I know less about Mozart, but his music sounds
insincere to me, like
things done by Malcolm McLaren.
I think that's an interesting point of view, and one I can understand.
It might help to think of Mozart as an ingenious and emotive composer
writing in a language that has since come to seem commonplace -- a bit
like English readers might sometimes think of Dickens, especially
after seeing half a dozen overwrought stage performances of A
Christmas Carol. He can't be blamed for our context.
Try some more intimate or historically-informed
performances of e.g.
his piano concertos. Mozart didn't have the grand dynamic thrusts we
got used to from the romantic period, and performances that emphasise
the big sweeping stuff just sound a bit formulaic, while those that
work through detail and local (tonal) colour I find a lot more
communicative.
I'm sure it's quite normal to have composers that make absolutely no
sense to you though. Mine is Händel. I don't get him and I'm afraid I
never will.
I'm still trying to get my head around Michael Jackson's works. Some
people still consider him the King of Pop... Such a large range of
emotions.
(When I was at school, my music teacher -- of whom I
was fond --
thought Brahms' 4th symphony was the pinnacle of mankind's creative
achievement. Or thereabouts. To this day I can't understand the piece.
Nowadays, mostly because of his songs and chamber works, Brahms is one
of my favourite composers but it's taken me over 20 years and I'm
still not getting that 4th symphony.)
listening now...
--
Patrick Shirkey
Boost Hardware Ltd