tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post1291171002450363641..comments2023-10-11T14:18:03.816+01:00Comments on Works Well: Down with Cio-Cio San! Well, why not?Roderick Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-69562861889881949202011-07-13T18:06:52.204+01:002011-07-13T18:06:52.204+01:00Plutarch: Repetition has its uses. Mrs BB and I at...Plutarch: Repetition has its uses. Mrs BB and I attend three or four concerts a year at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Often we've used these visits to listen to unfamiliar stuff; I can remember in particular hearing and enjoying Barber's piano concerto. On the other hand, given the tendencies of programme makers, there's usually a war-horse available too. War-horses are relaxing.<br /><br />Hattie: No, that's not it. There's no worldwide consensus that Vivaldi is a great composer, only that a tiny part of his output is familiar. The theme I was trying to develop is that dislike - provided it is well expressed - can be instructive. What's more, well expressed dislike of, say, Mozart can be far more educational than knee-jerk praise.<br /><br />Anne: Throw in Sabre Dance and Carmina Burana and that's an unholy quartet. I agree that the Butterfly story is unpleasant but I didn't like the music either. The Humming Chorus evoked a piece of rotting meat and a swarm of flies.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-46139082005712857972011-07-13T16:13:07.649+01:002011-07-13T16:13:07.649+01:00My 2 pet dislikes of classical music (which is mos...My 2 pet dislikes of classical music (which is mostly what I listen to) are Ravel's "Bolero" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee". The radio station I listen to plays those pieces frequently. I know they are both short pieces but when they are being played I feel as though they will never be finished.<br /><br />And I agree about M. Butterfly. Not a pleasant opera.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04979547096244105508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-80549916702103310872011-07-11T19:53:03.791+01:002011-07-11T19:53:03.791+01:00Well, I am partial to Vivaldi, because I played so...Well, I am partial to Vivaldi, because I played some of his work in my younger, violin-playing years. Alas, violin playing sounds like screeching to me these days, thanks to my faulty hearing.<br />Could be that some of these music critics have hearing loss and don't realize it.Hattiehttp://hattie.typepad.com/hatties_web/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-16628768553727452652011-07-10T16:33:51.682+01:002011-07-10T16:33:51.682+01:00Sometimes repetion is the source of boredom in a p...Sometimes repetion is the source of boredom in a piece of music. Constant repetion of Vivaldi's Four Seasons often in the form of piped music seemed to induce something close to a hypnotic state when it was played day and night in The Sixties (or was it the Seventies?) Who knows it might have have been a pleasure to listen to once.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06972049290586377462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-8288170538300631412011-07-10T09:03:25.267+01:002011-07-10T09:03:25.267+01:00The Crow: Not the first. Could be the latter but w...The Crow: Not the first. Could be the latter but who knows? She has suffered greatly in the past and it may be necessary for her to suffer again in order to delight the author. Can't say more, hope you'll read the book. Just passed the 90,000-word mark. Originally the target was the 106,000 words I achieved with Gorgon Times. This may run longer.<br /><br />M-L: What makes the article special is that the opinion is directed against the music itself, nothing to do with individual performances, etc. Music that the contributing critics don't like. Of course this is subjective but it is unusual when a professional music critic says he doesn't like certain war-horses like Madam Butterfly. Taking critics with a pinch of salt is all very well but most of us are musical amateurs and find it difficult to articulate our likes and dislikes. A technical knowledge can usually be presumed in a critic (and it's usually fairly easy to check) and trust in his or her judgement can be established by reading them regularly. What I object to is the assumption that because a piece has been around for decades or centuries it's automatically a masterpiece (which, as I say, is the principle on which the BBC's Radio 3 station is based). I am particularly suspicious when introduced to a "neglected" work; the subsequent broadcast is often proof that neglect can be a worthwhile practice.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-29758069961640034452011-07-09T19:47:05.633+01:002011-07-09T19:47:05.633+01:00I always say that we each have individual reaction...I always say that we each have individual reactions to each art work, whether visual or musical. With the musical, the performance and staging may vary greatly and can affect one's response, hmm? I often find that certain individual parts of long operas may delight and other parts irritate. Maybe that's why we often listen to those parts rather than the whole. So, I tend to take the critics proclamations with a grain of salt. Of course, it's gratifying when their pronouncements happen to agree with one's own, but what if they did not?marja-leenahttp://www.marja-leena-rathje.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-58945612230861129022011-07-09T16:31:46.880+01:002011-07-09T16:31:46.880+01:00Re: Jana - Would this be her first love affair, or...Re: Jana - Would this be her first love affair, or the one of true love?The Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846997590157958766noreply@blogger.com