Originally posted by Richard Barrett
View Post
The Brahms Experience
Collapse
X
-
Richard Barrett
Originally posted by teamsaint View PostSome interesting thoughts about musical structures and the mind, amongst other things, in this lecture on Sextets,RB.
Comment
-
Brahms apparently had rather a high pitched voice, and was extremely slender as a young man. This may interest Brahms lovers if you haven't heard it already.
Comment
-
-
Originally posted by Barbirollians View PostI ca only think that those who regard Brahms as staid have just been listening to the wrong performances .
I defy anyone to say that about the EMI Furtwangler and Columbia SO/Walter accounts of the symphonies , the Menuhin/Kempe account of the Violin Concerto or the Oistrakh/Fournier Double
I've been listening to the B minor clarinet quintet - v. light-hearted, late work (1891). Love the 3rd movement.It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.
Comment
-
-
Richard Barrett
-
As Barbirollians has emphasised, the idea of Brahms as "stodgy" is - just an idea, a blurred cliche of image & response. With the Piano Sonatas & Serenades at one end of his creative life, the Clarinet Trio and Sonatas at the other, the Symphonies 2-4, the Quintets, and the 2nd Piano Concerto in between, for those that truly know and love their Brahms, he is simply one of the greatest composers, with a wonderfully wide range of moods and sounds in his inspirations. Enjoy him while you're here!
Symphony No.1, the 1st Piano Concerto, Op. 51/1? A coming to terms with - Beethoven, the Tragic, The Romantic Artist atop the Crag, the Sturm und Drang, of his inherited tradition. But ALWAYS - in his own voice, true to himself...
Comment
-
-
Originally posted by Richard Barrett View PostWell I don't know, I'm always interested to hear people expressing themselves enthusiastically about Brahms's music but, with a few exceptions, I find the "passion" in his music is overwhelmed by the stodginess, a pedantic need to underline everything (which unfortunately he passed on to the Brahmsian side of Schoenberg).
Sometimes the motivic development is a bit pedantic (the Romance of the 1st Quartet comes to mind for me) but this seems to affect mostly the movements where he is trying a bit too hard, e.g. the first movements of the Quartet Op. 25 and Quintet Op. 34—when he relaxes a bit, as in the last two movements of both works, any signs of stodginess quite disappear. And in the later works (2nd String Quintet etc) he got much better at making his lines seem "seamless" à la Chopin/Bellini, without belabouring their derivation from short motivic cells. Strange how everyone hears these things differently I suppose.
Comment
-
-
hedgehog
A major stumbling block for me with Brahms was/is his orchestration - all those melodic doublings at thirds and sixths drive me crazy! Was until I heard some performances on period instruments and then a lot started to make more sense in that department.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Sir Velo View PostFunny. I see that work shot through with a sense of overwhelming melancholy and nostalgia![FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]
Comment
-
-
Originally posted by hedgehog View PostA major stumbling block for me with Brahms was/is his orchestration -.
I admit I'm only referring to the symphonies here ( I actually quite like the German Requiem) and I need to sit down with a fresh mind and explore the rest of Brahms' output further, that's for sure.
Comment
-
-
Originally posted by P. G. Tipps View PostI admit I'm only referring to the symphonies here
Comment
-
-
Richard Barrett
Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View PostAs Barbirollians has emphasised, the idea of Brahms as "stodgy" is - just an idea, a blurred cliche of image & response.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Sir Velo View PostFunny. I see that work shot through with a sense of overwhelming melancholy and nostalgia!
Listening to the final movement again (I left the turntable on all night!) I still hear it more as gentle contentment. But I suppose these things can vary depending on what your own mood is. Maybe I just meant a lightness of touch. Not heavy and staid like the symphonies. Isn't this where you can say there's no universal validity? Particularly with quieter works. Some people find quietness quite tiresome.It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.
Comment
-
Comment