Post by majesty on Dec 27, 2016 10:45:40 GMT -8
By Daniel Ross, 15th August 2016, 09:50
Hold on to your hats - if you haven’t heard any of these, your life is about to be changed 10 times in a row. Needless to say, each of these examples should be digested in a single sitting.
Read more at www.classicfm.com/discover/music/change-your-life/#w3jgR6q4oPOBiUpu.99
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6
What is it?
Tchaikovsky’s final symphony, nicknamed ‘Pathétique’. The premiere performance was given just nine days before the composer died.
Why it will change your life:
Tchaikovsky was surely one of the most personally troubled of the great composers - and this symphony was essentially the outpouring of many of his issues, in a way. Many initially thought it was a lengthy suicide note, others pointed to the hugely controversial homosexual leanings Tchaikovsky was known to have, while some thought it was just a tragic, sad, glorious and indulgent artistic expression. But the reason it’ll stay with you forever is that all of these contexts work in their own way, but it never detracts from how magisterial the music itself is. It’s a lesson in the very best ways of expressing emotions through music.
Mahler - Symphony No. 2
What is it?
Massive, that’s what it is. Ruddy massive. Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (known as the ’Resurrection’) is a 90-minute attempt to put the whole nature of existence into a piece music. So pretty ambitious.
Why it will change your life:
If you think any bit of music over 3 minutes long is a bit indulgent and full of itself, this single piece will convince you that sometimes it’s completely worth spending an hour and a half on one musical concept (even if it is a huge concept). No other composer could’ve made it more entertaining (listen out for death shrieks!), or more rewarding. The epic final few minutes are a stupidly generous reward on their own, but getting there is half the fun.
(This one may be blocked)
Beethoven - Grosse Fuge
What is it?
One of the last pieces Beethoven wrote for string quartet, one of his celebrated ‘Late’ quartets. It’s a one-movement experiment in structure that was universally hated when it was first composed.
Why it will change your life:
It’s proof that not only can critics and audiences get it really, really wrong, but also that it’s all about interpretation. You can actually hear the struggle and the effort it must’ve taken to compose, which means it’s not always a relaxing listen, but few pieces in history have so nakedly shown how a composer can throw absolutely everything into a single work. And, in the end, it was hugely influential to serialist composers of the 20th century with none other than Igor Stravinsky proclaiming it a miracle of music. How about that for delayed gratification?
Hold on to your hats - if you haven’t heard any of these, your life is about to be changed 10 times in a row. Needless to say, each of these examples should be digested in a single sitting.
Read more at www.classicfm.com/discover/music/change-your-life/#w3jgR6q4oPOBiUpu.99
J.S. Bach - St Matthew Passion
What is it?
It’s one of two ‘Passion’ oratorios that have survived since Bach died (he could’ve written up to five), but it’s also become one of his most celebrated pieces. The original title is Passio Domini nostri J.C. secundum Evangelistam Matthæum (the ‘J.C.’ stands for Jesus Christ, which is maybe a bit familiar for someone he hadn’t met… but we’ll let him off).
Why it will change your life:
If you thought that Baroque music mostly dealt with plinky-plinky harpsichords paid for by wealthy and obscure members of Royal family, the St Matthew Passion will obliterate your puny mind. There are biblical proclamations of impending apocalypse littered throughout, and for each of them, Bach wangles in some sort of crushing atonality or strange chord, as if he’s wincing with pain each time it happens. This is such a human experience, composed at a time when human experiences weren’t chief among the aims of most Baroque composer composers.
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6
What is it?
Tchaikovsky’s final symphony, nicknamed ‘Pathétique’. The premiere performance was given just nine days before the composer died.
Why it will change your life:
Tchaikovsky was surely one of the most personally troubled of the great composers - and this symphony was essentially the outpouring of many of his issues, in a way. Many initially thought it was a lengthy suicide note, others pointed to the hugely controversial homosexual leanings Tchaikovsky was known to have, while some thought it was just a tragic, sad, glorious and indulgent artistic expression. But the reason it’ll stay with you forever is that all of these contexts work in their own way, but it never detracts from how magisterial the music itself is. It’s a lesson in the very best ways of expressing emotions through music.
Mahler - Symphony No. 2
What is it?
Massive, that’s what it is. Ruddy massive. Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (known as the ’Resurrection’) is a 90-minute attempt to put the whole nature of existence into a piece music. So pretty ambitious.
Why it will change your life:
If you think any bit of music over 3 minutes long is a bit indulgent and full of itself, this single piece will convince you that sometimes it’s completely worth spending an hour and a half on one musical concept (even if it is a huge concept). No other composer could’ve made it more entertaining (listen out for death shrieks!), or more rewarding. The epic final few minutes are a stupidly generous reward on their own, but getting there is half the fun.
(This one may be blocked)
Beethoven - Grosse Fuge
What is it?
One of the last pieces Beethoven wrote for string quartet, one of his celebrated ‘Late’ quartets. It’s a one-movement experiment in structure that was universally hated when it was first composed.
Why it will change your life:
It’s proof that not only can critics and audiences get it really, really wrong, but also that it’s all about interpretation. You can actually hear the struggle and the effort it must’ve taken to compose, which means it’s not always a relaxing listen, but few pieces in history have so nakedly shown how a composer can throw absolutely everything into a single work. And, in the end, it was hugely influential to serialist composers of the 20th century with none other than Igor Stravinsky proclaiming it a miracle of music. How about that for delayed gratification?
