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Very interesting and possibly disappointing, for me, leaning about the backgrounds and intents(?) of many the “modern” composers. Here’s some that I really enjoy with an example(s): Stravinsky (Song of the Nightingale), Respighi (Roman Festivals, Belkis), Ravel (Mother Goose Suite), Dessuy (La Mer), Howard Hanson (Symphony 1 & 2), Morton Gould (Spirituals for Orchestra) Holst (The Planets), Bernard Herman (Journey to the Center of the Earth), Rodrigo (Concierto de Aranjuez), Khachaturian (Gayne Ballet), Rimsky-Korsakav (Scheherazade; Russian Easter Festival), Prokofiev (Alexander Nevsky), Rachmaninov (Symphonic Dances), Sibelius (Symphony No. 2), Vaughn Williams (The Wasps), Shostakovich (Symphony No. 9), Tchaikovsky (Forth Symphony)
Not sure, as some of these composers may (at times?) have heavily harkened back to older forms (Sibelius?) as per what I believe Bernstein was putting forth in his lectures?
Also, some of them were either Christians or became Christians (Rachmaninov, Stravinsky).
All to say, though my thoughts about many of them have been tempered, I probably won’t be removing them from my listening pleasure.
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Not very “music” saavy.
Enjoy lisenting to DR. Farrell break it down.
Or, reading about it; as in his Microcosm and the Medium.
I too, stick with what moves me.
Yet, I know I miss much when it comes to the…
Deep music of the spheres.
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Thank you for posting this, Robert.
I didn’t quite know what to make of all the ideas being put forth. Some interesting opinions are offered, and I’m open-minded to different ideas on the topic. I’ve never liked harsh, dissonant music, especially that stuff introduced in the early 1900’s, and would love to experience, in my lifetime, a cultural return to the classical genre and its derivatives (e.g., I love the “Doo Wop” musical style of the 1950’s), which I think is harmonically restorative to the human psyche.
I have been wondering, a lot, lately, about why so little classical music is being performed, or even embraced by the general public, and some of the thoughts in this talk were interesting. And also the almost complete erosion of the staging of operas (the sets and costumes, which were a major part of the multi-dimensional moving art form of operatic performance when they were first conceived during the classical era have been seriously eroded so that one now only receives a fragment of the conceptual art form, and thus a lot of what was previously being communicated, in multi-dimensional form, is now all but lost).
What interested me, in particular, was this focus on Madame Boulanger —
I first came across her name many years ago (when studying accordion) – she was influential in encouraging the famed bandoneonist, Astor Piazzola, to move from classical music into neuvo tango (a genre I don’t particularly like). And thus, Piazzola’s music, for me, has incredible beauty intertwined with ugly, and I have often wondered why he should go into such a direction (as the beautiful passages in his music were really incredibly beautiful – and likewise, the ugliness was also very ugly and disturbing). Thus, I found the ideas offered up in your video, about Madame Boulanger’s arts philosophy, interesting to contemplate.
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