All praise Ligeti!

Ponk · Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 2:58 pm Post subject: All praise Ligeti!

I just got home from Lahti where I heard Ligeti's Atmosphères, Ravel's Piano Concerto in D for the Left Hand and Holst's The Planets. They were all great, but that Atmosphères...

My mind can be cleaned away from the ceiling of Sibeliustalo in Lahti. Unbelievable. What I wanted say here is that Ligeti sure is a genius.

mosc · Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 3:59 pm Post subject:

Ligeti is brilliant.

elektro80 · Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 6:59 pm Post subject:

Ligeti rocks!

orczy · Joined: Mar 30, 2005 Posts: 161 Location: Australia

NO arguement from me here. He is quite brilliant. Do any of you know his electronic piece "Artikulations". Quite superb. "Atmospheres" is really something else. How much of Ligeti is there in early (69-73) Tangerine Dream? I'd say a healthy dollop!

orczy · Joined: Mar 30, 2005 Posts: 161 Location: Australia

Sorry for posting again, but I just read Holst in there. There are parts of "The Planets" that are superb. "Jupiter", and "Neptune" in particular. Holst is very underrated outside of the UK I feel. "Egdon Heath" is a brilliant piece of dark mood painting. I really dig early 20th C English composers. There is something very unique about them. They avoided what was happening on the continent (with the vital exception of Sibelius, a true master) and therefore appeared backward to contemporary thinking. History is now beginning to place these composers, like Holst and Vaughan Williams, in their correct place. They were the English counterpart to what was happening a la Schoenberg et al, not a regressive reaction. Would it have made sense for an English composer, at that time, to have "gone serial". It would have been an artificial move, whereas for Schoenberg, it was an extension of what he saw as his heritage: Beethoven, Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler, himself. VW and Holst in particular were interested in trying to discover a native English music, so 12 tones would've been rather incorrect. They found the English "sound" in the modes and folksongs. A situation very similar to that of Bartok, Enescu, Janacek etc. Sorry for going off topic, but when you start a rant...... Rolling Eyes

Ponk · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 3:09 am Post subject:

seraph · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 3:24 am Post subject:

btw have you heard Digital Moonscapes by Wendy Carlos Question

I like it a lot Very Happy

salo-t · Joined: Feb 28, 2005 Posts: 29 Location: Helsinki,Finland

Ligeti rocks! thumb up

Sibeliustalo rocks! Great acoustics there. thumb up

Ligeti has also this neat little piano work named "Musica Ricercata", in which the first part has only two pitches(over several octaves, however), second part has three, etc. until all twelve are utilized in the eleventh part.
The first few parts especially are good to study as an example of composing music when there are serious limitations on the musical material that can be used.

orczy · Joined: Mar 30, 2005 Posts: 161 Location: Australia

Ponk · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 4:21 pm Post subject:

Ponk · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 4:31 pm Post subject:

elektro80 · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 5:04 pm Post subject:

I have a problem with the term classicial music. That is a long story. Bottom line is that it is all sorts of music. As for favorites at the moment, Robert Hagstrøm sent me some CDs. This is magnificent stuff. Among his works I really love his 5th symphony, and the violin and the cello concertos. I am just about to put his piano music on repeat now. This is clearly within the classcial tradition, but also very modern, very personal and to me this is as contemporary as it gets. It does of course hit me at times that the excellent music by our excellent member Bachus is in the same league, and we really need some CDs by mr. Bachus.. ASAP.

The thing about Hagstrøm´s music is that it is so damned interesting and rich. Beethoven doesn´t quite work that well for me. I still like Beethoven´s piano sonatas but his symphonies are dull and crude.

elektro80 · Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 5:50 pm Post subject:

Yes, Sibelius is great too. Very Happy

Ponk · Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 2:34 am Post subject:

mosc · Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 11:50 am Post subject:

I don't think the term avant-garde applies to music that is made by professional musicians with conventional instruments reading scores. Legiti is solid in the classical music tradition, but he does not of course write in the classical style (Mozart, Hayden, etc). He is one of them, though.

elektro80 · Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 8:13 pm Post subject:

mosc · Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 7:31 am Post subject:

paul e. · Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 8:23 am Post subject:

i am a HUGE fan of Holst The Planets Suite...um..can i still get his autograph

may i say the 1971 Los Angeles Philharmonic [DECCA] recording just kicks ..and sounds amazing

orczy · Joined: Mar 30, 2005 Posts: 161 Location: Australia

I have several recordings of "The Planets", but my two favourites are Holst conducting it himself (1927) and Adrian Boult's 4th recording. Anal, I know, But I own all 4 Boult versions. Interesting as how he got older, how differently he paced some of the pieces.
The avant garde question: I had an interesting experience a few years ago. I was presenting a piece at a national composers workshop for Uni students. Most of the works were 12 tone, atonal or electro-acoustic. Comments were about how avant garde everyone was etc. I pointed out that atonality (in this sphere) was nearly 100 years old, 12 tone 80 years old, and electro-acoustic nearly 50 years old. Not a popular comment. It ended up that my modal song for organ and soprano stod out like a sore thumb, and indeed, probably sounded more "avant garde" for the very reason it sounded so different than evrything else performed at the workshop. Modality avant garde? Ask Vaughan Williams!

seraph · Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 4:50 am Post subject:

Dovdimus Prime · Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 8:01 am Post subject:

Hmmmm I've never heard of this Ligeti. Perhaps I should check him out.

I'm chuffed that someone else really likes my Ralph! Very Happy

The first time I heard his 5th symphony performed, like Ponk said, they could have licked my mind off the walls afterwards.

Mustel, that Holst-conducted recording of the Planets sounds manky!! Maybe production is more important to me...? The Neptune movement is top though. To my ear, it's as out there as the Rite of Spring, and from the same time. But who gets the props?

paul e. · Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 8:17 am Post subject:

mosc · Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 8:57 am Post subject:

seraph · Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 1:53 pm Post subject:

mosc · Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject:

Oppps.

It sounds like and Italian name and I jumped to conclusions.

Well, is Berio Italian at least? Question