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4K views 75 replies 20 participants last post by  Shaughnessy 
#1 ·
Here is a game that is going well on another forum that I belong to.

A poster asks a question related to music - then the next poster answers the question and asks another question - although you can just ask the same question again, if that doesn't go on too long.

I will kick off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you could meet and talk to any composer of classical music, living or dead - which one would you pick?
 
#36 · (Edited)
Handel's Where'er You Walk - we learned it in school singing classes & I still love it. I already enjoyed Handel's music from my violin lessons and later on at university I studied the poetry of Alexander Pope and spent hours in the library in a dream of happiness. I love the Augustan age.



Next Question: Is there any performer (singer, instrumentalist) that you don't care for though s/he is very popular, and could you explain why he or she is not to your taste?
 
#37 ·
Is there any performer (singer, instrumentalist) that you don't care for though s/he is very popular, and could you explain why he or she is not to your taste?
...oops: Segovia, I avoid his recordings because I thought he was such a pompous, self-important kind of god of guitar. I have of course heard him, but think he smears that personality on to whatever he played. Grr. I'm trying to get over feeling this way, since it's kind of hateful and stupid. Sorry everybody!

so: Do you ever get hung up on a rather simple song? Which one? (I'm having a round of "Be My Baby" with the Ronettes <3)
 
#38 ·
I have an 'earworm' going at present - most annoying - of Helen Shapiro's 'Fever'.

Listening to a song over and over, however, was something I used to do when I was young, but don't do now. I remember these in particular - The Beatles 'We can work it out'; The Seekers, 'I know I'll never find another you'; Adam Faith, 'Mix me a person'; The Stones, 'Can I get a witness'. What they had in common was a sort of desperate love and tenderness. I try to keep this emotion under control nowadays! :)


Do you have a 'collection' of recordings by a particular composer, all the songs of the same singer, etc? Or did you ever 'collect' in the past? If so - what did you collect, and why? If not - do you think 'collecting' is a silly thing to do?
 
#39 ·
I don't have, and have never had, a 'collection' as such. I have just bought my 4th CD of Chopin Nocturnes, but I'm not aiming for more.
Collecting isn't 'silly' but it's just not for me. Maybe I lack the focus.

New Q: which classical composer do you most admire as an all-round decent human being?
 
#40 ·
New Q: which classical composer do you most admire as an all-round decent human being?
Probably Biber - a good family man who did the best for his children by the sound of it, and who is attractive to me because I think his Catholic sensitivity informs his Rosary Sonatas, which is just about my favourite piece of classical music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Ignaz_Franz_Biber

It certainly wouldn't be Lully, my favourite composer! :)

New Q: If you had the power to extend the lifespan of a classical composer by 20-50 years, which one would you choose and why?
 
#41 ·
If you had the power to extend the lifespan of a classical composer by 20-50 years, which one would you choose and why?

Mozart. Not because I like him, particularly, but listening to his final few great works there is obvious promise for further development here that was unfilfilled due to his early death. Would he and Beethoven have shared a similar musical journey, perhaps - or a relationship akin to the Haydn/Mozart one?

New Q: Do you own any ridiculously large box sets, and if so, how many CDs are in it?
 
#42 ·
We own the All-Baroque Box and there are 50 CDs in it. We got it after seeing it recommended on TC.

New Q: What's behind it when you buy a new CD or other musical item? Where does the recommendation (usually) come from - TC or friends or what?
 
#43 · (Edited)
What's behind it when you buy a new CD or other musical item? Where does the recommendation (usually) come from - TC or friends or what?

Presto Music "New Release Round Up" weekly newsletter.

New Q: How would you answer the following statement?

"Only in my dreams would I ever be able to play the (fill in the blank) as well as (fill in the blank) much less (fill in the blank)"


(answer per request - Only in my dreams would I ever be able to play the violin as well as Yehudi Menuhin much less Jascha Heifetz.
 
#44 ·
'Only in my dreams would I ever be able to play the harp as well as the harpsichord, much less the banjo.'

New Q: If you're having a musical discussion (on-line or at a party) and find that you've gone further than you meant, or made a mistake, and someone questions it, do you find a way to defend what you've said, or admit that you got it wrong?
 
#46 · (Edited)
Q. Which recording of a CM piece do you continue to defend even though many people don't rate it (or even hate it)?
Composition - Mahler - Symphony No. 8 - Sir Simon Rattle

New Q: Provide a response to this statement - "(Fill-in-the-blank) is the conductor that they hire when they can't get the conductor that they really want"

(My answer as per request - Zubin Mehta is the conductor that they hire when they can't get the conductor that they really want)

I have no idea why - I mean in the sense of providing an answer that is in any way insightful or musically valid - but he inspires nothing other than something which should be called zubinmehtamnesia because of how eminently forgettable I find his recording to be.
 
#48 ·
Actually, I think from now on, the rule shall be that when you set a new question, you also provide your own answer in brackets underneath. Shaughnessy, I'd really like to know what you'd have put in those blank spaces in your intriguing sentences! :)

New Question: Which orchestra or ensemble or solo player would you travel 100 miles to see & hear in live concert if the opportunity came your way?

(For me, it would be La Serenissima)
 
#50 ·
My soul music is folk music - the genre that really speaks to me is Scottish fiddle music of the Golden Age (eighteenth century) but I also love Irish jigs & Playford dance tunes.

New Question - How old were you when you realised that Classical Music was for you - something you loved & a serious interest that you needed to investigate?
(My answer: I've always liked bits & pieces, but this revelation came in retirement, aged 60, when I found this forum.)
 
#51 ·
Ooh, that's a tough one! I've always been exposed to CM, owned my first symphony cycle in my teens and loved, and watched live, many of the warhorses. It's always occupied part of my listening but it didn't start to dominate my listening until the turn of the century. Since then it's really become the dominant music in my life and now other genres probably get less than 20% of my attention.

Q. Which musical instrument do you really not like the sound of?

(for me it's bloody harpsichords)
 
#52 ·
I don't like the sound of the piccolo. It's too squealy.

New Question: Obviously it's both - but would you say that your response to classical music is mainly cerebral - admiring the skill, looking at the score - or mainly emotional, being moved, inspired etc? Or is it 'finely balanced' between the two?

(My reaction to music is mainly emotional - my intellect gets more of a look in with literature and art.)
 
#53 · (Edited)
New Question: Obviously it's both - but would you say that your response to classical music is mainly cerebral - admiring the skill, looking at the score - or mainly emotional, being moved, inspired etc? Or is it 'finely balanced' between the two?

Finely balanced - definitely - I use ultra contemporary classical music to stimulate a cerebral kick start to my thinking processes and Baroque/early Classical to offset the insomnia which invariably arrives when you kick-start your thinking processes and they adamantly refuse to go into a lower gear. This is in no way to suggest that Baroque/early Classical is in any way a soporific but rather that its theme and variations form has a way of harnessing random thoughts gone wild.

New Question - Note: requires complete suspension of disbelief and/or some form of time travel - Composer that you most wish you had a selfie with to impress your friends -

(If it was just for me - Mahler - but if I had to impress my friends who I'm not entirely certain would even know who he is - I would go with Beethoven
 
#55 ·
New Question: Obviously it's both - but would you say that your response to classical music is mainly cerebral - admiring the skill, looking at the score - or mainly emotional, being moved, inspired etc? Or is it 'finely balanced' between the two?

Finely balanced - definitely - I use ultra contemporary classical music to stimulate a cerebral kick start to my thinking processes and Baroque/early Classical to offset the insomnia which invariably arrives when you kick-start your thinking processes and they adamantly refuse to go into a lower gear. This is in no way to suggest that Baroque/early Classical is in any way a soporific but rather that its theme and variations form has a way of harnessing random thoughts gone wild.

New Question - Note: requires complete suspension of disbelief and/or some form of time travel - Composer that you most wish you had a selfie with to impress your friends -

(If it was just for me - Mahler - but if I had to impress my friends none of whom have the vaguest ideas as to who Mahler is - I would go with Beethoven)
My appreciation of classical music is more on the emotional side.

New question: In a physical fight, without weapons, which great composer would prevail over all the others? (Assume they are all of similar age when they fight.)
We posted at the same time. Sorry.

Answer to your question: Beethoven, because Mozart would have grinned like an idiot.

My question again: In a physical fight, without weapons, which great composer would prevail over all the others? (Assume they are all of similar age when they fight.)
 
#54 ·
My appreciation of classical music is more on the emotional side.

New question: In a physical fight, without weapons, which great composer would prevail over all the others? (Assume they are all of similar age when they fight.)
 
#57 · (Edited)
Sorry, but it would have to be Benjamin Britten. Why? Because 1) it's best to pick someone who's fairly average and non-ground-breaking and British, a sacrificial lamb that spares a greater more original bod - and 2) because I've never forgiven him for torturing me in my teens when I had to play Perky Pizzicato in the York Schools Strings Orchestra, Junior Section.

New Question: Do you like Opera - if so, which is your favourite Opera and/or Composer and why? If not, why not, and which Opera do you dislike least?

(I like Opera, because I like dramatic stories and a good night out with some stirring singable songs attached; as you see, I'm a lightweight, so I'd pick Carmen as my favourite.)
 
#58 · (Edited)
I like opera, from the romantic era onward. My favourite opera composer is Wagner, ahead of Puccini and, yes, Britten. My favourite opera would be the complete Ring cycle (which I always play as intended - one opera per day). Wagner in general, and the Ring especially, are fantastic integrations of orchestral music, singing, and story lines.

New Question: Do you often listen to music by living composers? If yes, who would be your favourite composer? If not, which one would you like the explore?

I do, a decent amount actually. My favourite is Sofia Gubaidulina.
 
#60 ·
(Q. If you were into pop/rock music, when younger, which band/artist was the very first poster on your wall? If not who was your first CM idol?)
A.
I was very much into pop, but only for a short while between the ages of 12 and 14. My idols were the Beatles & especially Paul McCartney. I got my Beatles pin-ups from Jackie magazine which I got weekly until my mother banned it because it was making me sillier than I already was. Every night, before I went to bed, I used to snog the pin-ups on my wall. So probably my mother was right.

New Question: Have you ever met and spoken with any of the singers or musicians you admire (any genre) and can you tell us what happened?

(I met & spoke with Christie Moore, the Irish singer who started his career with Planxty. He appeared solo at the Durham Folk Festival in the 1980s and we met him on the landing of Dunelm House in the interval of a concert. I took issue with him because he'd introduced a song, St Patrick Was A Gentleman, by saying that the Pope had proclaimed St Patrick no longer a saint. It became clear that Christie had no idea, really, because he didn't go to church - I was a keen convert - so it was a bit embarrassing.)
 
#61 ·
Question: Have you ever met and spoken with any of the singers or musicians you admire (any genre) and can you tell us what happened?

Martin Carthy. We saw him at a Durham folk club and asked about the song "Famous Flower of Servingmen" which he had sung on a Steeleye Span LP. We hadn't been able to find a version with his ending in any of our ballad books so we asked him where he got the ending. He replied that he had made it up - and very good it was too!

New Question: Is there any composer who you didn't think you would like, but now find OK?

(Satie. I'm not one for modern music. My piano teacher suggest I try one of his Gymnopédie and to my surprise it was quite nice)
 
#62 ·
New Question: Is there any composer who you didn't think you would like, but now find OK?

Yes. For a long time I couldn't understand the popularity of two composers, Wagner and Mahler. Now they are among my favorite composers.

Q. Is there a composer who was one of your first favorites who now you hardly listen to anymore?

For me it is Haydn. I went through a period when I collected 5 or 6 complete sets of his string quartets, symphonies and keyboard sonatas. Now I hardly listen to old Haydn anymore.
 
#63 ·
Q. Is there a composer who was one of your first favorites who now you hardly listen to anymore?

No, is the short answer. I still listen to the old warhorse just with less frequency and I've just developed in my tastes.

Q. If you could excel at one musical instrument (to the extent that you're seen as the GOAT) what would it be?

(guitar for me)
 
#64 ·
If you could excel at one musical instrument (to the extent that you're seen as the GOAT) what would it be?

Harpsichord

New Question: What was your first Classical recording (any format) you bought and do you still have it?

(For me - Musica Reservata 16th Century French Dance Music - LP and no.)
 
#65 ·
New Question: What was your first Classical recording (any format) you bought and do you still have it?

(For me - Musica Reservata 16th Century French Dance Music - LP and no.)
Bach B Minor Mass, Harnoncourt/Musicus Concentus Wein - no longer own the LP box, but do have a CD transfer of it.

How old were you when you became a classical music fan?

(I have to say that it was when I entered college/music school ~18)
 
#66 · (Edited)
How old were you when you became a classical music fan?
Becoming a truly devoted fan had to wait till I was sixty and retired. But loving the classical music that I heard goes way back - I remember when I was six & had broken my leg lying downstairs waiting for Dad to make breakfast & 'conducting' the 'wireless' (radio) which was tuned to the Third Programme (a station devoted to classical music).

New Question: What sort of music did your parents like, and did it influence you?

(My father, a Scot, mainly liked Scottish music; my mother liked all sorts - Flamenco, classical, Bing Crosby, Hawaiian guitar. I was influenced by both of them. I can listen to & enjoy almost any genre but my heart is with Scottish traditional music.)
 
#67 · (Edited)
I remember when I was six & had broken my leg lying downstairs waiting for Dad to make breakfast & 'conducting' the 'wireless' (radio) which was tuned to the Third Programme (a station devoted to classical music).
I may not be reading this properly...

When you say that you had broken your leg and were lying downstairs - Were you actually lying... on the floor - downstairs... with a broken leg... after having fallen... waiting... for your dad to finish making breakfast whilst he simultaneously "conducted" a performance being played on the Third Progamme - with your mum presumably at the kitchen table saying... "There's our brave wee lass, just a bit of Dad's mixed grill, and off we go to hospital"?

If so, no offense, but it seems as if they may have had a somewhat questionable sense of priorities... I mean, it's generally understood that breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day... but still...Was the ambulance at least on it's way?
 
#68 ·
New Question: What sort of music did your parents like, and did it influence you?

Most definitely - traditional Irish - I don't remember anything else ever being played - They always stressed that this was our music - That these were the songs that told our story -This is who and what we were and are - And we were to never forget that.

I became immersed in our culture - the tales, the stores, the myths, the exaggerations, the embellishments, the outright lies - all of it - I'm generally acknowledged by our family and friends to be a Seanchaí which in Irish means "story teller" and in English just means "someone who talks a lot".

New Question - You can choose any 10 period time period in either the 20th or 21st centuries - All of the music recorded during that 10 year period is available to you but literally nothing before or after in any way, shape, or form will ever again be heard. - No "greatest hits" - No compilations - Which 10 year period is the one for you?
 
#70 · (Edited)
This is the new question - but Shaughnessy, please remember, you ought to answer it yourself first. 🌟

New Question: You can choose any 10 period time period in either the 20th or 21st centuries - All of the music recorded during that 10 year period is available to you but literally nothing before or after in any way, shape, or form will ever again be heard. - No "greatest hits" - No compilations - Which 10 year period is the one for you?
 
#71 · (Edited)
Forgot to answer my own question -

New Question: You can choose any 10 period time period in either the 20th or 21st centuries - All of the music recorded during that 10 year period is available to you but literally nothing before or after in any way, shape, or form will ever again be heard. - No "greatest hits" - No compilations - Which 10 year period is the one for you?

For me - 1970 through 1979 - Planxty, Bothy Band, the solo and duo albums released by each of the members in the groups just mentioned - (although I just checked and a great deal of what I though was late 70's is actually early- to mid- 80's - :rolleyes: ) - Along with a rock solid Scottish and British folk discography although the 1970 cut-off leaves some really first-rate recordings out of reach.
 
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