What's the most recent change you've experienced in your musical tastes?

Question

What's the most recent change you've experienced in your musical tastes?

Answer 1

I am still a baroque star. (I love it!)



My most recent change is a new appreciation of Wagners "Tristan und Isolde..." This comes after having sung one of Brangäne's songs. I didnt like it, but when I actually sat down and read the music, it was wonderful. However, I still agree with Clara Schumann that Tristan und Isolde was "the most repugnant thing I have ever seen or heard in all my life" but I appreciate it more now... and I even sat through it. (I borrowed a DVD of it from the library in an attempt to not be snobby...)



I think that Tristan und Isolde is perhaps Wagners worst opera.... (Sorry Alberich!)



The flying dutchman is being performed in October or November, hopefully I will go to see it!





What else... hmm. My number one love is still Vivaldi, but Castello and Handel are my latest obsessions. Especially Handels secular oratorio "Semele"

I cant stop singing Jupiters aria "Where'er you walk" or Semele's "Myself I shall adore" or one of Semele's other arias, "Endless pleasures endless love, Semele enjoys above"

Answer 2

Surfing through the many classical music videos on You Tube for examples I wanted to post in some of my questions/answers, I feel that I've come to a much greater appreciation of operatic composers works other than that of my idol, Richard Wagner: in particular, that of Puccini.



It's almost 2:00 a.m. here in Nevada and I got up, couldn't get to sleep; but am beginning to become drowsy, so think I'll go back and give it another shot: if I remember, will post more tomorrow(later today).



Alberich

Answer 3

I did the reverse shift you've had.

I've always been more into Romantic era music, but lately I've been more spell bound with the Baroque era more. what made this happen? I have no clue, but somehow Vivaldi, Purcell, Rameau, and Scarlatti all seem to be taking over my itunes. A new composer? probably Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. I discovered him by accident, while researching Johann Sebastian Bach's family tree in a cool book I got at the library. ;)

I couldn't stand Mendelssohn, But now I have taken a sudden liking to him and he's also made his way into the large 'Classical' playlist on my itunes as well.



Unfortunately I don't know many composers with a good taste in hats, But maybe wigs count? Tomaso Albinoni has a cool one.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Albinoni.jpg



:)

Answer 4

Hallo Azathoth.I'm still a baroque maniac so welcome to the club,dear hafwen and Miss LimLam.Regards.



I mostly enjoy italian baroque music or baroque music composed in the italian style(like Handel/He did very often).My loved composer's of that period are:Antonio Vivaldi,Giuseppe Tartini,Francesco Maria Veracini,Pietro Antonio Loccatelli,Arcangelo Corelli but also,of course

Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Phillip Telemann.



Later(after exploring all classic composers like Mozart,Haydn,Beethoven etc.) I came to romantic style especially listening to the great violin concertos(Bruch,Mendelssohn,Dvorak,Saint Saens,Schumann) at first and later to the famous symphonies of Mendelssohn

Schumann,Schubert(I count him to Romantic),Dvorak etc.



I came to explore atonal and 12 tune music Karl Amadeus Hartmann(Symphonies)Arnold Schoenberg,Alban Berg etc..(witch I don't like in most cases).



After that period I came back to virtuoso classic violin music of Niccolo

Paganini listening especially to all of his sonatas for violin and guitar(Some of them I've played on the violin) and all of his other works.



And after this my most recent change happened.From Paganini's virtuosity to Phillip Glass minimalism style.Stone me but I can not explain why(I like his violin concerto - O.K.sounds a little bit like a baroque piece/his 3rd symphony for strings,Glass works and his opera

Akhnaten).



But I am back to italian baroque music.And I know it will remain.

Best wishes to you all here from Heidelberg/Germany.Stefan K.feat.Dr.

Nirokay.Thanks for this interesting question.

Answer 5

When I was young, so much younger than I am today (as the song has it), I wallowed in Baroque. I could not get enough concerti grossi, trio sonatas et al. However, as I have got older, I have found my interest in such waning (who was it who said Vivaldi wrote 1 concerto 600 times...). I also used to enjoy Bach cantatas. But now I find them mournful, excessively pietistic. In some ways, my tastes have gone backwards and forwards. Now I would rather listen to a piece of Renaissance church music, Byrd or Tallis ot Victoria say. I would also prefer to listen to the piano or organ - most of the time - than a romantic symphony. The older I have got, the more I have grown to appreciate chamber music. Discoveries? The English composers York Bowen and Richard Arnell (grandfather to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to those to whom that means anything!)

Answer 6

I have pretty eclectic tastes in music -- I like a broad range of musics. But most recently, I have become enamored of the music of Steven Reich and John Adams. I had stayed away from the "minimalists " because of Phillip Glass' works, which I thought were tawdry and contrived, and not terribly musical (I still think that). But Reich's stuff is incredibly cerebral and creative, and Adams is so "alive" -- and they both make Glass look like an amateur, IMO.



Can I suggest to you the work of Bartok as well? The "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste", his 3rd piano concerto, and the "Concerto for Orchestra" may be of interest to you.



Cheers to ya



Glinzek

Answer 7

Schnittke: only aware of the polystylistic work, which I told someone felt like someone was stripping my gears, or getting seasick from listening.



Another piece that was stylistically more consistent crossed my ears, a friend emailed a clip, and I found it startlingly beautiful.



Pity that he and Berio are lately gone. One or two composers just moved up one, perhaps.



Best, petr b.

Answer 8

I have become more interested in Chinese opera, such as Yang Ban Xi.

Answer 9

Happens to me all the time. I just started listening to Beethoven, and that got me in to a whole Romanctic era phase. Before that, I'd mainly listen to Baroque, 20th Century and Modern classical music. My favorite composers were Copland, Glass and Bach (as they still are.) Beethoven opened me up to a whole era of music I never really paid attention to before, so that's pretty cool. BTW, do you listen to any other kinds of music? Being a bonehead and only listening to classical is just like being a bone head who only listens to rap or pop.

Answer 10

Hi Azathoth!



Well, like you and MissLimLam, I'm naturally very much a Baroque-head...always have been...in fact, until recently, anything later than Beethoven really left me cold. Which was a worry, especially when I used to make my living playing in a (modern) orchestra, where 19th/20th/21st century music was our meat and vegies, so to speak...



But for some bizarre, inexplicable reason, I've recently fallen in love with Puccini's operas! I can't explain it. Suddenly I'm discovering "Madame Butterfly," "Tosca" and "Turandot" and finding my knees getting rather wobbly...



And thanks to my friend Alberich, I'm starting (at last!) to discover Wagner...I never would have anticipated this, but man, I'm having fun!



Maybe it's a Henry Handel Richardson-esque "Getting of Wisdom" thing...who knows...



Hafwen x

Answer 11

Hi there =)



Yup I just had what u said as "paradigm shift" in musical tastes. I used to appreciate and play a lot of Mozart's and Beethoven's sonatas, and until recently I browsed many video clips of renowned pianists playing Chopin, Liszt and Brahms, i have started liking them!



In fact when my student asked me to teach her Chopin's etude i felt a sudden static motion...what?? Of course!! But well...of course the level is too high for her and in the end i started practicing that piece myself, and found I'm totally so in tuned with all Chopin's etudes! And that's the reason why I asked you earlier whether it's etudes or polonaises =) I guess both are challenging and real class to play and I have started liking Chopin so much and his music has begun sucking into my system till I cannot sleep at times thinking how to play his etudes well.



That's my latest obsession with etudes and polonaises, no more on sonatas although i do still play Beethoven's because I haven't finished the whole sonata so it's the project going on =)



Jazz?? Hmmm.....i do love some styles in it, but my heart still goes back to classical.....way to go Chopin!

Answer 12

Romantic styles have always been my favorite and will always be my favorite... However, just recently, I've been listening to more and more Baroque music... Before, almost all of my experience with Baroque music was keyboard works of Bach Handel and Scarlatti... But now I've been listening to so much more. Concertos, sonatas, other instrumental pieces besides keyboard... I love it! It's as amazing as Romantic music...



Maybe I'll end up a Baroque geek like Hafwen and MissLimLam...



Probably not...



--Schumiszt

Answer 13

My taste suddenly changed from Chopin and Liszt to Alkan and Bartok.I especially like Bartok now and Alkan remains one of the dominant composers in my repertoire currently.I like Chopin and Liszt though but not as much now.Chopin especially...My taste in him just died.Apparently I'm being more drawn to the different harmonic usages in music rather than the typical note-with-note harmony.

Answer 14

From Jazz to Carnatic, from Carnatic to Chinese opera. Classical has been getting under my skin lately.