Why we listen to what we do

[MartinH]

In the new issue of American Record Guide, reviewer Lawrence Hansen wrote a scathing review of the new Centaur recording of Rubinstein's first piano concerto and Don Quixote. Both performer and composer are roundly beaten up. But he ends the review with an eloquent statement that has given me a lot to think about.

"With another birthday a few days in the rearview mirror, my assessment here may be reflecting my age somewhat. As I become ever more aware that I have less and less time to experience the greatest works in the repertoire, I find myself less patient with the music that missed the cut of posterity. If you have more years ahead of you than I do, you may want to stroll down the Rubinstein by-way and explore it a bit."

Is that me? 30-40 years ago I snatched up recordings of off-beat repertoire every chance I got. Raff, Reinecke, and Rubinstein. Each new release on Marco Polo (and now CPO) was something to look forward to. But I have to admit, that with birthday number 60 in my rearview mirror, I have found myself listening lately to a lot of Beethoven, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Wagner and their like and a lot less of the obscure - those who didn't make the cut. I realized some time ago that there are still symphonies by Haydn and Mozart I have never heard. Lots of piano music by the masters that I haven't heard and likely never will. Same goes for operas, Verdi especially. Beatles, too, for that matter. I have to get off my duff and get those cds spinning!

Anyone else have similar thoughts to Mr. Hansen?

[Alan Howe]

Nope. There's time for both the sung and the unsung. Mind you, I'm not going to lose a lot of sleep over missing out on Rubinstein: I'm not convinced that much of what he wrote is worth spending time on - with a few notable exceptions, of course. And I'm not persuaded either that certain still unsung composers/compositions aren't up there with the other greats anyway. 

[kolaboy]

There are pieces by Gade, Severac, and Raff (and lately Godard) that I can't imagine my life without. There is room for all. When you stop exploring, you begin to die...

[eschiss1]

Maybe it's because I'm an infant of 47 but I'm extra-ordinarily glad to have discovered Stenhammar's 4th quartet, Draeseke's cello sonata, viola-alta sonatas, and string quintets, Medtner's "Night Wind" sonata, violin sonatas, piano quintet, Mozart's C minor mass, late piano concertos and chamber works, Beethoven's -- ok, actually, quite a lot by Beethoven and likewise Bach... because - ... - ... subjective reasons, probably; having heard these, I often can't forget them (and they'll return as earworms often enough; Furtwangler's 2nd symphony's another good example of "earworm" material that way, its scherzo coming in just out of nowhere into my mind- at first with that "and what is -that-?"...).  (They also combine excellence in so many ranks, and are -specific- rather than -generic- in their melodic, contrapuntal, and other wonders and appeals, that I'm not that surprised I love them...)

(Not to mention works by some others but I'm violating the "enough with the lists already" rule as it is. Apologies.)

[semloh]

When it comes to listening to music, I enjoy VARIETY. A heavy metal group, a Wurlitzer organ compilation, a selection of German 1930s dance bands, a Jean Sablon CD, Northumbrian pipes, some piano concertos by Unsung Composers, an English symphony - Bax perhaps, a CD of obscure 1920s Alabama blues singers, some pre-war Hawaiian music, some Sousa marches, some tango bands, folk music from Brittany, a couple of Haydn string quartets, excerpts from Handel operas, a Steiner filmscore, a compilation of harpsichord works by JSB, some Prokofiev ballet music, and a gentle English 'cow pat' clarinet trio to finish with..... that's a typical day's listening.

I am much nearer to 70 than 60, and my appetite for music has never changed. Age plays no part in my choices. Psychologically, I believe I will live forever, and in any case I won't regret a life wasted on third-rate music once I'm dead! So, I just enjoy life and listen to whatever pleases me!

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Only "a couple of Haydn string quartets", Semloh? I'd say your listening tastes are extremely restricted!!!

[TerraEpon]

Geeze the way you people talk, I suppose I'm a baby at 38

I can't imagine that getting older will mean I spend time listening to 'only the best'. And in all honestly, I find that listening to.....lesser....music helps put a balance on what I find more enjoyable.
But I don't care what other people consider "great", it's silly to disparage Fibich because he's not Dvorak. Sure Dvorak may be one of my favorite composers but that doesn't make listening to Fibich worthless.

[Double-A]

I am in the same situation as MartinH--except that in my case 60 has disappeared from the rearview mirror and 65 starts to show on the sign posts along the road.

My experience is exactly opposite though:  I used to explore the standard repertoire with passion, both as an amateur player and a listener and concertgoer (I was never a great collector of recordings--too expensive and I need the money for sheet music).  And let's face it:  The standard repertoire is vast and much of it is unimaginably great.

Only later in life--after being exposed to Onslow in a chamber music work shop--did I begin to explore the "minor" composers, starting out from Onslow.  I still have the same love for the standard stuff of course but the exploring part of it is alluring in its own right even if the music is sometimes less than overwhelming.

[Jonathan]

I've been listening to out of the way composers for years but I still also listen to more popular ones too. The thing is, there is so much good music and obviously everyone does not like the same things. As far as I am concerned, if you like what you are listening to, good for you! It's also good to talk to others on forums such as this and learn what they like - someone mentioned Godard earlier and I've found the recent piano music discs on Grand Piano absolutely wonderful. The other thing is that the composers obviously thought highly enough and the creative urge was strong enough to create and publish the music iin the first place, it didn't occur to them that it might slip iinto obscurity, possibly forever. Sorry this is a bit rambling...

[Mark Thomas]

Having just celebrated (if that's the right word) my 65th birthday I completely understand where Martin is coming from, but my thirst for discovering the unknown remains unquenched. What has changed over the years, though, is that I tend to be much more critical in my assessment of quality, than I was forty years ago. Back then I reckoned that I'd never listen again to around 10% of the "new" unsung works I came across, that another 60% would be end up as occasional listening repertoire and the remaining third would become staples of my playlist. Nowadays, partly because there's a limit to how long my ever-growing list of favourites can be, I suspect that those figures are 50-60%, 35-45% and 5%. That said, I really don't mind the high "discard" rate - it's emphatically worth it when one comes across a real gem.

[adriano]

And what shall I do, now at 72?
Sometimes I almost start panicking, whilst staying in front of my walls filled with CDs. True, one listens mostly to its preferences, but seeing that there is so much other great music, or at lest good one, and being convinced that pieces which were discarded as being less interesting or good in earlier times may turn up as sudden discoveries once I re-listen to them - what shall I do? Then comes the fact that I like to compare different interpretations of a same piece...
There are, of course, a dozen or more desert island pieces, but to consider only those would be unjust towards music in general. I am not just a collector, but since I have an enormous respect for all kind of music and so many composers, I would prefer taking over everything to my desert island - provided there will be a socket...
Just an example: These two last days I have done a (super) digital (and not analog!) transfer of that 1986 LP set of Raff's "Welt-Ende" oratorio for the Raff Society. At the time of its issue, this pieces bored me, now I am re-discovering it, and feel so happy anout this!

[matesic]

Since I first encountered this forum maybe 5 years ago the greatest musical genius I've discovered hasn't even had a mention, but I guess he's too contemporary being (surprisingly, given his life style) still alive. Any one for Mark E.Smith and The Fall? If Bob Dylan deserves the Nobel prize for literature, MES should have one for pharmacology. At least I've proved to myself that things are still going on in my musical brain, although it could be a rare form of dementia.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I have done a (super) digital (and not analog!) transfer of that 1986 LP set of Raff's "Welt-Ende" oratorio for the Raff Society.

Any chance that this could find its way into our downloads archive?

[kolaboy]

Loved Mark E. Smith / The Fall since 1979. Though I would say - much like Raff - he is not "unsung" within his clique. But to the world at large they may as well not exist.

[matesic]

What a relief - I'm not such a complete freak as I thought! But this is definitely a topic for another forum.