Comments on On An Overgrown Path: Shostakovich and Strictly Come Dancing

"There are few works I would trade for the clarine...

2007-01-17T07:08:00.000Z

"There are few works I would trade for the clarinet sonatas and clarinet quintet"

Don't forget the clarinet trio.

"Has any major composer written such large chunks of trash as Dmitri?"

I'm curious as to what you think of as trash (in a non-sarcastic way). His movie compositions (probably is trash), is overplayed 8th string quartet, his reorchestration of the Schumann cello concerto?

What's the difference between a"first-rate" compos...

2006-03-18T07:56:00.000Z

What's the difference between a
"first-rate" composer and a "true master"?

Very fair question - what clumsy tools words are.

I was trying, crudely, to imply a hierarchy of genius, with Beethoven somewhere above Shostakovich.

If your house is on fire which CDs do you save first? For me definitely Beethoven before Shostakovich. But then there are the 24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano, Op 87 ...

What clumsy tools words are.

What's the difference between a"first-rate" compos...

2006-03-18T01:05:00.000Z

What's the difference between a
"first-rate" composer and a "true master"?

And who of the greats after Beethoven did complete...

2006-03-16T15:25:00.000Z

And who of the greats after Beethoven did completely shake off his influence? Mahler alone? Rachmaninoff? Sibelius?

I will posit that Brahms did shake off his anxiety ... and I personally wouldn't trade a Brahms symphony for a Schubert symphony or a Schumann symphony -- or a Mahler, Rachmaninoff, or Sibelius symphony...

Henry, thanks for a lovely comment.I don't agree w...

2006-03-16T09:59:00.000Z

Henry, thanks for a lovely comment.
I don't agree with it, but it captures the spirit of An Overgrown Path perfectly - strong, but polite, debate communicated with passion.

For me the Brahms symphonies are wonderful, but I sympathise with those who feel they never quite shake off the shadow of Beethoven. But Brahms' chamber music is peerless. There are few works I would trade for the clarinet sonatas and clarinet quintet.

Shostakovich is a first-rate composerOh no, I disa...

2006-03-16T08:50:00.000Z

Shostakovich is a first-rate composer

Oh no, I disagree completely in the strongest, yet politest, terms. What was it Strauss said? "I may not be a first rate composer, but I'm a great second rate composer" or something like that. Shostakovich is a third, nay fourth rate composer in my view.

My friend Patrick and I don't agree much on the merits of various composers but we are united on two things.

Brahms is freaking awful.

and

Shostakovich is only lionized because of his biography, not the quality of his music. Has any major composer written such large chunks of trash as Dmitri?

Pliable, thanks for the Malcolm Arnold mention. I...

2006-03-15T14:33:00.000Z

Pliable, thanks for the Malcolm Arnold mention.

It made me recall that, tonight, the Montpelier Wind Quintet, based at James Madison University, will be performing, at 7:30 PM at the Terrace Theatre of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Malcolm Arnold’s Three Shanties for Wind Quintet, Op. 4. Tickets are $25; or $15.50 if one buys the Cultural Alliance's promoted tickets at Ticketplace before 6 PM.

Unfortunately, the Kennedy Center did not mention the Malcolm Arnold on its site or in its promotional materials; and Charles Downey's otherwise eagle-eyes over at ionarts.org, missed listing this concert in its weekly cultural calendar.

Back to blogging for Belarus...

Many, many thanks for this article. I actually fe...

2006-03-15T13:07:00.000Z

Many, many thanks for this article.

I actually feel that wall to wall performances of any composer's work is a rather dodgy thing to do - although much does depend upon the composer I guess! I just feel that no composer ever really writes a piece with the idea of having it performed alongside everything else he has ever written. There is something rather unfair about the exercise.