Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Everyday (Part 1)

[MamaNewtNewt]

This thread is for the 50 bookers (or in fact anyone else who wants to join in!) who are reading Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Everyday by Clemency Burton-Hill.

The author has selected one piece of music for each day in the year, and includes a brief overview of the piece and the composer to provide some context. There's a playlist on Spotify and we can share links to each piece of music for those without access to Spotify.

I think most of us are planning on (roughly) sticking to the daily setup but feel free to read / listen ahead although the discussions are likely to stay around the music for the current date.

Thanks to @TheTurn0fTheScrew for bringing this book to our attention on the thread. Really looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts.

I thought the Beethoven was very* *impressive and there were moments that did stop me in my tracks, but it was a like rather than a love.

Milonga:Jorge Cardoso

I love this. I would love to hear more by Cardoso.

music as a magic carpet...definitely .

Milonga:Jorge Cardoso - I don't know that this is something I would listen to regularly, but my goodness it was evocative. I'm sure I'd like it better if listening with the sun on my face and a fat glass of Malbec in my hand.

I found the Beethoven piece dull and enjoyed the understated beauty of Milonga.

I don't see how Waitin is classical music. And if it is, why Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical productions are not.

Cabaret Songs 'Waitin': Bolcom.

This is charming, really sweet. I would like to discover more songs like this. I haven't heard of Bolcom before.

That's a good point, Cote about Lloyd Webber. * *It gives pause for thought. Bolcom has an extensive back catalogue of classical works.

Actively disliked the Bolcomb. I thought the melody was dull and grating. I didn't pick up any lineage whatsoever to Strauss or Schubert, whose songs I usually really enjoy.

Beethoven - Actually this was rather a love for me, well parts of it were anyway, and I wasn’t at all expecting to say that going in. I felt like the orchestral bit was very sort of measured, with each new idea introduced in quite an orderly way, and then there was just this mad piano running through the middle of it going in all sorts of directions. (With my usual apologies for not having the right musical vocabulary to explain myself!) I liked it less in the final third or so though somehow.

Cardoso Definitely evocative, but like very lovely background music rather than something that inspired any great feeling in me.

Bolcom This didn’t really do anything for me - it was so short I couldn’t really get a handle on it before it was over. It was just a bit nothingy.

Symphony no. 3 in C Minor 'Poco Adagio': Saint-Saëns.

I'm having trouble hearing the organ in this movement, but I don't have earphones right now, so perhaps I'm not hearing it for that reason. I do think this movement is lovely; the writing for strings is sublime. I think it would be very satisfying to play.

Moving on to the fourth movement, there is definitely an organ here (!). I recognise this from hearing it played very often on the radio. I would love to be in the middle of this one. It sounds amazing.

I got my new earphones and wow, listening to the Saint-Saëns is so much better. It opens with the organ and it's like a gentle presence in the background all the way through. The woodwind interacts beautifully with it too. It's just gorgeous. A beautiful piece of music.

French Suite no. 5 in G Major, Gigue: Bach.

A lively gigue, bright and sparkling. Very enjoyable.

Agree that the Saint Saens was lovely - really intricate layering of the organ with the orchestra. I like the maestoso movement as well, not least because it's featured in the film Babe, for which I have a very soft spot 😬.

The Bach is as beautiful and clever as everything he does. I love how light it feels, and yet repeated listens shows the complexity of the counterpoint.

I hadn't realised it was in 'Babe' :) I recognised it as it's played very often on the radio.

I liked the Beach and the Saint-Saens.

I felt I’d had enough of piano this month but then the Bach came along. A great foot tapper. Love it.

The Rite of Spring, Part One, Adoration: Stravinsky.

This is a strange one. I thought the excerpt chosen for today was a bit short, so I listened to the work in full. Not recommended. It's not very likeable. It's rather tiresome. One of the parts, the fifth one, reminded me of the music from the original series of Star Trek. That's a bit of a compliment actually:)

I really liked the opening bassoon solo on Rite of Spring. It's worth a look at the ballet on Youtube, as it's beautifully bizarre.

Today's piece is the Overture from Candide by Leonard Bernstein. I found this a little frantic and full-on. I wanted a bit more light and shade.

Overture from Candide makes for a rousing start to the week. I agree, it is very full on, TheTurn.

I hear this played very often on the radio. I had no idea about its background, so I found the notes interesting.

I thought that the bassoon solo at the start of The Right of Spring had a haunting quality and I quite liked it too.

Piano Quintet no.1 in A minor, op. 30 1: Allegro by Louise Farrenc
We've had a piano quintet already this month (R.Schumann) and I much prefer this one. Much more drive and colour.

I loved the Farrenc. It was exciting to listen to from start to finish. I agree wuth Turn; there was great drive and colour in it.

There was a change of key to a major chord right at the end; a little flash of brilliance. I will try and listen to the rest of the quintet later.

It was a really lovely selection of music this month and I will definitely go back and have another listen to many of them. It's hard to think of favourites because it could be a long list, but Shostakovitch stands out along with Ravel and Cardoso.

ooh, yes, end of the month favourites for me were Zemlinsky, Brahms, Shostakovich, Johnson, Mendelssohn F, Beach and Farrenc.

I'm listening to the Zemlinsky again. It's very atmospheric. It's worth going back to.

Yes, I loved F. Mendelssohn. And Brahms and Farrenc. Also Dutilleux and Falconieri. The short song by Bolcom grew on me too.

Ravel should be Saint-Saëns!

My favourites for May were
Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Donizetti, James P. Johnson, Falconieri, Beach and Bach.
Not had a chance to listen to the Farrenc yet today.

Yes. Mozart and Beach were gorgeous too.

Je te veux: Satie.

This is nice easy listening to start off the month.
I don't know anything about Satie, but he sounds like a bit of a character.