131, it's the most perfect piece of music. Wagner said of the fugue that it
is the most melancholy sentiment set to music, but he got it wrong; it is
much loftier than mere sentiment, melancholy or otherwise.
I've been listening to Sibelius this week. He has the gift for
climax-building shared by few -- en saga; Tapiola. The Swan of Tuonela was a
big inspiration to Varese, improbably. Partly apropos Bruckner, he has the
way of using brass like organo pleno, but whereas you really have to hear
Bruckner live to get it, you can get Sibelius off recordings.
Personally, the only competition for Beethoven's c# minor quartet is
Mozart's clarinet quintet, as far as perfection of form and content are
concerned. Other things might move me mightily, but each has their own
argument to make.
P
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Poetryetc provides a venue for a dialogue relating to
> poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Mark Weiss
> Sent: 21 May 2005 01:18
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Brahms and music generally
>
> Where to start is a tough one. My father had Bach and
> Beethoven recordings, but what got me was one of his other
> loves, Sibelius, especially the 2nd symphony. The two Bs came
> very quickly afterwards, but it was a good ten years of
> serious listening before I could understand the late
> Beethoven quartets and sonatas. A friend of mine, on the
> other hand, first fell for the opus 131.
>
> Mark
>
> At 07:45 PM 5/20/2005, you wrote:
> >You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it
> drink... I share
> >the distress about younger folks' taste, but can't help feeling that
> >elder generations have failed to explain what virtue the
> water holds.
> >On the other hand, the joy of discovery is maybe best facilitated by
> >just laying out the wares.
> >
> >Frankly, I wouldn't be starting my sweet young things on
> Brahms, however.
> >Probably Messiaen is the answer to the inevitable question.
> >
> >P
>
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