Let the Games Begin: The Classical Music Draft, Part I

[Iceblink]

That said, good call on the Handel - one of my earliest favorites as well, although it has since been eclipsed by a lot of other Baroque works

No it hasn't!!!

You just can't Handel the truth!

[scottinkc]

With my first pick, I select:

Tchaikovsky- 1812 Overture

What's not to love? If it's done in a concert hall, you get the chimes and big standing bass drum. If it's done outside in a bandshell, as it is almost everywhere in the US on the 4th of July pops concerts, you can have all the church bells ring and fire off a few cannons. There's even the (rarely) heard version with chorus. Fun to play, fun to listen to.

[Panfilo]

With my first pick, I select:

Tchaikovsky- 1812 Overture

What's not to love? If it's done in a concert hall, you get the chimes and big standing bass drum. If it's done outside in a bandshell, as it is almost everywhere in the US on the 4th of July pops concerts, you can have all the church bells ring and fire off a few cannons. There's even the (rarely) heard version with chorus. Fun to play, fun to listen to.

DAM YOU

[Karl K]

With my first pick in the The Classical Music Draft Thread I select,

Shubert's Symphony No. 9 in C Major, the "Great" symphony.

And "great" is appropriate for this amazing work which, with repeats, is nearly an hour in length. This is one of the first pieces I heard when I came to Chicago, and was a regular CSO patron. The night I heard it, Solti conducted. It was electrifying.

Like Mozart, Schubert died young -- he was 31 (he was afflictied with syphilis, thought the cause of his death was never really known -- perhaps typhoid, perhaps poisoning from mercury, ingested to combat the syphilis). And like Mozart, Schubert was astonishingly prolific and always chronically short of money.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Franz_Schubert.jpg

In addition to his 9 or 10 symphonies (depending on how you count), he composed over 700 songs (lieder), a dozen chamber works, nearly 70 solo piano pieces, and more than half a dozen major liturgical pieces. His creative output was, in a word, astonishing.

He was a master of melody.

The 9th Symphony was never peformed in Schubert's lifetime. The manuscript was discovered by Schuman in the closet of Schubert's brother, 10 years after Franz died. Can you imagine leafing through the dusty pages? You can see Schuman's hands shaking as he looked at page after page of melodic genius. Schuman took the manuscript to Felix Mendelsohn, who conducted the symphony's first performance in Leipzig in 1838.

The 9th is quintessentially Schubertian -- a beautiful thematic melody opens the 1st movement, and is explored throughout. (By the way this "great" symphony is a great "date" symphony -- want to impress a lady with your sophistication in a low lit room with a glass of wine? This is the piece to do it).

This was the first symphony that used trombones to carry majory portions of a symphony, as opposed to being accent instruments. It is also arguably the first true "romantic" symphony -- Beethoven can be considered in many ways still a classicist.

There are many fine recordings. The one I have is Solti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded in 1981, on the London/Decca label. This recording was one of the first done exclusively for compact disc -- and it showcases the clarity, definition, and dynamic range that the new medium provided.

You can still get it directly from the Decca Catalogue, number, 00289 448 9272

See: http://www.deccaclassics.com/music/index.asp?qstxt=Search&x=14&y=12#


Other recordings that are supposedly excellent are ones by Karajan, Szell, and Furtwangler (in mono). All are available on Amazon.

[Karl K]

Since I have done my pick just around 10:00pm Central time, I propose we give our next selector -- and admirable thread organizer -- Saschen, a nice round 12 hours to make his choice, so he doesn't have do this by 8 am, my time.

[Sachsen]

Much like Norsk Troll, I'm not using my first pick on my favorite work. However, I AM using it on the one work that I simply HAD to have. For almost everything else on my list, I can think of a suitable alternative if it gets taken. But not for this. This pick is simply completely irreplaceable.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

http://www.naxos.com/images/paintings/Gershwin_George/Gersihwin1.jpg

No, this wasn't necessarily the first time jazz and classical merged in the concert hall - that honor probably belongs to *******'s ** ******** ** *****, but NOTHING created as big a stir as Gershwin's Rhapsody, which was an instant hit and has remained so ever since.

Want to know why the Beatles -- those rowdy, snot-nosed Liverpudlian kids -- were able to perform a concert before a highbrow crowd including the British Royal Family? You can point to Gershwin for the beginning of that progression that brought the traditional (classical) and the ultra-modern (jazz, pop) into one glorious marriage.

For a favorite recording, how about Leonard Bernstein both playing the piano and conducting the LA Philharmonic from the bench, in 1983?

Smiley321 is up.

[Panfilo]

Sachsen If I weren't a mod.

I'd cuss you out right now.

It sux being last.

:(

[Haole]

The 9th is quintessentially Schubertian -- a beautiful thematic melody opens the 1st movement, and is explored throughout. (By the way this "great" symphony is a great "date" symphony -- want to impress a lady with your sophistication in a low lit room with a glass of wine? This is the piece to do it).



Fine choice, indeed.

Sophisticated, modern and ridiculously beautiful music.

Hijacked one off my list, too.

[Haole]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin




This is going to be a tough go...I get dinged again. Nice choice.

I debated this as an 'A' list selection. It's so quintessentially "American" that I sometimes wonder if I've been brainwashed to believe 'Rhapsody' is standard repertoire around the world. It's been hijacked for commercial purposes so often that I fairly cringe when I hear the opening bars now.

Upon reflection I decided that, dammit, Gershwin had the gift. Simple as that.

A masterpiece.

[Michael K.]

Rhapsody in Blue? Ha! Total waste of a pick, one that will have the rest of the draft laughing at you collectively for weeks, if not months.








Er...what I mean to say is, I too curse you for taking that ahead of me.

[Smiley321]

I'll take the magnum opus of my favorite composer

Symphony no. 1 (Classical) by Prokofiev

Prokofiev had two periods, early on he did many very original and unique works. Later, the commies prevailed on him to write for the masses, and even these are great.

The Classical Symphony was done as a homage to Haydn, with Prokofiev's unique style.

[Sachsen]

ROUND 1
1. DoctorD -- L.v. Beethoven Symphony No. 7
2. Haole -- I. Stravinsky Le Sacre du Printemps
3. Norsk Troll -- L.v. Beethoven Symphony No. 9
4. Iceblink -- G.F. Handel Water Music Suite
5. scottinkc -- P.I. Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture
6. Karl K -- F. Schubert Symphony No. 9
7. sachsen -- G. Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
8. Smiley321 -- S. Prokofiev Symphony No. 1
9. GringoTex --
10. sardus_pater --
11. Michael K. --
12. NGV --
13. YankHibee --
14. Panfilo --

[DoctorD]

Another great (hah!) recording of Schubert's 9th is Gunter Wand's recording for RCA. Amazing when you consider it is live! And another low cost edition.

[Sachsen]

I'll take the magnum opus of my favorite composer

Symphony no. 1 (Classical) by Prokofiev

Prokofiev had two periods, early on he did many very original and unique works. Later, the commies prevailed on him to write for the masses, and even these are great.

The Classical Symphony was done as a homage to Haydn, with Prokofiev's unique style.

See, that's what I love about these drafts: you didn't pick what was really "popular" - and you probably could have let this go for several more rounds before worrying about someone else picking it (but then again, you never know!) Anyway, you picked what you wanted to pick because you liked it, rather than worrying about what others would do.

The other thing I love is getting to know new works - I had never heard this so I went and gave it a listen. You're right, it's a very nice work, fun to listen to. I couldn't believe how short it was, though - only about 14 minutes total, and the 3rd movement is only a minute and a half! Good stuff.

[GringoTex]

Round 1 - Pick 9

Antonio Vivaldi's "Four Seasons"

There are so many great pieces of this in so many films that I love that I had to make sure it was mine.

http://216.168.37.61/posteritati/jpg/P3/PIERROT%20LE%20FOU%20LFR.jpg

http://www.criterionco.com/content/images/full_boxshot/242_box_348x490.jpg

[Norsk Troll]

Round 1 - Pick 9

Antonio Vivaldi's "Four Seasons"

There are so many great pieces of this in so many films that I love that I had to make sure it was mine.I was actually composing a snide private message to you, wondering whether you would have to turn to the movies to come up with your classical music choices. But, as much as I look forward to slagging you a bit here (a little payback from the movie draft, perhaps), I can't slam you for this pick. It was on my draft board as well for that period (though fortunately, there are still lots more to chose from).

It's popular. Even over-used. But that doesn't make it any less good.

[GringoTex]

I was actually composing a snide private message to you, wondering whether you would have to turn to the movies to come up with your classical music choices.


Well of course I'm going to have to. I haven't bought a classical music cd yet (with the exception of some operas) that I didn't initially fall in love with in a movie.

[Norsk Troll]

Well of course I'm going to have to. I haven't bought a classical music cd yet (with the exception of some operas) that I didn't initially fall in love with in a movie.Good thing you weren't born into the silent picture era.

[GringoTex]

Good thing you weren't born into the silent picture era.

Then I'd love drunkenly rendered piano tunes.

[Sachsen]

Round 1 - Pick 9

Antonio Vivaldi's "Four Seasons"

There are so many great pieces of this in so many films that I love that I had to make sure it was mine.

I debated ever-so-briefly with myself whether to allow this pick. After all, The Four Seasons consists of four individual concertos, which would be the theoretical equivalent to picking all nine of Beethoven's symphonies at once. Also, when people say they like this work, usually all they're referring to is one of 2 or 3 movements out of the 12, namely the 1st and 3rd of Spring or the 1st of Autumn.

But like I said, it was a brief debate. Obviously Vivaldi intended these four works to be considered as one whole (sort-of-but-not-really like considering all three Lord of the Rings books/movies as one.) And ultimately, the Spirit of the draft is more important than the Law.

Good pick no matter what. Believe it or not, my favorite recording of this is on Mannheim Steamroller's label *ducks head*. The thing that makes it unique is the fact that Vivaldi wrote sonnets to go along with each movement, and their recording has Patrick Stewart reading each sonnet in between each movement. The music is presented well also, with Arnie Roth as soloist. A fun listen.