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

[Norsk Troll]

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.Naw - what are 1 & 3 of Spring without the Largo between? And Summer and Winter are easily their equals or betters - the Presto of Summer and Allegro non molto of Winter especially.

[Sachsen]

Naw - what are 1 & 3 of Spring without the Largo between? And Summer and Winter are easily their equals or betters - the Presto of Summer and Allegro non molto of Winter especially.

Oh, I agree with you - all twelve movements have their good qualities. I'm just saying that in terms of popularity or what you would typically hear in the movies or other venues, the movements I mentioned are the ones you're most likely to hear and the ones most people think of when they are talking about the work as a whole. Heck, some people (non-classical music enthusiasts) probably hear the first movement of Spring and think THAT'S The Four Seasons all by itself... (If they know what it is at all, vs good music for commercials.)

[Ghost]

Oh nuck it. Is it too late for me to get in? I don't really want to expend the time, and I'll be struggling by the late rounds, but what the heck? I'll just diappear once my knowledge is exhausted.

[sardus_pater]

My pick is

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem in D Minor - K. 626

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart_1.jpg/168px-Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart_1.jpg

Powerful, majestic, overwhelmingly beautiful and all this while being an unfinished work. Imagine if he managed to complete it... if it was him to orchestrate everything.

The first time I listened to it it sent shivers down my spine and still it manages to do so.

http://www.mozart-archiv.de/serie19.htm (mp3)

[Sachsen]

Oh nuck it. Is it too late for me to get in? I don't really want to expend the time, and I'll be struggling by the late rounds, but what the heck? I'll just diappear once my knowledge is exhausted.

You're in. You'll have pick #15 in the current round.

[Karl K]

My pick is

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem in D Minor - K. 626

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart_1.jpg/168px-Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart_1.jpg

Powerful, majestic, overwhelmingly beautiful and all this while being an unfinished work. Imagine if he managed to complete it... if it was him to orchestrate everything.

The first time I listened to it it sent shivers down my spine and still it manages to do so.

http://www.mozart-archiv.de/serie19.htm (mp3)

Great choice.

The Lacrimosa is of course the mass portion that many filmmakers have employed, but to me the best portion is Dies Irae.

You can just see the 4 horseman of the Apocalypse galloping toward the inevitable destruction.

The other thing about Mozart, in this piece as in so many of his others, is his abilty to generate a huge wall of sound with a very small orchestra and choir.

[Michael K.]

This was harder than I thought it would be, both in terms of which artist and which work to take first. I've got a whole bunch of mid-round picks in mind, but wanted to make the first one really stand up. So...

http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/chopin.jpg

Chopin, Preludes, Op. 28.

My Romantic Polish soul obliged me to take Chopin first, though I wavered on just which work. There's many I could have taken - many of them just as good, but perhaps a little shorter. In the end I decided to go with the Preludes - variegated, distinct, subtle expressions of emotion, seamlessly connected. Lovely, lovely music.

[NGV]

My first selection is J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988.

http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/tomita/bachbib/review/CU4title.jpg

I'm not typically a big fan of the theme and variations form, but there's nothing typical about this one. Few if any pieces combine technical brilliance and lyrical inspiration like the Goldbergs. Individually the thirty variations are masterpieces; together they're a monument. And towering above them all is the immortal Aria that begins and ends the cycle (my favorite thirty-two measures in all music).

The recording to listen to is Glenn Gould (1981).

[Sachsen]

My first selection is J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988.

http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/tomita/bachbib/review/CU4title.jpg

I'm not typically a big fan of the theme and variations form, but there's nothing typical about this one. Few if any pieces combine technical brilliance and lyrical inspiration like the Goldbergs. Individually the thirty variations are masterpieces; together they're a monument. And towering above them all is the immortal Aria that begins and ends the cycle (my favorite thirty-two measures in all music).

The recording to listen to is Glenn Gould (1981).

AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

There goes my 2nd round pick - I curse you with a thousand curses!

(I prefer Gould's 50s performance - but you're right, GG is definately the way to go on the Goldbergs.)

Crap crap crap crap crap.

[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 -- A. Vivaldi The Four Seasons
10. sardus_pater -- W.A. Mozart Requiem
11. Michael K. -- F. Chopin Preludes, op. 28
12. NGV -- J.S. Bach Goldberg Variations
13. YankHibee --
14. Panfilo --
15. Ghost --

[Sachsen]

With only two picks left in the first round, I would like to submit a proposal. (Norsk Troll is going to hang me for this.) ;)

We will have made it through the first round in around two days. Keeping at that rate, we will finish the draft in approx. 20 days.

Please PM me with your vote:
1. Keep the rules as they were presented at the beginning of the draft (see log 1 of this thread.)
--OR--
2. Continue with the rest of the rounds the way the 1st round has gone, namely everyone pick in order, with ten hours on the clock per drafter.

I'd like to briefly postpone the beginning of the 2nd round until we get some votes in on this. So far the first round has gone rather well and I wouldn't mind keeping it the way it has been, but if you want to go with the rules as originally presented, I am fine with that as well. I've just been pleasantly surprised at how quickly this is moving along.

[YankHibee]

Alright, here goes...for the first round I'm taking Gaspard de la Nuit: Trois Poèmes pour Piano d'apres Aloysius Bertrand by Ravel. Don't really have time to explain at the mo' but I'll be on later.

[Panfilo]

I was going to go with the usual suspects.

But I decided against it.

Why?

I'm feeling patriotic today.

My pick

"Huapango" - Jose Pablo Moncayo Garcia

http://www.classical-composers.org/img/moncayo.jpg


This Mexican composer was able to blend the traditional music of Mexico (Huapango) with the orchestra to create probably the most important classical piece of the country. Just think Gershwin with Jazz; Moncayo with Huapango.

Favorite recordings

1) Orquesta de las Americas (Definitive version)
2) Mariachi Vargas

I found some kids playing it on youtube. Different arrangement
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EVLuJtyoBNE More Huapango style

Marching band from Mexico
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8mC75-m5sFM cut short

[Ghost]

With my first pick, I select:

http://www.beethoven.ws/images/b2.jpg

Ludwig von Beethoven - Fur Elise

It's nice to be in a draft in which I have middling knowledge, if that, and in which I can just say what I like without any sense of ranking or importance. Fur Elise, despite its simplicity, has one of the most perfectly beautiful melodies I've ever heard. I don't feel the need to understand it beyond that. In fact, maybe that's the best way to understand it.

[Ghost]

Two things ....

1) I think the simplicity of just keeping the traditional one at a time drafting method is the best way. Frankly, I can't make heads or tails of the modified rules.

2) I hate Sachsen for snatching the Gershwin.

[Ghost]

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.

I'll probably have to go with a number of movie-related choices, as well. But I have to warn you, Norsk Troll, no amount of snide remarks here is going to make your movie draft selection of:

http://www.goblinville.com/bootique/images/movies/haunted-honeymoon.jpg

Haunted Honeymoon, starring Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner and Dom Deluise in drag, look any better in retrospect. Don't try to deny taking it. We both were there.

By the way Fur Elise appears in:

http://www.frameonline.it/FotoRecensioni/Elephant2.jpg

Elephant (2003, d. Gus Van Sant)

One heck of a movie.

[Haole]

Lovely, lovely music.


An understatement IMO.

Great pick.

I think Chopin's preludes are the finest pieces ever written for the instrument.

One never seems to tire of listening to such great beauty and profound inventiveness.

[NGV]

AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

There goes my 2nd round pick - I curse you with a thousand curses!

Heh, I had a feeling I might have robbed somebody with that one. Would have been a shame to have the first round go by without Bach, though...

(I prefer Gould's 50s performance - but you're right, GG is definately the way to go on the Goldbergs.)

I haven't really compared the two recordings in depth, and I usually don't pay much attention to different artists' interpretations in general (this might be the only pick I'll recommend a recording for). But Gould and the Goldbergs are an exception - it's hard to imagine anyone else playing them better. I lean toward the later version because I prefer the Aria played slowly.

Speaking of Gould's second recording, I came across these (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=glenn+gould+goldberg+opus3863&search=Search)on Youtube a few weeks ago. I never knew these videos existed - they're pretty mesmerizing.

[Ghost]

An understatement IMO.

Great pick.

I think Chopin's preludes are the finest pieces ever written for the instrument.

One never seems to tire of listening to such great beauty and profound inventiveness.

Had a college roommate with Chopin preludes. Freakin' brilliant. And I don't even know what I'm listening to, exactly.

[Norsk Troll]

I saw the thread recently that had "Haunted Honeymoon" too, Ghost - funny. Nevertheless, I stand by my selection of "My Life as a Dog", no matter what Gringo says.

And as to draft order, I'm fine with whatever you guys want - I know that I'll be here to the dying moments of the draft (kicking all your collective butts, I might add).