The Orchestral Music appreciation thread.

[Tantive]

Not live orchestra, but it'll do pig
[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiKPgmN5jTg"]nyan cat orchestra[/YOUTUBE]

 

[93JC]

Not live orchestra, but it'll do pig

Not orchestral, but if you love that you'll love the the jazz cover.


Orchestral stuff everyone should love:

[YOUTUBE="NrjbofNb-7c"]Music from The Right Stuff, by Bill Conti[/YOUTUBE]

I bought The Right Stuff on DVD at a closeout sale for $4 a few days ago and watched it today. It has been a while since I've seen it. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for? It's probably the finest movie ever made about Chuck Yeager's supersonic flight in 1947 and the Mercury 7 astronauts.

The first half of the video is from the scenes at the beginning of the movie where Yeager attempts to break the sound barrier, with some very deliberate cues from Gustav Holst's "The Planets" (it has been a while since I've listened to "The Planets", so I can't remember which one in particular; 'Jupiter'?). The second half is the main theme from the film with some cues from "The U.S. Air Force" song (a.k.a. "Into the Wild Blue Yonder"). The song was hummed in a memorable scene by astronaut Gordo Cooper (who was from the USAF), played by Dennis Quaid, to drown out the humming of the "Marines' Hymn" by John Glenn (a USMC pilot), played by Ed Harris.

 

[sceadugenga]

 

[93JC]

There was a Back to the Future marathon on TV yesterday. I only caught the tail end of Part II and the beginning of Part III before I went to bed, but I've seen them all a zillion times so I'm not particularly upset about it.

This is the 'overture' from the first film, again composed by Alan Silvestri.

0:00-1:12 occurs before Marty takes his mother to the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, as he's writing a letter to Doc Brown about the events of the night he went back in time.

1:12-6:00 is from after the dance as Doc and Marty prepare for the trip back to the future. Doc Brown's explanation of the plan starts at 2:00 as the music builds. At 2:53 Doc says "Well, I guess that's everything," and he and Marty share a hug, Doc not knowing that Marty may never see Doc alive again. At 3:33 Doc discovers the letter Marty wrote and they argue about it until 4:05, when lightning strikes a tree in the courtyard and causes the cable connection at the clock tower to come apart. At 4:24 Doc runs up the stairs inside the clock tower in order to throw a rope down to Marty and hoist the cable back up. At 5:12 Marty begins yelling up to Doc "I have to tell you about the future!" The clock strikes 10:00 and drowns out Marty...

At 6:00 a cue from after Marty's trip back to the future begins. I won't totally spoil it for those who haven't seen it.

 

[Medtnertunes]

Major classical music buff right here. Talkclassical forum is my home on the internet, I'm just a visitor for now, who knows, if I like it I may be here to stay.

I'm big on the symphonies and right now am exploring symphonies that are either in single movements or have mostly a non stop continuation between movements. Exploring american symphonies as well, my favorites so far are William Schuman's 3rd, Roy Harris's 3rd and Copland's 1st without the organ.
Roy Harris Symphony 3!

 

[Medtnertunes]

As my user name suggests, I'm a big Medtner fan as well, though he didn't write much for orchestra, except his piano concertos. His 1st is my favorite

 

[Medtnertunes]

What the hell, since no one likes my orchestral music thread anymore.

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KJTsQf22dM&feature=related"]C.P.E. Bach[/YOUTUBE]

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was a major influence on Mozart and Haydn.

I'm so glad you mentioned CPE Bach, he's one of my favorites. I like many of his sonatas, symphonies and concertos.

 

[CuriousFeeling]

Here's a couple of my favorite orchestral pieces:

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiPcbx7TyM4"]Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini 18th Var.[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv2dne019yg"]Piano Concerto 3.- Shine Soundtrack[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOhoDGwXocA"]Stravinsky- Firebird Suite Round of the Princesses[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVjE9HkokT4"]Stravinsky- Firebird Suite Berceuse and Finale[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_7loz-HWUM"]Debussy- Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Octarine]

Clair de lune de la 'Suite Bergamasque' - Adante tres expressif, arranged for orchestra. Conducted by Philippe Entremont:
[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2Uo5kcDpyg"]Clair de Lune[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Salomé]

To what extent is your appreciation intellectual, and to what extent is it a purely emotional response to a piece? Or rather, how do these aspects colour your appreciation?

 

[Medtnertunes]

To what extent is your appreciation intellectual, and to what extent is it a purely emotional response to a piece? Or rather, how do these aspects colour your appreciation?

The process of getting to know a piece of more modern/late romantic music can be quite intellectually based, but once I remember the themes and follow along, pieces will hold emotional power for me. To reiterate it in a different way, getting familiar with new musical geography when the landscapes are complex takes intellect but once there is enough familiarity, the landscape can simply be enjoyed.

I find it very easy to get to know classical era music, the process rewards me almost immediately, its a very stimulating intellectual task to get to know new pieces because its also pleasant to listen to though you have to be in just the right mood for it to invoke deep emotional responses.

 

[ultimawepun]

I apologize in advance for these geeky orchestral pieces.

OreImo OP: Irony

Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensou: Koi no Mikuru Densetsu

Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensou: Itsumo no Fuukei ~ Gekiretsu de Kareinaru Hibi

Nichijou OVA ED

------
Final Fantasy XIII: Battle Theme (Never actually played the game yet, but this piece was just too beautiful to not be put here.)

 

[Octarine]

To what extent is your appreciation intellectual, and to what extent is it a purely emotional response to a piece? Or rather, how do these aspects colour your appreciation?

Enjoyment of music for me is based on taste, rather than intellectual curiosity (in the analytical sense). I do sometimes like more complex music, I'm not sure if you'd consider that intellectual or not, but it is still the emotional response that pulls me in.

 

[Salomé]

Enjoyment of music for me is based on taste, rather than intellectual curiosity (in the analytical sense). I do sometimes like more complex music, I'm not sure if you'd consider that intellectual or not, but it is still the emotional response that pulls me in.

How do you evolve your "taste", or do you not consider that a worthwhile exercise?

I suppose I was hoping the "appreciation" aspect of the thread might include some kind of analysis/exposition. Like you, I know what I like, but I don't really know why I like it and I usually don't "understand" it, other than as an sensory / emotional experience. I find a couple of things can happen when I dig deeper into the meaning/structure of a piece. One the one hand, I have a deeper appreciation of the technical virtuosity and artistry involved and feel more absorbed by the whole experience. On the other, I can find that a piece somehow loses its 'mystique' once deconstructed too far. Seeing individual notes is like seeing individual brushstrokes. It both enhances and degrades the experience. Any idea what I'm talking about?

The process of getting to know a piece of more modern/late romantic music can be quite intellectually based, but once I remember the themes and follow along, pieces will hold emotional power for me. To reiterate it in a different way, getting familiar with new musical geography when the landscapes are complex takes intellect but once there is enough familiarity, the landscape can simply be enjoyed.

I find it very easy to get to know classical era music, the process rewards me almost immediately, its a very stimulating intellectual task to get to know new pieces because its also pleasant to listen to though you have to be in just the right mood for it to invoke deep emotional responses.

Hmm. It kind of works in reverse for me. I'm only really motivated to explore the "intellectual landscape" once I have had already established some kind of emotional connection to a work. Perhaps we're talking about different things...
I like this idea of musical topology. I need to get some books on music theory. Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

[Medtnertunes]

Hmm. It kind of works in reverse for me. I'm only really motivated to explore the "intellectual landscape" once I have had already established some kind of emotional connection to a work. Perhaps we're talking about different things...
I like this idea of musical topology. I need to get some books on music theory. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Actually, i left out a step of my process. I usually have to give a piece repeated partial listenings before I have theme going through my head that makes me want to come back. Then comes the intellectual process of paying attention, then comes emotional. Its hard for me to describe so neatly.

As for recommendations on music theory, I haven't read a book on theory either, I just listen, so no recommendations from my end.

 

[Octarine]

How do you evolve your "taste", or do you not consider that a worthwhile exercise?

By listening to music I am unfamiliar with. The music must still have some sort of "pull" though. I won't listen to certain avant garde pieces even if they happen to look virtuous on paper.

I suppose I was hoping the "appreciation" aspect of the thread might include some kind of analysis/exposition. Like you, I know what I like, but I don't really know why I like it and I usually don't "understand" it, other than as an sensory / emotional experience. I find a couple of things can happen when I dig deeper into the meaning/structure of a piece. One the one hand, I have a deeper appreciation of the technical virtuosity and artistry involved and feel more absorbed by the whole experience. On the other, I can find that a piece somehow loses its 'mystique' once deconstructed too far. Seeing individual notes is like seeing individual brushstrokes. It both enhances and degrades the experience. Any idea what I'm talking about?

To me a "piece" of art is in itself incomplete. We are presented with some sort of final piece, but to me art shouldn't be disconnected from the process by which it is created. The feedback and shaping between the artists mind, the medium and any tools used (and ultimately the artists life) and secondly, how it is perceived (which in turn reflects our own lives).
It doesn't matter how you deconstruct the process, art is about a chaotic combination of decisions/actions and you are never going to fully replicate that process merely by understanding art theory or reading a biography of the artist.
In the case of music, the composition cannot be disconnected from the performance. Even if the performance is in your head (which requires some familiarity, even when sight reading).

Hmm. It kind of works in reverse for me. I'm only really motivated to explore the "intellectual landscape" once I have had already established some kind of emotional connection to a work.

Which arguably could apply to any human endeavour..

Perhaps we're talking about different things...
I like this idea of musical topology. I need to get some books on music theory. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Traditional music theory is a bit on the uninteresting side, although you should still have a basic understanding of harmony and understand the reason for proper voice leading and counterpoint (to preserve tonality).

There are a whole bunch of theorists who have tried to apply mathematical techniques to analyse music, but I don't care much for that.
Art is a process and therefore (if you don't want to rely on mere inspiration) I believe it should be studied in terms of the creation process. Off the top of my head, David Cope is doing interesting things in this field.

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/cope/biography.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cope

 

[Octarine]

So a few months ago I decided that I was going to try to listen to all of Haydn's ~106 symphonies for the first time and to do so as quickly as possible (realistically, by the end of the year). I'm currently up to No. 34.

Not sure which are the stand-outs yet, I'd probably have to listen to them more than once...

 

[SilkRoad]

I went last night to hear one of the best conductors in the world, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conducting the Brahms violin concerto (not sure of number etc, sorry...the really really famous one!), and Kullervo by Jean Sibelius.

The latter is a symphonic choral poem, over an hour long. It's based on the Finnish mythological epic, the Kalevala. It was of particular interest to me because I'm half Finnish - although my Finnish is pretty bad, and there were subtitles over the stage, I was able to understand a very little bit of the singing even without looking at the subtitles (like "Kullervo, son of Kalervo, clad in blue stockings" ). Two excellent soloists and a hundred-strong male choir bellowing about a hero who accidentally seduces his own sister and then commits suicide. Pretty epic. Both it and the Brahms were spine-chilling.

 

[93JC]

I was going to go to a concert last week featuring a 'taste' of the philharmonic orchestra's repertoire. It had everything from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Dvorak to songs by Gershwin, The Beatles, Bernard Herrmann's suite from Psycho and John Williams' theme from Star Wars.

Then I got sick and didn't feel up to it.

 

[93JC]

In tribute to Herrmann, here's the opening credits to Hitchcock's North by Northwest. Herrmann's theme is allowed to play over the New York streetscape unaccompanied by the din of traffic and chatter of people.

[YOUTUBE="jIlqatMQSgI"]North by Northwest[/YOUTUBE]

(And yes, that's Hitchcock himself at the end as the poor schmo who missed his bus. )


I didn't know that Bernard Herrmann got his start in Hollywood with Orson Welles and Citizen Kane until I saw the movie a few weeks ago. Herrmann had a close working relationship with Hitchcock (Marnie, The Birds, Psycho and Vertigo are among the movies they collaborated on), but they had a falling out during the production of Torn Curtain and reportedly scarcely spoke to each other ever again.

Toward the end of his life Herrmann worked with François Truffaut, Brian De Palma and, in his final work, Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver. Herrmann finished scoring Taxi Driver in December, 1975. Days later, Christmas Eve, he dropped dead. He was 64.

He had five Oscar noms, including the one he won in 1941 for The Devil and Daniel Webster. His first two scores (Citizen Kane and The Devil and Daniel Webster) were nominated for Academy Awards; so were his last two (De Palma's Obsession, and Taxi Driver). His other nomination came for 1946's Anna and the King of Siam.

Here's the opening theme from Taxi Driver (for which Herrmann was posthumously awarded by BAFTA in 1976):

[YOUTUBE="b892Vm6Sw6Q"]Taxi Driver[/YOUTUBE]

It's composed of bits and pieces of several excerpts from the score. The haunting bit at the start is from a song called "God's Lonely Man", the change at 0:24 is to "Thank God for the Rain", and at 0:43 it shifts to "Betsy's Theme", a leitmotif for the character played by a young (and very sexy) Cybill Shepherd.


EDIT: *sigh* Why do I even try embedding videos...?