Pieces everyone else likes but you

Referring to whom?

Referring to whom?

I was reffering to the general belief that everyone who likes classical music are old guys in suits who look down on all other forms of music. The classical elitist stereotype does exist in real-life but it's nowhere near as common as most people would think.

Oh, and while this topic remains open...For me it's almost every piece featured on a "classics to put you to sleep" compilation. Not because I honestly feel any of them constitute a particularly heinous musical crime...well....with the possible exception of a certain Ground Round we all know and cherish....But mostly because I feel the withering of all hope that those compilations will ever provide a "gateway" to promote more widespread enjoyment of genre-classical. I often wonder if, instead, it merely promotes....the popularity of those same 15-20 pieces :angry:

Holst's Jupiter. Blargh.

Deary me. Parts of this thread have descended into veritable matches of the proverbial slanging.

I find that there aren't any pieces of music that I hate.

Sure there are works that I dislike, but this is just personal preference.

Equally, there are some composers whom I dislike, but I can usually find a work in their output which speaks to me.

I agree, and congratulate you on your amazing name.

I'm just getting into Rautavaara after hearing one of his pieces at a concert not too long ago, got myself a cd with his 3rd Smphony, 2nd Piano Concerto and Cantus Arcticus - mindblowing stuff :)

I was just about to mention this user to you, actually. Maybe I'll try and get into his music.

hmmm....let's see:

Ravel's Bolero - its 8 minutes long, is based on only one chord...and the melody is exactly the same, but played on clarinet, alto sax, e-flat clarinet, tenor sax, then the whole orchestra. zzzzzzz...

Eric Whitacre's Water Night - I love music that Eric Whitacre writes...the exception is Water Night. It's basically an abstract melody, with the second sopranos, altos, and basses singing every note in the minor scale at once.

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring - the opening bassoon solo is kinda cool, but everything else is just...hard to listen to

Pachelbel Canon - I played this in church. The violin part is cool, but the whole piece is just so...repetitive, not to mention overused.

A lot of electronic/techno music...it's basically 21st century Bolero: one chord....repeating...same damn thing...over and over...8 minutes of my life wasted listening to drum and synth loops....

wait! i almost forgot!

ABSTRACT music. gah! its the most annoying thing ever. I've been forced to listen to some of that "music."

Basically, the "composer" thinks: "I'm gonna have a synth play one long chord for 20 minutes. Then I'll add some nature sound effects, and maybe some reversed audio effects to add to the creepiness level* of the piece."

*Yes, abstract music is creepy. There, I said it.

hmmm....let's see:

Ravel's Bolero - its 8 minutes long, is based on only one chord...and the melody is exactly the same, but played on clarinet, alto sax, e-flat clarinet, tenor sax, then the whole orchestra. zzzzzzz...

There are a few things wrong with that statement. First off, it's far longer than 8 minutes. The fastest interpretation I've ever heard of is 12 minutes and Ravel preferred slower interpretations himself which were more around 19 minutes or so. Secondly, it is not based on only one chord. There are a few and there is even a modulation at the end.

Though, I'm just correcting you out of anal-ness. I can't blame you for not liking the piece in all honesty. ;)

I'm not a big fan of Bolero either, but the whole point is that there are other things in music than melody and harmony. It's a piece that has its interest in the timbral organisation and the same goes for good techno music. The actual sounds are often much more interesting in such music than in some other music that may be more complex harmonically/formally/rhythmically/etc.

As for "abstract music": I have the vague impression you don't know what the term abstract means.

Isn't abstract music supposed to be "pure" music that doesn't rely on outside text or images?

hmmm....let's see:

Ravel's Bolero - its 8 minutes long, is based on only one chord...and the melody is exactly the same, but played on clarinet, alto sax, e-flat clarinet, tenor sax, then the whole orchestra. zzzzzzz...

Eric Whitacre's Water Night - I love music that Eric Whitacre writes...the exception is Water Night. It's basically an abstract melody, with the second sopranos, altos, and basses singing every note in the minor scale at once.

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring - the opening bassoon solo is kinda cool, but everything else is just...hard to listen to

Pachelbel Canon - I played this in church. The violin part is cool, but the whole piece is just so...repetitive, not to mention overused.

A lot of electronic/techno music...it's basically 21st century Bolero: one chord....repeating...same damn thing...over and over...8 minutes of my life wasted listening to drum and synth loops....

*Laughs at you*

Btw, Bolero is 17-20 minutes long.

oh. 17-18 minutes long. mea culpa.

and the abstract music is like...gah...idk...i dont know if thats even the correct term...sorry everyone...

i see bolero as one of the most influential music pieces ever, as 4.33 or arcana.

it's simply amazing in its concept.

pure, simple, beautiful.

Seconded. It was the first piece of music I truly loved.

I found the Bolero to be an acquired taste.

I'm going to see it performed in February, and as it will be my first conert thingy, I am excited.

I found the Bolero to be an acquired taste.

I'm going to see it performed in February, and as it will be my first conert thingy, I am excited.

I find Bolero to be an acquired dislike.

I liked Bolero at first. I don't like it anymore. It's terribly boring for me.

I loved Bolero and still love it. I remember sitting for hours listening just this piece trying to figure out every time what were the instruments that played the melody and what were those that were just playing the rhythmical motif...

Alexandros

Everything by The Beatles.

Everything by The Beatles.

THANK YOU! :w00t:

I understand not liking Bolero as he said himself something along the lines of, it's a piece for orchestra without music, but the orchestra is still brilliant. There is no compositional depth to the piece, but the bulid up and the orchestration is Ravel. I still like the piece.

I can't stand the Nutcracker. The first movement is alright (or act...) but the second just goes on way too long.

Verdi in general, I once said to a friend of mine (a very talented soprano) that Verdi's operas are long vocal concertos. She, of couse, got angry and proceeded to say Pucchini (my favorite opera composer) was the operatic equvilent to new age music.

I don't like Beethoven's 3rd symphony. Every other one I cherish (even the first which isn't nearly as good as any other one), but the third drives me up a wall.

Haydn. Just Haydn in general I find very boring. He might very well have been the most influencial composer who ever lived, but just compared to Bach or Mozart, I find his music particularly boring.

Baroque Opera. I love Opera, but anyone from the baroque peroid is about as interesting as Frank Sinatra (I have heard specific arias I've liked very much, but I can't even sit through a Baroque Opera).

Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto. I Liked the 2nd one a bit more, but it's not particular high on any list. I like Chopin alot, but Rachmaninoff is like Chopin without that incredibly sense of melody.

Bah. You people disappoint me :(

I love Opera, but anyone from the baroque peroid is about as interesting as Frank Sinatra (I have heard specific arias I've liked very much, but I can't even sit through a Baroque Opera).

Well, yes, Frank Sinatra and baroque opera are both amazing.