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Category: Music
Classical Music: what I do and don’t know
As a guide to contributors, this is what I already know in music, and what I’d like to know more of. The latter is in boldface. Classical Music. Perotin Stuff between Perotin and Ars Subtilior Ars Subtilior Stuff between Ars Subtilior and Corelli Liked Byrd. Freaked out by Vincenzo Galilei. Liked Schutz. Corelli Bach, Bach, […]
Musical Theatre: what I do and don’t know
Stuff I already know: West Side Story. Not quite a musical, is it. My Fair Lady. Perfect musical, and astonishingly faithful to the play. Sweeney Todd. And Assassins. I don’t know other Sondheim pieces, but I’m sure they are excellent as well. Wicked. My wife’s fave, and I did not expect to fall in love […]
Western Vernacular Music: what I do and don’t know
Stuff I want to know more about in boldface Dixieland Jazz Country Blues I got 7 CDs of anthologies, just need to rip them now Grateful Dead, Phish, those kinda guys I don’t think I’ll get it, but humour me James Brown Hendrix Chicago before they turned into mush Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd Love the […]
What are some good examples of music videos subverting their songs?
OP, I’ll go first. Kostas Makedonas, a fine Laïko (bouzouki pop) singer (Κώστας Μακεδόνας). One of his biggest hits was Μαργαριτάρια, “Pearls” (1994), which he duets the chorus of with Alkistis Protopsalti. It’s a great Zeibekiko, stern and catchy and melancholy, as all great zeibekikos should be. And the verse sings of the splendid arrogance […]
What are some upbeat songs with seriously sad or depressing lyrics?
Originally Answered: Can you mention an upbeat and happy-sounding song that has a sad/depressing meaning? Australian anthems: Cold Chisel – Khe Sanh Rollicking strophic, jolly country rock song—about a Vietnam Vet adrift and addicted back home. A song dear to the heart of all Australians my age and up. Answered 2016-11-02 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/What-are-some-upbeat-songs-with-seriously-sad-or-depressing-lyrics/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
Can musicians be replaced by computers which can read musical scores (with emotional connotations) and play back the tune with emotion?
Hello Curtis Lindsay. I’ve been upvoting you for a little while. In fact, because of you, I’m about to force myself to listen to *shudder* Chopin. (Michael Masiello will be pleased.) It’s about time I disagreed with you about something. I think OP’s dystopian scenario is not impossible. The thing about machine learning is, it […]
Some consider Shostakovich very uneven in the quality of his output. What pieces are considered of poor quality, and why?
Opprobrium is usually directed at the made-to-order Stalinist cantatas and film music. See for example Putting the Stalin in Shostakovich: pro-Soviet cantatas cause outrage. They are regarded as insincere, bombastic, and forced on him. People in the West know that they weren’t the kind of thing he took pride in, and prefer to ignore them. […]
What are the messages behind Mahler’s last three symphonies?
OP clarified in comments that he meant {7, 8, 9}; but of course this could be any of {8, 9, 10}, or {8, Lied von der Erde, 9}, or {Lied von der Erde, 9, 10}. Any of those are legit. The real grouping of symphonies that go together is {Lied von der Erde, 9, 10}. […]
Which is your favourite symphony by Beethoven?
Yeah, the Ninth for me too. Not just for the finale: the first three movements are wonderful, and there’s sublimity in the Adagio. It’s hard to do favourites, and I love all the odd-numbered symphonies (apart from the 1st, which is still Mozart on Red Bull, as JM Cortese put it). The 5th and 7th […]
Lutoslawski said that Shostakovich was simply “the second coming of Mahler.” Would you agree?
Did he? The version I’m familiar with is Boulez saying Shosty was “the second, or even third, pressing of Mahler” (Shostaphobia) A lot of modern masters that have not severed themselves completely from Common Practice are in debt to Mahler some of the time. There’s several pieces I can think of that are very close […]