Overrated Orchestral Repertoire

PaulCannon · #1 01-24-2006, 07:21 PM

If we're talking about underrated music, why not overrated?

Ever heard Hovanness' And God Created Great Whales...? It's the dumbest, most pretentious piece of crap I ever heard. The music itself is really bad, and the effects, most notably the recorded whale song, are supremely annoying.

I also want to say many of Mozart's pieces are overrated. They can be fun to play, sometimes, but I get so agitated when I try to listen to them. I don't have the patience for his stuff I would for, say, Shostakovich or Beethoven.

Jeff Moote · #2 01-24-2006, 08:15 PM

I definately agree on the Mozart stuff. I just heard one of his symphonies this past weekend along with the Beethoven Violin Concerto and a contemporary piece, and it was the hardest to sit through.

The others of course, were a joy

Mike Goodbar · #3 01-24-2006, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulCannon

I also want to say many of Mozart's pieces are overrated. They can be fun to play, sometimes, but I get so agitated when I try to listen to them.

Yes. Too many notes.

Justin K-ski · #4 01-24-2006, 08:46 PM

^^^Brilliant^^^

jallenbass · #5 01-24-2006, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Moote

I definately agree on the Mozart stuff. I just heard one of his symphonies this past weekend along with the Beethoven Violin Concerto and a contemporary piece, and it was the hardest to sit through.

You guys are crazy!!!

PaulCannon · #6 01-24-2006, 09:03 PM

"Mozart was a bad composer who died too late rather than too early." - Glenn Gould

Jeff Moote · #7 01-24-2006, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jallenbass

You guys are crazy!!!

There's no doubt in his genius, but can you not admit he gets monotonous to listen to after long.

We have the extreme popularity and therefore frequency of his music, mostly major keys

and relatively predictable music (classical period in general). It's good, and there are some pieces which really stand out (horn concertos come to mind) but a lot of it gets tiring, is all.

Just trying to justify my statement.

jvillarreal · #8 01-24-2006, 11:06 PM

Y'all must have some bad Mozart recordings, or something. I feel challenged and invigorated when I listen to Mozart recordings and even more so when I play his music. As bass players, it's easy to get bored when we are approached with a bar full of repeated eighths or a series of whole notes. But the charm in those lengthy, repetitious patterns in Classical era music is not necessarily in the notes, but in how those notes are played... direction, line and such. That nuance should come through in a good recording, and a good conductor will understand the aesthetic and bring out the charm in Mozart's pieces. Just my 2 cents

Bruce Lindfield · #9 01-25-2006, 05:07 AM

Well - Mozart wrote an awfully large number of pieces and there's no doubt that many of them were written solely for the money - to make ends meet and not necessarily as works of Art.

Mozart was in the entertainment business - he wrote for money - what people at the time wanted to hear - if he had written anything too weird or challenging - he woudn't have survived.

The fact that any of his pieces survive to today - given the severe contstraints under which he was working - is demonstration of his greatness.

But of course, many of his compositions were churned out as quickly as he could, to fulfill a commission and so you have to be very selective which works you choose...

No doubt that several of his operas are true works of genius - Don Giovanni and Magic Flute for example.

His String Quintets are wonderful and some of his piano concertos have exquisitely beautiful melodies....

jallenbass · #10 01-25-2006, 06:32 AM

The older I get

the more I appreciate Mozart. When I was in college I didn't really get what was so special about his music. Now if I had to listen to only one composer and forsake all others I would choose Mozart. We can talk about this again in 20 years

.

Snakewood · #11 01-25-2006, 08:14 AM

Symphonie Fantastique. It's a nice piece of music, but in my opinion a tad overplayed and hyped up.

Bruce Lindfield · #12 01-25-2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakewood

Symphonie Fantastique. It's a nice piece of music, but in my opinion a tad overplayed and hyped up.

Who exactly "hypes it up" - where can I read this?

[Personally, I would consider it a great work of Art and can't get enough of it!]

godoze · #13 01-25-2006, 08:49 AM

Mozart is tedious ? NOT if your PLAYING it !!!!! It 's more like LeMans...

godoze · #14 01-25-2006, 08:51 AM

Anything written in C# is overrated... I guess that would include Wagner but i happen to like Wagner. I cannot understand why some of those Romantic composer wrote in c# when nobody can tell he difference between c and c#...it's not like we're using Just Intonation...Then I can understand writing in different keys..

BassChuck · #15 01-25-2006, 09:36 AM

Anything by Phillip Glass is overrated.

IMO: Whatever it is that he is trying to do musically surely can be done in some other way that is more interesting. But even if you are of the mind that the sound he is making is good and artistically pleasing, then I would have to ask: "why bother whole orchestras with this music?" There seems to be very little room for interpretation, and expression. Why risk carpal tunnel for this kind of music?

This is what MIDI was meant for.