Music of Outstanding Merit

[bedrock602]

This time Dejohnette is a sideman for the often annoying Pat Metheny. If you can stomach Metheny's noodling, the driving, artistic drumming is worth it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VJv...A&index=5&t=0s

[bedrock602]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-My4X_OBNtI

[bedrock602]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEdiAcu6sHQ

[rusty jefferson]

Sometime in the past I may have suggested that someone create a thread with this purpose. The What's Playing Now thread is probably the most popular thread here, but I seem to remember its original intent being to present music of unusual merit. What it has become is wonderful, but I would still like to see a thread to post truly outstanding music on.

This will become whatever it becomes, but the concept I had in mind is to not misuse "great" or "genius" and to reserve this space for music that has more than nostalgia or danceability, or catchy lyrics or licks going for it. I do not expect there to be any concensus whatsoever about what qualifies, so "that sucks" commentary has no useful place here. Perhaps there is a place for music being judged by its quotient of social commentary, but it is the music itself I am thinking of, not so much the lyrics alone. Recording quality could be considered, but that is actually "Recordings of outstanding merit," not Music of Outstanding Merit if you get my drift. We don't judge Bach on how well the performance was recorded....

I don't want to step on Clark's toes as this isn't my thread, but it started out really strong and has recently started to look like the What's Playing Now thread? Perhaps some refocus on Outstanding Merit? Context of why it's outstanding? Anyway, as you were.

[bedrock602]

I don't want to step on Clark's toes as this isn't my thread, but it started out really strong and has recently started to look like the What's Playing Now thread? Perhaps some refocus on Outstanding Merit? Context of why it's outstanding? Anyway, as you were.

I listen to music all day long, in the car, at home and at work. Most of what I hear on the radio does not move me, when something does, I make a note of it and look for it on vinyl or CD. When I see something outstanding on youtube, it's nice to have an outlet such as this thread to share it.

[Kay Pirinha]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEdiAcu6sHQ

Absolutely brilliant , albeit uncommonly fast in some parts.

Rachmaninov's No 3 perhaps is one of the two classical music pieces that are fascinating me more than any other music. Until now, I've got three different recordings of it on vinyl, and one more, played by the composer himself, on CD:



Everey time I feel upset by some reason in the evening, I listen to Rach 3 which helps me to calm down in the 2nd movement at the latest.

Note that Rachmaninov wrote two different versions of this piece. They differ in all three movements: The original version of the 1st movement, nowadays marked 'ossia', is longer and more challenging for the pianist. Rachmaninov himself preferred a somewhat abbreviated non-ossia version that is also recorded on my CD. The 2nd and 3rd movements were shorter originally, but Rachmaninov later wrote longer, more complex 'ossia' versions as well for these.

Btw, the other pieces that absolutely grasps me is Nicolay Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade:



I've been given the full score of it to my 2017 birthday. It's a reprint of the original M.C. Belaieff, Leipzig, edition by doverpublications.com. Absolutely fascinating!

Best regards!

[bedrock602]

Rachmaninov's No 3 perhaps is one of the two classical music pieces that are fascinating me more than any other music. Until now, I've got three different recordings of it on vinyl, and one more, played by the composer himself, on CD:

I have a stash of classical mono recordings on LP and 78 including the Van Cliburn performance you attached. I would like to hear them on period equipment, i.e. idler turntable with heavy tone-arm, mono tube amp and maybe a big ol' corner horn. Someday...

[Ducatista47]

I don't want to step on Clark's toes as this isn't my thread, but it started out really strong and has recently started to look like the What's Playing Now thread? Perhaps some refocus on Outstanding Merit? Context of why it's outstanding? Anyway, as you were.

I appreciate the support, Jim. While it is nice to see the thread not being dominated by posts by myself, I do think it would be a positive development if the admiration/discussion of various recordings of already well-known "Classical" titles is taken up in another thread.

Unearthing lesser-known works by Alkan, Schoenberg, Milton Babbitt, and others would fulfill my goal of exposing readers to outstanding music they have likely not heard of before. I know the interpretation of written work in the Baroque/Classical/Romantic/20th Century lineage is all that is left for musicians to work with (I lament the death of improvisation in this lineage when cadenzas came to be written out, that is composed and included in the score), but despite the elitism so prevalent in this field interpretations of these works have no more and no less merit than cover versions of popular music songs; different but not new and a subject better suited for a "Classical" music thread. I have my favorite recorded interpretations too, believe me, but they are not a fitting subject for a thread like this. Notice that the Hilary Hahn recordings I have posted are all of entirely new compositions and original (uncomposed) improvisations.

In fact, discussions of the relative merits of the different releases by the same artists (what the Zappa discussions have become, and I am a fan by the way) serve no unique purpose here in any case. Outstanding merit is independent of relative merit. That is the difference between the intended purpose of this thread and other discussions about music found here. By putting this thread out there I certainly have no say in what ends up on it but it was my wish that this critical distinction be preserved in this particular thread.

[bedrock602]

man, I am underdressed for this party...

I appreciate the support, Jim. While it is nice to see the thread not being dominated by posts by myself, I do think it would be a positive development if the admiration/discussion of various recordings of already well-known "Classical" titles is taken up in another thread.

Unearthing lesser-known works by Alkan, Schoenberg, Milton Babbitt, and others would fulfill my goal of exposing readers to outstanding music they have likely not heard of before. I know the interpretation of written work in the Baroque/Classical/Romantic/20th Century lineage is all that is left for musicians to work with (I lament the death of improvisation in this lineage when cadenzas came to be written out, that is composed and included in the score), but despite the elitism so prevalent in this field interpretations of these works have no more and no less merit than cover versions of popular music songs; different but not new and a subject better suited for a "Classical" music thread. I have my favorite recorded interpretations too, believe me, but they are not a fitting subject for a thread like this. Notice that the Hilary Hahn recordings I have posted are all of entirely new compositions and original (uncomposed) improvisations.

In fact, discussions of the relative merits of the different releases by the same artists (what the Zappa discussions have become, and I am a fan by the way) serve no unique purpose here in any case. Outstanding merit is independent of relative merit. That is the difference between the intended purpose of this thread and other discussions about music found here. By putting this thread out there I certainly have no say in what ends up on it but it was my wish that this critical distinction be preserved in this particular thread.

[Fritz The Cat]

I appreciate the support, Jim. While it is nice to see the thread not being dominated by posts by myself, I do think it would be a positive development if the admiration/discussion of various recordings of already well-known "Classical" titles is taken up in another thread.

Unearthing lesser-known works by Alkan, Schoenberg, Milton Babbitt, and others would fulfill my goal of exposing readers to outstanding music they have likely not heard of before. I know the interpretation of written work in the Baroque/Classical/Romantic/20th Century lineage is all that is left for musicians to work with (I lament the death of improvisation in this lineage when cadenzas came to be written out, that is composed and included in the score), but despite the elitism so prevalent in this field interpretations of these works have no more and no less merit than cover versions of popular music songs; different but not new and a subject better suited for a "Classical" music thread. I have my favorite recorded interpretations too, believe me, but they are not a fitting subject for a thread like this. Notice that the Hilary Hahn recordings I have posted are all of entirely new compositions and original (uncomposed) improvisations.

In fact, discussions of the relative merits of the different releases by the same artists (what the Zappa discussions have become, and I am a fan by the way) serve no unique purpose here in any case. Outstanding merit is independent of relative merit. That is the difference between the intended purpose of this thread and other discussions about music found here. By putting this thread out there I certainly have no say in what ends up on it but it was my wish that this critical distinction be preserved in this particular thread.

Something to think over: some users of this forum (as i am) are not "thinking" and speaking in American nature. You have designated your thread with the 3 words "music" "outstanding" and "merit", right? There are 22 possible meanings in German translation for the word "outstanding" and 7 meanings for "merit". If you combine them in all possible ways, you have thousands of different possibilities of meanings. https://www.dict.cc/?s=outstanding. By the way, im glad that there are not many possibilities to translate the word "music"... Therefore we should accord to such discussions about the "why" of the singularity (or not) of an artists work. And that's why i added some questionable examples of the "outstanding work" of the exceptional Frank Zappa to some posts of Zappa-admiration. IMHO "elite merit" is not equivalent to "outstanding merit". Does a music work move only me, does it move a listener in USA, does it move in Europe, does it move somebody in Africa or Australia, Japan or China? Questioning contributions are important for a lively thread. What's wrong with it? We may learn something new. The world of music and peoples is multifacetet. So let's accept different opinions. Let's show some of the most singular music works of this multifacetet world with tolerance. Tell about the origin of an artist's work and why it's moving you. From Switzerland with love to USA and the multifacetet world of music!

[Ducatista47]

man, I am underdressed for this party...

You're fine. What is derailing this thread is not what is being recommended, it is the thread being turned into a discussion group, which it was never intended to be. No one wants rules about what music to recommend as being something probably not known to most participants and likely to be possessed of special artistic value, for want of a better term, which is what it was designed to do. Once it becomes a discussion group it becomes difficult to identify the recommendations in all the parenthetical entries. No need to take my word for it. Notice how compact this place was until recently. Like Quakers, participants tended to speak only when moved by the spirit. It was a very easy to use thread. Read a post and check out the music if it seems it might just be anything special.

It is a major distinction between saying "thank you for the recommendation" and having a discussion about it. Whoever posts a recommendation has already told us why they think it is extra special. There is really nothing useful to be had by discussing or elaborating. What is useful is checking out the music itself. My recommendation in this day and age is to check out the streaming services and acquire it if it does strike that chord for you. To paraphrase, a listen is worth a thousand words.

Well, that is the end of my explanation and I leave this place entirely in the membership's hands. If enough people don't want the usual suspects to hijack another thread, they can tell them how they feel. If a moderator wishes to split off the classical music discussions into another thread, no need to ask me first.

[Fritz The Cat]

Monte-Carlo National Orchestra. David Josefowitz, conductor.
Pictures from an exhibition orchestrated by Maurice Ravel.
Music of outstanding merit because it is still very popular today.

[Fritz The Cat]

1976 German reissue. ELP live at Newcastle City Hall, 26 March 1971.
Does also this version stand the test of time? Is also this one of outstanding merit? Too much synthesizer? Would Mussorgsky might have rolled over in his grave?

[hjames]

WTF, Fritz - do you have to Dominate EVERY thread about music on the site??
Ducatista47 had a nice thread going with occasional post of very high quality music,
but you dropped in and made into yet another of your endless "Now Playing" threads.

First - 8 posts in a row listing Zappa albums you don't get - then --- ELP??
Really - ELP Pictures at an Exhibition??
while it may have been the Moogs pajamas when it came out in the 70s,
and I saw the tour for that album back in the Day,
its REALLY tired these days and is NOT cutting anything but our patience.

THIS IS NOT A CHATROOM.

Please, take your endless posts to the other dozen threads you are running -
and please leave this one be - no arguments or apologies needed - just go. Please

[bedrock602]

A little band from Greece...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_IulRwE_CI