20th century 'classical'music

[keyman_sam]

Also I tend to think that there certainly is a "king's invisible dress" factor to certain music appreciation, but thats just me.

[keyman_sam]

before i was born, i had been using my ears to learn about the world around me.
from the moment i was born, sounds became associated with images.
even when i sleep, my ears are working, delivering sounds to my brain.
60/60/24/7/365/36.

Not doing drugs helps. just sayin'..

[aMUSEd]

Glass is minimalist music. You can appreciate it, but I wonder if many people actually enjoy listening to it.

Of course they do. Glass is pretty easy listening really. To appreciate something just means to value it (for a variety of reasons) - it doesn't necessarily mean understanding it on an intellectual level although some level of it making sense can help as generally if something doesn't make sense some people will tend to devalue it or even get frustrated with it (although for others it motivates them to try and make sense of it). That "making sense" though is often more about responding to the meanings and symbols embedded in the work and its context rather than something on a logical or rational level - like if I look at a painting of a black rose and understand for that artist the black rose symbolised mourning, that then helps evoke in me an emotional response or set of resonances with my own life experience. It all adds to the emotional and intellectual resonances of the work and thus to its value for me and my enjoyment of it. I can't see these elements as separable really.

[james0tucson]

Beethoven didn't write for a modern orchestra, his symphonies were performed by an orchestra of about 35 musicians, not 120.

It's said (by Mahler and others) that Beethoven wanted larger orchestras. Apparently he was heavy on the inner strings. I'd love to hear, say, the 3rd Symphony arranged as Beethoven might have conducted it.

[jancivil]

before i was born, i had been using my ears to learn about the world around me.
from the moment i was born, sounds became associated with images.
even when i sleep, my ears are working, delivering sounds to my brain.
60/60/24/7/365/36.

Not doing drugs helps. just sayin'..

well, go search: Smithsonian institute, studies, marijuana, hearing.

[Beazlebug]

I recommend the book The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century by Alex Ross. It's a great read and you'll learn a lot about modern composers and their best works.

Best book I've read in a while.

http://www.therestisnoise.com/

Thanks for this book recommendation, I got a copy the other day and it's very good. The author has a website with loads of music snippets to listen to that tie-in with the text. It's very interesting to see how this developed. I'm only up to Schoenberg, Weber etc but it's fascinating stuff.