Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble- Not Sure About This...

[psu_13]

In college, the Amadeus film also caused me to connect to Mozart in a way that I had not before. It was the opera scenes in particular.

It's easy to write Mozart off as just so much pretty tinkling, esp. these days when people seem more interested in music that is either older or newer. But IMHO if you do that you are missing out on a lot. Also, don't sleep on Haydn. ? 

[A Lark Ascending]

And always remember. Mozart will make your baby brighter! 

[Hot Ptah]

Here is an example of why I do not post in the Classical Discussion forum. When I have attended concerts by  Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, and when I have listened to their CDs, I have found them to be quite satisfying. I have found their interpretations to be interesting and moving.

 

But that is because I am an unsophisticated boor when it comes to classical music. I am the equivalent of the guy who says with regard to jazz, "oh, that Ronnie Laws is one fine saxophone player, I really like his playing, he must be considered one of the greats."  So my lack of worthiness to post here is once again confirmed for me.

 

But I like to read what others write here, and I have learned a lot.

[JSngry]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I like Ronnie Laws just fine.

[T.D.]

It's not an aversion, it's just that, like one of my buddies says, you can almost literally tell what note and what chord is coming next. Not that there's not a lot of music like that, classical or otherwise, it's just that...if the light goes off, it'll go off, and if it doesn't...there's a world of stuff to get to, literally a world of it. Past, present, and future.

I know it's there, it knows I'm here. If we're meant to engage, we will. If not, Mozart will certainly survive without my enthusiasm.

But your concern for finding a cure is very touching...maybe there's a telethon in the works...Mozart Shunning = The New MS, Give Until It Hurts, Do It For Larry's Kids!

 

Nothing wrong with not digging WAM...lots of other classical music to explore. For a long time, I never connected at all with Mozart. Only over the past couple of years have I begun to feel "I got it" and to listen more often.

A couple of recordings I'd suggest are:

1) Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil playing violin sonatas (2 CD). These versions have a real joy and spontaneity that might counter the reactions you describe. One single disc is easy to find, the other is rare except as part of various mega-boxes. This is near desert island material for me.

2) Robert Casadesus as soloist in piano concerti - there's a nice single CD with Szell/Cleveland plus a few others floating around.

[Added: Over time, I've come to consider Don Giovanni  one of the very greatest of operas, but I can't recommend it as an intro, let alone risk making a politically incorrect recommendation from among the plethora of recordings. If really curious, I suppose you could check out the 1979 film directed by Joseph Losey, rather than going the full opera route.]

But again, no need to get compulsive about it.

Edited October 20, 2015 by T.D.
Howler

[psu_13]

Here is an example of why I do not post in the Classical Discussion forum. When I have attended concerts by  Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, and when I have listened to their CDs, I have found them to be quite satisfying. I have found their interpretations to be interesting and moving.

 

FWIW, ASMF is perfectly fine and have made very many perfectly find CDs. I see no reason to judge anyone's taste or lack thereof based on their opinion of any single group  or recording or live performance. There are too many variables involved to be hasty about these things.

My personal peeve is "historically informed performance" or whatever they are calling those groups who play on old instruments that mostly sound awful. But even there, there are some groups who fall into that category (Apollo's Fire comes to mind) who are really good. So ... I've lost my train of thought. But I think what I meant to say was "do not write off your opinions just because they are your own, you might know/think better than most".

[A Lark Ascending]

 

Here is an example of why I do not post in the Classical Discussion forum. When I have attended concerts by  Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, and when I have listened to their CDs, I have found them to be quite satisfying. I have found their interpretations to be interesting and moving.

But that is because I am an unsophisticated boor when it comes to classical music. I am the equivalent of the guy who says with regard to jazz, "oh, that Ronnie Laws is one fine saxophone player, I really like his playing, he must be considered one of the greats."  So my lack of worthiness to post here is once again confirmed for me.

To me the most interesting posts on the classical threads (and others) are those where listeners have been excited by music they've heard and want to communicate that enthusiasm (regardless of how much experience they have of the music). 

The least interesting are those where we are told which performers or composers we are supposed to 'appreciate' and which ones we are required to scorn.

Post your enthusiasms, Hot Ptah.   

 

[Hot Ptah]

 

Here is an example of why I do not post in the Classical Discussion forum. When I have attended concerts by  Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, and when I have listened to their CDs, I have found them to be quite satisfying. I have found their interpretations to be interesting and moving.

But that is because I am an unsophisticated boor when it comes to classical music. I am the equivalent of the guy who says with regard to jazz, "oh, that Ronnie Laws is one fine saxophone player, I really like his playing, he must be considered one of the greats."  So my lack of worthiness to post here is once again confirmed for me.

To me the most interesting posts on the classical threads (and others) are those where listeners have been excited by music they've heard and want to communicate that enthusiasm (regardless of how much experience they have of the music).

The least interesting are those where we are told which performers or composers we are supposed to 'appreciate' and which ones we are required to scorn.

Post your enthusiasms, Hot Ptah.  

 

I appreciate that Bev, but I find I do not enjoy having my head torn off by the circle of experts. I get too much of that in my real business life. I come here to relax from contentious discussion in my real life career.

[Peter Friedman]

I fairly recently acquired a CD of the Brahms Sextets performed by the ASMF Chamber Ensemble.

I have 3 or 4 other recordings of the Brahms Sextets and the one I just mentioned is as good if not better, in my opinion, than any of the others.

[T.D.]

 

Here is an example of why I do not post in the Classical Discussion forum. When I have attended concerts by  Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, and when I have listened to their CDs, I have found them to be quite satisfying. I have found their interpretations to be interesting and moving.

But that is because I am an unsophisticated boor when it comes to classical music. I am the equivalent of the guy who says with regard to jazz, "oh, that Ronnie Laws is one fine saxophone player, I really like his playing, he must be considered one of the greats."  So my lack of worthiness to post here is once again confirmed for me.

To me the most interesting posts on the classical threads (and others) are those where listeners have been excited by music they've heard and want to communicate that enthusiasm (regardless of how much experience they have of the music).

The least interesting are those where we are told which performers or composers we are supposed to 'appreciate' and which ones we are required to scorn.

Post your enthusiasms, Hot Ptah.  

 

I appreciate that Bev, but I find I do not enjoy having my head torn off by the circle of experts. I get too much of that in my real business life. I come here to relax from contentious discussion in my real life career.

+1

I know it's only the Internet, just words, etc., but having one's recommendations derided as "dogshit" and the like gets old real fast...

 

[papsrus]

Well listen, count me among the hoi polloi. That doesn't stop me from giving my impressions. And I think one of messages of this thread is that all views are/should be welcome. Jim didn't enjoy a performance by a group of musicians who are well-regarded by others and gave some reasons as to why that I found very insightful, not because they were properly and well-informed, but because they were personal and meaningful to him. That's more valuable, to me, than reciting the received wisdom on this or that recording/performer. 

 

[JSngry]

And let it also be noted that it was not the music I didn't enjoy, it was the performance. Hell, I now how five copies of the Schubert Octet to roll when I get to it, and I figure that at least one of them will lite me up. At least one.

As for Mozart, I'll get to it someday, maybe. And if not, it's not like he's Joe Zawinul or somebody who is still being processed as to what was really happening there and was it worthwhile, and if so, hmmm...need some time to ponder on that. No, Mozart's done been pondered on, and if new conclusions are still being reached (as it appears they are), well, excellent, love it when that happens. Music as lifestyle reinforcement is all well and good, but the line between that and a self-satisfied complacency is what differences and challenges are all about, and nobody's exempt, really, not forever anyway.

The more that time goes by, the more there is to ponder..perhaps the quality of the pondering is more to the point than what it is that is being pondered?

Me myself, I have no interest in liking everything that might be good (or actually is good), that's just impossible. But I like to stay open to new things when they come along, not just as novelty, but...I already have a "point of view", ok? I know what I like, why I like it, where it came from, what it has meant to others as well as myself..comfortable in my own skin, musically, as they say. So, anything new that comes along (be it old or new) that speaks to that POV, either to broaden it or to challenge it in a meaningful way, for me, that's fun. Anything that comes along that doesn't is not fun.

I'm all about the fun, y'all, all about the fun.

... having one's recommendations derided as "dogshit" and the like gets old real fast...

The next time that happens, please report it. It's not a "moderatable offense" per se, but if it becomes a pattern from any one poster, it's at least worth keeping an eye on.

[MomsMobley]

On October 6, 2015 at 2:03:26 PM, JSngry said:

 

But the question remains - did we get Culture Punched by this Academy of St Martin in the Fields bunch, or are they really considered "state of the art" in today's chamber music world?

you deserved but could not in 2015 or many years prior expected better. Neville Marriner could be zippier and more interesting than many of the dull hacks foisted upon the record world by po' faced major label flogging British press and their American imitators / epigones but that was then. ASMF ain't 'state of' anything but the tired ghost Brand Name Classical PR Machine etc. If people who didn't know better, for whatever reasons-- the lack of access to alternatives, mostly-- believe otherwise, 'bully' but you have no need for such nostalgia or false piety.

Dig on Marriner's Rossini, for example, back yonder and also some highly laudable sidesteps like these, don't be dissuaded by Delius' seeming gentility, he's anything but--

 

Edited November 25, 2015 by MomsMobley