Welcome!
Classical Music Thoughts started as a list of CDs Vince discovered on the Naxos Complete Tracks service (at $20US/yr, excellent for expanding your musical horizons, but offers a limited user interface).* He wanted to share responses to this music with others and discovered WordPress.
Vince’s friend, Andrew, liked this idea and joined to offer profound reviews of what he hears (look for a name under the title of each post to see who wrote it). We also upgraded our account to allow us to post MP3 samples of sounds and melodies we’d like to highlight.
This year Vince subscribed to the Naxos Music Library instead of Complete Tracks. After a year of manually selecting each track on 130 CDs (on average at least twice through each track), he wanted to hear a whole disc at a time, build playlists, and enjoy better quality ($15US/mo for near CD-quality streaming).*
We’re having a blast. We’re not musicologists or even fluent in music theory. We just enjoy Classical music and this experiment in long-distance collaboration. Sometimes we’ll offer detailed remarks, or we simply convey an emotional response (”Enjoyable!” or “Different”).
Participate?
Read, listen, and share your Classical Music Thoughts!
Categories
We could break out Ars Nova, Renaissance, Reformation, Baroque, Romantic, etc… But, these are handy and simple.
- Asian Sound - Examples include Yun, Chen, He, Gu, Ma - some reflect western idioms, some are quite “non-European.”
- Classical (1600-1910s/WWI) - Examples include popular composers ranging in style from Baroque to Romantic, from Russian to Wagnerian.
- Early Music (pre-1600s) - Examples include Agricola, Landini, Dufay - from Gregorian chant to Ars Nova to Renaissance to Reformation.
- Modern (post WWI/1920s-present) - Examples include dozens of popular composers. Some (like Barber and Rodrigo) offer Romantic-style music. Others (like El-Khoury or Ohki) present new sounds.
- Outstanding Favorites - a few pieces we’d listen to over and over.
- Sound Samples - an MP3 sample of an interesting sound or melody with a bit of discussion.
- Soviet-era Russian Composers (1917-1991) - Examples include Shostakovich, Roslavets, Prokofiev - their particular context suggested giving them their own category.
- Writing - we love to think about writing…and since it’s our blog we’ll toss it in
Please join in our conversation!
Andrew, Vince
About Vince
Vince is a technology analyst who spends his days writing tactical guidance for IT leaders. His other hobbies include reading (history, socio-economic theory, and SF with the occasional mystery thrown in), video gaming, and board gaming. If you play board games, be sure to visit BoardGameGeek!
About Andrew
Andrew is a student with training in Information Science, Accounting, and Literature. His other hobbies include obscure computer games, Mr. Bean, and ephemeral film.
* Classical Music Thoughts is not affiliated with or endorsed by Naxos in any way. The opinions expressed herein are for commentary/criticism and mutual enjoyment.
Thank You
Vince. You have an unusually eclectic set of pieces listed. Your commentaries show a great love for some of the music. Your NAXOS list seems to be missing a lot of the popular works by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, etc.
Cheers. Andy
Hi Andy,
Good to hear from you! Familiar with the major composers, I purposed to hear those “less traveled by” via the Naxos service. It has been an interesting trip
Vince
Hi Andrew … the world of classical music is never-ending. I am thrilled to see what you are up to! Analyzing recordings, my favourite geeky activity. Since you guys are in the romantic period, have you discovered my favourite man Brahms? I would love to know what you think!
Hello Taina,
Thanks for visiting! Vince and I took a look at Brahms’ Ballade in G Minor op. 118 a number of months ago:
http://classicalthoughts.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/brahms-op-118-ballade-in-g-minor/
Andrew