I started out in June full of aspirations and energy for this blog. It is still all there, but if you've been following Classical Newb, you know only about half of what I had originally planned for this month has come to pass.

The main culprit is time. Between work and summer semester at college and one fire after another in my world this last month, I've simply not had the time I wanted or needed to accomplish everything I had originally planned for June here.

July may be a slim pickings month too, but I assure you more news, reviews and such coming soon!

There are probably a million and one ways of putting together a music collection, any of which will work. They all pretty much have the same thing in common: buy a piece of music and add it to your collection. So what do I have to offer? A couple of suggestions if you will...

1) Decide if you will collect CD's or MP3's or both. Personally I go for the CD's and from time to time add in some MP3's and convert a lot of my CD's into MP3's.

2) Determine a buying strategy. Mine is to purchase at least 2-3 albums every other month. In reality this works out to more like 5-7 CD's every 3-4 months, but at least it's consistent.

3) Spread out your purchases amongst the composers, genres, etc. of the classical music you do like. I tend to pick something up from Mahler or Dvorak, a Cello work, and then a couple of others amongst the various composers I like. And then every third or fourth purchase I pick up stuff that has pickled my interest. For example, I've come to really like what I've heard from Leos Janacek, but don't have anything of his yet. Guess what's on my shopping list?

4) If you use a site like Arkiv Music, make use of it's wish list to keep a list of music that you are interested in but haven't gotten yet. I tend to pick up most everything but maybe one selection per purchase from my wish list and I keep around 100-120 items there. This way I am sure to be in the mood for something(s) on the list when I make my purchases.

Anyway hope this helps!

Ludwig van Beethoven has such a repitore that it can be difficult for the newbie to classical music to get a handle on all that is available. It can be said of the same thing for several other composers as well, but Beethoven is one of those composers that seem to naturally draw people into classical music. Mostly because he is so familiar to use, even before we get into classical music to begin with. People tend to know at least something about Beethoven even if they couldn't tell you what music is his or recognize it if they heard it.

Beethoven's music for those new to classical and to collecting classical music can be broadly defined in 3 main areas:

1) Symphony
2) Concertos
3) Piano

Arkiv Music lists 5,464 recordings available through them. That's a lot of music. These recordings are divided into

Editor note: There was a lot more to this post. No idea what happened to it though. Will try to repost later.

I take a lot of pride in my classical music collection. Each piece of music that I add usually comes with a lot of thought, some research and information gathering and at least some appreciation of the musicical piece coming into my collection.

Within a reasonably short period of time, I've managed to put together a fair sized music collection, though I will be the first to call it small in comparrison to those who've been collecting a lifetime. I've identified various orchestras and conducters that I like, so if I am ever "lost" in figuring out which recording I want, I have some other factors such as these that can help make up my mind.

With this month the start of composer month, and that composer being Beethoven, I'm going to try and give some insight into how I select my music and will be using Beethoven as my example, from figuring out what to select to the where and how of it.

The reason why I am doing this is to hopefully give some insight into this process for someone else who may be completely new to the collecting of classical music recordings. If it helps just one person out there, then it will have been worth it.

Enjoy and more to come!

I'm sure it doesn't come as a big suprise that I'm highlighting Dvorak today. As I look through my previous posts it makes me realize I need to talk about other composers I listen to as well! You'd think I only listened to 3 or 4 of them.

I first heard Dvorak's "A Hero's Song" late one night on NPR. I simply fell in love with the piece and quickly sought it out and added it to my collection. If you are a fan of Dvorak's later symphonies (7th through 9th) then you will love his tone poems and shorter pieces like this.

Recently on my Pandora station I was introduced to Leos Janacek. I am glad I was. Another Czech composer like Mahler and Dvorak, it was the final nail in my own coffin of realizing that I do have a particular taste beyond what I used to describe. Previously I would describe my interest mainly in Romantic period symphonies and concertos, especially cello concertos. Now, with the advent of learning and listening to Janacek's music, I can narrow the above down even more to: A strong interest in Romantic period instrumental music with a strong inclination towards nationalist music of the Czech Republic and Russian composers.

I know, a biker, gamer geek such as myself, saying all of that? And with a straight dace? Man, I've come a long way since Bon Jovi.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has been checking out this blog! I would also like to encourage you to become a follower and leave your comments here!

Coming up in June I expect to blog about:

- What I've been listening to lately
- Recent selections and purchases
- More reviews!
- More information about my personal collection
- Expanded vocabulary page
- Expanded web site pages of use to other Classical Newb's out there

I look forward to writing more blogs soon, so stay tuned!

Of course, I also have to share my Mahler collection. Photos don't include my 9th by Rattle or my complete cycle on MP3.

Of course, I have to show off my Dvorak collection! This does not include what I have on MP3.

Just some more photos from my collection. I'm not a huge choral works fan, but wife is and she's introduced me to some great choral works.

Just a few pages of my collection. In the near future, I'll be updating my collection with new CD cases which I will cover in a later post.

Dvorak's 9th symphony holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first and only piece of classical music I owned and liked as a child. It would take me 30 years to truly appreciate and enjoy classical music like I do now past this Dvorak's 9th, but we it shows we can all get there eventually. I've also been listening to Dvorak's 7th as well.

I'm still very new to Bruckner, but his 4th has my attention. I particularly like how he uses traditional Classical era structure, such as Sonata form in the 1st movement, which naturally extends into the 3rd movement beautifully. Great symphony!

Ever since I went to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra's showing of this piece, I've been fascinated with this particular symphony (Mahler's 9th) and Rattle's interpretation is beautifully done as well.

Editor note: This report was one I turned in for class this last semester. Enjoy, but please don't plagiarize.

Performance Report for Music Appreciation

By Samuel Guss

Gustav Mahler, 9^th Symphony as performed by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO) on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 8p.m., Justin Brown conducting.

I consider myself a Gustav Mahler fan. Having stated that, I must also confess I haven’t heard all of his symphonies yet and the 9^th, only once the week before through a YouTube video. My sentiment towards Gustav Mahler has only increased since listening to this performance. The questions regarding what I found most and least satisfying can be summed up in whole, that I found the entire work satisfying and emotionally complex which I will explain below. Overall, this was a fabulous performance and deserved the 5 stars it received in my opinion.

The year before composing the 9^th symphony, Gustav Mahler endured the hardship of losing his daughter Maria, age 4 in addition to losing his position at the Vienna Court Opera and being diagnosed with a serious heart condition. All of this leads many, including myself to feel that Mahler’s 9^th is his way of expressing the feelings of loss, death and his way of saying goodbye, farewell. While the death of his daughter was tragic enough, the news of his own heart condition a constant reminder of his own time left, the loss of his position at the Vienna Court Opera was serious drama for himself as well. Back in 1907 when all of this went down, Gustav Mahler was not known for being a great composer, but rather a great conductor, his position at the Vienna Court Opera, ensuring that he was considered one of the best in his time. Since music was his life, the loss of this position must have weighed heavily upon him. This sets the stage for his 9^th symphony written in 1908 and 1909.

Mahler’s 9^th Symphony is about 75 minutes long and in 4 movements. I have included notes about each movement in this report.

Movement I: Andante comodo, or medium tempo (andante) with an unrestrained and easy mood (comodo).

From the very beginning theme, we are introduced to a fluttering heartbeat that is repeated throughout the symphony and ends it in a tragic and dramatic fashion. The second theme of the first movement is a light, joyful melody that gives way to frustration and anger, lifted by the harsh sounds of the brass section. It is here in this first movement that I feel is representative of the various stages of grief. The anger and frustration of the brass section gives way to a more accepting, mellow melody of the woodwinds, while the brass and strings play off each other in antecedent/consequent phrases. The first movement ends in almost a triumph melody, a brass fan fare before the true ending, back to our first theme of the heart beat.

The emotional gambit is gone through in the first movement of Mahler’s 9^th symphony in a loose sonata form of three distinct themes: the irregular heartbeat that is played mostly by the deeper string instruments (cello and bass), the fanfare and panic which is a tempo and dynamic variance played by the brass and finally the mellow melody of life itself, played out by the woodwinds and strings (mostly violins and violas). The final note of the first movement is a single reverberating ping, to me signaling ‘the end’. We have a minute or two of pause and then move into the second movement.

Movement II: In Tempo eines gemachlichen Landlers. Etwas tappisch und sehr derb. I could not find a translation for the title of the second movement, but do know that the second movement is a Landler, a type of dance music.

While movement two is a Landler, or folks dance, Mahler distorts it in this movement. Life is a joyous occasion, reason to celebrate, unless you’ve lost everything or about to and know it. Then life is distorted with ones own emotions and this is the essence of the second movement in my opinion. Many people do not care for the second movement, finding it too abrasive and severely discordant. In this performance, the ASO smoothed it out some from the other recording I’ve heard and from discussion with other fans with more exposure than me to the piece.

It starts out light hearted with the heartbeat theme in the background and gives way to the Landler, which to me sounds similar to a Waltz. From there though, it becomes unpredictable, except for the underlying theme of the heartbeat and becomes even crazier and all over the place. For me, this expressed the manic moods of saying farewell to others and to ideals, the times we are not sure whether to be sad or happy, to reflect or surge ahead and all of those emotions are tied up inside of us at the same time. This is the sound that I personally hear during this movement, random acts of mania, coupled with severe sounds of denial. The movement ends in despair, an almost ‘why me’ quality to it.

Movement III: Rondo-Burleske: Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig. The Rondo form is multiple different sections, one of which keeps repeating and allegro, means fast.

The repeating section of the third movement’s rondo is the brass fanfare, which symbolizes in my mind, life will go on and I will triumph despite the odds. The other sections delve into expressing the other sides of this coin – the soft melody of acceptance and peace, along with the boisterous brass shouting to the world. Again, we get this emotional roller coaster that started and was driven home in the first movement; here we have it again at a different stage of the grief process. The high dramatic moment in this movement is when the softer and happier melody is played; it is rudely cut off by the braying of the brass section. Even that loud, rude sound gets cut off suddenly, like a quick death at the end of the movement.

Movement IV: Adagio – slowly.

Considered one of his best Adagio’s, I am glad to have heard it this way, at the end of such an amazing concert, versus by itself without the other movements in context. It is my personal belief that the strength of this Adagio is because of the emotional roller coaster we’ve experienced with this work, the various themes and rondo that just finished, this music simply soars within this context.

Right from the beginning of the movement, we are brought back to the initial theme of the heartbeat. The theme has been around since the first notes of the symphony itself. Only now it is deeper, slower, louder and definitely more dramatic. A solo trumpet plays softly and slowly, yet it somehow manages to emphasize the rest of the orchestra such as the strings which all now are playing the heartbeat theme in Ritardando tempo (progressively becoming slower). It is plain to see in my opinion, that this movement is saying ‘goodbye’. It is soft and measured, peaceful and accepting.

About half-way through the movement the kettle drums rumble announcing that the time is near and the bass and cello string instrument pass off the heartbeat to the violins and start taking up a sound like laboring breath, struggling and fading. In an almost antecedent/consequent phrase style, the goodbye is drawn out seemingly from the person being lost to the person nearby. I got the strange sensation of when you are at the deathbed of an older family member, not wanting to say goodbye, but knowing there is peace for them when they go. That push-pull effect your emotions have on you at that time.

Slowly, one instrument and then one section drops away, in the most awesome Ritardando tempo, all over the orchestra in between mini-finales of the entire orchestra playing, until just a few strings play the original heartbeat theme, slower and slower, softer and softer. One by one they stop as well. The conductor holds his arms up, as prepared for a down beat, the hall is hushed silence for a solid couple minutes, the very last echoes of the last violin’s notes gone and it is complete silence. Dramatic in such a fashion that you yourself have said farewell to the music itself.

That’s the end, and then applause.

So what did I learn from this experience? That Mahler is definitely on the liberal-romantic side of things. This entire symphony is one of dramatic themes and overtures and extreme highs and lows on the emotional scale. I learned more about Mahler himself from the conductor during the concert notes, such as how Mahler was more known for his conducting skills than his composing ones. The program did a great job of setting the stage of when and how the symphony was written and how and why it is considered to be expressing loss.

Overall it was an awesome concert and I will be back for more performances by the ASP in the future.

References:

Opus, program guide for ASO

Handwritten notes from concert notes and the symphony itself (available if you need)

Class notes, Jessica Kaufhold, Music Appreciation

When it comes to piano music, there is no doubt that Chopin is considered one of the best and was a true pioneer of the piano and invented the ballade and scherzi for piano. As the son-in-law of a classicaly trained piano teacher, I have been exposed to a lot of the grets when it comes to piano, both composers and players a like.

What I have found though, is that my personal favorite is Sergei Rachmaninoff, a Russian composer, pianist and conductor. His Piano Concerto No. 2 (playing above in the video) is one of my favorites. Where Chopin concentrated mostly on the piano as a solo instrument, Rachmaninoff concentrated on highlighting the piano in concertos and with orchestra accompainment. The results endlessly enjoyable and moving.

For the classical newb, when it is time for you to experience the piano as the chief instrument, I suggest listening to the piano concertos of Rachmaninoff and the piano sonatas of Beethoven and the works of Chopin. This should give you a nice base to work off in your own experminentation.



Of the 4 recommendations I list here, if you can only have 1 recording, then this one would be my choice. Featuring Mstislav Rostropovich as the lead Cellist, and backed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra led by Herbert von Karajan, it is an impecible performance. Strong, bold and rich in its tones and melodies, this performance is hard pressed to be beat unless you are looking for an extra touch to this classical piece offered by my other recommendations.



 As hard as it is to beat my first recommendation, Jacqueline Du Pre herself is an outstanding performer and many critics list this particular performance as one of her best, recorded at the hieght of her career. Coupled with Saint-Saens Cello Concerto, it is an absolute pleasure to listen to. You definately can not go wrong with this recording.

I have a confession. I am not the biggest fan of Yo-Yo Ma. He is a fabulous muscian with probably the widest repetior of any Cellist present or past. It is because of this huge variety though that I think his music lacks something for me in many of his recordings. This one however is of note, not only because of Dvorak's Cello Concerto, but also some of Dvorak's lesser known pieces which are paired with it in this CD.

This particular recording has made the list, because it features one of the top orchestra's in the world and also features Dvorak's two most notably works of art: Cello Concerto as well as Symphony No. 9. This recording is recommended for the buyer who is looking for a small and concise classical collection, getting 2 of Dvorak's best works on one CD.

Please note that all pics are linked to their respective CD's at Arkiv Music, the best place to buy classical music IMO. Enjoy!

Gutav Mahler is one of my favorite composers (it is true I have several "favorites") and his symphonies are worlds of art. Listening to them in order is quite a task however, as each is almost exhausting to listen to, taking you on such an emotional roller coaster that simply must be heard foremost, versus listening to these works of art as background music.

I have all of his symphonies twice if not more. Bernstein is an awesome conductor of Mahler's works - indeed I prefer his conducting to his composing and he tackles Mahler with gusto. Trying not to sound too much of a musical snob however, you simply have to listen to Mahler with one of the better orchestras and conductors. Mahler's music is very complex both in it's subtler moments as it is in his "in your face" ones. As such, it is my opinion that lesser orchestras simply can't compete.

This stated however, as part of my Music Appreciation class at JSCC, I have to attend a concert and our very own Alabama Symphony Orchestra will be playing Mahler in April I believe it is and I have chosen that concert to go to and make my report.

One of the best sources of Mahler's symphonies - reviews and learning more about the pieces themselves can be found at the following link. It is one of my favorite sites and I am slowly collecting these master works of art.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/mahler/index.html

Antonin Dvorak is one of my favorite composers. Cello concertos are one of my favorite classical music to listen to (from various periods). Add in Rostropovich, one of my favorite Cello players of all time and now you are talking about one of my favorite pieces of all time.

One of the things I enjoy most about classical music is listening to various takes on the same piece of music. Taking Dvorak's Cello Concerto for example, two Cellists come immediately to mind. Rostropovich and his strong playing style with this piece, belting out the notes and taking center stage of your senses from the very first movement. Du Pre and her lighter style adds a grace that is unparalleled. Depending on my mood dictates who it is I wish to listen to at the moment. Rostropovich brings with him a very classical interpretation of the piece and why I chose it to share in this post.

When listening to great works of art such as this, I find it helpful to find two or three (and sometimes more) recordings to listen to. Different key players, conductors and ensembles each bring to the table a varied expression that is often quite interesting and enjoyable. Changing the mood, feeling and even experience of listening to these pieces of art.

Tonight was a big start for me. For the first time in over 22 years I stepped foot back into a college class room. My first class was in Music Appreciation 101. Now, I've been listening to classical music for a couple of years now and have really enjoyed it. So much in fact that this blog has been on my to-do list ever since. Since tonight started a new journey I figured why not start this one as well. For starters, it may even help me focus on the class.

So, how did a guy like me get started in classical music. It was during a conversation with my wife when we were courting, that she made a baffling statement - at least to me, at that time. "European orchestra's play the 1812 Overture so much better than American ones in general." Intrigued by this statement I set off to listen to many many recordings of Tchaikovsky's 1812. It was during this time I made two discoveries. The first was that European orchestra's, in general do play the 1812 Overture not only differently but in my humble opinion now as well - better than American orchestra's. With a few exceptions, which I would say are on par.

The second discovery was a recording of 1812 by Antal Dorati, which played the 1812 not only as composed, but including the cannon and clarion aspects of the piece per period equipment as well. Thus becoming one of the only recorded versions of 1812 that is played exactly as composed. Startled by these revelations I began to listen to other pieces of classical music and the rest is history.

I am still a newb when it come to classical music. However, what I have learned is that I am a bit of a snob when it comes to classical music. I prefer the higher-end orchestra's and conductors as well as the top notch musicians in their respective places in the symphony. Not a snob in the sense of thinking I know better or that my tastes are better than others, but in my own enjoyment of the pieces and savor many works that I hold to a high standard. I am sure as this blog develops you'll get the picture.

A couple things about this blog. First, as a 3/4-time college student, a business owner (photography business), a full time outside sales professional, member of my church's board of directors, husband, father, animal owner, writer, reader and gamer; this blog will be kept up to date as time and desire fits. So you won't be seeing too many regular updates here. I am sure over the course of the next couple of months will be one of its busiest times when it comes to new posts, but don't expect it to last. Secondly, this blog will be a collection of thoughts, reviews, tidbits and trivia. Photos and videos may be posted from time to time as well, only because I am a strong believer in graphical elements in a blog.

Thanks for reading this introduction and I look forward to sharing more in the near future.