Wandering through classical music

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50milliarden
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RE: Wandering through classical music

parla wrote:

However, I believe Widor and Vierne are not that "minor" composers for the Organ literature and Franck is one of a kind.

Parla


I meant "minor" in the general sense, that is compared with the greatest "all purpose" composers of their era, not minor compared to other organ composers.
Heh, I know a fellow organist who would KILL me if I dared to call Widor a "minor organ composer" ;)

@Petra, believe it or not - I don't own that many organ records.
It's often said that organists hate to hear other organists playing... I think there's a bit of truth in that. There are so many styles of organ playing, and most organists have very specific ideas about how a piece must be played. Deviate from that just a quarter of an inch and you're out of the game.

For the French romantics and 20th century masters, you can't go wrong with any of the big names in the French repertoire, ranging from Marcel Dupré and Jeanne Demessieux to Philippe Lefebvre and Olivier Latry. Baroque music is the speciality of many German and Dutch organists. My former teacher for instance, Bram Beekman, is great at Bach but he has recorded the complete works of Franck as well.

A recent buy I enjoyed very much was a selection of Buxtehude's organ works on 4 cd's by Ulrik Spang-Hanssen. One of those rare organ cd's where I get the feeling that everything "fits".

As for Richter, he was one of the leading organists in baroque repertoire in the 50's and 60's, but you've got to realize that style and taste have changed drastically since then, and Richter's organ playing sounds rather mechanical and uninvolved for modern ears. His choice of shrill-sounding neo-baroque organs doesn't help either.

And thanks for your good wishes!

brumas est mort
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RE: Wandering through classical music

Speaking of organ composers... Blasphemy?

 

 

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parla
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RE: Wandering through classical music

You call this "blasphemy"? Call it first alchemy and, then, choose from a wide vocabulary from ugly to...kitsch.

Anyway, these are the times we live in. "Blasphemy" or "alchemy" is the least we may expect.

Parla

Petra01
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RE: Wandering through classical music

50milliarden wrote:
parla wrote:

However, I believe Widor and Vierne are not that "minor" composers for the Organ literature and Franck is one of a kind.

Parla


I meant "minor" in the general sense, that is compared with the greatest "all purpose" composers of their era, not minor compared to other organ composers.
Heh, I know a fellow organist who would KILL me if I dared to call Widor a "minor organ composer" ;)

@Petra, believe it or not - I don't own that many organ records.
It's often said that organists hate to hear other organists playing... I think there's a bit of truth in that. There are so many styles of organ playing, and most organists have very specific ideas about how a piece must be played. Deviate from that just a quarter of an inch and you're out of the game.

For the French romantics and 20th century masters, you can't go wrong with any of the big names in the French repertoire, ranging from Marcel Dupré and Jeanne Demessieux to Philippe Lefebvre and Olivier Latry. Baroque music is the speciality of many German and Dutch organists. My former teacher for instance, Bram Beekman, is great at Bach but he has recorded the complete works of Franck as well.

A recent buy I enjoyed very much was a selection of Buxtehude's organ works on 4 cd's by Ulrik Spang-Hanssen. One of those rare organ cd's where I get the feeling that everything "fits".

As for Richter, he was one of the leading organists in baroque repertoire in the 50's and 60's, but you've got to realize that style and taste have changed drastically since then, and Richter's organ playing sounds rather mechanical and uninvolved for modern ears. His choice of shrill-sounding neo-baroque organs doesn't help either.

And thanks for your good wishes!

Hi 50milliarden!

I've jotted down the names of the organists that you've mentioned and will check into them further, so thanks!

Have you been composing for many years (if I might be so bold as to ask)?

Best wishes,

Petra

 

 

50milliarden
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RE: Wandering through classical music

Petra01 wrote:
Have you been composing for many years (if I might be so bold as to ask)?

Best wishes,

Petra

 

 

Hi Petra,
See for yourself:
http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Peters,_Rob
I can't remember when I started composing, but it must be at the time when I got my fist piano lessons. I destroyed most immature compositions from before 1990, though. My opus 1 dates from 1989.
Recently I decided to upload everything I ever wrote to IMSLP. Better share it for free with the rest of the world than letting it gather dust in some desk drawer, I'd say.

grahams
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RE: Wandering through classical music

Diverse? They're all guitar bands!

 

OK, maybe I laboured the point. And I'd forgotten just how much German industrial metal sounds like Britpop... But to me it's like saying the symphonies of Beethoven, Mahler and Henze are not diverse because they all use violins and cellos etc.