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seekingferret ([personal profile] seekingferret) wrote2015-01-05 09:46 pm
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Another Playlist

For [personal profile] sophia_sol!

A bunch of the reasons Joseph Haydn is my favorite composer

Download here

1. Trumpet Concerto in E Flat, First Movement, performed by Wynton Marsalis and the English Chamber Orchestra

-Because you listen to the cadenza and go holy fuck a lot. And then you remember Marsalis was only twenty when he recorded this and go holy fuck a lot more. I wrote of Debussy in "The Music Speaks For Itself that "Debussy writes like he doesn't even know there are composition rules to break." That's exactly how Marsalis attacks this concerto, like he doesn't even know there are rules he's supposed to be following.

2. Concerto for Violin in G Major, Second Movement, performed by Isaac Stern and the Franz Liszt Orchestra

-Because Stern knows how to make the violin sing and Haydn knows how to make the orchestra sing, and together this is something that's half dance and half dream.

3. Symphony # 92 in G Major, Second Movement, lost track of which orchestra is playing

-Because you have to put the Surprise Symphony on here, don't you? My recommendation is that you crank the volume. (The thing about me and the surprise is that even though I know it's coming, the anticipation makes me giddy)

4. String Quartet in E Flat Major, Op.33 #2, Fourth Movement, Emerson String Quartet

-Because I love it when Haydn is a total asshole to the audience/ Because I love it when music goes meta.

5. Harpsichord Concertino in C Minor, Third Movement, Ton Koopman and Musica Antiqua Amsterdam

-As a sort of palate-cleanser/intermission.

6. Symphony #7 in D, First Movement (Le Midi), performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

-I just find it really vivid. Like stepping outside into a fresh spring morning. An early symphony, and Haydn still figuring out how to use the whole orchestra together, but some of the pieces are clearly already figured out.

7. Piano Sonata in E Flat Major, First Movement, performed by Glenn Gould.

-Because Glenn Gould.

8. Symphony #45 in F Sharp Minor, Fourth Movement, performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

-Because it is the greatest origin story of any symphony ever written. And therefore I don't care if it's probably apocryphal.

9. Hommage a Joseph Haydn by Claude Debussy, performed by Noriko Ogawa

-I already mentioned Debussy earlier. The thing that fascinates me about the clear admiration Debussy had for Haydn is that Haydn was the best at orchestral structures- father of the symphony, master of the string quartet, etc... etc... and Debussy is a 20th century composer of impressionist music that sometimes can seem formless and barely composed. One of the most important things I discovered in writing fic about Debussy was how deeply essential orchestral structure was to his music, even when it was hidden.
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[personal profile] roga 2015-01-06 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so excited to listen to this! Yay classical music recs.

Pssst thought you might be interested in this.
sophia_sol: photo of a 19th century ivory carving of a fat bird (Default)

[personal profile] sophia_sol 2015-01-09 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I'll look forward to listening to it :)