Discovering classical music

Introduction to classical music #10: the music and the institution.

2006-06-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

In this last entry for this blog, I wanted to talk to you about the paradox that exists between classical music and the institution that supports it.

But a man named Greg Sandow is devoting a lot of time and effort on this topic, and he is currently publish an online book-in-progress that is, so far, the best thing I've ever red on the subject.

So I invite you to jump to M. Sandow's blog from now on, hoping that this blog has successfully made you more curious about classical music and, mostly, I hope that you now understand that classical music is not a social class thing, but that it is above all a matter of taste...

Thank you!

Introduction to classical music #9: Organize your music with iTunes.

2006-05-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

While I was researching this blog entry, I found an article on Playlistmag that described exactly what I wanted to talk to you about: organizing and tagging your classical music with iTunes.

So here's the link to the article - enjoy!

Next time, I'll talk to you about the classical music institution and how it hurts classical music.

See ya!

Introduction to classical music #8: How classical music talks to us.

2006-05-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Like most art forms, classical music tries to make us feel emotions to communicate its ideas. Personally, I have a weakness for romantic composers like Rachmaninof or for impressionist composers like Ravel. Why? Because their compositions make me feel various states like sadness, joy or even a sense of mystery.

If what I just said sounds weird to you, well remind yourself that, often, listening to classical (without words) is a little bit like listening to film music; the only thing is that the film is happening inside your mind, and that the music doesn't have to follow an action frame by frame.

Naturally, each classical composition comes from a particular context, but I assure you that it is absolutely not a necessity to know the details of that particular context to enjoy any classical music. When I talk about context, I'm thinking about compositions such as Shostakovich's 8th symphony, that is in fact a musical version of the Stalingrad victory. But without this information, it is possible to really enjoy that symphony, which will have different persons feel different things.

Anyway, there are always clues that will tell you about the composer's intentions, like the musical genre itself, the title or the structure of the music. As an example, Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet tells that well known love story, with titles like Arrival of the Guests or Young Juliet; there is also Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, which is really... pastoral; I'm also thinking about Bach's famous religious compositions, like the Magnificat, that is at the same time gracious and spectacular (according to me). Of course, all the variations, the contrasts and the ruptures in one single classical composition can make you fell various emotional responses, and that contributes to a rich and diversified musical experience.

One thing is for sure, if you ever listen to a classical piece that makes you feel absolutely nothing (or if it repulses you), well maybe you've just discovered a style, a genre or a composer that you will never like, or maybe you are really not in the mood to listen to music. Whatever the case, never force yourself to listen to music that doesn't make you feel anything. There are so many choices in classical music that it is almost impossible that someone doesn't find something to like.

Introduction to classical music #7: basic repertory.

2006-05-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, the basic repertory of classical music is a paramount concept, because it is often via the basic repertory that first contacts and first impressions with classical music are made; however, the basic repertory is a two sided medal, and this, for two reasons.

1 - Model pieces.

At large, the basic repertory in classical music consists of compositions which left a mark in their time, which became masterpieces over time, or which became popular for a particular reason (click here!). For example, Beethoven's 5th Symphony became famous because of its complexity and especially because of its famous first four notes; Strauss' waltzes were, at their time, extremely popular pieces amongst higher classes and the general public (Strauss was one of the first to give a title to each of its compositions, so that the public would recognize them easily); as for the famous the 2nd movement of the Piano Concerto #21 by Mozart, also subtitled Elvira Madigan, it became very popular only towards the end of 1960's, because of its use in the film… Elvira Madigan. Before the film, the Piano Concerto #21 by Mozart was rarely recorded or played in concerts.

If you know only 5 or 6 titles or composer names of classical music, than the basic repertory is a good starting point for you. There are a lot of CD compilations which gather some well known pieces from the basic repertory (see the opposite image); you can also find this kind of compilation on the Net, with iTunes (click here).

In fact, the basic repertory in classical music plays a capital role, in my opinion, which is to shape our tastes. It is usually by going through the basic repertory that one discovers what one likes and, especially, what one does not like in classical music. It is also with the basic repertory that one discovers his preferred instrument -the majority of classical music lovers have their own preferred instrument, like most of the jazz music lovers. Personally, I love baroque trumpet and also choral pieces.

2 - Dead pieces.

One disadvantage of the basic repertory in classical music is that a great number of those pieces are repeated so often in TV commercials or in films, that it creates what I call dead pieces; what I mean here is that a piece such as Pachelbel's Canon is recycled so many times that it becomes dry. And the worst part in all this, it is that the vast majority of people never heard this piece played on period instruments…

Therefore, good for you if you find a CD compilation that you like, but if half of the pieces on it are dead pieces, you will quickly lose interest, since you will get the impression that you already know those pieces by heart. Moreover, the fact of always hearing the same classical pieces over and over through most of the mass medias ends up giving the impression that classical music is always the same thing, which is naturally not true. I would even go further by saying that not a day goes by without us hearing some classical music somewhere.

The classical and the symphonic.

One thing is certain, however, it is that the movies have trained us the listen to classical music, because the majority of film scores are, to some extent, symphonic poems (when film composers do not literally copy some classical music). We are in fact ready to plunge into symphonic music, which was not always the case. Contrary to the reality of the past 2 or 3 centuries, classical music was accessible only to high-society. I think that classical music has never been as accessible as it is today; it is only up to you to take the first steps!

Next time, I will talk to you about ways in which classical music speaks to us.

See you!

Introduction to classical music #6: labels.

2006-05-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

I am certain that it happened to you at some point to enter in a record store with the idea of buying a classical CD out of simple curiosity, without any precise idea. But how do you find your way among those hundreds of discs? You flip through the composers you know one by one and examine each CD? Of course not. I believe that the best way to do it is to go towards the end of the classical section, immediately after the last composer. This is the beginning of the Miscellaneous section, where you'll usually find operas and, mostly, the compilations.

This section is the ideal spot for the beginner or the casual buyer, or for those who have already a preferred instrument or style in classical music; by the way, I noticed that the piano is often the preferred instrument for the neophytes, probably because we are already accustomed to hear it in pop music, jazz, rock'n'roll…

Three pieces of advice.
You can thus browse at your ease in the classical section, but I would like to offer you here some advice, if you ever decide to buy a compilation:

do not buy a CD where all the pieces are unknown to you; be certain to have at least two or three pieces that you know of, so you will not to be completely disappointed by what you will buy.
never pay too much for a compilation! It's useless and, anyways, compilations are generally extracts from other discs, which means that they don't cost a lot to produce.
avoid compilations or box-sets that look like a chocolate box, and that sell for the price of a blank CD. These recordings often offer bad sound quality (they can be old), and, usually, they come from labels which are not real classical music labels.

Dominant and specialized labels.
There are lots of classical music labels, but I would say that there are around ten labels that are dominant (you see several of them on this page); the other labels are usually specialized labels.

The dominant labels grab the greatest market shares, but Naxos is the true dominating label, partly because of the price of their CD's, which are generally a third of the price of the other dominant labels.

As for the specialized labels (see a list here,) they are usually a little more expensive, because they are targeted at a smaller audience. The specialized labels often specialize in particular styles, like baroque or ancient music, in audiophile recordings or in particular instruments.

In my opinion, there are very few occasions that justify paying a lot of money for a classical CD; it can happen if you order or find a CD for a very particular version of a piece, or if it is the only recording of the piece you were seeking. But that rarely happens, and those to which it happens are usually great music lovers.

If you get more and more interested into classical music, limit yourself to the dominant labels, and try to buy, as much as possible, budget line CD's. Budget line CD's are older recordings which are sold at approximately half the price of recent CD's. These recordings, which are not always digital, are most of the time versions of known artist and leaders which are reliable.

You'll notice that the more you will listen to classical music, the more you will know it and appreciate it. You'll also will end up recognizing artists, labels and discover new music. And don't forget that there is a way to consume classical music without ruining yourself.

Next time, I will talk to you about the famous basic repertory in classical music, among other things.

See you next time!

Introduction to classical music #5: CD jackets.

2006-05-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

I won't teach you anything new by saying that in the majority of record stores, classical music sections are based on an alphabetical system for browsing, with sub-sections for each type of music, like Symphonies, Concertos, Vocals, etc. But when you are looking for a precise recording, how can you decode all that often obscure information found on CD jackets? I would say that, in some way, CD jackets give too much information, it is simply a matter of retaining what you really need.

As a demonstration, I will examine with you the CD jacket of a recording of Vaughan Willams' 5th symphony; I will in fact examine the back of the CD jacket, since all essential information is normally found there.

Titles:

I circled in red the title of the two pieces of this recording, since the name of the composer can be found on the front jacket; note that since the advent of the CD, most of the classical music recordings offer, in addition to the principal composition, one or two more pices, like at a concert.

Interpreters:

I circled in red the name of the conductor as well as the name of the orchestra, which is usually found under the titles; if the recording is a piece with a choral or an instrumentalist for example, information relating to this matter should be found at the same place. If it is a live recording, it should also be noted here.

So we have here all the essential information, which should be normally sufficient to ensure that you found exactly what you were looking for.

But you could also have additional information at hand, for example the date of the recording, which is generally found at the bottom of the jacket (or on the side), along with the details relating to the label and copyright of the recording, as I circled in red here, at the bottom left:

The date can be important, because it hapens sometimes that the same conductor will record more than once the same piece, with the same orchestra. I also circled the technical information of the recording (at the bottom on the right), the ADD meaning that this is a remastered analog recording. I underlined this detail because many people refuse to buy recordings which are not digital, in DDD, but we will talk about this another time.

As for the other elements of the jackets, like the photography of the composer or the durations of the recordings, they are more or less useful details. As for the label of the recording, in this case RCA Victor, we will talk about it in the next entry if this blog.

I'll let to you examine here the back of another CD jacket:

Here, under the titles,you have information about the interpreters, which indicates that this is a volca piece, if the titles by themselves meant nothing to you. The type and the year of the recording are found here on the right side of the jacket.

So you see, it is very simple!

Before I finish, I cannot overlook the fact that the majority of the classical CD jackets suffer from a serious illness, that of the doubtful and cliché designs. In fact, I would say that there are three great types of jackets in classical music:

1) the jacket with the indentity card style, where you normally see a photograph of the conductor or of the interpreter, like those two small gems:

2) the jacket with the first degree illustration style, where you can see an image that is directly related to the recorded piece; I'm thinking here about all those classical CD jackets with nature paintings and images of clouds or any other kind of image that tries to illustrate the meaning of the recorded piece. But the world champion of this kind of jacket is undoubtedly The Planets by Holst, as shown in it these fine examples:

3) the jacket with the schizophrenic style, where the image has absolutely nothing to do with the recorded piece or with the interpreters, as found on those rather imaginative jackets (the one with a building is a recording of a symphony by Thcaikovsky...):

I think it is sad that classical music labels do not seem to want to produce more attractive and original CD jackets; these bad designs contribute, in my opinion, to give to classical music an old fashionned image, which can scare away a much younger group of customers…

So I wish you some good in-store browsing, and don't forget that most of used CD stores are gold mine for good and cheap classical recordings.

Next time, I will talk to you about the classical music labels.

Ciao!

Introduction to classical music # 4: versions, opus 3.

2006-04-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

To conclude these entries about versions, I would like to speak to you about two other methods which make it possible to determine the quality of a recordings in classical music: in store listening and, finally, the famous method which is, in my opinion, the most effective.

It is always pleasant to be in the classical music section of a big record store, among salesmen and listening posts. But even if qualified salesmen and the fact of being able to hear music on the spot are major assets, I would like here to underline some of their disadvantages.

First of all, in store listening only makes it possible to listen to extracts, and for a short period of time. Not only is it often impossible to make a fast-forward through the recording with listening posts, but it is not the most comfortable setting. Also, it is highly improbable that they will let you listen to 9 or 10 different recording of the same music, because no record dealer has to unpack all the CD's they have in stock for you.

In fact, I think that in store listening is useful especially when you want to make sure that the title of music you have in your head or on a small piece of paper is the right one.

These disadvantages are about the same ones when you shop for classical music online, like the iTunes Music Store or at Naxos’ site, where it is only possible to hear extracts.

A small note here about salesmen: don't forget that a good salesman can often give the impression that he knows more than what he really knows. If you allow me one advice on the subject: the best way is to often discuss with the salesmen; then, when you find the most qualified one, always refer to him. The more that salesman will get to know your tastes, the more honest and open he will be.

Finally, there is, in my opinion, a way of determining the ultimate version of a classical recording which is the best: first impression. I'm talking here about this particular moment when your hear for the first time a classical piece, that moment when the music literally grabs you. And that will happen to you if you open your ears, I promise! And, ideally, take note of the details for the recording that made you liked the music in question, because it is this version - and only this version - that will give you the same pleasure in listening over and over.

Therefore, in my opinion, the ultimate version of a classical music recording is a matter of luck. This fortunate coincidence usually occurs when you are browsing in a music store when the salesmen play a disc which will make you look up ; it can also occur when listening to a few minutes of classical music on the radio, or when you are with a friend or a relative to whom you asked to listen to his best classical recordings.

Because classical music, like all other kinds of music, is all about emotions...

By the way, essential information to jolt down for a classical music recording are the name of the conductor, the name of the orchestra, as well as the names of the interpreters, if it is a concerto or a vocal piece.

So, next time, I will talk about classical music labels and the wonderful world of disc jackets.

See you next time!

Introduction to classical music # 3: Versions, Opus 2.

2006-04-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

The last time, I told you that the great number of versions in classical music raises the following question: how does one knows which is the best version for a classical music composition? Well, I will present here several ways of doing it, but there is a method which is, in my opinion, the best way to go.

First, there are many versions which are considered by critics and specialists as ultimate versions. These are these versions that you will find in lists like the ideal classical discotheque. Of course, these recordings are reliable, but I would like here to add some comments.

For starters, I don’t really like these famous lists of the best recordings of all times; the problem with lists, is that you should always carry them with yourself, and, when one wants to consult them, it is always at that precise moment when one forgot the list at home...

Secondly, it often happens that these ultimate and historical versions were recorded several decades ago, which means that the technical quality of the recording can be disturbing to some.

We can see here a historical recording where Rachmaninov plays his own works, recorded between 1919 and 1929. Stay away from this if you don’t like the scratching sound of old recordings.

Furthermore, I don’t know for you, but I’ve always had problems trusting critics and specialists; their criterias of evaluation are often obscure, and have nothing to do with the simple pleasure of listening to music...

A second way of determining the quality of a version, is to refer to guides, like the Penguin Guide, which is one of the most popular. The advantage of such guides it is that they compare several versions of a same composition, which gives the consumer, I believe, more choice and latitude. Moreover, the majority of record stores have at hand this kind of guide, if you really can’t decide (you can always trust a salesman, but I will talk about this later on).

Pay attention, however, to the country of origin of those guides: for example, a guide made in France will talk about recordings that could be rather difficult to find on the American market.

So, these few methods in order to find the ultimate version of a classical music composition are very popular; of course, we assume here that you already know the music you’re looking for. That brings me directly to what is, I believe, the best way to find the ultimate version for any classical composition…

I’ll talk about it in my next post. Until then, keep your ears opened!

Introduction to classical music #2: Versions, Opus 1.

2006-04-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

Yep, you guessed it, I will devote the next entries of my blog to the phenomenon of the versions, phenomenon which is rather unique to classical music (and to jazz, but that it is another history).

And for whoever wants to explore classical music, I believe that it is essential to determine the most significant aspects and impacts of the phenomenon of the versions.

As I said, a single composition can be recorded several dozens of times (and even several hundreds of times), as it is the case for Mozart's Little Night Music, Strauss' waltzes, Pachelbel's Canon, Ravel's Bolero; in short, the compositions which belong to the basic repertory (I will talk about this another time) exist under an incalculable number of versions. For the rest, I would say that more than half of classical music compositions are recorded at least four or five times. In fact, it's especially the more obscure or more recent compositions that are recorded only one or twice.

But the fact of having as many choices isn't always a good thing. When I worked in music stores, I believe that there was nothing worse for the majority of the customers than wanting to buy Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Why? First of all, because any music store worthy of that name must have in stock at least ten or fifteen recordings of the Four Seasons; secondly, because all these versions have something in particular: this one is recorded on period instruments, that one has improvised parts, and so on...

This small collage presents about 20 versions of the famous Four Seasons; this is what I call a huge selection...

You know, I noticed that the fact of gaining access to so many versions almost always led the customers (the beginners like the experts) to raise this same question: how does one know which is the best version, the ultimate version for each composition of classical music?

I'll give you my answer next time!

So take care, and don't be afraid to have a curious ear!...

PS: By the way, the term Opus is simply a way of numbering the compositions; for example, a Symphony #5 Opus 17 means that this symphony is a 17th composition.

An introduction to classical music #1: first notes.

2006-03-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

Nope, neither am I a classical music specialist or even a musician. And neither do I have the intention of boring you with a theoretical course on classical music. I've juste decided to share with you my 10 years of working in music stores, at the same time I was discovering, little by little, classical music. I want to do this blog with the aim of democratizing classical music, i.e. that I will try to make you love classical music not because it is classical, but because it is simply music...

The idea of "democratizing" or to make classical music more accessible is a huge task, and I'm already thinking about certain aspects of it that could be covered. I'm thinking, among other things, about the classical music consumption and shopping experience, like when your favorite's record store classical section becomes overwhelming. I'm also thinking about the information found on classical records jackets to can be difficult to decode; and I even believe that a few neat little tricks to manage you (growing) classical music collection with software like iTunes could be useful!

I'm also thinking about things related to classical music recordings too; I'm thinking here about the versions phenomena, because most of the classical compositions are recorded more than once; I'm thinking about the vast number of classical music labels and what makes them different from one another; and I even believe that it would possible for me to make you listen to small audio demonstrations, so that you could practice yourself recognizing a good classical recording from a bad one...

There is the delicate subject matter that is the institution of classical music, and the problems related with it; I'm thinking, for example, about the traps of the classical music concerts, and let's not forget the critics and the clichés that cause harm to the perception of classical music. In fact, the best for you would be to understand that an insuperable frontier exists between those who produce classical music and those to whom it belongs.

Of course, these are only a few leads that can be followed, but be assured that everything will be done with simplicity in mind, but without oversimplifying things. So relax (I'm sure that you have somewhere in your CD's an old classical compilation that you could listen to...), open your ears wide and...

Good reading!

Spwarf