>>>" Satie used the term “furniture music (musique d’ameublement)”, implying that some of his pieces should function as a mood-setting background music. Although this may seem to point forwards to the commercialized ambient music (“Muzak”), what Satie aims at is the exact opposite: a music which subverts the gap that separates the figure from the background – when one truly listens to Satie, one “hears the background.” This is the egalitarian Communism in music: a music which refocuses the listener’s attention from the big Theme to its invisible background, in the same way that Communist theory and politics refocuses our attention from big Heroes to the immense work and suffering of the invisible ordinary people."
A wonderful description of Satie's music and aesthetics. Satie's "invisible background" mentioned here also contained a strong gnostic element. One his best known pieces was, of course, entitled "Gnossiennes"
The above description of Satie - music that is egalitarian and gnostic-mystical - may also apply to two of Satie's heirs. Brain Eno - politically a British leftist and doyen of "ambient" music, the late 20th/21st century version musique d’ameublement And Harold Budd - an American left-liberal who it must be pointed always disliked the label "ambient" being applied to his work, despite appearing in Eno's "Ambient" series of albums.
The most Satie-like work of Harold Budd can to be found in his piano and synthesizer compositions for the album "The Room".
Very different taste from my own—I love lots of “kitsch,” and Stravinsky and Shostakovich are some of my very favorites, along with Britten, Mahler, John Adams. Lots of modernism loses me, but I can enjoy some minimalism and am very fond of lots of post-minimalism.
Louis Andriessen’s “De Staat” is a masterpiece that is not played nearly often enough due in part to a very non-standard instrumentation.
Some fascinating comments, as I reevaluate all the music I've loved for years (for me Prokofiev, nyet). I have come to re-evaluate was I formerly considered kitsch (Symanowsky, LIszt, Roussel, et. al). Such music does not strain after monumentality or portent, but gives into its desire.
Wow, I just gave this a very quick read, so i will have to reread it! Overall, my diagnosis is: great taste! I too love Schumann. Love your distinction between cynicism and irony. Speaking of Mozart's Cosi..., i recently saw a representation at Aix-en-Provence, which "modernized" it to the point that the text was detached from what was going on on the stage. For the first time in my life i booed.
He has very good taste. Maybe he should give Luigi Nono, hailed in the 1950's as the true successor to Schoenberg, a listen.
You've renewed my interest in the classics by sharing your feelings on their art. I agree Beethoven is kitsch.
He doesn t really believe that, he just likes to provoke.
No love or even interest for Tschaikovsky or Rachmaninnov?
>>>" Satie used the term “furniture music (musique d’ameublement)”, implying that some of his pieces should function as a mood-setting background music. Although this may seem to point forwards to the commercialized ambient music (“Muzak”), what Satie aims at is the exact opposite: a music which subverts the gap that separates the figure from the background – when one truly listens to Satie, one “hears the background.” This is the egalitarian Communism in music: a music which refocuses the listener’s attention from the big Theme to its invisible background, in the same way that Communist theory and politics refocuses our attention from big Heroes to the immense work and suffering of the invisible ordinary people."
A wonderful description of Satie's music and aesthetics. Satie's "invisible background" mentioned here also contained a strong gnostic element. One his best known pieces was, of course, entitled "Gnossiennes"
The above description of Satie - music that is egalitarian and gnostic-mystical - may also apply to two of Satie's heirs. Brain Eno - politically a British leftist and doyen of "ambient" music, the late 20th/21st century version musique d’ameublement And Harold Budd - an American left-liberal who it must be pointed always disliked the label "ambient" being applied to his work, despite appearing in Eno's "Ambient" series of albums.
The most Satie-like work of Harold Budd can to be found in his piano and synthesizer compositions for the album "The Room".
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_moLKgTdlm3Yk21WlVw0qcQF_oKcdUSKzk
Very different taste from my own—I love lots of “kitsch,” and Stravinsky and Shostakovich are some of my very favorites, along with Britten, Mahler, John Adams. Lots of modernism loses me, but I can enjoy some minimalism and am very fond of lots of post-minimalism.
Louis Andriessen’s “De Staat” is a masterpiece that is not played nearly often enough due in part to a very non-standard instrumentation.
Some fascinating comments, as I reevaluate all the music I've loved for years (for me Prokofiev, nyet). I have come to re-evaluate was I formerly considered kitsch (Symanowsky, LIszt, Roussel, et. al). Such music does not strain after monumentality or portent, but gives into its desire.
Each one of us has tastes all there own.
Goes off to listen to Grosse Fuge and Bartók's 3rd String Quartet.
Wow, I just gave this a very quick read, so i will have to reread it! Overall, my diagnosis is: great taste! I too love Schumann. Love your distinction between cynicism and irony. Speaking of Mozart's Cosi..., i recently saw a representation at Aix-en-Provence, which "modernized" it to the point that the text was detached from what was going on on the stage. For the first time in my life i booed.
Noch nie konnte ich mich so sehr mit dem Typus eines Banausen identifizieren wie beim Lesen dieses Textes.
I came here mistakenly thinking the classics were books, I stayed for the excellent tastes in music