The London Lounge

Good evening fellow members.
I recently joined thelonodonlounge, and this is my first post. My question to you all is, what music do you listen to? Personally I listen mostly to jazz, old rock and some classical music.

Welcome! but isn't the 'old rock' kind of hard on the hearing? I am afraid that this is what you can expect from me - at least......but lots of good clean fun!!
NJS

Welcome, Cypher!
No Palestrina? No Monteverdi, no Bach? No Beethoven? No Brahms? No Rahmaninov?
How old is your rock - Metallica-old, or Rolling Stones-old?
Armstrong jazz or Garbarek jazz?

Welcome to the LL Cypher, you'll find all kinds of great information here not just on suits and ties, but now music as well.

As for music, I don't listen to it that much, but when I do I listen to Frank Sinatra, instrumental classical symphony, and instrumental light jazz.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

My old rock is mostly Dire Straits/ Mark Knopfler style, also a good deal og Leonard Cohen. And as far as jazz goes, definitively Garbarek, one of the best musicians of our time.

That is an interesting selection of representatives from each period Costi. If Rachmaninov, why not Mahler or Prokofiev? We must not forget Wagner, or even Elgar and Sibelius. Possibly less often heard outside England, I might add to Palestrina Byrd, Lawes, et al., not to mention Josquin. What about modern music, like Messiaen, Shostakovich, or Schoenberg? I will happily listen to anything good in fact from the last seven hundred years.

Dear Cypher, welcome to the LL! Henry Purcell and John Dowland are among my favorite composers. – In the voice of Alfred Deller, their songs provide a sort of ecstasis. (A bottle of wine may help). Does any one like Gustav Mahler? In Visconti’s version of “Death in Venice”, Ashenbach, the novel’s main character, is not a writer, but Mahler. In the film, Mahler undergoes a kind of sartorial metamorphosis: his elegance at Lido gradually deteriorates into a form of affected dandyism. Death eventually befalls him on the beach, though not for hubris against natural morality; but rather, against good taste.

I definitely agree on Garbarek. Also on Mahler (the symphonies mostly) and Prokofiev. Not much in favour of dodecaphonic music. Not a great admirer of Wagner, either. Hindemith I like. Idem Sibelius, but also Purcell (I recently discovered his music for theatre - about a dozen inspired compositions).
I notice with satisfaction not much Romantic opera was brought to discussion so far I'd rather listen to Handel's Acis and Galathea, for instance, any day of the week.

Well I enjoy rock from the 50's to modern times but in recent years there have been precious few good bands, when i say rock i am including many of its spin offs and the spin offs of the spin offs, i also like blues, jazz, soul, reggae and some of the indie styles. i also enjoy classical music especially piano music (particularly Chopin), Spanish guitar music, Bach's organ work and i also believe that no one will ever write a better violin concerto than Mendelssohn.

Not romantic opera? The earlier stuff (Puccini, Rossini) is very mindlessly over-done, but the later stuff (Wagner, Pfizner, Schoenberg, Bartók, etc.) is excellent. Surely any Mahler-lovers will enjoy these.

NCW, I agree about Wagner's operas, if you like them. I appreciate them in their historical context, but they are not my cup of tea. However, I agree it is mostly the way opera is sung today (and that includes Wagner, which has become a "speciality" of some singers incapable of singing anything else - I speak in the name of Hans Sachs), rather than the compositions themselves (I like some of Mozart's works) that keep me away from opera.

Have any of you ever been to the Bayreuther Festspiele? It is the ultra non plus event for Wagner aficionados. One year ago, I was on my way to Germany and thought I might possibly take the opportunity to see the complete “Der Ring des Nibelungen“. It soon proved to be a vain illusion. For either one waits as long as seven years for the tickets or one purchases them for over six thousands euros from travels agencies.

marcelo wrote:Have any of you ever been to the Bayreuther Festspiele? It is the ultra non plus event for Wagner aficionados. One year ago, I was on my way to Germany and thought I might possibly take the opportunity to see the complete “Der Ring des Nibelungen“. It soon proved to be a vain illusion. For either one waits as long as seven years for the tickets or one purchases them for over six thousands euros from travels agencies.

Good God, I was hoping to go and see that some day. Thank you for the warning - this is one trip I will certainly have to plan ahead.

My father has been on the waiting list for Bayreuth for coming on for a decade. I have not yet joined the list, but I intend to soon.

I listen mainly to classical music on CD and watch opera on DVD.

My preference is for instrumental, chamber music and concertos (especially piano and cello). I have recently developed a taste for Baroque music on period instruments. Before that most of my collection was dominated by Romantic repertoire, especially Hyperion's romantic concerto series.

My opera collection is dominated by the usual Italian suspects. Due to my preference for DVD, I tend to choose recent productions in wide format featuring artists who are currently performing - Alagna, Georghui, Fleming, Villazon, Netrebko, Terfel, Alvarez, Cura etc.