117 lines
9.2 KiB
HTML
117 lines
9.2 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
|
||
<html lang="en"><head>
|
||
<meta charset="utf-8">
|
||
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
|
||
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><!-- Begin Jekyll SEO tag v2.7.1 -->
|
||
<title>It’s Pretty, Without The Shouting [Mendelssohn, Schubert] | Pukeko.xyz Blog</title>
|
||
<meta name="generator" content="Jekyll v4.2.0" />
|
||
<meta property="og:title" content="It’s Pretty, Without The Shouting [Mendelssohn, Schubert]" />
|
||
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />
|
||
<meta name="description" content="What happened in Italy? Today I succumbed yet again to one of the most steadfast pieces in my arsenal - Mendelssohn’s magnificent Italian Symphony (Op. 90, in A)." />
|
||
<meta property="og:description" content="What happened in Italy? Today I succumbed yet again to one of the most steadfast pieces in my arsenal - Mendelssohn’s magnificent Italian Symphony (Op. 90, in A)." />
|
||
<link rel="canonical" href="https://jekyll.pukeko.xyz/classical%20ramblings/2021/09/05/mendel-schub-not-shouting.html" />
|
||
<meta property="og:url" content="https://jekyll.pukeko.xyz/classical%20ramblings/2021/09/05/mendel-schub-not-shouting.html" />
|
||
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Pukeko.xyz Blog" />
|
||
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
|
||
<meta property="article:published_time" content="2021-09-05T22:18:00+03:00" />
|
||
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" />
|
||
<meta property="twitter:title" content="It’s Pretty, Without The Shouting [Mendelssohn, Schubert]" />
|
||
<script type="application/ld+json">
|
||
{"@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"It’s Pretty, Without The Shouting [Mendelssohn, Schubert]","dateModified":"2021-09-05T22:18:00+03:00","datePublished":"2021-09-05T22:18:00+03:00","description":"What happened in Italy? Today I succumbed yet again to one of the most steadfast pieces in my arsenal - Mendelssohn’s magnificent Italian Symphony (Op. 90, in A).","url":"https://jekyll.pukeko.xyz/classical%20ramblings/2021/09/05/mendel-schub-not-shouting.html","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://jekyll.pukeko.xyz/classical%20ramblings/2021/09/05/mendel-schub-not-shouting.html"},"@context":"https://schema.org"}</script>
|
||
<!-- End Jekyll SEO tag -->
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/main.css"><link type="application/atom+xml" rel="alternate" href="https://jekyll.pukeko.xyz/feed.xml" title="Pukeko.xyz Blog" /></head>
|
||
<body><header class="site-header" role="banner">
|
||
|
||
<div class="wrapper"><a class="site-title" rel="author" href="/">Pukeko.xyz Blog</a><nav class="site-nav">
|
||
<input type="checkbox" id="nav-trigger" class="nav-trigger" />
|
||
<label for="nav-trigger">
|
||
<span class="menu-icon">
|
||
<svg viewBox="0 0 18 15" width="18px" height="15px">
|
||
<path d="M18,1.484c0,0.82-0.665,1.484-1.484,1.484H1.484C0.665,2.969,0,2.304,0,1.484l0,0C0,0.665,0.665,0,1.484,0 h15.032C17.335,0,18,0.665,18,1.484L18,1.484z M18,7.516C18,8.335,17.335,9,16.516,9H1.484C0.665,9,0,8.335,0,7.516l0,0 c0-0.82,0.665-1.484,1.484-1.484h15.032C17.335,6.031,18,6.696,18,7.516L18,7.516z M18,13.516C18,14.335,17.335,15,16.516,15H1.484 C0.665,15,0,14.335,0,13.516l0,0c0-0.82,0.665-1.483,1.484-1.483h15.032C17.335,12.031,18,12.695,18,13.516L18,13.516z"/>
|
||
</svg>
|
||
</span>
|
||
</label>
|
||
|
||
<div class="trigger"><a class="page-link" href="/about/">About</a><a class="page-link" href="/classical-ramblings">Classical Ramblings</a><a class="page-link" href="/lerler">LerLer</a><a class="page-link" href="/posts">All Posts</a><a class="page-link" href="/travel">Travel</a></div>
|
||
</nav></div>
|
||
</header>
|
||
<main class="page-content" aria-label="Content">
|
||
<div class="wrapper">
|
||
<article class="post h-entry" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting">
|
||
|
||
<header class="post-header">
|
||
<h1 class="post-title p-name" itemprop="name headline">It's Pretty, Without The Shouting [Mendelssohn, Schubert]</h1>
|
||
<p class="post-meta">
|
||
<time class="dt-published" datetime="2021-09-05T22:18:00+03:00" itemprop="datePublished">Sep 5, 2021
|
||
</time></p>
|
||
</header>
|
||
|
||
<div class="post-content e-content" itemprop="articleBody">
|
||
<h1 id="what-happened-in-italy">What happened in Italy?</h1>
|
||
<p>Today I succumbed yet again to one of the most steadfast pieces in my arsenal - Mendelssohn’s magnificent <em>Italian Symphony</em> (Op. 90, in A).</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>Mendelssohn was a composer I stumbled about quite in random, largely due to me initally dismissing him as an ordinary, classical era composer in the shadow of Beethoven. It was actually his string quartets I first stumbled upon (the greatly atypical sixth, Op 80 in F minor). At the time I was discovering Dvorak’s masterful, explosive string quartets, and Mendelssohn blindsided me. I kept listening to the rest of the quartets, followed by the piano concerti - at this point already a keen listener.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>Mendelssohn is greatly restrained in comparison to my top picks at the time (and now, I guess) - including Mahler, Tchaikovski, Brahms, and - as mentioned - Dvorak. However, I found great elegance in his work - it is always interesting, balanced, pleasant to listen to and thought-provoking.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>Then, I found his symphonies. Monikered simply as ‘Italian’, Felix’s fourth seems, on paper, like a by-the-book classical era symphony - 30 minutes long, major key, with the classical structure:</p>
|
||
<ol>
|
||
<li>Dramatic, fast-tempo opening</li>
|
||
<li>Slower, brooding movement</li>
|
||
<li>Minuet/Trio dance movement</li>
|
||
<li>REALLY fast, REALLY dramatic finisher</li>
|
||
</ol>
|
||
|
||
<p>Smitten with big, <em>LOUD</em> symphonies, I listened to it out of curiosty.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>I don’t know <em>what</em> happened to Felix in Italy, but <em>something</em> was going on in there. Supposedly a simple representaion of Italy and its people, the fourth is incredibly rich - vibrant, fast and colorful. It manages to provoke strong emotion (listen to the coda of the first movement, and the opening of the fourth), and inspire imagination. Just listen to the second movement - you <em>instantly</em> feel as in the Italian Alps! how does one convey this <em>with a set of notes</em> <strong><em>this effectively?</em></strong>
|
||
I’ve never been to the Italian Alps in person, but I feel like I’ve been now!</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>Likewise, if I sit in a quiet room and listen attentively to the sixth quartet, I’ll likely choke up with grief - and all done without the excessive <em>yelling</em> that often applies Romantic pieces (close to no yelling at all, really). Mendelssohn walks the line between Classic and Romantic perfectly, strongly conveying what he felt with elegant, precise compositions.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>I initally scoffed at biographies of Felix comparing him to Mozart as yet another child prodigy classical genius, but I gladly stand corrected- there’s undeniable genius in the harmony of Felix’s works.</p>
|
||
|
||
<h1 id="the-swan-song-of-franz-schubert">The Swan Song of Franz Schubert</h1>
|
||
|
||
<p>Another composer that does this wonderfully is the oft-neglected Franz Schubert.
|
||
In the resources I used to discover classical music, Schubert was often hailed for his genius, yet did not seem as famous, as talented or as interesting as his peers. I didn’t pursue Franz’s works for a good while, but find myself coming back to them.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>His fifth symphony (D.485, in B flat major) is the very first non-yeller I’ve really enjoyed listening to. Schubert does to Brahms what Brahms does to Mahler - if you compare Brahms’ fourth with Schubert’s fifth (or even ninth), there’s a lot less going on, and it’s going much slower - but manages to say just as much. Schubert’s music is understated, and stands solely on the strength of the composition - there’s no massive orchestration, no jaw-dropping crescendos - simply good, passionate music.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>And while Mendelssohn’s compostions are, to me, immediatly <em>Mendelssohn-i</em>, I feel a stroke of genuis runs through each Schubert’s works, not yet fully discovered and realized - I just can’t put my finger on it. I find his String Quintet (D.956, in C major) and his Eighth, unfinished symphony (D.759, in B minor) particularly magical.
|
||
Schubert’s music is also surprisingly imaginitve - there’s a great difference between his ominous unfinished symphony and his playful, colorful Trout quintet and Swan Song in the string quintet.</p>
|
||
|
||
<p>It’s great to have some choices I can listen to at home or at work with people around without fearing heavy judgement - there’s nothing not to like about both of these composer’s incredible works.</p>
|
||
|
||
</div><a class="u-url" href="/classical%20ramblings/2021/09/05/mendel-schub-not-shouting.html" hidden></a>
|
||
</article>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</main><footer class="site-footer h-card">
|
||
<data class="u-url" href="/"></data>
|
||
|
||
<div class="wrapper">
|
||
|
||
<h2 class="footer-heading">Pukeko.xyz Blog</h2>
|
||
|
||
<div class="footer-col-wrapper">
|
||
<div class="footer-col footer-col-1">
|
||
<ul class="contact-list">
|
||
<li class="p-name">Pukeko.xyz Blog</li><li><a class="u-email" href="mailto:matanhorovitz@protonmail.com">matanhorovitz@protonmail.com</a></li></ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="footer-col footer-col-2"><ul class="social-media-list"></ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="footer-col footer-col-3">
|
||
<p>I have no idea what I'm doing. </p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</footer>
|
||
</body>
|
||
|
||
</html>
|