The Album Review Club - End of Round #9 Break (page 1904)

KnaresboroughBlue said:
Vltava is certainly the most popular poem and most immediately accessible. It often features in 'best of classics' concerts and recordings.

It's funny how my preferences have varied over the years. I too started off with Vltava as my favourite, then it changed to Vyšehrad and then Blaník and Tábor. For the last few years my favourite has been Z českých luhů a hájů.

I understand the difficulties some have with scoring it as it is quite different from what has gone before and that is what made me reluctant to choose it. In the end though I really don't care so much about the scoring but just wanted to use the opportunity to share something that is deeply important and personal to me. I certainly wouldn't expect anybody else to feel the same way.

If, as some have mentioned, a visual aid would help, there are a few live orchestral performances of Má Vlast on YouTube.

I'm not sure if I am supposed to score it myself or not but it (obviously) would warrant a 10 from me ;-)
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I’m not a fan of classical best ofs, I’d rather commit to a whole piece although anything that brings a wider audience… I take the same approach with contemporary music, don’t like the idea of shuffling an album or skipping a song after a few moments if it doesn’t grab me. I do make playlists of favourite tracks for long journeys from time to time though.

I’ve never really thought about it till now but whereas with pop and rock music I’ll invest in something new with repeated listens and be rewarded for it, with classical I tend to keep to pieces that have had an immediate impact on me so the likes of Beethoven win over someone like Sibelius when it comes to the symphonies for example.

So to Ma Vlast which I have listened to before when exploring new classical music and dismissed because not enough of it instantly grabs the attention, with the obvious exceptions. Same still applies. In parts it is the best of what classical music can offer but overall found bits of it stodgy. Whereas there is no let up in something like Beethoven’s 9th which is a 10 out of 10 for me Ma Vlast is a 6
 
I love this thread for throwing up music just like this - something I would never have listened to without it!

Firstly, I do like classical music and have been to a few classical concerts. I do think that when you see and hear the music being played in a concert it completely transforms it. The sound is so ... "rich" and loud, but certainly not rock concert loud. It's just right. It really makes you appreciate the fact that someone has created music as a whole through thinking of how violins, cellos, trumpets, timpani, flutes, horns, oboes and double basses. The range of music is pretty astonishing as well. If you're mildly interested in classical music, try the "Last night of the Proms" at the Bridgewater. It's not as wild as the Albert Hall, but you will hear lots of pieces you know and it's a superb night!

Secondly, and thanks to Knareborough, I do think with ALL music from the past you HAVE to listen to it and know about the context. If you just listened to Vltava completely unaware of its history you will simply hear it as a "tune". It wouldn't mean anything. This applies to Smetana just as much as Beethoven, Schoenberg, Debussy, Stravinsky and even The Beatles, Sex Pistols and Happy Mondays. Take away the context and you miss the point and influence of the music. So thanks @KnaresboroughBlue for taking the time to explain the context.

I did like Vltava and I have heard that before. You can certainly hear the nationalism and stirring pride in the piece. I can well imagine that if you are from the Czech Republic, particularly before it was a separate country, this music would have a very, very strong emotional connection for you. I think that's something that maybe is tricky for English people to understand as we've not been subjugated in the same way that other nations have. That said, in the same way that "Land of Hope and Glory", "Jerusalem" etc stir the English nationalistic heart strings, I can imagine Vltava does the same for Czech's. Maybe even more so.

For the other pieces, I did enjoy them - again, the context really helps. I think I would play Vltava again when I'm in the mood for classical music, but I'm not sure I would return to the other pieces. They were fine, but I think I lack that emotional connection.

Overall I'll give this a 7 - I enjoyed the music and the context really helped me understand both the music and the history behind it.
 
GoatersLeftShin said:
I love this thread for throwing up music just like this - something I would never have listened to without it!

Firstly, I do like classical music and have been to a few classical concerts. I do think that when you see and hear the music being played in a concert it completely transforms it. The sound is so ... "rich" and loud, but certainly not rock concert loud. It's just right. It really makes you appreciate the fact that someone has created music as a whole through thinking of how violins, cellos, trumpets, timpani, flutes, horns, oboes and double basses. The range of music is pretty astonishing as well. If you're mildly interested in classical music, try the "Last night of the Proms" at the Bridgewater. It's not as wild as the Albert Hall, but you will hear lots of pieces you know and it's a superb night!

Secondly, and thanks to Knareborough, I do think with ALL music from the past you HAVE to listen to it and know about the context. If you just listened to Vltava completely unaware of its history you will simply hear it as a "tune". It wouldn't mean anything. This applies to Smetana just as much as Beethoven, Schoenberg, Debussy, Stravinsky and even The Beatles, Sex Pistols and Happy Mondays. Take away the context and you miss the point and influence of the music. So thanks @KnaresboroughBlue for taking the time to explain the context.

I did like Vltava and I have heard that before. You can certainly hear the nationalism and stirring pride in the piece. I can well imagine that if you are from the Czech Republic, particularly before it was a separate country, this music would have a very, very strong emotional connection for you. I think that's something that maybe is tricky for English people to understand as we've not been subjugated in the same way that other nations have. That said, in the same way that "Land of Hope and Glory", "Jerusalem" etc stir the English nationalistic heart strings, I can imagine Vltava does the same for Czech's. Maybe even more so.

For the other pieces, I did enjoy them - again, the context really helps. I think I would play Vltava again when I'm in the mood for classical music, but I'm not sure I would return to the other pieces. They were fine, but I think I lack that emotional connection.

Overall I'll give this a 7 - I enjoyed the music and the context really helped me understand both the music and the history behind it.
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Bravo sir, bravo.
 
After a busy few work days, tomorrow night I’ll be in my hot tub with a glass of pils (obviously) listening to this, which should be a the perfect scenario for really taking it in. My cluelessness when it comes to classical music knows no bounds, other than I do like Tchaikovsky, and Philip Glass! Really nice to go a new direction — looking forward to it.
 
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I am listening to this lovely piece of music for the 4th time. It will take me very many more listens to fully appreciate it. I can fully understand why @KnaresboroughBlue has chosen to propose it and I am not going to pretend I am equipped yet to review it competently. Full of light and shade, stirring passages followed by lovely melodic breaks. It will be on my ‘play’ for the foreseeable future until I know it as well as my other favourite classical pieces.
Thanks Knaresborough. I will give it 9 on the basis that my highest score so far has been 8 and I like this far more.
 
I like it, without being able to describe why. It's just a pleasant thing to listen to. It feels like an escape, a holiday for the mind and soul. I like its continuity, even though it never sounds samey. (This is so hard to put into words)

Classical music, for me, is a way of losing a couple of hours, it demands concentration, but rewards like no other genre imo. I don't meditate, but I imagine getting lost in a beautiful piece of music such as this is very similar.

I can't do it justice, I wish I was more knowledgeable, I'm not so I'll go with my gut feeling and score it a solid 7.
 
Have had a few listens now. I like it. Yet I have a feeling that I might love it if I had a deep yearning to visit the Czech Republic. I don’t. But, not knowing Prague, I had a little look online and found this “Prague is famous for well-preserved castles, Baroque and Gothic cathedrals, medieval squares, dreamy bridges, nightlife spots, and a lively arts scene. It's known for its centuries of history and cultural heritage, where the medieval heart of Europe can be felt in its cobblestone streets.” So a glass of pils, maybe a spot of Milan Kundera, Ma Vlast playing, along with the above? Yeah, that works. So I find these poems to be evocative. Will I listen to it more? Quite possibly. Though I might have less time to do so, as have found that this piece and the original write up has been an inspiration to return to a study/exploration of the music in Mexico - along with the questions of musics ties to the people, culture, history, land etc. Thanks for that :) All in all, for the experience perhaps more than any ‘understanding´ I might have, 8/10
 
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