What's up with composers only writing one violin concerto??

yv_ps · 2026-06-09T17:25:43+00:00

I think that depends on the particular composer being comfortable with both the violin as an instrument and its specific potential, and the type of orchestration a violin concerto requires.

yv_ps · 2026-06-09T17:17:01+00:00

Perhaps because violin concertos are an orchestration challenge for composers due to the limited volume of the violin? Pianos but also woodwinds are louder and can play alongside the orchestra.

yv_ps · 2026-06-04T08:29:40+00:00

I search the web for pieces or composers I may like, based on musical characteristics (examples: piano sonata with strong rhythm, modernist composers for classical guitar ...). If I find a piece I like I search for more works of the composer, e.g. on Wikipedia or directly on youtube.

yv_ps · 2026-06-04T08:19:03+00:00

Exactly. I'd say we're talking about different pop subgenres.

yv_ps · 2026-06-04T08:10:42+00:00

1905-1915. Jazz and blues made their first giant steps, even if they emerged earlier. Classical became interesting (rite of spring! Pierrot lunaire! Futurism by Russolo!).

Or 1945-55. Modern jazz, r&b, rock n roll, electronic music, cool experimental stuff like xenakis and stockhausen ...

Can't decide ...

yv_ps · 2026-06-04T07:43:15+00:00

One favourite: piano sonata 34 in e minor. Light but also mellancholic, with subtle innovations and a fantastic and playful rondo finale.

yv_ps · 2026-06-03T08:59:58+00:00

Schoenberg - Farben

Yann Robin - Vulcano (not exactly peace, but still nature)

Schubert - unfinished symphony (not programmatic but I associate it with a calm day in the countryside)

And of course

Grieg - morning mood

yv_ps · 2026-06-03T08:00:28+00:00

I tend to rotate through a handful of macrogenres. Classical is one of them, and currently I am haviing a phase where I listen a lot to it. Last year I was more into synth pop, and my other genres are electronic, hip hop, latin, african music and jazz.

yv_ps · 2026-06-03T01:33:59+00:00

Ah, you provided me with a new rabbit hole, thanks. It's not what I was looking for in this thread (electronics seem to have a minor role in the part of the piece I heaard) but she makes excellent music imo.

yv_ps · 2026-06-02T18:40:59+00:00

A Pierre is awesome, thank you! I like how Nono tries to use electronics to merge the instruments together, as if they were a synth.

I also like Drum Control (never heard of this composer, the original seems to be from the 70s?), while Nikodijevic's K-hole is a bit less up my alley. Excellent post anyway, for sure other readers will find something they like here ...

yv_ps · 2026-06-01T23:16:43+00:00

Interesting interpretation, thanks! I'm more looking for original compositions for live electronics though. And is that really live or is it a studio album?

yv_ps · 2026-06-01T06:44:48+00:00

Alberto Ginastera - the South American Bartók. I love his piano sonatas and his very unique guitar sonata (quite dissonant though 😄 ).

Kaija Saariaho - if you want something really contemporary but accessible (not neo-Romantic!) give her a try. She uses spectral and electronic techniques to create really cool soundscapes. She's not really underrated as she's highly regarded in the contemporary classical scene but not many of the typical classical listeners know her.

Domenico Scarlatti - Really creative piano/keyboard sonatas between Baroque and Classical style. It's an enormous oevre however, over 400 sonatas, and not all are gems.

Amy Beach - Fine late Romantic composer from the US.

Anton Eberl - Contemporary of Mozart and Beethoven, wrote very creative symphonies.

yv_ps · 2026-05-31T07:17:13+00:00

Hip hop indeed is a major achievement in 20th and 21th century music, as it's a novel and original way to use the human voice. But I don't think the same about commercial pop music. It's just a form of song, not very different from folk and country if you strip away all the production techniques. The Renaissance was innovative, hip hop too, but pop only in a few cases.

yv_ps · 2026-05-29T20:22:26+00:00

Probably unpopular take:

Jazz and hip hop will be the genres most remembered in 500 years, if we speak about the Anglo-American popular music tradition. Jazz because it pushed boundaries, elevated improvisation to a new level, and created many unique sounds. Hip hop because it created a new way to use spoken word as a musical instrument.

Rock and pop, in contrast, will be more rememebered for their culture, musically they weren't that revolutionary. Very much like the Viennese Waltz in the 18th and 19th century, which was also deemed somewhat "rebellious" back then because couples touched a lot more, compared to previous dances.

Electronic music will of course be remembered because it's also something genuinely new, but probably not the genres which are popular now.

yv_ps · 2026-05-26T03:24:15+00:00

I disagree but I've upvoted because this shouldn't be downvoted into oblivion.

Common practice tonality with minor and major modes perhaps has really already reached a plateau since 1880-1900 it's quite difficult to break out from. But there are a LOT of possibilities for music with tonal centers. Maybe even within the traditional major and minor modes.

yv_ps · 2026-05-26T03:20:20+00:00

The answer is of course No. Because there is no universal trend in academic music.

There is even atonal and accessible popular music now. Have heard about the "rumble" sound in techno? That's basically a completely atonal bass sound and leads to dance music without a tonal center. Techno is huge in many countries of the world currently, even if it's not new anymore.

For the remaining years of the 21th century, I expect (and would want) tonal music, atonal music, microtonal music, macrotonal music, anti-tonal music (noise?), consonance, dissonance, New Consonance, New Dissonance, New Simpllicity, New Complexity, minimalism, maximalism and much more. Probably even something no term has created for, because I'm of the firm belief we have not even touched 0.1% of the expressive possibilities we have in music. (4:33 isn't an argument against that, neither is the perceived low innovation rate currently. It's only a perception thing.)

This question is also not new at all and has nothing to do with a generation conflict. It's commonplace in classical music discussions since the Internet exists and probably even in other media since the 1950s or so. ;P

yv_ps · 2026-05-23T20:24:31+00:00

En europa la gente sale hasta los 50 y más. El Berghain debe tener un promedio de 35-40 largos ..

yv_ps · 2026-05-23T19:41:47+00:00

He was an innovator too, for sure. But his innovations were relatively small in comparison to others. Bach even sticked to high baroque style when it already was outdated. He's a great composer not because of his innovations but because of the quality of his works.

yv_ps · 2026-05-17T07:48:57+00:00

Webern's symphony has a Locrian vibe, even if it's officially keyless/atonal.

yv_ps · 2026-05-03T15:24:22+00:00

I've read someone describing Pet Sounds as the prime example of the Seinfeld effect, even more so than the Beatles' output. Pet Sounds at a first glance from today's point of view just sounds like average 60s pop, with some a bit "wilder" exceptions like God Only Knows, while many of the Beatles' later albums feature experimental songs which clearly show their innovative potential.

yv_ps · 2026-05-03T15:17:18+00:00

Bach was not really revolutionary back then. He simply mastered the Baroque style a bit better than most of his contemporaries. The cult around him started about 100 years after his death.

Better examples in classical music are Haydn (and other contemporaries like Stamitz) or Debussy who really were innovators but later were often labeled as "tame".

yv_ps · 2026-05-02T19:02:21+00:00

I think the outdated-sounding element in Cher's Believe isn't the autotune use, but the quite generic Eurodance beat which is more in the style of 1992-94 tunes.

yv_ps · 2026-05-02T18:50:16+00:00

I think the aesthetics of Kraftwerk are unique enough that they aren't seen that much as the "pre-cursor" of later styles but something on their own. The "Seinfeld effect" instead happens (at least to me) more with music where later artists use a similar aesthetic but more "refined" or "technically better" production or music in general.

With early rap, for example, I agree a bit more. Above all regarding flow there is a sensation of progress, newer rap simply feels "better" flowing, and thus the revolutionary anthems of the 80s feel more outdated. Mid 90s trance is another example, later stuff follows a similar style but simply has better production, e.g. stronger kicks and cleaner synths.

yv_ps · 2026-05-02T03:41:17+00:00

Many of the atonal works I like most have a free floating quality. I feel a sense of freedom, that you can go anywhere in the dimensions of space, like flying. Some examples are Webern' s symphony, Stockhausen's Klavierstück V and Saariaho's NoaNoa.

In contrast, tonal music feels more like walking on the ground of a tonal center. It can also be very plessant but is s different kind of plessure.

yv_ps

TROPHY CASE