tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post1448878229389484944..comments2024-03-27T23:06:03.736-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Posterity?Bryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-53505913231257722712014-10-13T07:41:26.835-05:002014-10-13T07:41:26.835-05:00Sometimes a composer is cursed by a piece of his, ...Sometimes a composer is cursed by a piece of his, often of lesser quality, that becomes an unforeseen "hit". I'm thinking of the Bolero by Ravel or "Girl with the Flaxen Hair" by Debussy. Maybe the "Valse triste" of Sibelius. Sometimes the hit is something from the composer's early years. I think this is the case of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach. Surely it is authentic Bach? After all, dramatic toccata style was in his repertoire. Christoph Wolff thinks it is an early work.<br /><br />The Ode to Joy is rather a different situation. Yes, it has the kind of broad appeal most composers of pop songs can only dream of. But this simple tune was the product of years of work and revision. Unlike "Yesterday", Beethoven didn't fall out of bed humming it. There has been so much written about the 9th Symphony and I'm sure more books to come. Beethoven is such a complex figure because he was capable of writing music of mass appeal--and this before the triumph of pop music! But at the same time, he was capable of writing extremely esoteric music like the Great Fugue.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-41139771387400533132014-10-13T01:21:53.521-05:002014-10-13T01:21:53.521-05:00@Anonymous, well, it could be composed by Bach or ...@Anonymous, well, it could be composed by Bach or not by Bach (there are speculations as you say). Either way, it's good music (despite the fewer Bachian elements). I'm pretty sure J.S. Bach has more pompous pieces than that. The problem with Ode to Joy is that it's often taken out of context. People don't even listen to the whole 4th movement, not to mention the whole symphony. Ode to Joy is good when listened to in context. Besides the lyrics are about peace, which is a nice way to end the symphony and an inspiration for posterity. And no, pop tunes don't come close to Ode to Joy. The only thing wrong with it is that is used as the anthem for the EU. But it's because EU exists in the first place. EU is a stupid bureaucracy that reduces power of regular people.Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084578675339015204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-72981713222745924432014-10-12T15:44:07.593-05:002014-10-12T15:44:07.593-05:00Sad and puzzling that it is often a composer's...Sad and puzzling that it is often a composer's lesser pieces (maybe the easiest?) that capture the public's attention. Also pieces that are highly unrepresentative. Bach's Toccata in Dm is one the least Bachian elements of his oeuvre. Perhaps the only pompous tune he ever composed (assuming he did compose it, which is unclear). The Ode to Joy is no better than an ordinary pop tune.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com