tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post9152940375326880228..comments2024-03-18T14:05:44.909-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Perfect Pieces of MusicBryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-79689402928423306482016-06-15T07:15:01.368-05:002016-06-15T07:15:01.368-05:00Excellent choices there. You bring out an interest...Excellent choices there. You bring out an interesting aspect: I was following the terms of the WSJ article and looking for pieces that were "unimproveable" which is a kind of perfection. But I think you are correct, it is a perfection within boundaries. A truly great piece of classical music will have an internal tension that will tend to spill over any boundaries. It will have an aesthetic unruliness that is part of being great. Think of the Bach Mass in B minor, or the St. Matthew Passion or the Mozart Requiem. These works are not "perfect", but they are great.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-23313091627490271312016-06-14T13:23:14.945-05:002016-06-14T13:23:14.945-05:00Beethoven- 7th symphony second movement
Tchai - Tr...Beethoven- 7th symphony second movement<br />Tchai - Trepak and Arabian Dance from Nutcracker, 4th symphony third mvmt<br />Monteverdi - Cruda Amarilli from 5th book of Madrigals, Ah Dolente from 4th<br /><br />Nothing very lengthy there. To be perfect, a piece must never test my patience, and succinctly convey a keenly felt emotion, sustained in form and harmony throughout. It must know exactly what it is. It's a word I apply to great pop songs much more than classical music. <br />Jephnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-51576558232632222312016-06-11T20:20:36.000-05:002016-06-11T20:20:36.000-05:00Now that is the perfect comment!Now that is the perfect comment!Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-10559906951143550502016-06-11T17:20:47.471-05:002016-06-11T17:20:47.471-05:00Couldn't agree more with some of your choices,...Couldn't agree more with some of your choices, especially Beethoven 5, a work I once never thought I could like because of its ubiquitous theme -- then I heard the fourth movement.<br /><br />I don't much like the idea of anything being perfect though. Made me think of a wonderful line from Frasier (*quickly googles*):<br /><br />Niles: It was an exquisite meal, marred only by the lack of even one outstanding cognac on their carte de digestif.<br />Frasier: Yes, but think of it this way, Niles: what is the one thing better than an exquisite meal? An exquisite meal with one tiny flaw we can pick at all night.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com