Attractive COMPOSERS!

[ahinton]

Now THAT'S more like it. Also, I shouldn't have said that the thread was killed, but it was actually derailed. I'm sure some of you find Mr. Hinton very attractive, but yeah, the thread got out of hand a bit.

Notwithstanding anything that has gone before, "Mr Hinton" - apart from the obvious fact of his being a composer - really has no place in this particular thread, a fact which I have on the highest and most reliable of authorities.

Best,

Alistair

[pianowolfi]

Notwithstanding anything that has gpone before, "Mr Hinton" - aparat from the obvious fact of his being a composer - really has no place in this particular thread, a fact which I have on the highest and most reliable of authorities.

Best,

Alistair

A statement which might make a certain Alistair Hinton even more attractive in the eye of a connaisseur of music as well as one of the so called British understatement, I guess

[ahinton]

A statement which might make a certain Alistair Hinton even more attractive in the eye of a connaisseur of music as well as one of the so called British understatement, I guess

Guess as you may, kind sir, but I rather fear that said statment might be rather more notable for its typos (which I've now duly corrected) than for those characteristics for which you have the grace to credit it...

I don't know too much about "British understatement" in my own context, being one o' them Scottish interloping furriners, but I do approve of your spelling of "connaisseur"! All that matters (if indeed it does at all) is wot I writ, not the shirt, jacket, hair-non-style or overweightedness of the composer 23 years ago...

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

a fact which I have on the highest and most reliable of authorities.

You must let us be the judge of this. A man is often his own harshest critic.

So far, you look like you might win the "cute" vote.

Thal

[ahinton]

You must let us be the judge of this. A man is often his own harshest critic.

So far, you look like you might win the "cute" vote.

OK (to the first bit) but (a) would that be something of real merit and (b) who's trying to "win" what here in any case? Perhaps a man (or indeed a woman) should indeed be his (or her) "harshest critic", as you say - but what may be of more importance again is what it may be that is up for such criticism...

Best,

Alistair

[retrouvailles]

As far as Retrouvailles comment goes, I think he (she?)

Do I really seem like a girl? Come on, to quote Super Troopers, "I am all that is man."

[birba]

Sorry, didn't mean to offend you!  It's difficult to tell genders with pseudonyms!

[retrouvailles]

No, I'm not offended at all (I'm impossible to offend online). I'm actually quite amused! One would think my posting style is quite masculine.

[birba]

Actually, it is.  I think it's the name "retrouvailles".  For some reason it sounds feminine to me.  Maybe you sounded like a butch fem to me.     where do you live?  I bet we're in the same time zone.  Either that or your a night person.

[ahinton]

a butch fem

Mr Carter isn't one of those either.

Best,

Alistair

[49410enrique]

Gian Carlo Menotti probably didn't have to hard a time picking up chicks either

[ahinton]

Gian Carlo Menotti probably didn't have to hard a time picking up chicks either

Really? He was gay, you know...

Best,

Alistair

[49410enrique]

Really? He was gay, you know...

Best,

Alistair

wow news to me, thanks for the clarification, although that probably made him all the more popular with the ladies as it often does, alure of the unatttainable i guess. thanks for the correction, i didn't read that anywhere just stuff about music.

[birba]

Mr Carter isn't one of those either.

Best,

Alistair

Are you saying "retrouvailles" is Mr Carter?  Who is that?  You must know each other then!  I knew there had to be a reason why he thought a young picture of you "killed" the thread!

[thalbergmad]

Indeed, retrouvailles is not Mr Carter. He is about 80 years younger for a start.

Retrouvailles is a piece of plinky piano "music" written by said Mr Carter.

Thal

[ahinton]

Indeed, retrouvailles is not Mr Carter. He is about 80 years younger for a start.

Retrouvailles is a piece of plinky piano "music" written by said Mr Carter.

The first two sentences are indeed correct. The third would also be so as long as the word "plinky" and the " " are removed and the particular Mr Carter concerned were identified for anyone still uncertain who he might be (i.e. "the said" Mr Carter would imply that the name Elliott had already been mentioned); pardon the pedantry of this last caveat - I'd have omitted mention of it were it not necessary to refer to the other two.

Elliott Carter was, some time ago, supposed to be writing a new piece for piano and orchestra for his young friend Daniel Barenboim's 70th birthday this year but I've heard nothing to the effect that he's done it yet; if he's not, he hasn't much time left in which to do so!

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Elliott Carter was, some time ago, supposed to be writing a new piece for piano and orchestra for his young friend Daniel Barenboim's 70th birthday this year but I've heard nothing to the effect that he's done it yet; if he's not, he hasn't much time left in which to do so!

I look forward to this work and hope Mr Carter has a few more plinks left in him yet.

Thal

[ahinton]

I look forward to this work and hope Mr Carter has a few more plinks left in him yet.

I hope that he has more creative energy left in him and have heard and seen no evidence to suspect otherwise, but I've never known him have "plinks" in him; that sounds quite painful to me and I'm sure that, had this ever happened to him, his doctors and other medical people would have had it all sorted out for him pronto.

Best,

Alistair

[birba]

God, am I ignorant.   

[littletune]

That was funny Alistair! 

Oh don't worry Birba! I didn't really get who Mr Carter was either and we're almost related!!!(because of our date of birth  )

[birba]

That was funny Alistair!  

Oh don't worry Birba! I didn't really get who Mr Carter was either and we're almost related!!!(because of our date of birth   )

Oh, I know who he is!  I played his third sonata.  I didn't know there was a composition "retrouvailles"!!!

[retrouvailles]

Oh, I know who he is!  I played his third sonata.  I didn't know there was a composition "retrouvailles"!!!

Carter has only one piano sonata. And yes, my nickname is a reference to a rather nice piece by Carter. Don't listen to thal's opinions on Carter. He isn't for musically faint of heart Englishmen.

[ahinton]

Carter has only one piano sonata. And yes, my nickname is a reference to a rather nice piece by Carter. Don't listen to thal's opinions on Carter. He isn't for musically faint of heart Englishmen.

Carter has only one piano sonata SO FAR! Yes, we know where "retrouvailles" comes from. Thal on Carter? Don't worry about it - but it's nothing to do with his being an Englishman or indeed about any kind of Englishman - until recently, Carter's had rather more appreciation in England and in other parts of Europe than he has had in his own native land.

Best,

Alistair

[richard_strauss]

Ana Vidovic

[thalbergmad]

Carter's had rather more appreciation in England and in other parts of Europe than he has had in his own native land.

Glad to hear it.

I wonder where all these Carter appreciators are hiding??

Didn't meet any in Tescos.

Thal

[ahinton]

Glad to hear it.

I wonder where all these Carter appreciators are hiding??

Didn't meet any in Tescos.

They do not hide and have no need to - but, that said, if you will look in Tescos for anything worthwhile, then on your own head be it.

Best,

Alistair

[birba]

Carter has only one piano sonata. And yes, my nickname is a reference to a rather nice piece by Carter. Don't listen to thal's opinions on Carter. He isn't for musically faint of heart Englishmen.

Well, I guess then what I played was an excellent forgery.  I wonder what the second was like.

[birba]

OMG, I'm so embarassed.  It was roger sessions.   I mean it was several (!) years back, but still...
Sorry.    

[thalbergmad]

Oh gawd, not Sessions. He was a major plinker.

Thal

[retrouvailles]

Oh gawd, not Sessions. He was a major plinker.

Thal

Have you heard his piano sonatas? Ignorance in this case is not bliss. Go do some listening and then call him a plinker.

[ahinton]

Thal does at least listen to quite a lot of what he writes about, but his persistent use of the terms "plink", "plonk" and their derivatives lets his remarks down all too often, particularly since he has never so much as given us his own definitions of them. They are most certainly not terms that I would ever think of using about Roger Sessions who today remains arguably one of America's greatest underappreciated composers. A fair amount of his work has been recorded, but the series of nine symphonies and the Concerto for Orchestra that followed them (which earned him a Pulitzer prize but which sadly became his last completed work) are all too rarely featured on concert programmes, even in his native America.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Thal does at least listen to quite a lot of what he writes about

Indeed I do and in the case of Sessions I have spent a few hours of reasonably intense pain.

I reserve most of my hatred for his piano concerto which surely must rank as one of the worst random tinklings in history.

Thal

[ahinton]

Indeed I do and in the case of Sessions I have spent a few hours of reasonably intense pain.

I reserve most of my hatred for his piano concerto which surely must rank as one of the worst random tinklings in history.

It's not a work that I know at all well, I have to admit but, as I've also said, you do at least listen to these things before making pronouncements. Which of the symphonies have you heard? And have you heard the Concerto for Orchestra?

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Which of the symphonies have you heard? And have you heard the Concerto for Orchestra?

I have not heard either of these works and it is unlikely that I will. If a work has not got a piano or a banjo in it, the chances are I will not have heard it.

Besides, I am all plonked out with 20th century works at the moment and need a good dose of Wilms to recover.

Thal

[ahinton]

I have not heard either of these works and it is unlikely that I will. If a work has not got a piano or a banjo in it, the chances are I will not have heard it.

Well, there are quite a lot of works that don't include a piano and vastly more that have no part for the banjo, an instrument for which many composers from Byrd to Boulez, from Haydn to Holliger, from Chopin to Chausson and from Stenhammar to Stockhausen never wrote, so there will be much to which you don't listen, including most symphonies in the repertoire; how many such works include a piano (not very many) and how many include a banjo?

Besides, I am all plonked out with 20th century works at the moment

I have no idea what the condition "plonked out" might signify other than possibility of having consumed too much cheap red wine, but then where "20th century works" (presumably of music) would fit into that I have even less idea.

Best,

Alistair

[retrouvailles]

WELLLLL, I'm gonna get this thread back on track with some more attractive composers:

Augusta Read Thomas



She isn't too bad looking for a woman in her late 40s. Nice music, too.



Sofia Gubaidulina



She isn't really attractive (because she's really old), but she looks like she could be a really nice grandmother, which means something.

[thalbergmad]

The last one is more Alistair's age group, so I guess he might well find her attractive.

Rather like the first one myself. She can play with my banjo any time.

Thal

[ahinton]

The last one is more Alistair's age group, so I guess he might well find her attractive.

As I wrote (albeit in a different context) in the notes for my Étude en forme de Chopin, "guesswork can involve dangerous risks"; I don't find her at all attractive and am not particularly keen on her music.

I don't know Sofia G personally.

Rather like the first one myself. She can play with my banjo any time.

I do know Augusta Read Thomas. Fine composer indeed. She's married to an English composer. I have no evidence that she plays the banjo, however.

Best,

Alistair

[retrouvailles]

I do know Augusta Read Thomas. Fine composer indeed. She's married to an English composer.

Yes, and her husband, Bernard Rands, is a fine composer in his own right. I attended the US premiere of his piano preludes recently, and he was in the audience and gave a talk about them. Quite the husband/wife duo they are! It is somewhat distubing that there is an over 30 year age difference between them (Bernard is 77 I think).

[littletune]

The last one is more Alistair's age group, so I guess he might well find her attractive.

Thal

Well it says in wikipedia that she was born in 1931! And that picture of Alistair is from 1988, so if he was the same age as she is he would have to be over 50 in that picture... but he looks I don't know... maybe 30 or something... so he must be at least 20 years younger than she is! 

[gep]

I have not heard either of these works and it is unlikely that I will. If a work has not got a piano or a banjo in it, the chances are I will not have heard it.

Besides, I am all plonked out with 20th century works at the moment and need a good dose of Wilms to recover.

Thal

If you're in for "Concerto's by Germans who became Dutch", have you heard the Röntgen 2 and 4 out on CPO? Quite nice, they are, even when post-1900!

NB: Glad to see you back on the Forum Thal, it wasn't the same without you!

all best,
gep

[49410enrique]

I have not heard either of these works and it is unlikely that I will. If a work has not got a piano or a banjo in it, the chances are I will not have heard it.

Besides, I am all plonked out with 20th century works at the moment and need a good dose of Wilms to recover.

Thal

thal what' about the rosza concerto, it's suprisingly easy on the ears though i suppose if you can't stand bartok this will totally rub you the wrong way?
i'll throw him in the mix, he was good looking fellow and deserves a mention on the musical and vanity front too i suppose
Miklós Rózsa

(ii and iii and easy to link to from this one)

in case anyone wants to read along, i love the cadenza! note linked to my scribd account, i turned off download this is a reading/preview score only
https://www.scribd.com/doc/78152200/Rozsa-Concerto-for-Piano-Op-31

[ahinton]

Well it says in wikipedia that she was born in 1931! And that picture of Alistair is from 1988, so if he was the same age as she is he would have to be over 50 in that picture... but he looks I don't know... maybe 30 or something... so he must be at least 20 years younger than she is! 

Well, I am certainly not of the same generation as she!

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

NB: Glad to see you back on the Forum Thal, it wasn't the same without you!

Slightly worrying

[ahinton]

Slightly worrying

To whom? Not to me or to anyone that I know...

Just listened to all that I was able to catch of a wonderful concert on BBC R3 this evening; the outer of the four works presented were Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 10 in F minor and the second of Schönberg's full orchestral arrangements of his Chamber Symphony No. 1. The Myaskovsky is a revelation; the Schönberg is the most brilliant and sensitive full orchestral treatment from the mid-1930s of a much earlier (1906) work for 15 soloists in which he telescopes a four-movement symphony into a 20-minute single movement work; the orchestration leaves even Richard Strauss out in the cold (and, mon Dieu, that takes some doing!) yet, for all its colossal expertise, the composer's original version has the greater tension and is the more convincing for it. The whole concert tonight was given by BBC SO conducted by one of today's most gifted conductors, Oliver Knussen. Try to catch it if you can!

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

OK I will, as long as it finished before the darts come one.

Thal

[minor9th]

Ana Vidovic

I don't think she composes, but she is damn fine looking!

[ahinton]

OK I will, as long as it finished before the darts come one.

What darts come one what?

Best,

Alistair

[gep]

Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 10 in F minor (...) is a revelation;

There is more to Myaskovsky than may meet the ear on first hearing. Of course, he too suffered under the Stalinist horror, but like several other composers managed to keep himself to himself, only throwing the odd bones to the bosses, as did someone like Shostakovich (and very unlike someone like Kabalevsky or Knipper).
If you like the 10th, you might want to try the 13th in b, or the 3rd in a (in case you don't know them already!). Also, his string quartets are quite fine!

all best,
gep

[retrouvailles]

If you like the 10th, you might want to try the 13th in b, or the 3rd in a (in case you don't know them already!). Also, his string quartets are quite fine!

There is no better Myaskovsky symphony than the 6th. It is the only one with a choir and the longest of them all.

But isn't this thread about attractive composers? Myaskovsky wasn't really that attractive.