Post by LivyII June 30, 2008 (1 of 6)
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I am trying to expand my musical horizons and have read many comments on this site about Peteris Vasks and his music - everyone seems to really enjoy his works, best violin concerto from the 20th century, e.g.
I haven't listened to much of his music beyond one-minute samples, so I am hoping someone can describe it. Is he a tonal composer? Who does he most "sound" like? Tuneful melodies? Dissonant chord crashes? Does he make anyone wince?
Thanks.
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Post by zeus June 30, 2008 (2 of 6)
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LivyII said:
I am trying to expand my musical horizons and have read many comments on this site about Peteris Vasks and his music - everyone seems to really enjoy his works, best violin concerto from the 20th century, e.g.
I haven't listened to much of his music beyond one-minute samples, so I am hoping someone can describe it. Is he a tonal composer? Who does he most "sound" like? Tuneful melodies? Dissonant chord crashes? Does he make anyone wince?
I got introduced to Vasks with the above CD, sadly no longer readily obtainable. I guess you could lump him in with Pärt, Tüür etc as postmodern Nordic/Estonian. Very listenable but maybe not the most cheerful stuff. I like (most of) his music a lot. I guess it boils down to whether you're prepared to take on different soundscapes.
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zeus said:
I got introduced to Vasks with the above CD,
Very listenable but maybe not the most cheerful stuff.
My sole knowledge of Vasks music comes from
Vasks: Symphony No. 3, Cello Concerto - Storgards
Initially I was not taken with the music. I was going to give it a re-listen to see if another audition would result a more favorable attitude - then I read your post. Now I am not so sure I will bother anytime in the immediate future.
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Post by LivyII July 1, 2008 (4 of 6)
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zeus said:
I got introduced to Vasks with the above CD, sadly no longer readily obtainable. I guess you could lump him in with Pärt, Tüür etc as postmodern Nordic/Estonian. Very listenable but maybe not the most cheerful stuff. I like (most of) his music a lot. I guess it boils down to whether you're prepared to take on different soundscapes.
Thanks for your reply, Zeus. I will give him a try - the mood of his music is not the driver here, rather it not be an atonal mess of dissonance that sounds like some kind of feedback problem that someone somehow recorded.
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Windsurfer said:
My sole knowledge of Vasks music comes from
Vasks: Symphony No. 3, Cello Concerto - Storgards
Initially I was not taken with the music. I was going to give it a re-listen to see if another audition would result a more favorable attitude - then I read your post. Now I am not so sure I will bother anytime in the immediate future.
Well I just relearned a lesson. Sometimes when you fail to find music compelling, all you need to do is turn up the volume to where it sounds like you are actually in a GOOD seat in a concert hall. The Ondine recording referred to above was mastered at a pretty low level. I strongly suspect that when I first heard the disc I was not impressed because the sound was underwhelming. I relistened to the cello concerto just now, and where most Praga discs are played at say 68 to 70 on the display of my preamp, I turned this one up to a whopping 100. And as I listened, I realized quickly that this concerto is a masterwork! The orchestration, the writing for cello is most compelling!
Kudos to all concerned in the production of this disc, but most especially to Peteris Vasks!
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Post by wehecht July 1, 2008 (6 of 6)
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Windsurfer said:
Well I just relearned a lesson. Sometimes when you fail to find music compelling, all you need to do is turn up the volume to where it sounds like you are actually in a GOOD seat in a concert hall. The Ondine recording referred to above was mastered at a pretty low level. I strongly suspect that when I first heard the disc I was not impressed because the sound was underwhelming. I relistened to the cello concerto just now, and where most Praga discs are played at say 68 to 70 on the display of my preamp, I turned this one up to a whopping 100. And as I listened, I realized quickly that this concerto is a masterwork! The orchestration, the writing for cello is most compelling!
Kudos to all concerned in the production of this disc, but most especially to Peteris Vasks!
I re-listened to this disc last night specifically because of this thread, and I absolutely agree: turn up the volume and you will be rewarded. I find setting the appropriate playback level to be the single most frustrating part of listening to SACDs, and much more critical to achieving omptimal results than with rbcds. This is more true for some labels than others: Chandos and Hyperion come to mind immediately, the Chandos Faure Requiem being cut at such a low level that you'd be forgiven for wondering if you'd failed to press the play button.
But once you get the playback level sorted out you get some very stimulating and attractive music.
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