28-03-2015, 20:11
Hello everyone
I come to this Forum and this thread as a "newbie", but may I make a couple of observations?
First, yes LvB was an utter genius, but..
Secondly, his genius was not confined to symphonies (listen to his string quartets, especially those from Op. 127 onwards) and you are taken into a completely other world;
Third, mtthwibraham (#13) is right, he could be terribly bombastic, and is so sometimes even in some of his best-known and best-loved works (especially the 9th Symphony);
Fourth, he had some really crass moments - try for example Malbruck s'en va-t-en Guerre - and some of his songs;
Fifth, he never really understood the human voice, or could write for it: to be fair, neither did Bach take any prisoners there; but every single vocal line in Mozart or Schubert, most of Haydn and indeed the best song-writers up to Rogers and Britten, lies easy on the voice.
Sixth, Fidelio, though a splendid piece, is dramatically flawed and difficult convincingly to stage.
A "greatest" composer should surely be able to cover all these bases?
[Light the touchpaper and retire to a safe distance...]
L.
I come to this Forum and this thread as a "newbie", but may I make a couple of observations?
First, yes LvB was an utter genius, but..
Secondly, his genius was not confined to symphonies (listen to his string quartets, especially those from Op. 127 onwards) and you are taken into a completely other world;
Third, mtthwibraham (#13) is right, he could be terribly bombastic, and is so sometimes even in some of his best-known and best-loved works (especially the 9th Symphony);
Fourth, he had some really crass moments - try for example Malbruck s'en va-t-en Guerre - and some of his songs;
Fifth, he never really understood the human voice, or could write for it: to be fair, neither did Bach take any prisoners there; but every single vocal line in Mozart or Schubert, most of Haydn and indeed the best song-writers up to Rogers and Britten, lies easy on the voice.
Sixth, Fidelio, though a splendid piece, is dramatically flawed and difficult convincingly to stage.
A "greatest" composer should surely be able to cover all these bases?
[Light the touchpaper and retire to a safe distance...]
L.