# What's the first track you listen to when you buy a new Btvn, Brms,Brkner,Mlr cycle?



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

your acid test.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Brahms: last movements of the 2nd and 3rd symphonies.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Interesting question. 

Let's see. Beethoven, the 9th and 3rd. Is the 9th transcendent in the 3rd movement? The 3rd, I don't know about a movement in particular. 
Bruckner - the 4th and 7th, because that's what everyone else has done, so it's easier to compare with the masters. In the 4th, typically in the first movement I look for the restatement of the opening motif just before the recap - do they pause for a moment of transcendence (like Tintner) or blow it off for a bigger finish (like Furtwangler)? 
Brahms - the 1st symphony, 1st movement - is it reflecting his struggle to overcome his girl problems (i.e., Clara and that other ex-girlfriend)? 
Mahler - 9th symphony, first movement, first page, and last movement, last page. How does he die? 

It's kind of idiosyncratic, but in reflection, that's what I've typically done.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Oh yes, with Beethoven it's 6th Symphony 1st and 5th movements, and 4th symphony 1st movement (<3 that movement!).


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

I've never thought of an "acid test" for cycles. In my view, with cycles, it's not a particular movement, but rather the "unity of vision", so you'd have to listen to them all, and then decide if the sum total of the interpretations capture the "essence" of the composer's intentions/vision. I think you could, on the other hand, apply acid tests for individual works, though I'm more about "being convinced" by an interpretation than anything else.

But that's just one man's opinion...


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

itywltmt said:


> I've never thought of an "acid test" for cycles. In my view, with cycles, it's not a particular movement, but rather the "unity of vision", so you'd have to listen to them all, and then decide if the sum total of the interpretations capture the "essence" of the composer's intentions/vision. I think you could, on the other hand, apply acid tests for individual works, though I'm more about "being convinced" by an interpretation than anything else.
> 
> But that's just one man's opinion...


That's certainly the best way to do it, but, if you're generally searching recordings rather than soaking an individual one in, who has the time to listen to a single symphony perhaps 10 times just to get a sense of which you'd like to buy?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Hey P, Are you the only one that posts on this forum?

all i'm getting are crickets.......Jimminy!!!!!! 

where are you classical folks?


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## beethovenian (May 2, 2011)

Brahms symphony 2 last movement. The sudden explosive crash from the whole orchestra after the quiet opening. As far as i know, only Marin Alsop's Naxos set sounds perfect to me.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Pop in disc one, track one...sit back, relax and enjoy.


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

Polednice said:


> That's certainly the best way to do it, but, if you're generally searching recordings rather than soaking an individual one in, who has the time to listen to a single symphony perhaps 10 times just to get a sense of which you'd like to buy?


I've been mulling over this comment since yesterday, and here are my 2 cents.

I rarely "shop" for particular works based on interpretations I heard on the radio (I scarcely these days listen to classical music on radio, as it is a bit of a barren field nowadays in Canada), and I think in recent months I've actually looked for performances based on "recommendations and such" from this forum. I already have a decent enough collection (I do not pretend to want to collect _everything_).

If you've followed my monthly _Chronique du disque_, you must have guessed that my typical approach to buying (or acquiring) music has been (1) find digital versions of my old vinyl stuff (2) acquire tracks that will fit one of the themes I think of blogging about down the road and (3) browse music providers for something that may catch my attention.

If I were to look into acquiring a new cycle of something (e.g., if I were to, say, acquire the complete symphonies of Glazunov), I don't quite know if I would rely one one particular track to base my decision, as I am unfamiliar with the body of work.

Does that make sense, or am I just rambling?


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Aye, itwiywwmtliwtm, that makes sense. The more I think about my own habits with selecting recordings, the more I realise I'm rather superficial.


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

Polednice said:


> Aye, itwiywwmtliwtm, that makes sense. The more I think about my own habits with selecting recordings, the more I realise I'm rather superficial.


If I didn't know you better, and REALLY thought you only have Brahms in your collection, then maybe I'd say you're superficial. Since you've not been quite yourself lately, I'm not quite sure if this is you being self-deprecating or not... If you're not, then don't be so hard on yourself!

As everything in music, there is not absolute right or wrong, just what makes sense to you, and gets you to taste and enjoy the stuff!


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## dmg (Sep 13, 2009)

Beethoven: 2nd movement of 9th (very picky about this for some reason)
Bruckner: 1st movement of 2nd


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