# Pieces To Show Your Girlfriend



## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

I'd like to at least try to get my girlfriend to like classical music, and earlier today she expressed a small interest in it. I was thinking... what piece would anyone immediately love and connect with? An impossible question, so I guess it it would be more like, what piece comes close? 

Try to think more from the perspective of a girl in high school. I had thought about the Sibelius Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky 6, or maybe some smaller, easier to swallow pieces.

I'd really appreciate your help as I have no one else to consult about this until I go to University next week


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Dunno, people new to classical generally like hearing it live in concert (in my experience). But maybe you don't have time for that now. I would say stick to the big names. Tchaikovsky or Sibelius sounds good, depends what piece. Maybe not throwing her into the deep end with too dark things? I think Mozart is good, generally people newer to the classical realm tend to like him, probably due to them already being familiar with him through the wider popular culture - eg. tv ads. Another one like that is Vivaldi. Also Dvorak, maybe Liszt. Vaughan Williams' "pastoral" things.

It really depends on the individual though with these things, and I think an exposure to the big names & maybe more familiar things of classical is not going to do any harm, so to speak...


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Sofronitsky said:


> I'd like to at least try to get my girlfriend to like classical music, and earlier today she expressed a small interest in it. I was thinking... what piece would anyone immediately love and connect with? An impossible question, so I guess it it would be more like, what piece comes close?
> 
> Try to think more from the perspective of a girl in high school. I had thought about the Sibelius Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky 6, or maybe some smaller, easier to swallow pieces.
> 
> I'd really appreciate your help as I have no one else to consult about this until I go to University next week


A girl in high school? Why not some Chopin, like say... Sofronitsky playing the nocturnes and preludes? Your screen name is Sofronitsky after all. The Russian pegagogy rules, and young chicks dig it too. Of course, if you want to have her listen to some really romantic stuff, why not try stuff like Borodin?


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

- La Traviata
- Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos
- ....muahah.... um, heehee, ......., er..... TRISTAN UND ISOLDE?


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## Chrythes (Oct 13, 2011)

Ravel or Debussy, more of their intimate output - e.g their piano trios.
Girls love French things, as it must be romantic!


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

and what would be the pieces for _getting _a girlfriend in the first place?


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Chrythes said:


> Ravel or Debussy, more of their intimate output - e.g their piano trios.
> Girls love French things, as it must be romantic!


 haha, nice hyperbolic universe in your avatar.


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

My ex loved the Transcendental Etudes by Liszt  Also the first Chopin Ballade, Debussy Arabesques, Clair de lune, Reverie, etc. She loved the more intimate and immediately accessible beautiful piano music...and the Transcendentals


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Mozart - Piano concertos 20,21 and Clarinet concerto.


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

Lukecash12 said:


> A girl in high school? Why not some Chopin, like say... Sofronitsky playing the nocturnes and preludes? Your screen name is Sofronitsky after all. The Russian pegagogy rules, and young chicks dig it too. Of course, if you want to have her listen to some really romantic stuff, why not try stuff like Borodin?


If there existed a complete recording of Sofronitsky playing the Chopin preludes or nocturnes, I would gladly show them to everyone I came into contact with :angel:


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

aleazk said:


> and what would be the pieces for _getting _a girlfriend in the first place?


...****** in Paris?


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I'd go for Mussorgsky's Pictures in an Exhibition (Ravel's orchestration) and Rimsky's Scheherazade.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Art Rock said:


> Mozart - Piano concertos 20,21 and Clarinet concerto.


Yep. Seconded.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Salome and Elektra ! Hehehe ... :devil:


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Sofronitsky said:


> I'd like to at least try to get my girlfriend to like classical music, and earlier today she expressed a small interest in it. I was thinking... what piece would anyone immediately love and connect with?


try with a female delicate composer: Galina Ustvolskaya


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

That post was kidding ! I suggest Tchaikovsky Ballets, Lalo Symphonie espagnole, Smetana Die Moldau, Grieg Peer Gynt Suite, Enescu first Romanian Rhapsody, try romantic orchestral works first, then go with piano, vocal or chamber music.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

Stockhausen. Girls love Stockhausen.

They do.


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## Aro (Sep 19, 2011)

A girl in high school.. Hmm that means that she is used to contemporary music, so why not get her into something that is a bit closer and romantic ( judging by her being a girl ) like Debussy. I would not recommend Rachmaninoff from start as he is a bit dark and "heavy" to my point of view. But some Chopin would be just about the right choice to touch a girls heart! Then you can move to Beethoven's sonatas and symphonies and some Schubert and then some older composers like Mozart. I hope i helped !!!


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Errr... What does she listen to now?


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Don't forget Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1. 

I don't know if it would work with her, but Mahler used the Adagietto from his fifth symphony to get his girl. I think if you tell her the story of Ekaterina Gordeeva, then show her skating alone to this piece in memory of her lost lover, she'd have to be moved.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm gonna second the obvious choices listed above - Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and piano music by Satie. Maybe Swan of Tuonela. Also throw in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. And a couple violin or cello sonatas - and voila!

In the old days we used to make 'em tapes; these days I guess you need to make her a CD.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

BPS said:


> Also throw in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.


One commentator described the clarinet's opening line as having the same effect as a woman in a red dress walking into a bar; that's the impact jazz made on Europe. It might give your friend a frame of reference.


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## DavidMahler (Dec 28, 2009)

What type of music does she like? Not all girls like the same thing.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

I think that a good shock therapy with Boulez's Piano Sonata No.2 it's a good start :devil:


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## aphyrodite (Jan 9, 2012)

Chopin's Nocturnes and Etudes


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

If a guy played this for me, hooo, I would have trouble not showing any emotions.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> If a guy played this for me, hooo, I would have trouble not showing any emotions.


awww, I play the second one of this:






(starts at 2:03, it's the famous Brahms intermezzo No.2 of Op.118)


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## Eviticus (Dec 8, 2011)

Sofronitsky said:


> If there existed a complete recording of Sofronitsky playing the Chopin preludes or nocturnes, I would gladly show them to everyone I came into contact with :angel:


Thought i'd be romantic and put on some Chopin Nocturnes once... i think for her it was the final straw!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Michael Nyman: The Piano (soundtrack), or The Piano Concerto (arranged from the soundtrack)

The heart asks pleasure first:


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Crudblud said:


> Stockhausen. Girls love Stockhausen.
> 
> They do.


You are absolutely right. In particular, the Helicopter String Quartet (from "Licht") and "Gruppen" for three orchestras.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Any. If she's not a generic, thoughtless person, then you don't need to dumb down your representation of the kind of music you like into some "simple, feminized" model.


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## TrazomGangflow (Sep 9, 2011)

Show her something short. Most people are accustomed to short songs today and don't have the attention span to enjoy longer pieces (nothing against your girlfriend but that is how all people are who are not used to listening to long symphonic or concerto style works). Also it may be good to choose a piece that is familiar to her. People always enjoy listening to classical music when they recognize a piece. If I were you I would also choose something exciting rather than mellow. It is good to introduce the fun side of classical music to new listeners.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Have her sample your favorite moments of your favorite piece at first. I know that you love Rachmaninoff concertos and sonatas, show her what you are passionate about I say! See how she reacts to your favorite parts.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

The larghetto from the Chopin piano concerto in f-minor, op.21


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I have a lot of experience with this as my wife would never listen to classical music. 

I categorize my music in three files: 
1. Music she will really like, which I reserve for situations when I couldn't get away with anything else. I usually only listen to it at those times, because otherwise I'd hear it too often. 

2. Music she will let me get away with. 

3. Music I have to listen to when she's gone. A lot of times she comes home early and I tell her, "Ok, there's ten minutes left of this and if you'll just let me finish it...." 

Based on these experiences, I'd say the best way to introduce a person (girl or otherwise) to classical music - 

1. I agree about the Chopin recommendations, especially the nocturnes. Cannot go wrong. All those greatest hit sort of CDs are good too. You don't have to listen to them when she's not around, and you don't have to tell her that you're listening to them because she is around. Just play them, and let her go, "Oh! I know this. This is ok." When you move away from this, go with Grieg's Lyric Pieces, Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, and so on. And anything from Mozart to Brahms: somehow that era seems to please. 

2. A lot of times people seem to be intimidated by classical music, assuming that there is stuff to know that they don't know. So, at least occasionally, sit down with her, cuddle up, and talk through a work. To my surprise, I've found my wife gets quite a bit of pleasure out of simply recognizing the parts of a mass. She'll be walking past and say, "Oh! Gloria!" And she really seems to get pleasure out of that. I've taught her about motifs and that's helped her a bit. I don't think it's grabbed her as much as it should yet, but we have world enough and time. 

3. Don't say anything bad about Paul Potts, Andrea Bocelli and so on. Use them. Get those "greatest aria" CDs, play them till she hums them in the shower, and then watch the opera together. Subtitles on. 

4. Get stuff with a strong and predictable rhythm. Minimalism is often good for this, and more modern stuff like Golijov. Also a lot of Baroque music. And stuff like Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, Brahms' Hungarian Dances, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies and so on. 

5. Classical music is classy, and lots of girls like class. Work that angle.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

aleazk said:


> and what would be the pieces for _getting _a girlfriend in the first place?


Forget classical. Get some Stones records!


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

regressivetransphobe said:


> Any. If she's not a generic, thoughtless person, then you don't need to dumb down your representation of the kind of music you like into some "simple, feminized" model.


 Believe it or not, there are actual intelligent people that are not yet accustomed to classical music! And I said nothing about dumbing down the music.. just trying to find a good introductory piece. Whatever preconceived notions you had seem to have influenced this post heavily


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Intelligence has no bearing on musical taste.


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## brianwalker (Dec 9, 2011)

starthrower said:


> Intelligence has no bearing on musical taste.


 Really? Really? Do you seriously believe this? That there is ZERO correlation between the appreciation of the finest art and "intelligence" in general? That the intelligence (BY ANY MEASURE) of the average Parsifal fanatic is approximately equal to the intelligence of the average Parsifal fanatic? That the median intelligence of a devotee of late Henry James is within the same ballpark as the reader devouring Anne Rice?

I want a Yes or a No.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

brianwalker said:


> Really? Really? Do you seriously believe this? That there is ZERO correlation between the appreciation of the finest art and "intelligence" in general? That the intelligence (BY ANY MEASURE) of the average Parsifal fanatic is approximately equal to the intelligence of the average Parsifal fanatic? That the median intelligence of a devotee of late Henry James is within the same ballpark as the reader devouring Anne Rice?
> 
> I want a Yes or a No.


I'm not sure you've taken reasonable examples.

Intelligence does not correlate to whether a person prefers Indian classical music to the Western tradition, or on whether a person prefers jazz or classical, to whether a person likes Béla Fleck or Béla Bartók.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

My step son is one of the most intelligent people I know. He got kicked out of Sunday School at age 5 for questioning Christian dogma. He's a successful self made man now. His music of choice? He likes 80s hair metal, and ABBA. So no, intelligence has no bearing on musical taste.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

starthrower said:


> My step son is one of the most intelligent people I know. He got kicked out of Sunday School at age 5 for questioning Christian dogma. He's a successful self made man now. His music of choice? He likes 80s hair metal, and ABBA. So no, intelligence has no bearing on musical taste.


:clap: Well done to him. Although definitely *NOT*for musical taste.


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## brianwalker (Dec 9, 2011)

science said:


> I'm not sure you've taken reasonable examples.
> 
> Intelligence does not correlate to whether a person prefers Indian classical music to the Western tradition, or on whether a person prefers jazz or classical, to whether a person likes Béla Fleck or Béla Bartók.


What are unreasonable examples if intelligence has no bearing on taste in music whatsoever? Reasonability itself depends on an implicit ordering of things. What makes my examples unreasonable i.e. more unreasonable than yours?

Unreasonable examples i.e. weird thought experiments are used in analytic philosophy all the time, to great effects. Nozicks' refutation of hedonism, the fat guy/trolley example, Rawl's Original Position, the list goes on.

Is no one willing to stand up for the person reading Anne Rice while listening to A Milli and give him his due as an equal in most important sense of the word to the person whose favorite novel is The Wings of Dove?


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

science said:


> I have a lot of experience with this as my wife would never listen to classical music.
> 
> I categorize my music in three files:
> 1. Music she will really like, which I reserve for situations when I couldn't get away with anything else. I usually only listen to it at those times, because otherwise I'd hear it too often.
> ...


i've always hated chopin's music. Maybe it's my fault, but anyway that's it. But wait, i'm not a stupid girl!


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

regressivetransphobe said:


> Any. If she's not a generic, thoughtless person, then you don't need to dumb down your representation of the kind of music you like into some "simple, feminized" model.


i agree with that.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

This should impress any girl ...






:lol: WTF?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> This should impress any girl ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very nice, but "Gruppen" by Stockhausen is far more impressive.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

brianwalker said:


> What are unreasonable examples if intelligence has no bearing on taste in music whatsoever? Reasonability itself depends on an implicit ordering of things. What makes my examples unreasonable i.e. more unreasonable than yours?
> 
> Unreasonable examples i.e. weird thought experiments are used in analytic philosophy all the time, to great effects. Nozicks' refutation of hedonism, the fat guy/trolley example, Rawl's Original Position, the list goes on.
> 
> Is no one willing to stand up for the person reading Anne Rice while listening to A Milli and give him his due as an equal in most important sense of the word to the person whose favorite novel is The Wings of Dove?


I don't know about Anne Rice, because I haven't read any of her books, and none of the people whose intelligence and taste I trust have assured me of their quality.

I just finished reading _Mists of Avalon_, a book whose popularity approaches some of Anne Rice's books, and I am sure that I would judge someone's intelligence negatively if they were a native speaker of English with a college education and did not see the problems with that book. It's not that it's not my kind of book, it's that it was badly written: mixed metaphors, inconsistent characterization, meaningless details. If someone who ought to know better (i.e. I don't mean to consider people who don't know English well or haven't had an education to cover this kind of thing) thinks that's as good as or better than _The Shipping News_, then I certainly do judge their intelligence. Or let me mention _The Hobbit_: not at all my kind of book; I have a lot of problems with it philosophically, but the writing is far superior to poor _Mists of Avalon_. Again, I will judge people who fail to see this.

So I would at least occasionally judge people's intelligence by their opinions about art, but the problem with your examples, to me, was that there could be a correlation/cause issue at work. There may well be a correlation between intelligence and enjoying Henry James novels vs. Anne Rice novels, and that might not be because of the amount of intelligence it takes to judge the respective quality of the works, but because of the people who choose to seek out the different kinds of works. Reading and appreciating one or the other might not take more or less intelligence, but for cultural reasons the two authors could attract readers with different intelligence profiles.

Even if you take the Harry Potter novels vs. Shakespeare dramas, you're going to have a problem with this. I mention Harry Potter because the most intelligent people that I know enjoy those novels. Perhaps they wouldn't say that the quality is as high, or perhaps they would; I don't know. But here's the problem. You're still going to find a correlation between intelligence and fans of the two authors, because the Harry Potter novels attract a much wider range of readers than Shakespeare's dramas do today.

I _tried_ to select options with less likelihood of this kind of thing happening, though I probably failed.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2012)

Higher intelligence may loosely correlate to more sophisticated tastes in the arts (ignoring huge definitional issues involving "higher intelligence" and "more sophisticated"). 

However, correlation does not imply causality, in either direction. More likely, common underlying factors (e.g. socioeconomic background, education levels, etc) may have a slight causal influence on both perceived intelligence and perceived sophistication.

Moreover, even if a statistical relationship exists, there are obviously many, many exceptions - people with high intelligence but dubious taste and vice versa. Oh the humanity!


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## TrazomGangflow (Sep 9, 2011)

brianwalker said:


> Really? Really? Do you seriously believe this? That there is ZERO correlation between the appreciation of the finest art and "intelligence" in general? That the intelligence (BY ANY MEASURE) of the average Parsifal fanatic is approximately equal to the intelligence of the average Parsifal fanatic? That the median intelligence of a devotee of late Henry James is within the same ballpark as the reader devouring Anne Rice?
> 
> I want a Yes or a No.


Intelligence doesn't have to do much with real musical tastes. Some people (I'm not referring to anyone on this site, I believe we all genuinly love classical music here) listen to classical music because they perceive themselves to be intelligent, not because they enjoy it. Some simply listen to classical music to look more intelligent.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

TrazomGangflow said:


> Intelligence doesn't have to do much with real musical tastes. Some people (I'm not referring to anyone on this site, I believe we all genuinly love classical music here) listen to classical music because they perceive themselves to be intelligent, not because they enjoy it. Some simply listen to classical music to look more intelligent.


Some people only absorb themselves in everything that is popular culture because they are not intelligent enough to realise the joys of classical music.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

If I had a girlfriend I'd probably tell her that I don't really listen to music much and just listen in secret from then on, because when she inevitably leaves me I don't want my favourites tainted by the memory of yet another failed relationship.

Edit: Speaking of that, you want to know the real reason I can't enjoy Stravinsky any more? He is a favourite of the woman I'm in love with. Every time I hear Stravinsky these days it just makes me think of her and how we'll never be together in that way. However; we have a very close friendship in spite of my painfully obvious past advances, and I wouldn't trade that for the world.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Crudblud said:


> If I had a girlfriend I'd probably tell her that I don't really listen to music much and just listen in secret from then on, because when she inevitably leaves me I don't want my favourites tainted by the memory of yet another failed relationship.


Get a girlfriend that likes Frank Zappa and Messiaen and possibly Stockhausen.


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## brianwalker (Dec 9, 2011)

science said:


> I just finished reading _Mists of Avalon_, a book whose popularity approaches some of Anne Rice's books, and I am sure that I would judge someone's intelligence negatively if they were a native speaker of English with a college education and did not see the problems with that book. It's not that it's not my kind of book, it's that it was badly written: mixed metaphors, inconsistent characterization, meaningless details. If someone who ought to know better (i.e. I don't mean to consider people who don't know English well or haven't had an education to cover this kind of thing) thinks that's as good as or better than _The Shipping News_, then I certainly do judge their intelligence. Or let me mention _The Hobbit_: not at all my kind of book; I have a lot of problems with it philosophically, but the writing is far superior to poor _Mists of Avalon_. Again, I will judge people who fail to see this.
> 
> So I would at least occasionally judge people's intelligence by their opinions about art, but the problem with your examples, to me, was that there could be a correlation/cause issue at work. There may well be a correlation between intelligence and enjoying Henry James novels vs. Anne Rice novels, and that might not be because of the amount of intelligence it takes to judge the respective quality of the works, but because of the people who choose to seek out the different kinds of works. Reading and appreciating one or the other might not take more or less intelligence, but for cultural reasons the two authors could attract readers with different intelligence profiles.
> 
> ...


It's not the ability to enjoy pop culture that marks a man of vulgarity, the in what esteem he holds it.

Everyone of my generation (born after 1987) has read and appreciated Harry Potter, but no moderately intelligent person who has read Shakespeare or literary fiction would put Harry Potter on the same level. Likewise, I have Lady Gaga and Katy Perry on my playlist, and I listen them weekly, but the question "Lady Gaga or Wagner" is as absurd as, for you, the question of the relative merits of the Mist of Avalon vs. The Hobbit. I'm sure these people are young, for I know numerous (female) Ivy leaguers who adore Twilight. They are science types that have not explored fiction.

There was a study on facebook that showed that preference for classical music and Jazz via "likes" spread, while those for rap and hip hop didn't. As time went on more non-classical listeners "liked" classical, but fewer classical listeners "liked" hip/hop/rap.

The difficult with music is that it's much more difficult to articulate the order of rank between great music, good music, and bad music, but its immense difficult, perhaps even impossibility, does not mean that somehow music of tremendously disparate quality are somehow "equal". The quantity of consensus is just not up to the level that guarantees that the words "Joyce" and "Proust" are spoken in hushed tones even in middlebrow circles.

Have you ever read any late Henry James? For me, if the answers were sincere and someone told me that their favorite novel was the Wings of Dove while another person told me they loved Anne Rice and they were both beyond beyond the years of basic literary exploration, there would be no question in my mind with regards to their intellect. The labyrinthine texture, the torturous capture of the chamber of consciousness and the ether of sentiments flitting through the sky.

Again, I affirm that the merry band we have at TC are some of the most civil, perhaps too civil, men and women alive. A Beatles fan, an old rock fanatic, an Indie rock Pitchfork devotee, a metalhead, they have no compunction against thrashing pop with the worst epithets imaginable, and their derision for pop exceeds my own, and surely your own, by innumerable magnitudes.

There is a sociological reason for this of course. Communities breed extremism. When what you hold in the highest regard is only held so by you alone within a reasonable perimeter you're much less confident of that truth.

There is a scientific paper that shows a "tipping point" for a change in belief. Once it reaches critical mass (10%) it can spread very quickly, but before that tipping point it has very little force.


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Aughhh!! Another thread derailed.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Get a girlfriend that likes Frank Zappa and Messiaen and possibly Stockhausen.


The girl I mentioned in the edit _is_ that girl, she also happens to be a lesbian.


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## brianwalker (Dec 9, 2011)

I think that that this thread lacks premises. What kind of girl is this? Do I want to impress her of my l33t taste or is she a newbie?

Newbie. 
Entry level stuff. You know what they are. Will try out different warhorses and change my strategy accordingly e.g. if she likes bombastic I'll go Wagner and Strauss and Mahler...

Impress her: Wouldn't need to show to her since she would already know. Would just list random favorite pieces, the last movement of the hammerklavier, last movement of the 15th quartet and the second movement of the 16th quartet, first movement of the emperor quartet, miscellaneous bach fugues, Transformation music from Parsifal.

The real question is whether you would break up with someone over lack of musical consonance. That would of course depend on other personal factors....


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## brianwalker (Dec 9, 2011)

Klavierspieler said:


> Aughhh!! Another thread derailed.







If I told any of the opened minded youngsters of today that this is one of the greatest songs of all time I would get laughed out of the room. You know this to be true.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Crudblud said:


> The girl I mentioned in the edit _is_ that girl, she also happens to be a lesbian.


:lol: Sucks for you then.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I'm glad that one of the reasons I feel like **** 90% of the time is a source of comedy for you.


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## ohesperides (Jan 20, 2012)

I find that most pieces for piano are more accessible than full symphonic arrangements.


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## ohesperides (Jan 20, 2012)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> This should impress any girl ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha, I once went on a date with someone from OKCupid after he explained to me the technicalities/background of some of Xenakis' compositions.

OP should get his girlfriend to listen to Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto. But also Sibelius' Romance op. 24, no. 9 for piano. Oh, and obviously Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1. And need I mention the majority of Chopin's nocturnes and preludes?

The final scene from Act III of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake should also do the trick (especially if she remembers the old ritz crackers with cheddar commercials). Throw in Act I from his Sleeping Beauty ballet, too (especially if she's ever seen the Disney adaptation).

*sorry for the double post!


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

brianwalker said:


> If I told any of the opened minded youngsters of today that this is one of the greatest songs of all time I would get laughed out of the room. You know this to be true.


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## brianwalker (Dec 9, 2011)

Klavierspieler said:


>


Clever way of saying I'm sorry since I derailed your thread but also implying that I'm not really sorry by riffing on how the song would get a reaction in the room?


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

show her pieces from things she already likes. like her favourite films or games.

than show some other classical music like john williams or earlier composers.

this should build on a interest she already has in classical music.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Show her Frank Zappa.


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Play her some music. Simple stuff like Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Lukecash12 said:


> Play her some music. Simple stuff like Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words.


Or this:


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## Philip (Mar 22, 2011)

and remember, it's not the size that matters, it's how you use it.


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

Sid James said:


> Dunno, people new to classical generally like hearing it live in concert


If you want to help people decide they like something (I'm choosing my words carefully) you have to give them an experience, and that means something which engages their emotions, and that's why you have to take them to a performance (because face to face communication, even across the footlights, beats a recording). And, I believe, it has to be someone singing, because that presses the emotional buttons more and faster than some geezer playing the violin.


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

Jeremy Marchant said:


> If you want to help people decide they like something (I'm choosing my words carefully) you have to give them an experience, and that means something which engages their emotions, and that's why you have to take them to a performance (because face to face communication, even across the footlights, beats a recording). And, I believe, it has to be someone singing, because that presses the emotional buttons more and faster than some geezer playing the violin.


Given a poll, I believe most people here would say their interest in classical music did not begin at a concert!

Anyway, this thread can still provoke interesting conversation, but I've unfortunately recently broken up with the girl this thread was about! Thanks for all the advice, guys


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