# Silly Classical Music Errors You Have Made



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Feel free to post anything that comes to mind, but this post is inspired by a mistake a I made while shopping for CDs today. I saw a CD of Wilhelm Kempff playing Beethoven and it was a complete set, and I assumed it was all the Sonatas even though I clearly sub-consciously read piano concertos and didn't realize it till I was back home. It's no biggie, it'll be nice to have a complete set of the Concertos too!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

What happens to me all to often is, I come home from the used CD store excited about a new acquisition only to find I already have it buried in my CD stack. It happens a lot with those CDs from BBC Music magazine.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Manxfeeder said:


> What happens to me all to often is, I come home from the used CD store excited about a new acquisition only to find I already have it buried in my CD stack. It happens a lot with those CDs from BBC Music magazine.


That would be disappointing, but then again, you can get your money back, go back home and listen to the recording again since you had clearly forgotten about it! Sounds like win win to me.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I ordered a CD off of Amazon and it took six weeks to get it. After three weeks, I went Bach to check on the seller and then I saw "shipped from Japan". I felt almost as dumb as when my wife says, "if you want dinner, take out the trash!" Works every time, though.
I feel like a Pavlov Dawg.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Few times ordered CDs from Amazon and when they've arrived, realised I have already got the music. Usually better recordings then the ones that I have just purchased!

Oh well reserved for the car as don't take out the best ones for security reasons!!


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

For years I didn't listened to any of Richard Strauss music, because I silly associated it to the Strauss family's compositions, which didn't (and don't) appealed to me. I've wasted some precious time of listening to Richard Strauss marvelous music...


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I also confess to ordering exact duplicates of CDs I already had in my possession-I did this twice-please don't tell my family-they already look down on me enough as it is.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

In my teens I heard a live performance of Scriabin's Symphony No. 3 ("Le Divin Poem")by the BSO, which overwhelmed me -- but there were no recordings of it yet. There have since been several -- not one of which has made it sound like even a piece of music. To this day I have no idea what I saw in it.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

MarkW said:


> In my teens I heard a live performance of Scriabin's Symphony No. 3 ("Le Divin Poem")by the BSO, which overwhelmed me -- but there were no recordings of it yet. There have since been several -- not one of which has made it sound like even a piece of music. To this day I have no idea what I saw in it.


I can relate, the first time I heard a recording of Mahler's 5th, I thought it was very unique and strange which made it exciting to me and I really was overwhelmed by it.

On later listenings, I still loved it, but failed to see the strange and unique I initially saw in it.

But I still very much love Mahler, so it's ok!


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Heliogabo said:


> For years I didn't listened to any of Richard Strauss music, because I silly associated it to the Strauss family's compositions, which didn't (and don't) appealed to me. I've wasted some precious time of listening to Richard Strauss marvelous music...


 

"I've wasted some precious time of listening to Richard Strauss marvelous music"? Do you mean, you've wasted time NOT listening to his music?


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

MarkW said:


> In my teens I heard a live performance of Scriabin's Symphony No. 3 ("Le Divin Poem")by the BSO, which overwhelmed me -- but there were no recordings of it yet.


I have a similar story. I once heard a piece which immediately impressed me, and I thought it was by Elliot Carter, but I was never able to track it down in his compositions. I never stopped wondering what that piece was. About 25 years later, I heard it again, immediately recognized it, and waited to hear the name of the piece. It turns out it was Farben from Five Pieces for Orchestra by Arnold Schoenberg. I had been avoiding Schoenberg up until that time. If it weren't for that chance encounter, I never would have found the piece, and I never would have gotten into Schoenberg's music.

So there were two silly mistakes: thinking it was by Elliott Carter and avoiding Arnold Schoenberg.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Criticizing Cage's 4:33 when the real problem was my inadequate sound system.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DaveM said:


> Criticizing Cage's 4'33" when the real problem was my inadequate sound system.


This goes up for post of the day. :cheers:


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

While teaching a piano lesson the other day, I made a silly slip of the tongue and said something about "the Well-Tempered Clavier by Beethoven." (Probably a Freudian slip that reflects my obsession with Beethoven!) However, my student didn't even notice that I had said anything wrong. In fact, he looked bewildered when I corrected myself, because he had no idea that I had made a mistake in the first place. That's probably a sign that I need to do a better job educating my students on who wrote what!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bettina said:


> While teaching a piano lesson the other day, I made a silly slip of the tongue and said something about "the Well-Tempered Clavier by Beethoven." (Probably a Freudian slip that reflects my obsession with Beethoven!) However, my student didn't even notice that I had said anything wrong. In fact, he looked bewildered when I corrected myself, because he had no idea that I had made a mistake in the first place. That's probably a sign that I need to do a better job educating my students on who wrote what!


 Better with Beethoven then drugs or to much alcohol .


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Captainnumber36 said:


> "I've wasted some precious time of listening to Richard Strauss marvelous music"? Do you mean, you've wasted time NOT listening to his music?


Yes, of course that was the idea. Sorry for my silly english speaking.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Bettina said:


> While teaching a piano lesson the other day, I made a silly slip of the tongue and said something about "the Well-Tempered Clavier by Beethoven." (Probably a Freudian slip that reflects my obsession with Beethoven!) However, my student didn't even notice that I had said anything wrong. In fact, he looked bewildered when I corrected myself, because he had no idea that I had made a mistake in the first place. That's probably a sign that I need to do a better job educating my students on who wrote what!


But it would be awesome an WTC by Berthoven! Behind a Freudian slip there's desire.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Many years ago I ordered what I thought was the 6-disc set of Mozart's symphonies 21-41 with Marriner and the ASMF on Philips but when it arrived it was actually for symphonies 1-20 (plus a number of posthumously numbered early ones) which I discovered I had ordered in error. I decided to keep it and re-ordered the set I originally wanted. Both sets cost about £40 each at the time and as I hardly ever play Mozart's early symphonies I haven't exactly gained value for money from the set I ordered by mistake.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Heliogabo said:


> Yes, of course that was the idea. Sorry for my silly english speaking.


Not silly at all. We all do that sort of thing sometimes, and most of us are native English speakers!


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Bettina said:


> While teaching a piano lesson the other day, I made a silly slip of the tongue and said something about "the Well-Tempered Clavier by Beethoven." (Probably a Freudian slip that reflects my obsession with Beethoven!) However, my student didn't even notice that I had said anything wrong. In fact, he looked bewildered when I corrected myself, because he had no idea that I had made a mistake in the first place. That's probably a sign that I need to do a better job educating my students on who wrote what!


When I was working in a bookshop which also sold LPs (this was in the mid-70s) a colleague one day referred quite by accident to "Mozhoven". As the bookshop in question was in Bonn, he was doubly embarrassed!


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Heliogabo said:


> Yes, of course that was the idea. Sorry for my silly english speaking.


Don't stress about it, we all mistype occasionally! But I was genuinely confused on what exactly you were trying to say and wanted confirmation. I wasn't trying to be rude and just point out your error. !


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

No matter at all, captain, you wasn't rude. :tiphat: Obviously english is not my native language so I got to be clear, and wasn't. That's it. (Different from a Freudian sleep)


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

For a few months I thought it was "Sergei Profokiev"


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

I have a tendency to read "Eroica" as "Erotica" even though I know better.  I like the Eroica just fine, but I'm still waiting for Beethoven to finish the Erotica!


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

For a couple of months last year, I thought I was Beethoven.


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

I recently purchased what I thought was a copy of William Christie's recording of Rameau's Castor et Pollux at a really great bargain price, only to find out the item I had actually purchased was a "highlights" disc from the recording. Aargh!


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## Adam Weber (Apr 9, 2015)

In the past, I've mispronounced Grieg as "Greig," Prokofiev as "Prok-a-feef", and Shostakovich as "Shost-awk-a-vich." I have since rectified my errors...


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Adam Weber said:


> In the past,_* I've mispronounced Grieg as "Greig,"*_ Prokofiev as "Prok-a-feef", and Shostakovich as "Shost-awk-a-vich." I have since rectified my errors...


What's the difference between the two pronunciations?  I would pronounce both of those spellings as Greeg - which probably goes to show that I'm utterly ignorant of the rules for Norwegian pronunciation! :lol:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bettina said:


> What's the difference between the two pronunciations?  I would pronounce both of those spellings as Greeg - which probably goes to show that I'm utterly ignorant of the rules for Norwegian pronunciation! :lol:


Self-knowledge is also a virtue . :cheers:


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

Not Classical but...
I have to go back to when I did a band stand in for a sick bass player we had a guest guitar player ‘Bert Weedon’ just before the start Bert addressed the band and handed out all the parts for his solo spot, it was basic stuff and I was too interested in our drummer who was fooling around pulling funny faces so I was not paying attention to what was being said, anyway when it came time for his solo all went well until we came to the middle eight which was Guitar, bass and drums suddenly the drums fell silent, realising that we were not following the music sheet I knew I was in trouble but it was too late for me to do anything but just carry as bass and guitar, then the rest came in and we finished the piece. Nobody said a thing and after we finished the boss came over and said, “Why did you play when Bert told you tacit the middle eight” and gave me my earnings for the night. I still blush when I think of it.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Assumed that 4'33'' was just a rest period............


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

I just remembered a silly error of mine from a long time ago! Back when I was in my early teens, I attended my first contemporary music concert. I had been to many concerts that featured common-practice tonal music, but nothing atonal until that point. Well, when the performers started playing the first piece, I actually thought that they were still tuning their instruments. I remember thinking to myself "wow, they're taking a long time to tune up and try out each note...how come they aren't playing the piece yet?" It took me a few minutes to realize that they WERE playing the piece! :lol:

I've gradually become more adept at listening to, and appreciating, atonal music...I've finally gotten to a point where I'm able to hear patterns that hold a piece together in the absence of tonality, and it no longer sounds like random tuning sounds!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Not all that long ago I hear Barber's _Agnus Dei _and spent the better part of an afternoon searching for the mass it was extracted from...


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Klassik said:


> I have a tendency to read "Eroica" as "Erotica" even though I know better.  I like the Eroica just fine, but I'm still waiting for Beethoven to finish the Erotica!


He did. It's been re-named:The Poem of Ecstasy.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

KenOC said:


> Not all that long ago I hear Barber's _Agnus Dei _and spent the better part of an afternoon searching for the mass it was extracted from...


I bet it took you more then 4:33 minutes .


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> For a couple of months last year, I thought I was Beethoven.


Nice! What evidence came up to convince you of the contrary?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Klassik said:


> I have a tendency to read "Eroica" as "Erotica" even though I know better.  I like the Eroica just fine, but I'm still waiting for Beethoven to finish the Erotica!


What about "fork", "spit" and "batch" ?


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

hpowders said:


> What about "fork", "spit" and "batch" ?


I'm okay with those, but there's a bit of a tendency to want to laugh whenever the topic of Fucik or Fux comes around.


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## Miggypiggy (Jul 10, 2015)

I once wanted to look up the name of the treatise "Gradus ad Parnassum", which I had temporarily forgotten about. All I could remember was the name of the author. So, I simply Googled "Fux". Don't try it on a moderated or work connection.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Klassik said:


> I'm okay with those, but there's a bit of a tendency to want to laugh whenever the topic of Fucik or Fux comes around.


Ain't that a batch!!


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## Adam Weber (Apr 9, 2015)

Bettina said:


> What's the difference between the two pronunciations?  I would pronounce both of those spellings as Greeg - which probably goes to show that I'm utterly ignorant of the rules for Norwegian pronunciation! :lol:


Another error on my part, then! I should have written "Greg".  :lol:


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

MarkW said:


> In my teens I heard a live performance of Scriabin's Symphony No. 3 ("Le Divin Poem")by the BSO, which overwhelmed me -- but there were no recordings of it yet. There have since been several -- not one of which has made it sound like even a piece of music. To this day I have no idea what I saw in it.


That's too bad but the error is not on Scriabin's side.  
Although as a Scriabin devotee, even I have to admit this symphony can get a little tedious, when not in the mood for it. But when it works, it's simply great. There are some wonderful moments throughout. It combines playfulness and grandiosity in a way I haven't heard in any other symphony. Sometimes I can almost visualize where he was going with this piece: it takes place somewhere in the heavens, in a world of clouds, a place of joy and freedom where the spirit can float freely about. 
I like Ashkenazy's recording best (from the set). 
This one is very good as well:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Heliogabo said:


> Yes, of course that was the idea. Sorry for my silly english speaking.


You do just fine! I'm a fan of yours!!


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

I've mentioned elsewhere the confusion, when I was very young, between two Gustavs - Holst and Mahler - that led me to Mahler. Now, I love _The Planets_ - don't get me wrong - but sheesh!


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Adam Weber said:


> In the past, I've mispronounced Grieg as "Greig," Prokofiev as "Prok-a-feef", and Shostakovich as "Shost-awk-a-vich." I have since rectified my errors...


"Grieg" was most probably a mispronunciation itself originally. The composer was descended from a Scottish family whose name was indeed Greig (pronounced "Gregg" though  ).


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