# Timbre Preferences - Solo Instrument and Concerto



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Curious about other members instrument preferences when it comes to solo works and concertos. I've noticed I have a harder time fully appreciating solo violin and organ. In the case of the latter I can really enjoy it when the tone is a certain way - softer. I find many organs have an overly brassy and abrasive sound. 

My solo instrument preferences are the sound of the piano, harpsichord and guitar. 

Here is my guilty confession: It is hard for me to appreciate and hear the brilliance of Bach's Chaconne on solo violin. I seem to need to hear it on classical guitar or piano to really impact me. I actually do feel kind of guilty about this, and that it is probably a listening short coming on my part that I will some day get past, but its true. That said violins in ensembles generally sound great to me. 

So, this is a thread to share your instrument preferences, and if you feel like it you can share any 'confessions' in regards to transcriptions too.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Fascinating how preferences in timbre can be as subjective as taste in food. A sound by itself can repel us or move us deeply.

My favorite timbres in musical instruments are the curiously similar, dark, veiled sounds of the cor anglais and the viola. They seem to contain both mystery and sadness, but their melancholy is reserved and noble, far removed from sentimentality. There don't seem to be many concertos for them, although various similar double reeds are common in the Baroque. Brahms loved the viola and uses it in an alternative version of his clarinet sonatas, as well as in the two songs for contralto, viola and piano. The cor anglais sings its heart out in Sibelius's "Swan of Tuonela," and represents the haunting, desolate shepherd's piping that weaves its disconsolate way throughout the third act of _Tristan und Isolde._

There are very few instrumental timbres I dislike; they all have a place, and it's only necessary for a composer to understand their spirits and use them well. I do loathe the jangling whine of the electric guitar in popular music, and hate the shrill shrieking of jazz trumpet, but I find both easy to avoid.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I can understand TDC's preferences. I played the clarinet as a child, and maybe that influenced me as I grew up. It has always been one of my favorite instruments. (So, I'll stay with the original versions of the Brahms sonatas. ) I also like both the guitar and lute. And vibraphone, which, based solely on timbre, may be my favorite instrument of all.

tdc - I assume you've heard the Chaconne in concert. Recording/playback can mess up the sound of a violin very, very easily. I think this is a situation where hi res might help. I've posted before that I feel the two improvements I hear most often from SACDs are decay and timbre.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

My preference is for the violin, cello and guitar. I'm not so drawn to the viola for the very same reason Woodduck is drawn to the viola. To me the viola's darker veiled sound is its weakness. It's a fine instrument but it can't really shine and project like a violin or cello. It often sounds like it's a violin with its mute on.

As for the instruments that blow, I do like the clarinet, French horn and trombone. I'll try to avoid an oboe concerto, too whiny and tinny for my tastes. Music for clarinet is lovely. Flutes are fine, but I won't generally listen to a flute concerto. The piccolo is irritating because of its pitch, not its timbre. But maybe I'm just complaining because I've had to sit on the business end of a piccolo many times in orchestra. Last summer I started wearing an ear plug when beside the piccolo.

I've never heard the Bach solo violin Chaconne in a proper concert setting performed by a professional. Four years ago I heard a teenage student violinist play it. Pretty good. All the notes were there, but not enough shaping of phrases. Fourteen years ago, I heard a busker play it in Florence, Italy. Technically not great, lots of scrappy notes, but actually quite thrilling to hear it in that setting. 
Here he is playing it









I'm considering trying to learn the Chaconne in the spring. It'll be a big challenge for me. But it's what I want to play before I can't play anymore due to age. In my humble opinion, it's the greatest thing ever written for a solo instrument.


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## Euler (Dec 3, 2017)

I enjoy the sound of all instruments, but I too have a bias towards shaded timbres -- give me oboe d'amore over oboe, flugelhorn over trumpet, cello over spalla... I wouldn't say viola over violin because the latter is so expressive and enjoys a huge repertoire, though I do avoid shrill violinists like Guenter Pichler.

My very fave timbres come from the human voice; for solo instrumental works I love clarinet, cello, modern piano, violin; and for concertos almost anything. Yes, even the bandoneon and musical saw.

IMO a significant loss to western classical timbre is sympathetic strings: I'm an avid fan of Hindustani music and especially love the sarangi's rich, complex timbre from its 35-odd resonating strings. The closest thing in Europe was perhaps the baryton with 10 sympathetic strings (these could also be plucked and that's another loss -- an instrument that can be plucked and bowed at the same time.)


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Favorite instrumental sounds: Clarinet, horn, pure high violin, non-nasally oboe, banjo, loud trombone chords
Sounds that drive me crazy: Glockenspiel, high Baroque trumpet, xylophone, Helen Reddy's voice


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