# Most obvious - most erudite



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Imagine you are in charge of making up the programme for a concert.

For the first half, you are charged with putting two 'most obvious' pieces of classical music. The big popular stuff that everyone knows. How 'in your face' can you get?

On the other, you must put two or three 'most erudite' pieces. The ones for the music snobs - the ones that if you know them give you kudos in the classical community - the really obscure stuff. 

What would you put on your programme? And which of the four or five pieces would you rate most highly? 

Just for fun! Though I may well check out the 'most erudite' music - and come to think of it, the 'most obvious' too. 

Thanks for any replies. Hope there are some. But if not - well, at least I did try to lighten up a British Bank Holiday.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

You could have a 'theme' & do most obvious/erudite within it. Twentieth-century music - trumpet music - British composers. Then it would be interesting to see what the 'pops' are within your lesser-known category, and the erudite would be even more obscure. 
Please be imaginative! :cheers:


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

All-baroque concert!

First half, led by our principal violin, Capt. Obvious, a retired military man:
*Pachelbel: Canon in D*
*Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E "Spring"*
*Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D*

Second half, led by Sir Silver Spoon Snob II, whose blood is untainted by the mere mention of sunlight:
*Pachelbel: Gigue in D* (because the average person isn't aware that it exists to follow the canon...)
*Frescobaldi: Fiori Musicali, Messa della Madonna* (because sticking an organ mass in the middle of a concert is a perfectly obtuse thing to do, and because no true snob would play Vivaldi)
*Bach: Ricercar a 6 from A Musical Offering*


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I would mix quite a lot. I know that people think audiences wouldn't support it, but it is what I would like. I would have, perhaps, a chamber trio or quartet or sextet of Beethoven, or Brahms or some other known composer. Next, there might be a symphony or concerto, coming from perhaps the Romantic Period, at least of a different time than the intro. We might now move into a solo work, could be Baroque or ultra modern, known composer or unknown. To wind up, we would have the major piece of the evening, coming from any era. There could be a piece for ensemble or a solo work to wind down after the wind-up. I would like to have a wide variety of sounds -- strings, winds, brass, percussion, etc. -- to highlight the timbres. I would try to avoid theme nights, such as 20th Century, or whatever, although a strings night, percussion night, etc., could also be useful. I would like to try to make the evening educational, by choosing pieces for the program that illustrate how the different periods of music and types of compositions all work together to produce the whole that we hear today.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

A Chorus of English Baroque

Ode to St Cecilia's Day - Purcell
Incidental Music, Abdelazer or The Moor's Revenge - Purcell
Coronation Anthems - Handel

Interval

Scenes from Rinaldo and Armida - Eccles
Concerto grosso No. 11 in G major (after Scarlatti) Avison
Ode to Mr Handel - Hayes

I've gone for a three parter to give a bit of variety between the singing. Nothing especially obscure or erudite though - so difficult.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Grofe - Grand Canyon Suite
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
--- intermission ---
Stravinsky - Apollon Musagete
Britten - Variations on a theme by Frank Bridge

You figure it out.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Piano Recital:

Debussy: Suite Bergamasque
Beethoven: Sonata No 14 "Moonlight"
Mozart: Sonata K 331

interval

Shostakovich: selections from 24 preludes and fugues
Cage: Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano
Schumann: Kinderszenen (to shake the erudition out of the high headed poseurs' pants and for emotional value, and also because it's my programme)


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

Concert:
*Orff* _O' Fortuna_ from _Carmina Burana_

--intermission--

The rest of _Carmina Burana_.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Adventures in counterpoint for piano, I'd suggest permormed by Andras Schiff.

First part:
J.S.Bach: Prelude & Fugue in A min from WTC 1 (to introduce the theme)
Beethoven: Hammerklavier op.106

Second part:
Busoni: Fantasia Contrappuntistica
Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis

A real "tour de force"...


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

Ohh, let me try!!

Part 1:
Wagner - Ride of the Valkyres
Vivaldi - Four Seasons but only the Winter part
Beethoven - the cool one with the drums
The piano song from that one car commercial

Part 2:
Antoine de Févin - Requiem pour Anne de Bretagne 
Captain Tobias Hume - Love's Farewell / A Pavin
Rameau - Pièces de clavecin en concerts - Cinquième concert


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Part 1:

Ravel - Bolero

Part 2:

Ravel - Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé; Chansons madécasses; Three Songs for Unaccompanied Mixed Choir


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## Guest (May 4, 2014)

The one time I felt so absurdly hip and obscure that I couldn't stand it was the time I took the time to listen to the one Faroese symphonist (with his one symphony), courtesy of ptr.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

aleazk said:


> Part 1:
> 
> Ravel - Bolero
> 
> ...


I think I'll wait outside the theater at intermission and beg for a ticket from one of the clueless fools who's already going home for the night!

Always on the lookout for a free show.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

aleazk said:


> Part 1:
> 
> Ravel - Bolero
> 
> ...


Damn! Your Part one trumps mine. Excruciating!


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

GioCar said:


> Adventures in counterpoint for piano, I'd suggest permormed by Andras Schiff.
> 
> First part:
> J.S.Bach: Prelude & Fugue in A min from WTC 1 (to introduce the theme)
> ...


I'd pay well for this show.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

GioCar said:


> Adventures in counterpoint for piano, I'd suggest permormed by Andras Schiff.
> 
> First part:
> J.S.Bach: Prelude & Fugue in A min from WTC 1 (to introduce the theme)
> ...


Oh no! Another lollipops concert!


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

First half
Barber Adagio for Strings
Tchaikovsky 1812

Second Half
Strauss Metamorphosen
Part Tabula Rasa


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Scandinavian concert! (including Finland and excluding Denmark and Iceland because hey this is my programme)

Edvard Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
Edvard Grieg - Piano Concerto in A Minor

Jean Sibelius - Symphony no. 4 in A Minor
Wilhelm Stenhammar - Excelsior!, symphonic ouverture, Op.13

How did I do?!


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

First part
Johannes Brahms - Hungarian Dance n. 5
Dmitri Shostakovich -Waltz No. 2

Second part:
György Ligeti/Steven Reich - African Rhythms
Henk Badings - Symphony n. 3


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## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

An evening of French piano music:

Part 1:
Satie - Gymnopedies #1: Lent et douloureux 
Debussy - Children's Corner
Satie - Gymnopedies #2: Lent et triste
Ravel - Pavane pour une infante defunte
Satie - Gymnopedies #3: Lent et grave

Part 2:
Dutilleux - Au gre des ondes
Messiaen - Huit Preludes

Encore:
Koechlin - Danses pour Ginger, op. 163 - 1. L'elan


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

hpowders said:


> Oh no! Another lollipops concert!


Never heard this expression 

Your program is missing...


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Nothing obscure about the second half...unless you really dig the first half.

(I)
Main Title/Approaching the Death Star from Star Wars
The Stormtroopers from Star Wars
General Greivous from Star Wars
Dune Sea of Tatooine from Star Wars
Flying theme from ET
Making the plane from Home Alone
My friend, the brachiosaurus from Jurrasic Park
Escape/Chase/Saying Goodbye from ET
A new beginning from Minority Report



(II)
Korngold - Kings Row Suite/Holst - Mars, Neptune
Stravinsky - Adoration of the earth
Stravinsky - The naming and honouring of the chosen one
Stravinsky - The sacrifice
Dvorak - Dumky trio
Tchaikovsky - Trepak
Doyle - Henry V
Howard - Symphony No.2 III
Mahler - Symphony no.5 IV


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## worov (Oct 12, 2012)

A 20th century American recital : 

First Part : 

Gershwin : Rhapsody in Blue
Copland : Appalachian Spring Suite
Barber : Adagio for strings

Second part : 

William Schuman : symphony for strings (no. 5)
Alan Hovhaness : Mountains Symphony (no. 2)
Lowell Liebermann : Concerto for piccolo and orchestra, opus 50


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Couac Addict said:


> Nothing obscure about the second half...unless you really dig the first half.
> 
> (I)
> Main Title/Approaching the Death Star from Star Wars
> ...


Your theme must be, "for people who have too much time on their hands"


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

GioCar said:


> Never heard this expression
> 
> Your program is missing...


I think maybe Schiff once handed out lollipops to cut down on coughing or some such. I don't remember the details.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I didn't know either - so I googled it and Wiki has this to say:

*The light music genre* as it is currently recognised probably has its origin in the seaside orchestras that flourished in Britain during the 19th and early 20th century.These played a wide repertoire of music, from classical music to arrangements of popular songs and ballads of the time. *From this tradition came many specially written shorter orchestral pieces designed to appeal to a wider audience. *Notably, even serious composers such as Sir Edward Elgar wrote a number of popular works in this medium, such as the "Salut d'Amour", the Nursery Suite, and Chanson de Matin.*The conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was famous for concluding his otherwise serious orchestral concerts with what he termed "lollipops", meaning less serious, short or amusing works chosen as a crowd-pleasing encore.* Influenced by the earlier "promenade concerts" held in London pleasure gardens, a similar spirit embued many of Henry Wood's early Queen's Hall Proms concerts, especially the "Last Night".


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Brad said:


> Scandinavian concert! (including Finland and excluding Denmark and Iceland because hey this is my programme)
> 
> Edvard Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
> Edvard Grieg - Piano Concerto in A Minor
> ...


Part One fits the criteria. In Part Two the Stenhammar works, The Sibelius is too well known. Outside Scandinavia, anything of Stenhammar's would do. I fancy the idea of a Crusell quartet, but it's an orchestral concert, eh?


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

First half:

*Stravinsky *The Rite of Spring

*Ravel* Daphnis et Chloe Suite #2

Second half:

*Debussy *Jeux

*Grainger *The Warriors

Not altogether realistic, these works (esp. the last two) aren't the easiest to play. Not much of a rest for our musos, but still they are highly skilled to handle it! But that's the reason I only included Ravel's suite, not the whole one hour ballet.

The connection is Sergei Diaghilev, whose Ballets Russes commissioned all except the last one. Grainger's might have been commissioned by Sergei by way of Thomas Beecham, who conducted the group (I think in their UK visits). But it ended up being a purely concert hall piece. This is an amazing work, equally innovative to the other three (Grainger in effect uses three orchestras and chance techniques that came much more into vogue decades later). So hearing it live would be great - but a pretty intense program for audience and musos alike! Still, no harm in pushing things a bit though.



Ingélou said:


> I didn't know either - so I googled it and Wiki has this to say:
> 
> *The light music genre* as it is currently recognised probably has its origin in the seaside orchestras that flourished in Britain during the 19th and early 20th century.These played a wide repertoire of music, from classical music to arrangements of popular songs and ballads of the time. *From this tradition came many specially written shorter orchestral pieces designed to appeal to a wider audience. *Notably, even serious composers such as Sir Edward Elgar wrote a number of popular works in this medium, such as the "Salut d'Amour", the Nursery Suite, and Chanson de Matin.*The conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was famous for concluding his otherwise serious orchestral concerts with what he termed "lollipops", meaning less serious, short or amusing works chosen as a crowd-pleasing encore.* Influenced by the earlier "promenade concerts" held in London pleasure gardens, a similar spirit embued many of Henry Wood's early Queen's Hall Proms concerts, especially the "Last Night".


That's right, I just listened to Elgar's Nursery Suite and Dream Children recently. I think his Salut d'amour is one of his most recorded and most arranged pieces. Of course many composers wrote salon or encore type pieces, it was their bread and butter. At some point in the 20th century there was a massive split between light and serious music.

Towards the end of the century though you got composers doing short pieces that garnered mass appeal (and spawned many arrangements, similar to the situation in Elgar's time), one I can think of is_ Libertango_ by Astor Piazzolla. It was turned into a pop song sung by Grace Jones. Piazzolla was influenced by the arrangements of Quincy Jones to write an accessible hit that would please lowbrow and highbrow taste alike. Ironically, he's said to have earnt not a cent from it, due to a stuff up with the copyrights (some truly labyrinthine laws there - maybe Astor didn't consult a lawyer?).


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Huilu's Russified version:

Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

Intermission

Glazunov Lyric Poem
Liadov Kikimora
Gliere Red Poppy ballet suite


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition

then:

Tristan Murail's Legendes Urbaines

...which is modeled on, and very subtly quotes from, Pictures, now impressions and moods from a journey around New York, the "promenades" as subway sounds etc.

http://www.tristanmurail.com/en/oeuvre-fiche.php?cotage=28475


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

...because the kids like repetitive music

Clementi's Bb sonata no.2
Mozart's Magic Flute overture
Mozart's Misericordias Domini

Beethoven's 9th symphony


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

_A concert contrasting well known and lesser known American works. Some links here are the picture postcard aspects of the two works in the first half, and how both Copland and Carter studied under Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Chavez and Copland where also friends and colleagues, they influenced eachother and conducted eachother's works in Mexico and USA. It would be great to hear the Copland PC, one of those works that to me speak to the alienation of big city life, a counterpoint to Gershwin's more kind of upbeat view of it.

_First half:
*Copland* El Salon Mexico
*Gershwin *An American in Paris

Second half:
*Chavez *Symphony #1 'Sinfonia de Antigona'
*Copland* Piano Concerto (one of Gershwin's preludes for piano might be a good encore here?)
*Carter *Three Occassions for Orchestra


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

*A Beethoven Concert
*
First Half:

Fur Elise
Piano Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 13 "Pathetique"
String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major (with the Grosse Fuge)

Second Half:

Bagatelle in A major, Op. 119 No. 4
Piano Sonata in F minor Op. 2 No. 1
String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 18 No. 1


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

shangoyal said:


> *A Beethoven Concert
> *
> First Half:...


It would be fitting to have a Beethoven concert of the ninth symphony, since today (May 7) is the anniversary of its first performance in 1824. 190 years...


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Just a quick little concert, you'll be back home in a jiffy

1st half

Tchaikovsky 1812 overture
Brahms Piano Concerto 2
Mozart Symphony 40

Interval

Schumann Manfred Overture
Saint-Saens Piano Concerto 4
Dvorak Symphony 7


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

Burroughs said:


> Just a quick little concert, you'll be back home in a jiffy
> 
> 1st half
> 
> ...


Just added it up, it's only a mere 2 hours and 45 minutes long


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