# Which Composer Would You Have Liked to Have a Beer With?



## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

If it was magically feasible, which composer would you have liked to have had a beer, or two, and a long chat with? 

Substitute your favorite adult beverage if beer is not your thing.


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## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

A couple of glasses of A & W root beer, from the tap, with Haydn.


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## Uncledave (Dec 27, 2020)

Choose a German composer


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

I'd love to have a large pint of lager with Brahms at the Red Hedgehog and have a bitter chatter on women.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Uncledave said:


> Choose a German composer


Or an English, Irish, Belgian, Czech ............


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

NOT Reger :lol:


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

haziz said:


> If it was magically feasible, which composer would you have liked to have had a beer, or two, and a long chat with?
> 
> Substitute your favorite adult beverage if beer is not your thing.


Rossini, good foot and wine instead of beer.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

J.S. Bach for sure. The earlier composers would be the most interesting I think, since much knowledge about their lives has been lost over time.


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## allaroundmusicenthusiast (Jun 3, 2020)

I think Brahms would have been the easiest to get on with


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

none -- their music tells me everything they need to say.


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

Ralph Vaughan Williams


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

What! Composers drinking? Well I never, are you sure about this haziz?...


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

Erik Satie - as long as he didn't treat it as an excuse to get tanked up on absinthe. If he could also leave the more outlandish and 'difficult' traits of his character at home just for a few hours then I think he may well have been interesting company.


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## WhateverDude (Jun 21, 2019)

As Beethoven's dad was an alcoholic I"ll leave him out. But yes, it must be a German. I wouldn't fancy drinking weak as p••• lite beer with an American composer. It must be Wagner of course.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I'll go with a few shots of vodka with Shostakovich.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

...it's just gotta be Malcom Arnold for me. But only if my wife is prepared to bail me out the next morning...anyone for pulling their pants down on top of the hotel piano?


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Probably, none of them. First of all I don't drink alcohol, or even soda, or juice. I don't like the taste of alcohol, and soda and juice have too much sugar for someone like me who is borderline diabetic. So I'm down to coffee, black. I don't know which composers were coffee drinkers. Didn't Bach compose a "coffee cantata"? So I'd probably have to go with him.


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## WhateverDude (Jun 21, 2019)

Can you imagine drinking beer with John Cage.... So what beer are you drinking John ? "It's a US Beer with no alcohol in it".... OK great, tell me about your best work John... " It lasts 4'33" and has no music in it"..... Yes... er... OK John... zzzzzzzzzzz


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

Dvorak always seemed like a pretty chill dude.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Elgar. In addition to music we'd have a fair bit in common as I attend the church where he and his dad before him played the organ (once upon a time I played it myself as he'd have known it, though it's been refurbished and extended since). We may even have drunk in one or two of the same pubs for all I know - there are some pretty ancient ones around here.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Like Elgar's Ghost, I'd also like to sit down with Erik Satie over coffee after a night at the Chat Noir to sober him up for his six-mile walk home. I'm sure his stream of conciousness ramblings would be fascinating. Maybe I could prop him up on one side and the Ghost could take the other as we shuffle out the door.


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

Animal the Drummer said:


> Elgar. In addition to music we'd have a fair bit in common as I attend the church where he and his dad before him played the organ (once upon a time I played it myself as he'd have known it, though it's been refurbished and extended since). We may even have drunk in one or two of the same pubs for all I know - there are some pretty ancient ones around here.


Are you a Worcesterite?


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Not a major composer, but a composer nonetheless.

Ben Franklin.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

WhateverDude said:


> Can you imagine drinking beer with John Cage.... So what beer are you drinking John ? "It's a US Beer with no alcohol in it".... OK great, tell me about your best work John... " It lasts 4'33" and has no music in it"..... Yes... er... OK John... zzzzzzzzzzz


Cage drank beer but found it a bit weak, "too liquid" he called it. He drank champagne and copious amounts of red wine with his chick peas and mushrooms, but later preferred shots of vodka and especially single-malt Scotch.


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## WhateverDude (Jun 21, 2019)

RICK RIEKERT said:


> Cage drank beer but found it a bit weak, "too liquid" he called it. He drank champagne and copious amounts of red wine with his chick peas and mushrooms, but later preferred shots of vodka and especially single-malt Scotch.


Everyone finds US beer 'a bit weak'.... it isn't commonly mistaken for another warm, wet and yellow liquid for nothing. Had Cage never been to Belgium...?


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## BoggyB (May 6, 2016)

MarkW said:


> none -- their music tells me everything they need to say.






WhateverDude said:


> Can you imagine drinking beer with John Cage.... So what beer are you drinking John ? "It's a US Beer with no alcohol in it".... OK great, tell me about your best work John... " It lasts 4'33" and has no music in it"..... Yes... er... OK John... zzzzzzzzzzz


Hahahaha!

Are we ignoring the language barrier, a la Doctor Who? If yes, I choose Bruckner. If no, Elgar.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

elgars ghost said:


> Are you a Worcesterite?


By adoption (exiled Scouser). Thought you knew actually - we've compared notes about Waylands Yard by Foregate St.station before now. :tiphat:


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

A nice glass of Riesling with Mahler sitting by a lake in August. Actually a nice glass of anything with anyone anywhere anytime!:lol:


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

mikeh375 said:


> ...it's just gotta be Malcom Arnold for me. But only if my wife is prepared to bail me out the next morning...anyone for pulling their pants down on top of the hotel piano?


I understand he was a bit of a toper. And not in a good, jovial, hail-fellow-well-met sort of a way.
Britten really was a bit of prude, wasn't he?!


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I would probably have gone for a pint with any of them barring that miserable tosser, Berlioz. With lines like, 
"My contempt for the folly and baseness of mankind, my hatred of its atrocious cruelty, have never been so intense," and
"And I say hourly to Death: 'When you will.' I doubt he'd be much fun down the pub. Certainly couldnt imagine him joining me for a game of darts, he'd probably pick holes in my karaoke performance of 'People are Strange' and I wouldn't want the miserable bugger in my pub quiz team. Couldnt imagine he'd be cracking too many jokes either. Grumpy sod.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

WhateverDude said:


> Everyone finds US beer 'a bit weak'.... it isn't commonly mistaken for another warm, wet and yellow liquid for nothing. Had Cage never been to Belgium...?


Actually the Belgians tend to go to either extreme in the strength and alcohol content of their beers. Many are high in alcohol, but Lambics, which are my favorite brew, are generally less than 3% alcohol, and often far less. Delicious!


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

Merl said:


> I would probably have gone for a pint with any of them barring that miserable tosser, Berlioz. With lines like,
> "My contempt for the folly and baseness of mankind, my hatred of its atrocious cruelty, have never been so intense," and
> "And I say hourly to Death: 'When you will.' I doubt he'd be much fun down the pub. Certainly couldnt imagine him joining me for a game of darts, he'd probably pick holes in my karaoke performance of 'People are Strange' and I wouldn't want the miserable bugger in my pub quiz team. Couldnt imagine he'd be cracking too many jokes either. Grumpy sod.


Wow. Bitchy or wot?! 

Incidentally, I find it interesting that no-one wants Ligeti on their team!


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## WhateverDude (Jun 21, 2019)

If you are going for a few beers with a composer you want one that will have your back if it turns into a fight.... That rules out Berlioz, Debussy, Ravel, Faure etc


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

Animal the Drummer said:


> By adoption (exiled Scouser). Thought you knew actually - we've compared notes about Waylands Yard by Foregate St.station before now. :tiphat:


Ah, now I remember. Sorry - I have got a shocking memory at times.


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

WhateverDude said:


> If you are going for a few beers with a composer you want one that will have your back if it turns into a fight.... That rules out Berlioz, Debussy, Ravel, Faure etc


That's when you might need that hulking great bruiser Morton Feldman...


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## neofite (Feb 19, 2017)

haziz said:


> If it was magically feasible, which composer would you have liked to have had a beer, or two, and a long chat with?
> 
> Substitute your favorite adult beverage if beer is not your thing.


I have a very good friend who is truly brilliant. He was awarded degrees from Harvard and Cambridge and is an outstanding writer, far better than I could ever hope to be. However, he has the habit of creating exceeding long, complex sentences in his writings (but fortunately not in his speech). When proofreading his writings, my constant suggestion has been that he try to divide his paragraph-long single sentences into two or three shorter sentences so that people of lesser intelligence such as myself could comprehend them in their entirety rather than grasp just their parts. Fortunately, for both of us and for his many readers, I have had some success. I have also had some luck in influencing him to moderate his slightly extreme right-wing views and become more aware of environmental issues.

In the same way, I would like to befriend a young Richard Wagner, who I consider to be one of the very greatest of composers, but with a potential to have been even more so. I would like to try to influence him to shorten his operas to a more easily digestible length. I would point out that not only would this make his great work more accessible and enjoyable to a wider audience, but also it could allow him more time and energy to compose even more operas, and perhaps also a symphony or two. Additionally, I would like to learn more about his apparent anti-Semitism and see if I could help him overcome his prejudice.

I can't drink much beer, so perhaps we could just take some long walks together like I do with my Harvard-educated friend. Were that not possible, my second choice might be to join Beethoven on a few of his walks in the woods of Bonn or Vienna - but not to join him for one of his daily multiple bottles of wine.


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## gregorx (Jan 25, 2020)

RICK RIEKERT said:


> Cage drank beer but found it a bit weak, "too liquid" he called it. He drank champagne and copious amounts of red wine with his chick peas and mushrooms, but later preferred shots of vodka and especially single-malt Scotch.


I'm in. I'd like to have a Scotch with John Cage.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

A couple of vodka glasses with Glazunov.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

A night with Bruckner might have been rather uncomfortable too as he talked you through page after page of the teenage girls he perved over whilst counting the bricks in the pub wall, behind you.








Pervy Anton - I believe his karaoke song was 'To all the girls I've loved before'


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## WhateverDude (Jun 21, 2019)

Merl said:


> A night with Bruckner might have been rather uncomfortable too as he talked you through page after page of the teenage girls he perved over whilst counting the bricks in the pub wall, behind you.
> 
> View attachment 151262
> 
> Pervy Anton - I believe his karaoke song was 'To all the girls I've loved before'


Oh come on.... Many old men desire young girls.... It's practically a national sport in France


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## neofite (Feb 19, 2017)

WhateverDude said:


> Oh come on.... Many old men desire young girls.... It's practically a national sport in France


_Young_ girls!??  I can understand older men desiring older girls and young women, but desiring young girls is a perversion.


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## WhateverDude (Jun 21, 2019)

neofite said:


> _Young_ girls!??  I can understand older men desiring older girls and young women, but desiring young girls is a perversion.


Yes. By young girls I mean no younger than 16. What was Bruckner's youngest 'target'.... ?


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Depends on the locale.
In the garden of a quiet country pub? Gustav Holst.
In a rough city bar where I need some muscle? Charles Ives.
On a Suffolk beach, summer day? Paul Hindemith.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Bruckner proposed to a handful of teenage girls. That's all. He was a very religious man who I'm sure didn't grope them or anything.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I'll have a drink with John Cage and tell him he needs to re-think his art back to square one.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Merl said:


> A night with Bruckner might have been rather uncomfortable too as he talked you through page after page of the teenage girls he perved over whilst counting the bricks in the pub wall, behind you.
> 
> View attachment 151262
> 
> Pervy Anton - I believe his karaoke song was 'To all the girls I've loved before'


More like Bruckner will show you a photo of his dead mother (he kept a photo of his dead mother, i.e. the dead body photo).


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

ArtMusic said:


> More like Bruckner will show you a photo of his dead mother (he kept a photo of his dead mother, i.e. the dead body photo).


Having photos and portraits done of dead relatives was common in the 19th century. People lived closer to the earth in those days. There was no indoor plumbing, no vaccinations, and no antibiotics. People died at home, not in hospitals or in nursing homes, if you had ten kids you could expect about two or three to die before they reached maturity. People didn't take photos often because they had be done by a photographer, so if you didn't have a more good photo, one of the corpse would suffice. Who's the worse for it, Bruckner because he kept a photo of his dead mother in his wallet; or dropping Mom off at the nursing home like we do in the United States?


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Coach G said:


> Having photos and portraits done of dead relatives was common in the 19th century. People lived closer to the earth in those days. There was no indoor plumbing, no vaccinations, and no antibiotics. People died at home, not in hospitals or in nursing homes, if you had ten kids you could expect about two or three to die before they reached maturity. People didn't take photos often because they had be done by a photographer, so if you didn't have a more good photo, one of the corpse would suffice. Who's the worse for it, Bruckner because he kept a photo of his dead mother in his wallet; or dropping Mom off at the nursing home like we do in the United States?


Bruckner also rubbed his fingers and smelt the skulls of Beethoven and Schubert. He was a weirdo.


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## WhateverDude (Jun 21, 2019)

ArtMusic said:


> Bruckner also rubbed his fingers and smelt the skulls of Beethoven and Schubert. He was a weirdo.


Why did Bruckner rub his fingers.....?


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

WhateverDude said:


> Why did Bruckner rub his fingers.....?


Because he was obsessed with dead people. He was a very weird dude. He rubbed his fingers through the skulls of Beethoven, not just touching.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Either Brahms or Cage, also Bernstein.


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## Bkeske (Feb 27, 2019)

Well, I don’t drink. So, none.


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## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

Bkeske said:


> Well, I don't drink. So, none.


What about a non-alcoholic beer? Won't the prospect of meeting any composer you want outweigh the drink taste (assuming that non-alcoholic beer is allowed in this scenario)? By the way, I respect your decision to teetotal.

*Edit*: Nevermind, I'm not sure if non-alcoholic beer fits the criteria of "adult beverage".


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## Bkeske (Feb 27, 2019)

Nope, don’t, won’t, ever, drink non-alcoholic beverages. Coffee and good ol water for me.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

AbsolutelyBaching said:


> I understand he was a bit of a toper. And not in a good, jovial, hail-fellow-well-met sort of a way.
> Britten really was a bit of prude, wasn't he?!


I had to look up the word toper AB and see you meant p***artist. Well your not wrong, he sure was and with his mental problems thrown in, he was as much volatile as convivial and possibly more so. He could be incredibly generous though, his pockets stuffed full of £50 notes from his film score work would often pay for drinks on the house in whatever establishment he found himself in. (He was so successful scoring David Lean's films in particular that he was known to musicians as 'Master of the Lean's Music').

He and Britten did not get on. At a meeting of the Composer's Guild in the 60's, Britten was telling everyone what a great composer he was and complained about the failure of the BBC to schedule his work. Plus how awful Boosey and Hawkes were to print works by Stravinsky before his own. This megalomaniacal outburst by Britten was a common occurrence at these meetings apparently and not just by him, other composers took their opportunity to gloat and bitch too.

Often Arnold would just sit there red faced with hypertension and booze. Alan Bush led a revolt against Britten in one particular meeting saying "Ben, your music is arid and replete with homosexuality, perversions and sadism. No one else in this room wants to fondle choirboys!" (taken from 'Malcom Arnold: Rogue Genius' by Meredith/Harris). At this point, Arnold's tension seemed to dissipate instantly and was heard to say 'Well said Alan.'

There is another incident at a function were Arnold insulted Britten face to face in front of Pears, also recounted in the book but I couldn't find it on a quick glance. It's slightly ironic I suppose as some of Arnold's work does have hints of a Britten influence and it would appear that Britten was his own worst enemy at times. I suspect that at the time, the judgement of Britten the man also prejudiced the judgement of the music.

I can't recommend the book on Arnold highly enough AB. I can guarantee you have never ever read such a bizarre and true account of troubled genius such as this. A read that will make you howl with laughter and then make you shake your head in disbelief, sometimes on the same page. I can see him in my imaginary mind's eye walking down a London high street in his dressing gown, having left the Institution to walk to his flat in order to work on the 9th Symphony before returning to the Institution later on... what a life.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

ArtMusic said:


> I'll have a drink with John Cage and tell him he needs to re-think his art back to square one.


I'm sure he'd consider your advice for a lot less than 4"33", or perhaps respond with an exclusive composer performance of his controversial work....


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Bkeske said:


> Nope, don't, won't, ever, drink non-alcoholic beverages. Coffee and good ol water for me.


Who would you have liked to have had a long chat with over coffee? Maybe in a Viennese coffee house (das Wiener Kaffeehaus)? Or maybe over shots of espresso, in a cafe near La Scala?


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

With Beethoven. I love that man, wanna do a beer (or wine) contest with him. In the meantime, I will want to know things like how he prefers his music to be performed, what he understands as "a new gravitational force" in a symphony, who is the _immortal beloved_ etc.


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## BoggyB (May 6, 2016)

neofite said:


> I would like to befriend a young Richard Wagner, who I consider to be one of the very greatest of composers, but with a potential to have been even more so. I would like to try to influence him to shorten his operas to a more easily digestible length. I would point out that not only would this make his great work more accessible and enjoyable to a wider audience, but also it could allow him more time and energy to compose even more operas, and perhaps also a symphony or two.


Hmm interesting. We all know his operas are long, but could they be shorter without losing power/effect? And regarding symphonies, here's a question: did Wagner bottle it? Was he too intimidated by Beethoven, more so even than Brahms, who did finally manage to compose a few symphonies?


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Bkeske said:


> Well, I don't drink. So, none.


I'm a fellow teetotaler. I did a some drinking a handful of times when I was young and stupid, mostly on account of peer pressure; but realized early on that I didn't really like the taste of alcohol, had no stomach for it, and I really wasn't the type who enjoyed "raising hell". My wife doesn't drink either on account of alcoholism runs in her family, so we run a "dry" house. Besides, why spend $30 on a bottle of wine or a case of beer when, if I do a little shopping around on Amazon, I can get maybe three vintage classical music recordings on CD.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Since my other passion besides classical music is chess, I might want to spend time with composers who were also known as chess enthusiasts, That would include Francois Andre Danican Philidor (1726-1795) who was so accomplished that if organized chess exited in his day, he probably would have been champion. Philidor is best known for the advances he made in chess theory as demonstrated that pawn structure is vital to a solid defense. In other words: try to keep your pawns together like nice little soldiers. In this regard, Philidor once remarked, "Pawns are the soul of chess." Serge Prokofeiv was an accomplished and advanced chess player as well, with an estimated rating probably upwards of 1900 which is expert level. John Cage was another chess enthusiast of average amateur ability. Maybe a better question for me would be: which composer would you like to play chess with?


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Myaskovsky or even Nielsen (maybe Alfven).


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Would love a girlie chat with Clara Schumann over a coffee


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

*Malcolm Arnold*.

With the added bonus that with his legendary reckless generosity, he'd throw in a slap up meal, and pick up the bill for the lot!


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Since this a hypothetical scenario (I rarely drink alcohol these days) then this would be an ideal evening for me:

I'd go to the Shore Hotel which overlooks the harbour in Kirkwall with *Peter Maxwell Davies*. We'd have Orkney scallops served on black pudding with a Whisky cream sauce to start followed by Orkney lamb with local veg and something simple like the local home made ice cream to finish - washed down with a couple of pints of Orkney Dark Island. After which we could have a gentle stroll along to Helgi's bar have more Dark Island with Highland Park chasers by that time I really wouldn't care how good, bad, or indifferent he is as company - I'd have had a cracking night out.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Malx said:


> Since this a hypothetical scenario (I rarely drink alcohol these days) then this would be an ideal evening for me:
> 
> I'd go to the Shore Hotel which overlooks the harbour in Kirkwall with *Peter Maxwell Davies*. We'd have Orkney scallops served on black pudding with a Whisky cream sauce to start followed by Orkney lamb with local veg and something simple like the local home made ice cream to finish - washed down with a couple of pints of Orkney Dark Island. After which we could have a gentle stroll along to Helgi's bar have more Dark Island with Highland Park chasers by that time I really wouldn't care how good, bad, or indifferent he is as company - I'd have had a cracking night out.


My word, how vivid! I was almost there, eating it myself and quaffing the Highland Park (18 year old?)!!!

Just hope you didn't go back to his place and have some of that swan that ''just dropped into my garden and it would be a shame to waste it'' - It's illegal Peter!!! (RIP one of our finest)


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Lili Boulanger. But if she turned me down I'd have more than one with Mussorgsky.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

HenryPenfold said:


> My word, how vivid! I was almost there, eating it myself and quaffing the Highland Park (18 year old?)!!!
> 
> Just hope you didn't go back to his place and have some of that swan that ''just dropped into my garden and it would be a shame to waste it'' - It's illegal Peter!!! (RIP one of our finest)


To be fair - that was a description of an evening that actually took place with one omission - Peter couldn't make it . 
I can still recall the tastes, sounds and atmosphere to this day - easily brought on by quaffing a bottle or two of the wonderful Dark Island brew.
I can also remember the ferry journey back to the mainland with the remnants of a beezer of a headache the next day - I was blessed with a relatively gentle crossing of the Pentland Firth a notoriously unpredictable stretch of water.

Happy days.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

None of them, really. Knowing them better as people might alter unfavorably how I feel about their work.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

It has to be Beethoven though he would probably rage and throw his beer at me.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

I'd love to have met Harry Partch. Though it'd probably be a liquor, not a beer.


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

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> I'd love to have met Harry Partch. Though it'd probably be a liquor, not a beer.


Good luck with _him_ - whenever I've read about Partch he tends to come over as somewhat prickly and unsociable (unless I've got him completely mixed up with somebody else).


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

elgars ghost said:


> Good luck with _him_ - whenever I've read about Partch he tends to come over as somewhat prickly and unsociable (unless I've got him completely mixed up with somebody else).


Yes, he was a bit awkward, but so am I... and he seems like a genuine and kind soul nonetheless.






Besides, much better to be unsociable but considerate than to be a sociable a**hole.


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

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> Yes, he was a bit awkward, but so am I... and he seems like a genuine and kind soul nonetheless.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No, I certainly can't argue with that!


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

A beer or two with Dvořák would have been wonderful, while chatting about his home in Bohemia, and his impression of America. I suspect he would have chosen a Pilsner, while I stick to my beloved Belgian Lambics, although a Pilsner could also have worked in a pinch.

A shot or two of vodka with Borodin, while discussing his teaching career, medical school, juggling of career and composition of music, his impression of his friends within the mighty handful, as well as the state of women's suffrage and feminism in 19th century Russia. I will be quite honest, I am not sure how popular vodka was in 19th century Russia; maybe a snifter or two of brandy instead.

I wouldn't mind a drink or two with Tchaikovsky, or Beethoven, but somehow even though they are my favorite two composers, I feel less nostalgic about my magical encounter with them than with Dvorak or Borodin.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I second the Satie vote. Interesting man and music, I'd love to pick apart his brain. Debussy would be a nice as well. I'd be too scared of Beethoven, temper temper!


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Would have loved to have shared a bottle of Scotch with Malcolm Arnold. Scotch, mind you. None of those un-manly Bourbons or Irish whiskies.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

A poker party with:

George Gershwin
Duke Ellington
Harold Arlen
Leonard Bernstein
Stephen Sondheim


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

Bach. Hands down. Because, if only in terms of what we know, he wasn't just the greatest composer among composers, but the greatest beer drinker among beer drinking composers.

http://bachbeer.com/how-much-beer-did-bach-drink


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

vtpoet said:


> Bach. Hands down. Because, if only in terms of what we know, he wasn't just the greatest composer among composers, but the greatest beer drinker among beer drinking composers.
> 
> http://bachbeer.com/how-much-beer-did-bach-drink


Yes, my choice is also JS Bach. I am sure that he didn't drink too much beer. Otherwise he hadn't be able to take the position of being the greatest composer in the western musical history.


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

premont said:


> Yes, my choice is also JS Bach. I am sure that he didn't drink too much beer. Otherwise he hadn't be able to take the position of being the greatest composer in the western musical history.


Who knows, but given the magnificent amount of beer he drank, and unless he drowned it all shortly before bed, he probably drank it steadily all day long and composed a fair amount of masterpieces while buzzed. That was certainly the case with Shakespeare and the other Elizabethans. Drinking water was out and out dangerous. Shakespeare probably produced all his plays with a nice little buzz.


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

Thomas Weelkes.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

vtpoet said:


> Who knows, but given the magnificent amount of beer he drank, and unless he drowned it all shortly before bed, he probably drank it steadily all day long and composed a fair amount of masterpieces while *buzzed*. That was certainly the case with Shakespeare and the other Elizabethans. Drinking water was out and out dangerous. Shakespeare probably produced all of his plays with a nice buzz.


 Me and Winston Churchill, too


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Chilham said:


> Thomas Weelkes.


A terrific composer, but a lousy drinking companion. Weelkes was nasty and abusive when drunk, which apparently was a good part of the time. He would regularly sneak into a tavern, then show up to sing in the choir or play the organ drunk, abusive, and cursing throughout the service loud enough so everyone could hear. He went from bad to worse and then died. Not _my_ cup of tea.


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## Tarneem (Jan 3, 2022)

Bach! I would love to see the way how does the old grandpa conducts the children of thomanerchor


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## bfBrian (Aug 12, 2018)

starthrower said:


> Lili Boulanger. But if she turned me down I'd have more than one with Mussorgsky.


I was going to respond with any composer besides Mussorgsky, since he needed to lay off the drinks. But you're right... if you drank with him you'd probably be inspired to have more than one.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

SanAntone said:


> A poker party with:
> 
> George Gershwin
> Duke Ellington
> ...


One of these doesn't belong in the group.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I do think Rossini, good food glass of wine and talking about music .


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## Oistrakh The King (12 mo ago)

Paganini. This guy suffered from alcoholism at a young age and gave up violin until he got rid of it. If I keep intoxicating him he will probably totally give up violining and composing and be a nobody, so David Oistarkh would be the best violinist of all time. :devil:


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

RICK RIEKERT said:


> ... Weelkes was nasty and abusive when drunk...


Disruptive though he was, his disposition when drunk is conjecture, based purely on reports written by officials of the Dean and Chapter of Chichester Cathedral. I confess that, "Urinating on the Dean from the organ loft during evensong", speaks to your description but rather appeals to the rebel in me.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Chilham said:


> Disruptive though he was, his disposition when drunk is conjecture, based purely on reports written by officials of the Dean and Chapter of Chichester Cathedral. I confess that, "Urinating on the Dean from the organ loft during evensong", speaks to your description but rather appeals to the rebel in me.


A ciascuno il suo.


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## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

The first that came to my mind is Franz Lehár ...Dk why...But his music is so full of life and joy and he would give me some good advice about life. Can imagine us in Vienna drinking beers from huge glasses and eating fried potatoes and wursts...


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

WhateverDude said:


> Everyone finds US beer 'a bit weak'.... it isn't commonly mistaken for another warm, wet and yellow liquid for nothing. Had Cage never been to Belgium...?


As Monty Python's Eric Idle said (in an Australian accent): "Drinking American beer is like making love in a canoe... f###ing close to water."


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

haziz said:


> If it was magically feasible, which composer would you have liked to have had a beer, or two, and a long chat with?
> 
> Substitute your favorite adult beverage if beer is not your thing.


Sibelius was by all accounts quite a beast when it came to the consumption of alcohol, and went on many drunken adventures in Berlin with his buddy Busoni. However, you'd better be able to hold your liquor with this guy... and be prepared to pick up the tab when he inevitably runs out of money. But if pub crawling and getting blind drunk is your thing, then you could do no better than the great Finnish Master.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

christomacin said:


> Sibelius was by all accounts quite a beast when it came to the consumption of alcohol, and went on many drunken adventures in Berlin with his buddy Busoni. However, you'd better be able to hold your liquor with this guy... and be prepared to pick up the tab when he inevitably runs out of money. But if pub crawling and getting blind drunk is your thing, then you could do no better than the great Finnish Master.


Malcom Arnold and Sibelius drinking together would've been the ultimate crawl.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Mozart, if only to tell him how much his music has meant to me over the years.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

They say you should never meet your heroes. I've often thought that Shostakovich, a composer whose music I do not like, would be a fascinating person to meet and talk with. Why not add a few beers to the occasion?


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## composingmusic (Dec 16, 2021)

A few people who would be interesting to have drinks with: Messiaen, Saariaho, Rihm, Boulez (although probably later Boulez rather than earlier Boulez), Takemitsu, Dvorak, Mozart, Bernstein, Sibelius. In particular, I've heard Bernstein threw some legendary parties at Tanglewood. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but wouldn't mind having a glass of wine or cider.


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## composingmusic (Dec 16, 2021)

christomacin said:


> Sibelius was by all accounts quite a beast when it came to the consumption of alcohol, and went on many drunken adventures in Berlin with his buddy Busoni. However, you'd better be able to hold your liquor with this guy... and be prepared to pick up the tab when he inevitably runs out of money. But if pub crawling and getting blind drunk is your thing, then you could do no better than the great Finnish Master.


I've definitely heard this before too, and have heard of some other Finnish composers being able to drink in quite large quantities.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Eva Yojimbo said:


> Mozart, if only to tell him how much his music has meant to me over the years.


Ya, Mozart is up there for me too.


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## composingmusic (Dec 16, 2021)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Ya, Mozart is up there for me too.


Honestly, same. Mozart sounds like he would have been fun at a party, and someone who would have really interesting conversations with people.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

I also think Wagner would make for a very interesting conversation. Man lived an epic romance novel of a life and had a deep interest in philosophy that I would've enjoyed discussing with him... if only I could get past the gross anti-semitism. I wonder what he would think of learning about the Nazis and the holocaust. At the very least I don't think the conversation would be boring!


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## Christopher Robinson (6 mo ago)

For me, it would definitely be Beethoven. I know it's an obvious choice but I've always been fascinated with him and his music from the age of 12.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I am still with Rossini but I would invite Bernstein along .


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

I do not drink beer.

I would have liked to have a glass of red wine with Beethoven.

And a glass of smoky scottish whisky with Sibelius.

Some Sekt (trocken) with Mahler by the Alps or some Wasserfälle.

A shot of some Thüringer Kräuterlikör with Bach.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

mikeh375 said:


> Malcom Arnold and Sibelius drinking together would've been the ultimate crawl.


Probably quite horrific, frankly, much as I love the music of both.

It has been fun to trawl back through this thread. In addition to my previous choices of Holst and Ives (the latter in case things turned rough) I would add that I could really fancy a few cold beers at a good cricket match with Arnold Bax, who was a big fan of both the beverage and the game.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Probably quite horrific, frankly, much as I love the music of both.
> 
> It has been fun to trawl back through this thread. In addition to my previous choices of Holst and Ives (the latter in case things turned rough) I would add that I could really fancy a few cold beers at a good cricket match with Arnold Bax, who was a big fan of both the beverage and the game.


Yep Pat, I'd imagine the police would have get involved at some point too from what I've read about the two of them. Still they'd have been at it for a solid day or two before their 'lunch' was broken up..... . Arnold, flush with wads of money literally in his back pocket from his film scoring would flash it around and buy drinks for everyone in the bar. So although I might have had to get my wife to bail me out, at least I wouldn't have spent too much.


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Erkki-Sven Tüür.

And I have already had a beer with him.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

One of the following — J.S. Bach, Jan Dismas Zelenka, Joseph Haydn.


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## Georgieva (7 mo ago)

My choice here is Rahmaninov.


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## AaronSF (Sep 5, 2021)

Brahms. I believe he was quite entertaining when out at a pub for a drink with friends. He also had the reputation of being an excellent tipper, if I recall correctly.


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

mikeh375 said:


> Yep Pat, I'd imagine the police would have get involved at some point too from what I've read about the two of them. Still they'd have been at it for a solid day or two before their 'lunch' was broken up..... . Arnold, flush with wads of money literally in his back pocket from his film scoring would flash it around and buy drinks for everyone in the bar. So although I might have had to get my wife to bail me out, at least I wouldn't have spent too much.


Malcolm Arnold could be quite boorish, it seems. He apparently told Julian Lloyd-Webber to "f*** off" when the latter complained about the way he was slobbering over his wife. And he once told his daughter that if he collapsed helplessly drunk in the road all he would do is wave his arms in the air in the hope that the traffic would swerve around him.


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

elgar's ghost said:


> Malcolm Arnold could be quite boorish, it seems. He apparently told Julian Lloyd-Webber to "f*** off" when the latter complained about the way he was slobbering over his wife. And he once told his daughter that if he collapsed helplessly drunk in the road all he would do is wave his arms in the air in the hope that the traffic would swerve around him.


I have mentioned this before EG, but one of the best ever biographies of any composer I have read is this one on Arnold...
Rogue Genius

The accounts of his escapdes in this book are astonishing, hilarious, often just too awful and often very very sad. I can't recommend it highly enough, it is such an eye opener. The accounts of a dinner in a hotel where he was staying that ends up with him pulling his pants down on top of the piano in the restaurant and dancing to the piped music and subsequently the next evening, creeping naked into an edlerly ladies room, kissing her and running out after having caused considerable damage in the hotel earlier that evening have legendary rock star type bad behaviour status.


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

^
^
Thanks, Mike. If I get around to reading it I'll try and put all images of Jim Morrison and Keith Moon out of my mind!


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

AaronSF said:


> Brahms. I believe he was quite entertaining when out at a pub for a drink with friends. He also had the reputation of being an excellent tipper, if I recall correctly.


With Brahms, you'd eventually end up in an establishment of questionable repute.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Schubert was a widely noted party animal and raconteur.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Elgar would be a good choice. He was far from a stuffy, stiff and emotionally refrigerated Victorian or Edwardian. I mean, if you honor your friends with a spot in the Enigma Variations, it's obvious that you care for them a lot.
So yes, being his friend, or even just a faint acquaintance would be great.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

RobertJTh said:


> Elgar would be a good choice. He was far from a stuffy, stiff and emotionally refrigerated Victorian or Edwardian. I mean, if you honor your friends with a spot in the Enigma Variations, it's obvious that you care for them a lot.
> So yes, being his friend, or even just a faint acquaintance would be great.


Apparently while on vacation in Germany with Alice he was quite a party animal. Not particularly stuffy when he let his hair down.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

mikeh375 said:


> Yep Pat, I'd imagine the police would have get involved at some point too from what I've read about the two of them. Still they'd have been at it for a solid day or two before their 'lunch' was broken up..... . Arnold, flush with wads of money literally in his back pocket from his film scoring would flash it around and buy drinks for everyone in the bar. So although I might have had to get my wife to bail me out, at least I wouldn't have spent too much.


Sounds about right....though Sibelius was quite socially conservative, so how he would have reacted to an inebriated Arnold is an interesting question. A drink or two with Sibelius might have been quieter, slowly absorbing brandy whilst putting the world to rights. Though in what language? I speak neither Finnish nor Swedish and he spoke little or no English, apparently.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

A few jars with Malcolm Arnold and Keith Moon


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

Malx said:


> A few jars with Malcolm Arnold and Keith Moon


Dear God...and what could possibly go wrong if the guy on the right turned up as well?


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