# Getting into new composers



## HolstThePhone (Oct 11, 2015)

Hi everyone

I was just wondering what people's approaches are when it comes to exploring the works of a composer they haven't heard before. Do you download a "best of" compilation on Spotify, or do you sit and listen to a whole symphony/concerto etc? The compilations give a good whizz stop tour, but often remove movements from the context of the wider piece. On the other hand, finding the motivation to sit through an hour long symphony of a composer I may or may not enjoy can be difficult.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

I think this depends a lot on the composer. What I usually do is that I choose a bit bigger body of work (different "cycles") - symphony, lieder, piano sonata, string quartet cycles etc. That's because those where the works the composers often wrote throughout their lifetime and thus I'm able to get a better understanding of how the musical understanding of the composer developed and matured. I try to listen to pieces that would give me a relatively good idea of the composers musical style and I listen them multiple times. TC is a very good place to find good recommendations that would serve as an appropriate introduction because sometimes the greatest pieces and the most praised ones aren't the best introduction. Often that's the case with more difficult late-Romantic and 20th century composers - at times it's better to start with their early lighter pieces and leave the climaxes of their genius for later when one has already become used to the style of the composer.

When it comes to long heavy symphonies, I think it's often best to start from the beginning. It took me a long time to get into Bruckner and Mahler, who are currently among my absolutely favourite composers, despite the fact that I was more or less used to heavy late-Romantic music. In both cases their earlier symphonies are easier to like. They are often a bit shorter and more rhythmic. What could sometimes also help is not to jump straight into the heavy stuff but first listen to some smaller pieces they composed. I personally recommend to listen through the whole piece, even if you don't immediately like it. Then I'd listen to it again and again... and again. One listen usually doesn't do the trick for me . Sometimes it _does_ feel like almost torturing oneself but that's what I've found the best way. Also, it always helps if you approach the composer with the attitude that you really want to like and understand the music.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

If it is Baroque, Classical, Romantic or Modern (up to 1945) music I just listen to it. I always want to listen to a whole piece - I don't do single movements or excerpts. One listen is not enough for me to know most music but is enough for me to have a good idea what is in it. 

If it is contemporary music then I will listen until I want to stop. Whether I listen all the way through or stop before the end I will try again another time and then again. After that enough of it will usually be in my head for me to know when I really want to listen to it - so it calls to me when the mood is right. It is this later listening - the listening that I do when I know what to expect from the piece - that is the start of my really getting to know and love the music. Of course, at any point I might find that I don't value the piece that much and may avoid it thereafter. Where do I get the music from? I might try streaming it or it might be a coupling that I already have or I might just buy it in response to recommendations from people I trust or know have similar tastes to mine.

I tend to find that unfamiliar music that I like on first hearing ends up disappointing on multiple hearings. This is especially true of contemporary music. I think there is far too much new music that is like this. It seems to be written for a concert audience to enjoy instantly but in these days so dominated by recordings I need more than that.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

HolstThePhone said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> I was just wondering what people's approaches are when it comes to exploring the works of a composer they haven't heard before. Do you download a "best of" compilation on Spotify, or do you sit and listen to a whole symphony/concerto etc? The compilations give a good whizz stop tour, but often remove movements from the context of the wider piece. *On the other hand, finding the motivation to sit through an hour long symphony of a composer I may or may not enjoy can be difficult.
> *
> Does anyone have any thoughts on this?


I approach classical music that challenges me the way I would approach a chess problem or a crossword puzzle, or the way that I imagine that a master detective such as "Sherlock Holmes" or "Columbo" would try to solve a murder mystery. I listen to the piece over and over again, read up on it by way of liner notes or online research, or whatever refrence books I have on my bookshelf. In time the music begins to make more sense and what once seemed to be an impenetrable wall of sound, begins to sound beautiful, and then when you start to understand the composer's musical vision, you're always finding new things to love about that particular piece of music.

If you like, you can avoid the hard work by just listening to the _Best of Bach_, _Schubert's Greatest Hits_, or limit yourself to light classics, "pops" music etc, and there's certainly nothing wrong with doing it that way. But if you really want to enjoy classical music on a deeper and meaningful level where the search for truth and beauty will reap greater rewards, you have to prepare yourself for it being a very gradual process that will require time, effort, and patience.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

I’m always listening to new composers, as I’m not much interested in hearing performances I already know. I enjoy the sense of discomfort and disorientation which comes from an unfamiliar style. 

As far as what I do goes, let me take as an example a composer I’m interested in now, Pascal Dusapin, and in particular his 7th string quartet (nicknamed Open Time.) Over the past week or so I listened to it many times, sometimes it played in the background, sometimes I gave it more close attention. I also read around the composer’s ideas as much as I could. 

John Cage once compared relistening to taking a walk in a forest down the same path several times - each time you notice something different , hopefully. If you’re lucky, eventually all these different perspectives on the music come together, and you can make sense of it. I also think it’s a question of being in the mood for the music, sometimes the music catches you in the mood to appreciate it. 

My reason for making this post is that this afternoon, for the first time, I really enjoyed Dusapin’s 7th quartet!


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## Zhdanov (Feb 16, 2016)

HolstThePhone said:


> finding the motivation to sit through an hour long symphony of a composer I may or may not enjoy can be difficult.


the motivation should be figure out the music, not enjoy it at first, in this case.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

Enthusiast said:


> . . .
> I tend to find that unfamiliar music that I like on first hearing ends up disappointing on multiple hearings. This is especially true of contemporary music. I think there is far too much new music that is like this. It seems to be written for a concert audience to enjoy instantly but in these days so dominated by recordings I need more than that.


Really? You think that the problem with contemporary music (of the classical sort) is that it is "written for a concert audience to enjoy instantly"? That is certainly not my experience, and would make its rather meager audience a true mystery.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I've always been interested in and open to composers unfamiliar to me. I was collecting Raff, Schmidt, and Bax when friends were collecting Jimi Hendrix. Every new recording on LP from Candide, Nonesuch, Lyrita and others whetted my appetite for more. If I liked what I heard, I'd try to find more from that composer. The CD era was a real boon, especially thanks for Marco Polo which brought forth so many previously unknown works - sometimes it clicked, sometimes not. Companies like Chandos and CPO have done a great deal about exploring the unknown: the CPO set of symphonies by Humphrey Searle opened a whole new sound world to me. Chandos' Bax series was a godsend. That's a reason I really miss Tower Records, especially the Sunset Blvd Classical Annex - there was so much to browse through and look for new things.

I've never had any reservations about spending a lot on cds - they're still cheaper - by far - than going to concerts, and living where I do there it's not like we have a dozen great orchestras competing for your money and time. So if I buy something that I really enjoy I'll start acquiring more of that composer from any source I can, even eBay and Berkshire Record Outlet. I'm primarily interested in orchestral music, but if the composer is strong enough I'll then go on to concertos, chamber music, operas and so on. Even among composers I like, the songs and solo piano music I'll either skip or never get into. Composers I really like I'll build a "complete works" library if possible. Mahler, Elgar, Schmidt, Bax, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Prokofiev, Korngold...There's so much great music and so little time!


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## HolstThePhone (Oct 11, 2015)

Thank you everyone who has responded. I'm not sure how to reply to multiple people at once so I'll just mention by name haha

Annaw - starting with the lighter works does seem sensible, and I'll definitely make use of this forum  I agree about it being difficult to really _get_ a long work on first listen. When I used to buy CDs it was easier because I often had no choice but to listen to the same pieces over and over. Now with streaming it's so easy to get to the end of something and just think "well that was that" and move on to try something else. Maybe this is part of my problem. Thank you for the advice 

Enthusiast - interesting what you said about music you initially like becoming disappointing - I haven't experienced this. Although I haven't listened to much contemporary music so maybe it's something specific to that. Thank you for the advice though.

Coach - I agree that learning about the piece and the context behind it adds a lot more enjoyment, in fact this is one of the reasons I love Shostakovitch. I should clarify that I was thinking of using "best of" albums as more of a springboard to see if I enjoy the overall style of the composer, not as an end point. I do enjoy longer works! It does just take time, and I guess part of the process of understanding this music is a) finding the time and b) motivating yourself to use this time to actually listen to Mahler rather than binge Peep Show or something :lol: Thanks for the advice 

Mandryka - Thanks! I'm sensing a pattern in replies that it's about really getting into one work at a time. Perhaps I should think in terms of "I'm going to learn to appreciate this *work*" rather than "I'm going to learn to appreciate this *composer*". And after a while the composer appreciation will come by accumulating appreciation of their works.

Zhdanov - Maybe both? I suppose enjoyment comes from understanding a lot of the time. Thanks for the reply.

mdhaub - when I was using CDs it was definitely easier to force myself to listen to things over and over. Now with Spotify I can literally download *everything* which makes it too easy to just move on to something else. Thanks for the reply.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

HolstThePhone said:


> Enthusiast - interesting what you said about music you initially like becoming disappointing - I haven't experienced this.


I experience this frequently. First listening - mighty fine or better. Second time - why did I like this work to begin with? By the end of the third time - never again.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

HolstThePhone said:


> finding the motivation to sit through an hour long symphony of a composer I may or may not enjoy can be difficult.
> 
> Does anyone have any thoughts on this?


I don't see any other way to approach it. If you really want to get to know the music you have to put in the time and the effort. It's going to take your brain and ears quite a while to absorb the music of an hour long symphony or other work. Whether you decide in the end that a certain composer is to your liking or not can't really be determined without some serious listening. Luckily for me, I love music so I don't see it as a laborious task. And putting in the time has paid of handsomely for a number of composers who I have learned to thoroughly enjoy.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

JAS said:


> Really? You think that the problem with contemporary music (of the classical sort) is that it is "written for a concert audience to enjoy instantly"? That is certainly not my experience, and would make its rather meager audience a true mystery.


That was a reference to "far too much new music". I had in mind the middlebrow (such as MacMillan and perhaps even Adams although I think he is more than that) and lowbrow (John Williams etc) music rather than the more avant garde music, some of which turns out to be great but is not easy for most of us to digest in one sitting.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

HolstThePhone said:


> Enthusiast - interesting what you said about music you initially like becoming disappointing - I haven't experienced this. Although I haven't listened to much contemporary music so maybe it's something specific to that. Thank you for the advice though.


These days I experience that mostly with the newer music and with the lesser composers of the past. I don't remember it when I was getting to know the past masters where I was mostly guided to worthwhile music by its reputation and was rarely disappointed. I was a child and was initially guided by my parents (who loved music from Bach and Handel to Bartok and Stravinsky and also had views that I mostly still share about who the weaker composers were) and then went on to reading magazines like The Gramophone (which was less tied to commercial promotion of every new record in those days) and listening to other works by the same composers and then some of the more modern composers.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

_I was just wondering what people's approaches are when it comes to exploring the works of a composer they haven't heard before._

I try to find something on YouTube. If there is and I can listen to the whole thing with interest I will pursue it further and look at recordings.

If no YouTube I will try to find sound bytes. If I can't find either I may read reviews of the composer's work to see if it sounds interesting to me.

The chances of me buying something from an unknown composer sound unheard are about as good as bagging an elephant in the back yard.


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## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

I inform what is his ''best or best known work'' then listen then go to ''lesser knowns''...


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

I look on here for reccommendations and then listen to them on Youtube intermittently until I connect with them (at which point I put it on repeat sometimes).


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## BlackAdderLXX (Apr 18, 2020)

I'm pretty new to a lot of classical music. Because there is SO MUCH music out there to listen to, I'll spend some time with a composer for a while before moving on. When I do hear a new composer, I'll usually put them in categories depending on how approachable their music is to me. 

Some composers I immediately love and their work is easy to enjoy. Beethoven, Dvoark, Martinu and Schubert have been like this for me. For those composers I'll do a little google fu on their most popular works and give them a listen. 

Some composers I find approachable, but their music takes a little work to get into. Bach and Brahms have been like this for me. I'll usually google up their most common works and give them a listen.

Some composers that are highly regarded, but their music is going to take some effort for me to get into, so I need to make time. Bruckner, Mahler, Shostakovich, Sibelius and Strauss are in this category for me. I've only listened to a couple of their works and I'm reserving both judgement and effort for later when I can give these guys a fair hearing. I refuse to say I don't like them, I just haven't had a chance to give them a serious chance (yet). 

Opera and Vocal music. Not my thing. I keep trying but nope.

Post tonal/Atonal/Avant Garde - see opera, above.


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