# "Ear-opening" experiences



## Amadea (Apr 15, 2021)

When I first listened to Paul Hindemith's Symphonie Mathis Der Maler, I immediatly loved it and its beauty shocked me. I didn't know him so much sadly. I am no expert so I don't analyze music while listening the way an expert does. After some time listening to him, one day I was listening to Mozart and I noticed something really interesting. I was paying attention to the music in a different way than usual. My ear was paying more attention to the modulations, the dissonances, etc. and even found them much more interesting and beautiful than I usually do with Mozart. It was like listening to Paul Hindemith gave me more consciusness. I can truly say listening to Paul Hindemith was an "ear-opening" experiece. Has that ever happened to you?


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Hearing Wagner's _Tannhäuser_ overture was an ear-opening experience to me. Prior to this, I would listen to instrumental music with more than six minutes only very rarely, and after, I decided that classical music was great and worth exploring. It has been more than a decade of new discoveries and intense musical pleasures now.


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I once thought that Hindemith was a stuffy, dull academic until I Heard the same piece, Symphonic Metamorphosis. What a stunning piece. He wrote a lot other music that's excellent and that one work opened my ears to him. But I still don't like the Symphony for Band. 

Another composer I was uninterested in was Reger, similar to Hindemith. Then by chance I Heard his Ballet Suite. Loved it now am a huge Reger fan.


----------



## Dima (Oct 3, 2016)

I become really interested in music of Anton Rubinstein since I listened to his second part of the 3d concerto:





And after that I listened to his vocal music:





I thought that Rubinstein was famous pianist who also compose his own works, but after that I become interested in more and more and now I knew he was one of the greatest composers who is mostly unknown.


----------



## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Hearing Boulez's _Sur Incises_ was an ear-opening experience for me which broadened my musical horizons. Same with Partch's _Castor and Pollux_.


----------



## jkl (May 4, 2021)

A few years ago, it was Mozart's last few symphonies that were epic experiences. I'm sure millions could relate to that.


----------



## jamjar (Jan 6, 2016)

Two experiences helped me to understand other, probably, more contemporary music.
one is the link below




 without the visual excitement of it I think I would still struggle with the music but up until I watched this I had completely dismissed Ligeti as impossible. 
The other composer is Schnittke - there's something about much of his music which really helps me to appreciate alot of other very modern music


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Maybe not ear-opening, but ear-expanding. It seems to me that my ears have always been _open_ to music, from my earliest memories. But that music of my first exposure was always of the traditional tonal sort, whether it were serious music or pop on the radio, choral and organ music in church, live concerts at picnics and fairs, marching bands at the football stadium, or bands at weddings or dance halls.

One record in particular gave me an ear-expanding experience:









I purchased the Nonesuch ‎record H-71201, featuring orchestral works by Krzysztof Penderecki and Iannis Xenakis, on a whim. I hadn't heard previously of either composer. But upon my first play of the disc, on an old low-fi record player with a ceramic cartridge and built in speaker, I was blown away by the sounds that emanated from the grooves of this recording. A fan at the time of largely late 19th century Romanticism (Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Brahms) with some knowledge of Haydn and Beethoven and rock music from AM and FM radio, I had never before heard anything quite like _Akrata_ and _Pithoprakta_ by Xenakis or _De Natura Sonoris_ by Penderecki. And I loved it!

This music led me to further explorations in the two composers featured, and then on to others who composed in a similar "modernistic" style. I was hooked, and I never looked (or heard) back. Today I am happy to have been able to explore so much in modern (20th century) and contemporary (21st century) "serious" music as well as experimental music, "noise" music, free jazz, and so much more "off the grid" non-tonal (basically) music.

Ear-expanding. That's a more apt term for my purposes.


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

One of the most ear-opening experiences I had was to listen to Baroque opera. I always thought opera was "Mozart" or "Wagner" or "Rossini" or "Puccini" or "Verdi" , all of whom are great, but Baroque opera is another to add for those who understand the fine art that opera is. So include Monteverdi, Handel of course, Graun, Telemann, Lully, Rameau.


----------



## Amadea (Apr 15, 2021)

artmusic said:


> one of the most ear-opening experiences i had was to listen to baroque opera. I always thought opera was "mozart" or "wagner" or "rossini" or "puccini" or "verdi" , all of whom are great, but baroque opera is another to add for those who understand the fine art that opera is. So include monteverdi, handel of course, graun, telemann, lully, rameau.


welcome baaaack!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3


----------



## Amadea (Apr 15, 2021)

ArtMusic said:


> One of the most ear-opening experiences I had was to listen to Baroque opera. I always thought opera was "Mozart" or "Wagner" or "Rossini" or "Puccini" or "Verdi" , all of whom are great, but Baroque opera is another to add for those who understand the fine art that opera is. So include Monteverdi, Handel of course, Graun, Telemann, Lully, Rameau.


Oh yeah.... Monteverdi was a true discovery for me. The Orfeo is incredible. And Handel's Rinaldo... I cry almost every time I hear "Lascia Ch'io Pianga". How can that aria be so sublime, sad, dreamy, holy, serene, have hope, resignation, consolation etc. HANDEL YOU'RE NOT EVEN A ROMANTIC HOW TF DID YOU PUT ALL THOSE FEELINGS IN IT!!!!!!


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Amadea said:


> Oh yeah.... Monteverdi was a true discovery for me. The Orfeo is incredible. And Handel's Rinaldo... I cry almost every time I hear "Lascia Ch'io Pianga". How can that aria be so sublime, sad, dreamy, holy, serene, have hope, resignation, consolation etc. HANDEL YOU'RE NOT EVEN A ROMANTIC HOW TF DID YOU PUT ALL THOSE FEELINGS IN IT!!!!!!


Yeah the Monteverdi was quite something with the opening. Great music is timeless. The whole thing is amazing imagining what folks wore when they performed such music and the locations there were in, using candles for lighting, and hand made copies of the score lol there won't be any cellphones ringing halfway!


----------



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I think the Mathis symphony is by far his greatest orchestral work and that it stands head and shoulders above the best of the rest. I like quite a lot of Hindemith but I don't think he achieved many works as great as that one.


----------



## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Enthusiast said:


> I think the Mathis symphony is by far his greatest orchestral work and that it stands head and shoulders above the best of the rest. I like quite a lot of Hindemith but I don't think he achieved many works as great as that one.


I think Hindemith's Symphony in Eb is his best orchestral work....great piece, that should be a concert staple.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Amadea said:


> HANDEL YOU'RE NOT EVEN A ROMANTIC HOW TF DID YOU PUT ALL THOSE FEELINGS IN IT!!!!!!


*BACH YOU'RE NOT EVEN A ROMANTIC HOW TF DID YOU PUT ALL THOSE FEELINGS IN IT!!!!!!*




(I guess we should do this for all expressive composers born before 1780~1800)


----------



## Amadea (Apr 15, 2021)

hammeredklavier said:


> *BACH YOU'RE NOT EVEN A ROMANTIC HOW TF DID YOU PUT ALL THOSE FEELINGS IN IT!!!!!!*
> (I guess we should do this for all expressive composers born before 1780~1800)


Sorry but to me there's really no comparison... I haven't found a more espressive baroque piece than that aria by Handel, maybe just Vivaldi. In fact I've read some pièces by Handel have been described as almost "proto-romantic". Which doesn't mean they're romantic pièces of course. If I can find the resource I'll post it but I'm a bit busy this week, reason for which I'm writing mainly not very meaningful quick posts with my smartphone. I'll write better posts from wednesday, I'll be less busy.


----------

