# Come up with an Album and its Artwork!



## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

*This is a challenge to come up with the program/concept for a classical music album and to pair it with art or photography that could serve as an album cover. Don't borrow from an existing album!

--Album Title
--Name your piece(s) 
--Provide an image of what would serve as cover art*

_Thoughts: Will you include lesser known works alongside well known works? All new music? If you were to suggest your concept to a recording label, how successful do you think it might be?_

Have FUN!!!!


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

*Somewhere Else: Music Inspired by Travel*

Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
Saint-Saëns: Suite Algérienne
Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World"
Gershwin: An American in Paris

My cover image will be a map of discovery:









As you can all see from my "track listing," I've chosen a set of well-known crowd pleasers, so that my CD will sell well! :lol:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bettina said:


> *Somewhere Else: Music Inspired by Travel*
> 
> Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
> Saint-Saëns: Suite Algérienne
> ...


That is quick, I am still thinking how on earth can I make cover without photo shop.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Pugg said:


> That is quick, I am still thinking how on earth can I make cover without photo shop.


I don't have photo shop either, so I settled on a decidedly low-tech approach: I simply posted the title and track listing up above my image, instead of trying to put them on top of the image itself.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bettina said:


> I don't have photo shop either, so I settled on a decidedly low-tech approach: I simply posted the title and track listing up above my image, instead of trying to put them on top of the image itself.


My brains are cracking, watch this space.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

I've been constantly ear-worming some Prokofiev Sonatas for Piano. They are some soul searching works with elements of darkness, light, mischief, hope, and sheer energy

*Pieces: Prokofiev Piano Sonatas 4 and 8*

Artwork: this painting by the Russian painter, Jawlensky (from about the same era as Prokofiev), embodies the energy and different moods of the music. The direct stare of the woman forces you to confront her, pay attention to her, try to understand her. She is almost a mask, so it will take some work on your part. She is not shy but she is irresistible just like the music!


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Bettina said:


> *Somewhere Else: Music Inspired by Travel*
> 
> Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture
> Saint-Saëns: Suite Algérienne
> ...


I LOVE the concept! This could so easily be expanded into a box set with Asia and other destinations. This could be a major seller.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

View attachment 94479


This disc has got to be on your Christmas wishlist this year. The Italian neo-classical formation Connexon from Naples have taken twenty Ambrosian and Gregorian chants, and transformed them to instrumentals of stunning and consistent high quality. Bassoons, oboes and flutes take over the major vocal lines, with the three violins, viola and cello providing a suitable aural backdrop. Original and fascinating. And essential.

====================================================

I know, this (completely imaginary album of an imaginary group) is not what you had in mind. I wanted to post it anyway.

Link.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Dürer's engravings have been underused in CM album covers. They're pretty dark and serious, so they're probably not what the "masses" who buy CM CD's are accustomed to. Heck, there are a lot of heavy metal albums with Dürer engraving as covers! But I'm sure there is some German music with undertones of darkness and seriousness that could use those! Just look at many Brahms covers, there's flowers and all kinds of soft and beautiful and delicate things. Sure, the music of Brahms has all that. But it also has a lot more! So there's conceptual space for different kinds of covers!

Beethoven's string quartets could use _Melencolia I._
Brahms' piano trios, quartets and quintet could use _Knight, Death and the Devil._
Franz Schmidt's _Das Buch Mit Sieben Siegeln_ could use any leaf from the _Apocalypsis cum figuris_ series.
Schoenberg's _Verklärte Nacht_ could use _St. Jerome in his study._
Mahler's 8th symphony could use _Apollo with the solar disc._
Brahms' _Schicksalslied_ could use _Apollo and Diana._

etc.!


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## WaterRat (May 19, 2015)

A femme fatale theme, supplemented by sufficiently spikey music by Berg.










Astronomy meets astrology in a Stockhausen musical universe.










Miro compliments Prokofiev in tone and mood.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

A few that I wish were out there:

*Niels Viggo Bentzno: Complete Symphonies*








*Florent Schmitt: Mass*








*Revol Bunin: Complete Symphonies*








*Richard Stöhr: Complete Piano Sonatas*








Record companies - it would be a dream to see these CDs become a reality.


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

Here we go.........


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

jdec said:


> Here we go.........
> 
> View attachment 94502


I can't stop laughing!!!! :lol:


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

These works have always struck me as wondrously colourful, like music written with fireworks rather than notes. Chagall is perhaps an appropriate choice for album art then...


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Hey, surely we're not going to let this thread die...










Artwork: Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923) - Maria watching the fish.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

I'm unfamiliar with Sorolla. That painting is wonderful and seems a perfect choice to pair with Debussy.


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## jim prideaux (May 30, 2013)

this thread is really impressive.....use of Miro and Chagall seem really appropriate....just wish I could do the technical bit and design my own albums (use of that word shows my age!)


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

20centrfuge said:


> I'm unfamiliar with Sorolla. That painting is wonderful and seems a perfect choice to pair with Debussy.


I'm a fan of Sorolla's work. So let's have more Debussy combined with more Sorolla:


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

Here are some of mine...


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: A somewhat experimental piece by yours truly.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

brianvds said:


> Art: A somewhat experimental piece by yours truly.


Beautiful painting! I love the impressionistic style that you used here. Are you a professional artist? This is extremely well done.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I put in an order on Time Life for this album:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

brianvds said:


> Art: A somewhat experimental piece by yours truly.


That's good!!!


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

I created my own album cover for a recording of the broadcast of the 2013 Proms Ring Cycle that hasn't been released commercially.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

WildThing said:


> I created my own album cover for a recording of the broadcast of the 2013 Proms Ring Cycle that hasn't been released commercially.
> 
> View attachment 94586


Awesome cover!!!!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Phil loves classical said:


> I put in an order on Time Life for this album:
> 
> View attachment 94583


He's probably simply venting out of frustration, because if you look at the 2 leaders speaking in Israel, it would be Netanyahu most folks would pick as the American President since he speaks the language so much better than President Trump.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Bettina said:


> Beautiful painting! I love the impressionistic style that you used here.


Thanks. 



> Are you a professional artist?


Supposedly, but of course, I have to do other things to keep the pot boiling. 



> This is extremely well done.


And thanks again - you are doing wonders for my fragile ego.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Oleg Lomakin - Blockade of Leningrad


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

This one is kind of obvious:










Art: Arnold Boecklin - Island of the Dead, 1883


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Francois Krige (1913-94) - Basotho village scene, 1979


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

brianvds said:


> This one is kind of obvious:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hmmm... interesting: (from Wikipedia)

_Sergei Rachmaninoff also composed a symphonic poem, Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 (1909), inspired by a black-and-white print of the painting. He said that had he seen the colour original, he probably would not have written the music._


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

From a parallel universe...


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

brianvds said:


> This one is kind of obvious:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Selby said:


>


Great find... You and Portamento keep surprising me.


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

^ Just happenstance. It's a great box and I've been listening to the Transcendental Etudes for guitar over the past few weeks.










*Stephen Hough * _plays_ *Alan Hovhaness*

_On the long total eclipse of the moon, July 6, 1982_, op 367
_Love Song Vanishing into Sounds of Crickets_, op 327
_Lullaby_, op 52/2
_Tsugouhara Fujita's Sleeping Cat_, op 368
_Visions of a Starry Night_, from Ananda, op 303

This is a DREAM recording for me. I think I will attempt to email the idea to Mr. Hough.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Tallisman said:


> Hmmm... interesting: (from Wikipedia)
> 
> _Sergei Rachmaninoff also composed a symphonic poem, Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 (1909), inspired by a black-and-white print of the painting. He said that had he seen the colour original, he probably would not have written the music._


Yeah, trust the gloomy old curmudgeon to be offended by even muted colors. 
I would think that painting surely must have already been used as cover art for Rachmaninov works.

Similarly, I suspect I am not entirely original here:










Art: Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) - Kullervo's Curse


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

brianvds said:


> This one is kind of obvious:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Already been done


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Burroughs said:


> Already been done
> View attachment 94647


Well, there ya go: it is perhaps too obvious to have escaped the notice of graphic designers for almost a century. 

Next, you can go search around the web to see whether my Kullervo cover has also already been done; my guess is that it has. But I'd wager my Beethoven 6 is pretty original.


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

brianvds said:


> Yeah, trust the gloomy old curmudgeon to be offended by even muted colors.
> I would think that painting surely must have already been used as cover art for Rachmaninov works.
> 
> Similarly, I suspect I am not entirely original here:
> ...


I was just looking up Sibelius on a Wikipedia ramble, and then Finnish culture and mythology and came across that artist. Very interesting. Another fascinating picture by him:


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Tallisman said:


> I was just looking up Sibelius on a Wikipedia ramble, and then Finnish culture and mythology and came across that artist. Very interesting. Another fascinating picture by him:
> View attachment 94658


I am rather a fan of his work.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Gallen-Kallela is one of the greatest visual artists of my people and I've loved his work all my life. Heck, I have my first name after his. He went through several periods of styles, all worth checking out.

And yes, there are records of Kullervo symphony bearing that cover, for example Berglund's.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924) - Festa Redentore


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

^ Yes please. Actually, could we just get an ambitious conductor and label to do a full Hovhaness symphony survey? Brianvds - you can choose all the artwork


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Selby said:


> ^ Yes please. Actually, could we just get an ambitious conductor and label to do a full Hovhaness symphony survey? Brianvds - you can choose all the artwork


Or at least 1-30 (those are his best in my opinion). After 30 St. Helens is the best .


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

CPO has stunning covers, this must be one of the best.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Selby said:


> ^ Yes please. Actually, could we just get an ambitious conductor and label to do a full Hovhaness symphony survey? Brianvds - you can choose all the artwork


What fun I would have. 
I'm not sure all his symphonies have even been publicly performed yet, let alone recorded.

In the meantime, something different:










Edit: Oops, forgot to acknowledge the artist!
Paul Gauguin - The Cellist Upaupa Schneklud, 1894


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

brianvds said:


> What fun I would have.
> I'm not sure all his symphonies have even been publicly performed yet, let alone recorded.
> 
> In the meantime, something different:
> ...


I love almost everything about this - but you forgot to give Dvořák his beautiful diacritical marks!!


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

*4:33 by John Cage*

(sorry if someone already did this, haven't read the thread much yet!)


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Bettina said:


> I love almost everything about this - but you forgot to give Dvořák his beautiful diacritical marks!!


You're being too diacritical. 
I can never remember them, and I am not too clear on how to get them on letters anyway.

Well, let's try something else then:










Art: Max Beckmann - Self-portrait with Horn, 1938-1940


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Another entry in the "not quite understanding the commission" files...


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Nereffid said:


> Another entry in the "not quite understanding the commission" files...
> 
> View attachment 94728


It looks like it would have been more appropriate if Haydn had written an oratorio titled "The Origin of Species." 

Now this one is of course highly relevant and appropriate:










Art: Frida Kahlo - Self-portrait with hummingbird (detail)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

AfterHours said:


> View attachment 94715
> 
> 
> *4:33 by John Cage*
> ...


Now that is what I call original. :clap:


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

I also think something like this would work well for 4:33


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

20centrfuge said:


> I also think something like this would work well for 4:33
> 
> View attachment 94773


Technically you could post a picture of a nude person streaking, in a mad dash across a room or concert hall stage, and it would apply just as well. Because, you know, anything can happen during 4:33 :lol:


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Eero Järnefelt (1863 - 1937) - Koli

For those not in the know, Järnefelt was Sibelius' brother in law. And thus, I suspect this is another case where the cover has actually already been done.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Ooh that Frida Kahlo with her uni-brow and moustache is just just so HOT!!!


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Francois Krige (1913-94) - Blue Cranes


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition
John Zorn: Moonchild









This picture represents the 9th movement of Pictures at an Exhibition "The Hut on Hen's Legs (Baba Yaga)"
I found it on deviantart.com by Pythosblaze.


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

*Rock Bottom - Robert Wyatt*

_Fold-Out Sleeve (front-to-back):_









_Inside Album Booklet:_









Paintings by Gustav Klimt: 
Philosophy, Medicine & Jurisprudence - Gustav Klimt (1907) [University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings; Destroyed in 1945] 
The Kiss - Gustav Klimt (1908) (merged with an up-close picture of another one of Klimt's works)

Links to larger, higher quality views of:
Philosophy: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Philosophy-final-state-1907.jpg
Medicine: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Medicine-final-state-1907.jpg
Jurisprudence: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Jurisprudence-final-state-1907.jpg


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Irma Stern - Three Swazi Sisters (1925)


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

And that concludes my album art for the moment - I had two or three more prepared, but then my laptop died, taking them with it, along with my entire collection of pictures.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

That's a shame...


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

brianvds said:


> And that concludes my album art for the moment - I had two or three more prepared, but then my laptop died, taking them with it, along with my entire collection of pictures.


Too bad (first of all for you of course). I really enjoyed your series.


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

*Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart*

Outside Album Cover, Front-to-Back:









Inside Album Sleeve, Front-to-Back:









Additional Image Layout Across 2 Booklet Pages:









Paintings:
Guernica - Pablo Picasso (1937) 
Europe After The Rain II - Max Ernst (1942) 
Understanding Self-Hate - Julian Schnabel (1981)


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> Too bad (first of all for you of course). I really enjoyed your series.


Oh, not to worry. For one thing, the little laptop was almost ten years old and getting so twitchy I was begging it to die and get it over with. And I have learned over the years not to get too attached to digital things. They never last.

I'll build up a new collection of pictures, and make some more album covers in due course.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Well, I have started a new collection of pictures, then...










Art: Giovanni di Paolo (1403-1482) - Creation and expulsion from paradise


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

Pugg said:


> That is quick, I am still thinking how on earth can I make cover without photo shop.


I completely agree. Google isn't helping either - I put ' photo shop near me ' and didn't get the results I was expecting!


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

I use GIMP, which can be downloaded for free and includes all the more commonly used features in Photoshop (which I couldn't remotely afford).

Check out www.gimp.org


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I know you just did the _Rite of Spring_, Brian, but I've been listening to a lot of Stravinsky recently and I couldn't help myself when I stumbled upon Nolde's painting of _Two Dancers_.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> I know you just did the _Rite of Spring_, Brian, but I've been listening to a lot of Stravinsky recently and I couldn't help myself when I stumbled upon Nolde's painting of _Two Dancers_.


Great stuff! I was waiting for you to join this thread (in fact I sent you a PM to beg you, but perhaps you didn't get it).

And here's my next one:










Art: Aleksandr Lomykin - Lenin at the Third KomSoMol Convention


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)




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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Amely Alanovna Tekoeva (10 years old) - Tchaikovsky' s Russian Song from Childrens Album

I recently came across a website of some or other Russian art competition for children, and some of these kids created the most marvelous art, which I'll use in the coming days for this thread.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Taisia Myasnikova (age 9) - The Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Caroline Rutskaya (age 10) - Firebird


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

brianvds said:


> Art: Taisia Myasnikova (age 9) - The Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky


Arrgh, just realized to my shock, horror and embarrassment that I misspelled the composer's name! Here's a corrected version:










Switching the F and V in Prokofiev is one of my recurring typos...


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## malvinrisan (Feb 17, 2017)

Good Friday Scene

from Wagner's Parsifal:


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Katya Mikhailova (age 8) - Angel with a candle (detail)


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Glendine Vorster - Jerusalem, Jerusalem


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

brianvds said:


> Art: Katya Mikhailova (age 8) - Angel with a candle (detail)


For an 8 years old, this is seriously good.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> For an 8 years old, this is seriously good.


That was my feeling too. As I noted earlier in the thread, I got these pictures from some or other Russian website; they were all winners in various categories of an art competition for children, so presumably these are seriously talented children. Looking at the techniques used, I would think some of them were coached, but still. I have been drawing and painting for decades and I don't think I could come up with some of the things these kids apparently did in an afternoon. 

But then, perhaps I could do it when I was 8. Kids are natural artists. As Picasso said, all children are artists. The problem is remaining an artist when you grow up. Strange how this works in visual art, but not in music.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: David Olère - The Crematorium


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Sir Luke Fildes (1843-1927) - The Widower (detail)


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

brianvds said:


> Art: Katya Mikhailova (age 8) - Angel with a candle (detail)


Love the art! !


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

brianvds said:


> Art: Sir Luke Fildes (1843-1927) - The Widower (detail)


This is almost heartbreaking.....


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Pugg said:


> This is almost heartbreaking.....


Fildes was known for his dark depictions of the suffering of the poor. This one is indeed particularly sad. But perfect for the music.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Here's my altogether predictable go at this brilliant thread:









A consummation devoutly to be wished. :tiphat:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Here's my altogether predictable go at this brilliant thread:
> 
> View attachment 95201
> 
> ...


Invalid Attachment specified.
And now its working......


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Here's my altogether predictable go at this brilliant thread:
> 
> View attachment 95201
> 
> ...


It appears the attachment didn't load. Unless you wanted to express nothingness. 

Edit: This is weird: when I quoted the message the attachment became visible in the quote! Now that I can see it: very nicely done!


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

brianvds said:


> It appears the attachment didn't load. Unless you wanted to express nothingness.
> 
> Edit: This is weird: when I quoted the message the attachment became visible in the quote! Now that I can see it: very nicely done!


That may be because I stupidly attached a pdf version first time around, then spent precious minutes generating a jpg version and uploading it in place of the dud pdf. You may have read my post during the attachment inter-regnum.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Here's my altogether predictable go at this brilliant thread:
> 
> View attachment 95201
> 
> ...


Brilliant pairing of works!


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Nina Ryzhikova - Seafarers


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

That put a smile on my face!


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Carl Buchner (1921 - 2003) - Harlequin


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Art: Zinaida Serebriakova - Portrait of Sergei Prokofiev, 1926.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

A brief resurrection of this thread:










Art: Qi Baishi (1863-1957) - Magnolia


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## GOLTZIUS (Jul 13, 2017)

View attachment 95973

OF LAMENTATION LOUD: THE SELECTED BEETHOVEN

Don't really have a track list: this is more of a fantasy 'perfect selection'. Think of it as a dream album. I could name a dozen symphony's and string peices- but I lack the sophistication or insight to compile such an ideal selection. But if I could it would be called OF LAMENTATION LOUD and it would have this cover by Hendryk Goltzius.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

GOLTZIUS said:


> View attachment 95973
> 
> OF LAMENTATION LOUD: THE SELECTED BEETHOVEN
> 
> Don't really have a track list: this is more of a fantasy 'perfect selection'. Think of it as a dream album. I could name a dozen symphony's and string peices- but I lack the sophistication or insight to compile such an ideal selection. But if I could it would be called OF LAMENTATION LOUD and it would have this cover by Hendryk Goltzius.


I can't see the attachment; I get a message "invalid attachment specified." Might be a better idea to upload it to IMGUR rather than try to attach it here...


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