I first should admit that I'm a 100% self taught appreciator of classical music. I don't have any formal musical education. Nor any formal history of music education. I'm the only person of my family and friends that seeks out and listens to classical music. So, my knowledge is very uneven and I'm a total pedestrian in this realm. Over the years, I've found music by references from fiction, films and criticism. I've run down many a list of "great composers". Usually, some little reference throws me down a rabbit hole of all kind of new compositions I like but every time I get to Bach, I stop short. I just can't stand the music. I've spent hours picking different recordings of the Brandenburg's, the Toccatas and Fantasias to no avail. I understand the music is important historically and that it has a technical beauty but it just doesn't move me in any way. Maybe some day it will click but until then I'm just going to have to take the critic's word for it.
Can any composer equal Bach?
11–20 of 171 posts
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#12"It’s hard to think of a more refined brain than Albert Einstein’s," What an absolutely silly remark. There were things Einstein was good at, and things he was not. This silly popular image of Einstein as the genius among geniuses is just that: silly and popular. And this appeal to his supposed authority (more like piggybacking off his popular reputation) is just tawdry. "“writing about music is like dancing about ar…
> This silly popular image of Einstein as the genius among geniuses is just that: silly and popular.
Uh, Einstein published four papers that revolutionized four areas of physics in one year:
* The photoelectric effect
* Brownian Motion
* Special Relativity
* Mass-Energy Equivalence
Sure, he didn't do it alone. But even publishing one of those papers as part of a group would be an extraordinary feat for a physicist of the time, and he did it again and again.
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#13I first should admit that I'm a 100% self taught appreciator of classical music. I don't have any formal musical education. Nor any formal history of music education. I'm the only person of my family and friends that seeks out and listens to classical music. So, my knowledge is very uneven and I'm a total pedestrian in this realm. Over the years, I've found music by references from fiction, films and criticism. I've…
Who do you consider to be a great composer?
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#14I first should admit that I'm a 100% self taught appreciator of classical music. I don't have any formal musical education. Nor any formal history of music education. I'm the only person of my family and friends that seeks out and listens to classical music. So, my knowledge is very uneven and I'm a total pedestrian in this realm. Over the years, I've found music by references from fiction, films and criticism. I've…
You're not the only one who feels like that and you can safely ignore the critics. There's no doubt Bach was a great composer but even asking the question whether there's a "greatest" is pretty dumb. I happen to love some of Bach's works but know many people who find his works too mathematical or cold.
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#15Prince!
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#16Damn, I was hoping this would be about a tool that would let me equal Bach.
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#17Douglas Adams once said "Beethoven tells you what it's like to be Beethoven and Mozart tells you what it's like to be human. Bach tells you what it's like to be the universe."
As a musician, I understand this. It's our goal as musicians to channel and convey emotion. Bach channels something much greater than himself or myself or ourselves. It's really incredible. His music sounds vast.
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#18I first should admit that I'm a 100% self taught appreciator of classical music. I don't have any formal musical education. Nor any formal history of music education. I'm the only person of my family and friends that seeks out and listens to classical music. So, my knowledge is very uneven and I'm a total pedestrian in this realm. Over the years, I've found music by references from fiction, films and criticism. I've…
Those pieces you mention aren't exactly the things I would categorize as "moving", though.
What about the pieces for solo cello (BWV 1007-1008)? The Goldberg Variations? The solo violin sonatas (BWV 1001-1006)? His motets (e.g. BWV 227) and cantatas (too many to mention)? Or the Matthäus Passion (BWV 244)? Most people would also mention the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major (BWV 1068, more famously known as "Air on the G string"). Then, for sheer awesomeness, his Mass in B Minor (BWV 232) is hard to beat.
That said, aside from some of the above pieces, Bach is often too dense, complex and (heh) baroque to be truly moving. The beauty of many of his pieces are in their construction, not in their ability to give you goosebumps.
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#19If anyone is interested in Bach's keyboard literature, it's hard to top the interpretations of Glenn Gould, a fascinating musician in his own right. Here, for example, is a seminal performance of the D minor concerto, conducted by Leonard Bernstein: https://youtu.be/9ZX_XCYokQo?t=5m9s
Re: Can any composer equal Bach?
#20No, no composer can equal Bach. Done. Upvote to the top please. :P