Marigold Fuzz (Sola Sound Yellow Hybrid Tone Bender)

[Bricksnbeatles]

Ahhhh! Dvorak— I should have known it was him, but for some reason I thought the timeframe didn’t match up for it being “around 100 years before Nirvana”.

I’d be really curious to hear @Bricksnbeatles ’s take, I assume he was right that he’s written a paper about it even if the name was on the tip of his tounge.

I’ll take a look through my files and see if I still have it saved anywhere.
I think it was an analysis of the ways in which most prominent performances of the piece deviate from the dynamic markings and tempo indications given in the written score, and how those changes do/don’t detract from the composer’s original intent. It’s possible though, that paper was actually written about Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, in which case the Dvorak paper was a harmonic analysis hand-written in real-time at a university performance of his full New World symphony (we were given the option to choose any performance at the school’s theater, and had to sit in the back behind the lighting and mixing desks, write an essay in real-time (which we thankfully weren’t graded very harshly on, due to the constraints of the situation), and immediately after, hand it in to be graded by whichever TA was in attendance, who would be waiting at the box office for us to turn it in.)

 

[benny_profane]

I have not! What's a good entry point?

Hmm. Probably No. 5. No. 10 is really interesting and has a lot of his notation motifs. I really like No. 7 (Leningrad)—but it’s really long and almost literary in its arrangement (bit like Wagner’s heroic epics in that way).

I’m sure @Bricksnbeatles will have better insight here than I do.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

I have not! What's a good entry point?

Symphony's 5 and 10. String quartets. Fun fact: Shosty loved cryptographs, the most famous being his signature, initials D-S-C-H which translated to D-Eb-C-B which is used throughout in 10th symphony and especially the 8th quartet. Included in the 10th is another little thematic bit that translates to Elvira... his mistress... it's also the first symphony he wrote after Stalin died so it's a little bit of a middle finger to him too.

Edit: had to listen back and find her. Elvira in the French horn at 33:49.

 

[finebyfine]

I think it was an analysis of the ways in which most prominent performances of the piece deviate from the dynamic markings and tempo indications given in the written score, and how those changes do/don’t detract from the composer’s original intent.

Even if this wasn't your Dvorak essay, isn't this true of #9 to the point that he actually changed the tempo of one of the movements after a few of the early preformances? And I probably should have said 80-90 before Nirvana

Hmm. Probably No. 5. No. 10 is really interesting and has a lot of his notation motifs. I really like No. 7 (Leningrad)—but it’s really long and almost literary in its arrangement (bit like Wagner’s heroic epics in that way).

I will check these out! Thanks

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Hmm. Probably No. 5. No. 10 is really interesting and has a lot of his notation motifs. I really like No. 7 (Leningrad)—but it’s really long and almost literary in its arrangement (bit like Wagner’s heroic epics in that way).

I’m sure @Bricksnbeatles will have better insight here than I do.

I’d agree with all of that. I like No. 8 a lot as well. His first jazz suite, while not my favorite, is a pretty accessible introduction to his work as well.

His 2nd piano concerto is also pretty highly regarded. His son, Maxim Shostakovich, is a pianist, and since the 2nd piano concerto was written for him, I like his performance of it from 1986— something about keeping in the family is kinda cool to me, even if there are probably some better performances of that piece.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Even if this wasn't your Dvorak essay, isn't this true of #9 to the point that he actually changed the tempo of one of the movements after a few of the early preformances?

That does sound familiar, though I won’t claim to be an expert on the matter. I’m sure that’s something I addressed in the essay if that’s the case (if that scene is what my essay was) but it’s just one of 12 or so music theory essays I wrote in one semester almost 5 years ago, so it all blurs together a bit. Definitely seems likely though, so I’ll take your word for it.