32 GB memory stick

[choro]

On Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:31:30 +0000, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

(Though I recommend his Rondo alla Turca played with vigour on a
"Turkish" piano, like the one at the Finchcocks collection near
Goudhurst in southern England:

is the instrument and
performer I have in mind, though I don't know why the still there is
chosen. This is actually a rather restrained rendering: if you get the
chance to hear him live while he still lives, do - as, sadly, his
deafness and frailness increase, the performances have become more,
shall we say, individual, and certainly lively.)

Well, I found the percussion superfluous[1]...And I wouldn't want to
march that fast, but I have bad legs these days

[]
(It wasn't me that mentioned marching, Janissary or otherwise. Unless
rondo means march, and I don't think it does.)

Mea culpa. You are quite right about the name; I was thinking of it as
Marcia alla Turca, which is either off the wall completely, or the name
of another piece of music that I've heard of, and I was possibly
influenced by others' remarks in the thread.

No, both names are correct. The piece is actually a movement from a
keyboard sonata. Officially it is marked as "Rondo alla Turca" or
simply as "Alla Turca by Mozart". Not to be confused with Beethoven's
Turkish march which is an orchestral work.
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Ah, but you should see how they march. I know this 9/8 tempo seems a non
starter for a march but once you have seen a Janissary march, you begin
to understand it. I saw them once in real life and once on TV when they
appeared at the Edinborough Tatoo years ago. And one day I came across a
Janissary march video, probably on YouTube and I sat down analysing the
tempo and rhythm + the steps of the march. That's how I know.

I'll try to remember to look for that. I'm willing to be wrong.

Meantime, I won't march to a 9:8 drummer, m'self

 

[choro]

Help me understand how that would cut down on the mess of wires.

To follow your suggestion, I'd have to run the audio output cable from
the computer to another room, bring the speakers from that room to the
computer room, and finally run the speaker wires from there to the
computer room. Not only more cables, but now I'd have to find room near
the computer for two large speaker enclosures, and moreover, I would
thereby lose the speakers in the other room.

You missed my point completely. Let's try again. I *have* decent
speakers connected to my computer, but they use a lot of wires. I
thought of getting a pair of speakers that only use one cable, but
listening online to BWV 565 in response to several suggestions in this
monster thread brought home to me that I would not enjoy the reduced
sound quality, so I decided to stick with *what I already have*.

Sorry, I didn't know that you are already an audiophile, or in other words

a nutter like me!
-- choro

 

[Mack A. Damia]

Indeed. I agree with you on that issue and related ones.

However, we might still not sort a set of people who play the piano into
the same bins

That's badly phrased. What I mean is after you and I sort the same bunch
of such people into the two bins, our bin contents might not match each
other.

With luck, a majority of people will be binned the same, but I'm sure a
few will be different (and that goes for any two judges, I daresay).

I was surprised by your earlier answer. Do you feel the same way
about the Moonlight or the Pathetique sonatas?

This is what greatness is; that once never tires of it, and I think
Schubert's Impromptu is one of the most beautiful works of music ever
composed for the piano. But that's just me.

As far as piano playing goes, we were talking about Liberace
yesterday. One might not include him in the "greats" such as Horowitz
or Graffman, but he was a solid entertainer who gave you your money's
worth. My own thought is that the truly great artists/performers are
those who are able to connect your soul with the composer's.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Well, I found the percussion superfluous[1]...And I wouldn't want to
march that fast, but I have bad legs these days

[snip]

Think of it as a curiosity. For it was a fad in those days to have Turkish
percussion instruments attached to pianos. Much like today's bricks passing
for "art" in modern "museums"!

Here's what I said to J. P. Gilliver above:

"I wasn't referring to where the percussion was, but only to how I liked
it (namely, not!). After a bit, it did become clear from the related
material that the sounds came from the piano, not from a drummer sitting
nearby."

It's a bit ambiguous, as I wrote it. By "from the piano" I mean "from
stuff built into the piano".

 

[Mack A. Damia]

I'll try to remember to look for that. I'm willing to be wrong.

Meantime, I won't march to a 9:8 drummer, m'self

How about 9.....9.....9 ?

(I'll get me hat and coat)

 

[choro]

Count your blessings, sir, count your blessings and be thankful that
these days you still have the leisure time to devote to finer things
in life and stop complaining about bricks on a museum floor passing as
art. For art it is NOT!

[]
Who are you to say it isn't?

(Note I'm playing devil's advocate here: the bricks don't do much for me
either. But the question is still valid ...)

You ARE acting the devil's advocate. I'd say Tracy Emin's bed is a
better bet. You might even find real relief there! ;-)
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I was surprised by your earlier answer. Do you feel the same way
about the Moonlight or the Pathetique sonatas?

The same way as what?

In my view, they don't come remotely close to op. 109, 110, and 111.

Someone told me about a local pianist giving a recital of those three.
As we were getting ready to go, I told my friend that they are the
pinnacle of piano sonatas, and was thunderstruck when the performer, in
her preliminary remarks, referred to them as...the pinnacle of piano
sonatas...

I was more thunderstruck - actually totally wrung out - by the end of
the evening.

That music is power like none other, maybe even more power than some of
Mozart's vocal music.

That's *my* mileage.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

(Though I recommend his Rondo alla Turca played with vigour on a
"Turkish" piano, like the one at the Finchcocks collection near
Goudhurst in southern England:

is the instrument and
performer I have in mind, though I don't know why the still there is
chosen. This is actually a rather restrained rendering: if you get the
chance to hear him live while he still lives, do - as, sadly, his
deafness and frailness increase, the performances have become more,
shall we say, individual, and certainly lively.)

Well, I found the percussion superfluous[1]...And I wouldn't want to
march that fast, but I have bad legs these days
[]
(It wasn't me that mentioned marching, Janissary or otherwise. Unless
rondo means march, and I don't think it does.)

Mea culpa. You are quite right about the name; I was thinking of it as
Marcia alla Turca, which is either off the wall completely, or the name
of another piece of music that I've heard of, and I was possibly
influenced by others' remarks in the thread.

No, both names are correct. The piece is actually a movement from a
keyboard sonata. Officially it is marked as "Rondo alla Turca" or
simply as "Alla Turca by Mozart". Not to be confused with Beethoven's
Turkish march which is an orchestral work.
-- choro

But maybe I'm not wrong:

Here's one by another composer you might have heard of

(I'm not used to hearing this as a piano work, it's part of the Ruins of
Athens, an orchestral work.)

Suggestion: read the entire post before replying.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Sorry, I didn't know that you are already an audiophile, or in other words

a nutter like me!
-- choro

I just posted this to another post of yours:
"Suggestion: read the entire post before replying."

I will modify it now to read
"Suggestion: read the entire post *carefully* before replying."

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

How about 9.....9.....9 ?

(I'll get me hat and coat)

Wait, before you go, please explain that!

I'm guessing that you mean something like step-step-step. But like
Heisenberg, I am uncertain.

I'll get me hat and coat now too, but I'll be back for your answer

 

[choro]

I was surprised by your earlier answer. Do you feel the same way
about the Moonlight or the Pathetique sonatas?

This is what greatness is; that once never tires of it, and I think
Schubert's Impromptu is one of the most beautiful works of music ever
composed for the piano. But that's just me.

As far as piano playing goes, we were talking about Liberace
yesterday. One might not include him in the "greats" such as Horowitz
or Graffman, but he was a solid entertainer who gave you your money's
worth. My own thought is that the truly great artists/performers are
those who are able to connect your soul with the composer's.

I find your argument exasperating. How can you talk of Liberace and
Horowitz in the same breath?! This just beats me!

Liberace was not even a pianist. True, he tinkered with the piano but
that doesn't make him into a pianist, let alone a musician. He was a
"cheap" entertainer of people who had no taste!
-- choro

 

[choro]

I just posted this to another post of yours:
"Suggestion: read the entire post before replying."

I will modify it now to read
"Suggestion: read the entire post *carefully* before replying."

It's getting late at night and I am beginning to feel very sleepy.

Haven't had enough sleep the last few nights. So, if I have boo-booed
please forgive me!
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Ah, but you should see how they march. I know this 9/8 tempo seems a non
starter for a march but once you have seen a Janissary march, you begin
to understand it. I saw them once in real life and once on TV when they
appeared at the Edinborough Tatoo years ago. And one day I came across a
Janissary march video, probably on YouTube and I sat down analysing the
tempo and rhythm + the steps of the march. That's how I know.

I Googled and found a lot of Janissary marches. Every one of them was in
4:4 or another duple rhythm, except for two that were clearly new age
and had no rhythm at all

So if you have Janissary music showing soldiers marching to 9:8 rhythm,
put your money where your mouth is, or at least put your URL where you
mouth is ;-)

I want to see it before I will give it any credibility.

 

[Mack A. Damia]

The same way as what?

Your quote: "Very dull". And that is unenlightened.

In my view, they don't come remotely close to op. 109, 110, and 111.

Beautiful, indeed, but no comparison to the ones I mentioned, which
are universally recognised. We live in parallel universes.

Someone told me about a local pianist giving a recital of those three.
As we were getting ready to go, I told my friend that they are the
pinnacle of piano sonatas, and was thunderstruck when the performer, in
her preliminary remarks, referred to them as...the pinnacle of piano
sonatas...

I don't agree. I think they are beautiful pieces of music, but they
aren't among the best sonatas Beethoven composed - unless you want to
set yourself above the experts.

I was more thunderstruck - actually totally wrung out - by the end of
the evening.

That music is power like none other, maybe even more power than some of
Mozart's vocal music.

That's *my* mileage.

I would say the same about Bach's choral music, and I love Mozart's
Requiem. I listened to it as the old century faded, and then played
the Dvorák's New World Symphony as the new one began.

 

[Mack A. Damia]

I find your argument exasperating. How can you talk of Liberace and
Horowitz in the same breath?! This just beats me!

Liberace was not even a pianist. True, he tinkered with the piano but
that doesn't make him into a pianist, let alone a musician. He was a
"cheap" entertainer of people who had no taste!

You need to read my post a little more carefully. Liberace played the
piano and was an entertainer. He gave you your money's worth.
Horowitz was a master pianist who could touch the soul of the
composers he played.

 

[Mack A. Damia]

Wait, before you go, please explain that!

I'm guessing that you mean something like step-step-step. But like
Heisenberg, I am uncertain.
Nein.....nein.....nein!

I'll get me hat and coat now too, but I'll be back for your answer

What country are you in?

Hint: Herman Cain.

 

[choro]

You need to read my post a little more carefully. Liberace played the
piano and was an entertainer. He gave you your money's worth.
Horowitz was a master pianist who could touch the soul of the
composers he played.

Oh, for heaven's sake! Don't talk to me of Liberace! My blood boils at
the mere mention of his name.

Now, you listen to this! Glenn Gould playing Mozart... and sending
shivers down my spine.

-- choro

 

[choro]

I Googled and found a lot of Janissary marches. Every one of them was in
4:4 or another duple rhythm, except for two that were clearly new age
and had no rhythm at all

So if you have Janissary music showing soldiers marching to 9:8 rhythm,
put your money where your mouth is, or at least put your URL where you
mouth is ;-)

I want to see it before I will give it any credibility.

Sorry. I've just found out that everything I said about the Janissary
Marches was wrong. It has just occurred to me that I had worked things
out in my head; not even using YouTube or the benefit of an actual
recording and created a type of marching in my head that imitated the
Janissary March but what I created was not the real thing. I am sorry,
if I have misled you.

You are absolutely right. The marches *are* in duple time. I was
confused the fact that every 4th step is skipped but on the 4th beat the
marchers turn their bodies in the direction of the foot that is forward.
Unfortunately the video synchronization is not so good but you'll see
this method of marching at the beginning of the first video -- just
after the B&W section at roughly 0'15 to 0'18". Watch the close-up of
the steps as taken by the man in the red robe leading the marchers.

MEHTERAN (Ceddin Deden Neslin Baban)

İtalya'yı İnleten Mehteran Takımımız

I feel such a fool relying on my memory and creating a new form of 9/8
marching in my mind. Idiot that I am!
-- choro

 

[Mack A. Damia]

Oh, for heaven's sake! Don't talk to me of Liberace! My blood boils at
the mere mention of his name.

Now, you listen to this! Glenn Gould playing Mozart... and sending
shivers down my spine.

Don't be daft. There was a standard joke running around in the 1950s
when Lberace was at his peak because there were a lot of folks like
you who didn't like him and who didn't consider him a serious pianist.

"He was crying all the way to the bank."