Some days my attention span just isn't long.


Maurice Ravel's Fugue from Le Tombeau de Couperin.
Mozart's Dies Irae from the Requiem.
Movement 3 from Brahms #3.


Anyone else have any movements or whole pieces (under 10 minutes each) that pull you right in everytime?

Try the second movement of Beethoven's 7th. Rarely has a simple minor pulse been spun into something so wonderful. He was at the peak of his art here. Development no longer sounds like a chore at this point, it just seems to happen on its own... and without the aid of his ears even!

I'd definitely do a quick skip-through Shostakovich's preludes & fugues. They're so diverse that there's a few gems in there for everybody.

I must admit I'm not familiar with Shostakovich's contrapuntal work... but I know some of his symphonies. He's often accused of being the master of "wrong note harmony", which I suppose is a rather contemptuous way of referring to his harmonic innovations. Yet you point to what I presume would be more contrapuntal works... while I track down a copy, I'm curious, how do you think these stack up to the preludes and fugues (or just the preludes in the case of Chopin and Debussy) of some of the more "accepted" canonical masters?

raro1810 wrote:
I must admit I'm not familiar with Shostakovich's contrapuntal work... but I know some of his symphonies. He's often accused of being the master of "wrong note harmony", which I suppose is a rather contemptuous way of referring to his harmonic innovations. Yet you point to what I presume would be more contrapuntal works... while I track down a copy, I'm curious, how do you think these stack up to the preludes and fugues (or just the preludes in the case of Chopin and Debussy) of some of the more "accepted" canonical masters?

Oh come on! How can you even ask, really? The answer is it doesn't and cannot compare to the work of the true masters... These little ditties might have bought him some "alone time" with Tatiana in her prime, but they can't possibly place him on par with Bach or Chopin (or even Debussy, for that matter)!

florestan1810 wrote:
raro1810 wrote:
I must admit I'm not familiar with Shostakovich's contrapuntal work... but I know some of his symphonies. He's often accused of being the master of "wrong note harmony", which I suppose is a rather contemptuous way of referring to his harmonic innovations. Yet you point to what I presume would be more contrapuntal works... while I track down a copy, I'm curious, how do you think these stack up to the preludes and fugues (or just the preludes in the case of Chopin and Debussy) of some of the more "accepted" canonical masters?

Oh come on! How can you even ask, really? The answer is it doesn't and cannot compare to the work of the true masters... These little ditties might have bought him some "alone time" with Tatiana in her prime, but they can't possibly place him on par with Bach or Chopin (or even Debussy, for that matter)!

Come now, my dear Florestan, have you even listened to these works?