(Just to be clear, we’re talking about the concerto for violin and viola, right?)
When I was a young conducting student, my maestro was doing this piece with his orchestra. I heard it in rehearsal again and again. It’s a pretty repetitive pice as is, what with that annoying oboe break and all. On top of that, the violist was a bitch who blamed me for her score going missing.
I recorded the concert, then mixed it, so it was further driven into my skull. And then I played the tape for friends. So I’d heard it dozens of times in the space of a few weeks.
Years later, I called phone support for a crappy software product. It was their hold music. Every five minutes, a recording played to announce hold times. Then the music came back on – FROM THE BEGINNING. I was on hold for a good two hours.
I loved going to my uncle’s concerts because it was different pieces every time. You’d think that with someone who wrote as much as Bach did, people would be able to play more than half a dozen bits, but they usually don’t. Uncle did.
Funny how you can miss someone you barely met a dozen times, but if it was 12 times, 10 were baroque concerts in tiny venues and 1 a wonderful presentation on Verdi (uncle complained that opera had turned the training of singers from “how to hit the right notes” to “how to get the last row to hear you,” but if you said “Verdi” he’d gloss his life and works for hours and make it superbly interesting). The other one was at an improptu family meeting, when everybody decided to visit another uncle in the hospital on the same day (70 of us in total, not bad for a man with no kids and a family that doesn’t keep up contact).
Eine Kleine gets played at functions because it’s a no-brainer for the musicians - it’s fairly easy to play and it was written as background music for dinner parties anyway. Ditto Pachelbel Canon, various bits of Handel and so forth. It’s not like most of the guests listen to the music anyway.
On the other hand…
Dissing The Magic Flute?!? I offer you my glove, sir! <smeck> Conductor’s batons at dawn!
Stratégie, for two orchestras and two conductors, by Xenakis.
From the composer: The two orchestras are placed on either side of the stage, with the conductors back-to-back. They may choose and play one of six sonic constructions, numbered in the score…The conductors draw lots, choosing a new tactic by taking one card from a pack of 19…. There’s lots more
Either that, or some kind of floppy hair competition. I’ve been watching Kent Nagano play with his hair all morning. Dude - just buy a hairband already!
Nitpick: Shouldn’t that be, " A Little Delightful Dinner Music" ?
Meh. People used to listen to a greater variety of music. Hell, I USED TO. Dunno the last time I bought a new CD of any gengre. Though I heard a guy on Prarie Home Companion last weekend- Nick Lowe? - who sang real purty.
