Who is this Webern Guy?

[shostakovich]

I went back to my hobby of matching music to art. For a Mondrian (3 horizontal and 2 vertical black lines forming a grid, one rectangle blue, and the others white) I used one of Webern's Six Pieces for Orchestra. Neither one moves much. Thus the matching.

In spite of Stravinsky's admiration for Webern ("You have to mine for his diamonds.") I find nothing listenable in his music. I'd like to read other people's opinions of Anton Webern's music. In particular I'm looking forward to the comments of the 3 Bs of the BBB, Barfle, Bones, and Bignaf. Other comments equally welcome.
Shos, never to be confused with Web

[treebeau]

Shos,

Was it you that once mentioned a work of "art" that you saw with a placard saying "painted by penis", and couldn't tell if that meant one was used as a painting tool, or if it was describing the artist himself?

What music would go with that?
I have a guess.
Hindemith!

Regards,
Tim B.

[bignaf]

I actually don't like Webern either. his music is completely cerebral. you don't need to be a composer to write that. his music led to the impotent music of Boulez and Babbitt.
actually his Passcaglia is all right, listen to that.

<small>[ 11-12-2005, 08:05 PM: Message edited by: bignaf ]</small>

[barfle]

I've heard his name announced as the composer of something played on the radio or b.com, but I'll be damned if any melodies or any musical memories come to mind when I try to come up with anything he wrote.

So, based on the experience of this self-taught fan of classical music, my only genuine comment on his music is that it hasn't been very memorable.

[GreatCarouser]

Very sneaky Shos...using this thread as a red herring to throw us off when you make this fellow the subject of your triumphal return to bio!

[Bones]

Shos, I've never been much of a Webern fan. His pieces are all too short, and it seems like just as they start to get interesting, they end. Most of his work sounds like background music to something.

The 2nd and 6th movements of his Opus 6 Orchestral pieces are interesting to me, and I think you might find something there to appreciate. The Opus 5 String Quartet also has some interesting sections. The Opus 21 Symphony sounds like a long introduction to something, but it never gets going. A lot of his music sounds similar and after a few minutes, you don't want to hear any more. Maybe that's why most of it is so short.

Tim, I still like much of Hindemith.

<small>[ 11-14-2005, 02:29 PM: Message edited by: Bones ]</small>

[shostakovich]

Hi Folks. My computer has been down for a while. It might happen again, so I want to respond while I can.

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"Shos,

Was it you that once mentioned a work of "art" that you saw with a placard saying "painted by penis", and couldn't tell if that meant one was used as a painting tool, or if it was describing the artist himself?

What music would go with that?
I have a guess.
Hindemith!"

No, Tim. Not guilty. The closest story I know to "penis painting" is one about Jackson Pollock and his Dad. They used to go out of the house and pee in the fresh Wyoming snow, making yellow curves on the white background. That's supposed to be one of the influences in his later "drip and splatter" paintings.

PS: Mathis der Maler does NOT translate into Penis the Painter.

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GC, you give me too much credit. If I ever get back to bios, nobody need guess "Webern". Or was that your even cleverer way of reducing the guesses in the future?


Thanks for responding, folks.
Shos

[bignaf]

Shos,

Was it you that once mentioned a work of "art" that you saw with a placard saying "painted by penis", and couldn't tell if that meant one was used as a painting tool, or if it was describing the artist himself?

What music would go with that?
I have a guess.
Hindemith!

Regards,
Tim B.

Powder Her face by Thomas Ades would go with that...

my assesment of webern here was a little too harsh, but I still don't like his music, and I still think his influence was disasterous.