Apologies that the newsletter dropped later than usual this morning... no idea why that happened. I'll say that we've already had one successful writer-in naming the NTT, so the streak continues.
I found Joey's "Tone Praise" so fascinating. It starts off as this sparse, delicate, meditative piece, one of these late period sui generis Liszt things that you always hear about as like a prefiguration of Debussy. And then, for whatever reason, he has to involve these cockamamie diminished seventh chords. Real vibe harshers, ya know?
I realize that I'm listening with 21st-century ears, but to me, the diminished seventh is just so redolent of a villain tying up the girl on the train tracks in a silent picture. I think they definitely have a time and a place, but in this particular case, I wish Liszt just hadn't. But he was a man of the 19th century, as forward-looking as he may have been!
To me, this NTT has his name written all over it in capital letters. But the name of the piece is inscribed in invisible ink . . .
The dramatic tension in this excerpt is somewhat reminiscent of Von Rothbart's evil enchantment in Swan Lake. Or of the expanding Christmas Tree scene in The Nutcracker. And it also reminds me of snippets from his last 2 or 3 Symphonies.
But it's not a work familiar to me. So I'll rule out his 3 Ballets, 6 Symphonies, and his Concertos. And The Seasons, Eugene Onegin, and some other works.
Maybe it's from a tone poem or an instrumental section from an opera. So I'm just going to toss in some guesses: Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, The Tempest, and Queen of Spades.
Whatever it is, I like it! And I look forward to exploring the piece.
Apologies that the newsletter dropped later than usual this morning... no idea why that happened. I'll say that we've already had one successful writer-in naming the NTT, so the streak continues.
I found Joey's "Tone Praise" so fascinating. It starts off as this sparse, delicate, meditative piece, one of these late period sui generis Liszt things that you always hear about as like a prefiguration of Debussy. And then, for whatever reason, he has to involve these cockamamie diminished seventh chords. Real vibe harshers, ya know?
I realize that I'm listening with 21st-century ears, but to me, the diminished seventh is just so redolent of a villain tying up the girl on the train tracks in a silent picture. I think they definitely have a time and a place, but in this particular case, I wish Liszt just hadn't. But he was a man of the 19th century, as forward-looking as he may have been!
NTT: Orchestration, harmonies, repetitive structures, etc., make me lean towards Tchaikovsky. Might also throw Rimsky-Korsakov as a guess in as well.
TCHAIKOVSKY!
To me, this NTT has his name written all over it in capital letters. But the name of the piece is inscribed in invisible ink . . .
The dramatic tension in this excerpt is somewhat reminiscent of Von Rothbart's evil enchantment in Swan Lake. Or of the expanding Christmas Tree scene in The Nutcracker. And it also reminds me of snippets from his last 2 or 3 Symphonies.
But it's not a work familiar to me. So I'll rule out his 3 Ballets, 6 Symphonies, and his Concertos. And The Seasons, Eugene Onegin, and some other works.
Maybe it's from a tone poem or an instrumental section from an opera. So I'm just going to toss in some guesses: Manfred Symphony, Francesca da Rimini, The Tempest, and Queen of Spades.
Whatever it is, I like it! And I look forward to exploring the piece.