Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner The most BORING music on the planet...,.

Is schubert really that bad? lol I have never played any of his works so I wouldn't know but from the sounds of it, he's not all that great like Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven etc :P

No, I don't find him as great as Beethoven or Chopin. But he's still a great composer, and very important.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YFX-XQLToE !!

You should have learned Op. 90 No. 4. Bet you could win a competition with that!



Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

Thank you.. I hate Schubert.. Let the bashing begin. (Or not.. you won't win)

Except Arpeggione - love that piece! And very rarely some songs. And I feel I can say that because I've played tons of Schubert when I was young and I won a Schubert competition in Europe many years ago.. hahhahah.

Just speaking personally, I don't really see much point in trashing music which so many people (including me) hold so dear. Just ignore it if you don't like it, and start a thread about Liszt, Wagner or Elgar instead.

Nice job.......I love in-jokes.

So, it's ok to trash Liszt, Wagner, or Elgar? Just curious.

I wasn't suggesting anyone trash Liszt, Wagner or Elgar. I was suggesting argerichfan start a thread about music he actually likes, and those three composers would be sure to appear in such a thread.

By the way, argerichfan, ladypayne was talking about the Mozart twinkle variations, not the Schubert Trockne Blumen ones.

Taking a grain of salt with argerichfan's hyperbolic "most BORING music on the planet," I just can't go that far with respect to these pieces. I've played all four the of D899 Impromptus and not only have I enjoyed performing three of them, I often return to them and play them for pleasure. They have their repetitious moments, granted, but the better, lyrical, truly Schubertian moments in them make them worth while pieces, in my opinion.

Of course, it's good that we all don't like the same things, and while I agree these are not the greatest of Schubert's output, they don't bore me - except, perhaps, when not well played by someone else!

In that respect, Jason may be right; they don't stand up to mediocre performances!

Regards,

May I commit another sacrilege (or pehaps, 2 or 3? )? I found the sequence of 3 minuets from Bach's Overture in G Minor - BWV 822 quite boring, I refuse to learn them when my teacher asked me to do so... The third I liked, but the other 2, particularly the 2nd, are annoying, and the 3 together is torture. But Bach I love, perhaps this is just temporary "bad taste" of mine.

Someone have opened a thread about Sorabji's fugues. The first I've listened sounds like a computer algorithm. I'm sorry to say but this is not music at all.

http://www.davetubaking.com/resources/Fuga+A+Quattro+Soggetti+-+Dux+alter.mp3

There is too much good music to concern oneself about music you do not like.

Jason, how a propos! I have just come back from an evening of the most boring "piano music" ever invented. It was one of those social obligations that I had to show up for (long story). The evening turned into an opportunity for an intimate study of the intricate details of persian rug designs. Staring at the rug was all I could do to avoid turning insane. The "man of the house" sat at the piano six minutes after greeting us into his home and started ripping into "atmospheric music" pieces. A slurry of overpedaled musical slurpees come to mind. It made me yearn for physical torture as a way out. Wifey was bringing him his wine glass to sip from while he tore into the Steinway. And no he was not improvising new agedly. Somebody apparently wrote the crappy stuff. Syrupy Schubert impromptus would sound fabulously invigorating in comparison. I know that is not what you have in mind when you talk about "music", boring or not, but you gave me an opportunity to vent! The only good thing about it is the feeling that I have now paid penance for all my digressions past and future, and I am ready for Easter morning..

Agreed.

The C minor does have a few lovely moments, but is so long-winded. The Eb is semi-charming but disposable. You summed up the G-flat perfectly. The Ab, nice, but I've had better.

-Daniel

So you aren't really bashing Schubert - just these four Impromptus.

With the exception of the G-flat Major (which I think IS a sublime work when played well) I agree that the others can wear a little thin due to overexposure - and I agree that Schubert wrote other works for solo piano which are more innovative and interesting (Wanderer Fantasy, the sonatas, Impromptus and Moments Musicals, etc.) not to mention his lieder, symphonies, choral works, chamber music, etc.

I strongly disagree with those posters who state that Schubert is a "lesser" composer than Mozart, Beethoven or Chopin. His work occupies a unique niche in music history, is distinctly his own from a stylistic standpoint, and still moves us deeply today. Such an amazing output for someone who died so young.

Interesting aside fan (re: Schubert),

Whenever I find myself at a loss as to the piece of distantly Beethoven music heard over the radio ... it’s always by Schubert ... a sort of watered-down LB ... besides getting certain keyboard works of his under the fingers such as Hark, Hark the Lark, The Trout and one of his Impromptus ... I find myself having difficulty wanting to delve deeper.

The Unfinished Symphony however, is another ball of chalk.

PS Interestingly, in the adjacent thread on Styles, nobody has as yet made mention of Schubert (instantly recognizable style) ... however, he finds himself in the good company of Handel, Mendelssohn and Haydn ... with no takers.

True, unless you are interested in understanding more about why you don't like it. And trying to understand what it is about it that someone else does like (because if no one at all liked it, chances are you wouldn't know about it and wouldn't be given the opportunity to hear it).

Once in a while, I've found that to be a useful and ear-opening exercise. There's sure a lot more music I do like today, than there would be if I had never challenged myself to get past my initial dislike. I think that's a good thing.

Agree with wr. It is particularly so, for me, in the case of contemporary classical music. I have recently experienced this ear- (and mind) opening exercise when I listened to some compositions by Thomas Ades.