I just realized that I was mistaken: the Schubert is *not* the only piece to appear on both the Bernstein and the Walter lists. There are also recordings of Beethoven No. 7 on both. Sorry about the oversight. If you want an alternative, try Walter’s recording of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, which is also a reference recording.
I’ll be teaching my Chaucer course next spring, so I will be able to coordinate that with the reading challenge, as I am doing now with Beowulf. Just my opinion, of course, but my other favorite novel is Middlemarch. My favorite is whichever I’ve read most recently.
Quite a feast here that you've prepared for us. Thank you.
I have a personal classical music problem: it's never spoken to me. I love rock and roll, mostly artists popular in the 1970s. Those songs move me (not literally as I can't dance), but when I listen to classical music, I'm bored. I can't appreciate it. I know I'm missing out, and I think it's from a lack of education, thus perspective.
Is there a "Classical Music for Idiots" you'd recommend?
Hmm... A few possibilities: 1. You might try starting with shorter pieces with really strong melodies--overtures, for example; Mozart’s overture to Figaro, Beethoven overtures (there is a great record of Beethoven overtures conducted by Igor Markevitch--very exciting performances). 2. The conductor Joshua Weilerstein has a wonderful podcast called “Sticky Notes” in which he dissects pieces from the standard repertoire from a conductor’s point of view. 3. David Hurwitz runs my favorite youtube channel; he is a music critic who knows the history of recorded classical music probably better than anyone alive, and he is very cranky and funny. He has a whole series of videos for “beginners,” so you might give him a try.
I'm going to put in a plug for Clemency Burton-Hill's two books A Year of Wonder and Another Year of Wonder. Each book contains an essay for every day of the year on a different piece of classical music - and you can find the playlists on Spotify and YouTube!
What a juicy post, full of goodies!! I’m definitely in for the “Emma” challenge. But you gotta let me do a guest post on “Clueless”--in my opinion, probably the best “Emma” movie adaptation. And hey, am I nuts, or does Walter look just like Gillian Murphy as Oppenheimer?
Emma is one of my favourites. I remember 'doing it' for my O-level English Literature many moons ago, and then I had the pleasure of re-doing it for my BA in Art History which included a heavy dose of literature. I'll try and join the reading for the summer.
Thank you for all the Bruno Walter goodies you've assembled for us here, John. Excited to make my way through the playlist over the weekend.
He really was such a good conductor when it came to giving soloists their space to shine. His Mahler songs with Kathleen Ferrier are another great example of this. I love his quote about the two most important people in his musical life being "Kathleen Ferrier and Gustav Mahler — in that order."
Yes, if not for the mono issue, I would have added his recording of Das Lied with Ferrier, but I figured that would be for those who want a deeper dive. He made a later stereo recording of Das Kied which is also quite good--but alas, not with Kathleen.
Hooray - loving the challenges, loving the listening recs, can't wait for Emma, and no thanks for disrupting my work this morning as I could not bypass this headline and had to read instead of editing morning newscast scripts lol - happy Friday, John and friends 💮
John - I can see the professor in you coming out! What a well thought out syllabus for the next year for your readers. Lots of greats stuff here. I have read most of your book selections so will look forward to following along with your articles on those. I am very keen on your listening lineup. While I enjoy classical music, I would not say that I am very knowledgeable about it. So I am looking forward to expanding my repertoire with your help.
What edition of Troilus and Criseyde do you recommend? The Norton Critical Edition, which is the one I have been defaulting to, is more than $50(!) on Amazon, while the Oxford World's Edition is $11 and the Penguin Classics Edition is $19.
John, I learned of Bruno Walter when I saw the movie _Maestro_ that I loved and the scene where Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) directs Mahler in that gorgeous church brought me to tears. All the books in your list I have read and studied closely though long ago—perhaps with the exception of Emma that I tend to reread and have done so recently. For Austen, a fab Substack is: https://austenconnection.substack.com and Janet (aka plain Jane) did a post as my guest here on Inner life: https://innerlifecollaborative.substack.com/p/pride-and-prejudice-in-the-american
My reading list is absolutely full but I'm listening to the Bruno Walter playlist right now. I've made a New Year resolution to listen to more music. I think this has been sadly lacking in my life over the last few years. Your suggestions, therefore, are most useful.
Your dog and typewriter photos are truly delightful and make me giggle. Thank you!
I just realized that I was mistaken: the Schubert is *not* the only piece to appear on both the Bernstein and the Walter lists. There are also recordings of Beethoven No. 7 on both. Sorry about the oversight. If you want an alternative, try Walter’s recording of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, which is also a reference recording.
Wonderful, I've been hoping someone would do a Chaucer read! I'll be here for Emma, too - my favorite Austen novel.
Just out of curiosity, if Emma is one of the two greatest novels in the English language, what is the other?
I’ll be teaching my Chaucer course next spring, so I will be able to coordinate that with the reading challenge, as I am doing now with Beowulf. Just my opinion, of course, but my other favorite novel is Middlemarch. My favorite is whichever I’ve read most recently.
Oo! Another raised hand for Middlemarch.
Oh yes, Middlemarch. Love it.
John,
Quite a feast here that you've prepared for us. Thank you.
I have a personal classical music problem: it's never spoken to me. I love rock and roll, mostly artists popular in the 1970s. Those songs move me (not literally as I can't dance), but when I listen to classical music, I'm bored. I can't appreciate it. I know I'm missing out, and I think it's from a lack of education, thus perspective.
Is there a "Classical Music for Idiots" you'd recommend?
Hmm... A few possibilities: 1. You might try starting with shorter pieces with really strong melodies--overtures, for example; Mozart’s overture to Figaro, Beethoven overtures (there is a great record of Beethoven overtures conducted by Igor Markevitch--very exciting performances). 2. The conductor Joshua Weilerstein has a wonderful podcast called “Sticky Notes” in which he dissects pieces from the standard repertoire from a conductor’s point of view. 3. David Hurwitz runs my favorite youtube channel; he is a music critic who knows the history of recorded classical music probably better than anyone alive, and he is very cranky and funny. He has a whole series of videos for “beginners,” so you might give him a try.
I could use a guide like that! I enjoy classical but my knowledge of it is limited to Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven.
Hi, Matthew--not sure if you’ll get the notification for it, so I’m just letting you know that I replied to David’s question regarding music.
I'm going to put in a plug for Clemency Burton-Hill's two books A Year of Wonder and Another Year of Wonder. Each book contains an essay for every day of the year on a different piece of classical music - and you can find the playlists on Spotify and YouTube!
Definitely agree with this. Her selection is so broad that there's something for everyone
Sounds great--will look that up!
Wow -- a lot of reading challenges! Kudos for a carefully thought out lineup. I'm still scratching curiosity itches week by week.
Ha! Yes, I may end up regretting the extent of this commitment. But I’m more comfortable when I have a syllabus. It is the way of our people.
What a juicy post, full of goodies!! I’m definitely in for the “Emma” challenge. But you gotta let me do a guest post on “Clueless”--in my opinion, probably the best “Emma” movie adaptation. And hey, am I nuts, or does Walter look just like Gillian Murphy as Oppenheimer?
Yes, please, I would love for you to write a guest post on “Clueless”! And yes, I see the resemblance.
I mean Cillian.
John, I will certainly join you for the The Lord of the Rings and Emma challenges - I look forward to rereading and discussing 😊
Very happy that you will be joining the fun 🤩
Emma is one of my favourites. I remember 'doing it' for my O-level English Literature many moons ago, and then I had the pleasure of re-doing it for my BA in Art History which included a heavy dose of literature. I'll try and join the reading for the summer.
Thank you for all the Bruno Walter goodies you've assembled for us here, John. Excited to make my way through the playlist over the weekend.
He really was such a good conductor when it came to giving soloists their space to shine. His Mahler songs with Kathleen Ferrier are another great example of this. I love his quote about the two most important people in his musical life being "Kathleen Ferrier and Gustav Mahler — in that order."
Yes, if not for the mono issue, I would have added his recording of Das Lied with Ferrier, but I figured that would be for those who want a deeper dive. He made a later stereo recording of Das Kied which is also quite good--but alas, not with Kathleen.
Thank you for my Monday ++ listening series!
I’m in for Emma. So much greatness to take in here, John.
Thanks, Kate. Let me know how you like the music!
I shall!
I’m still back on the second most famous Swift. “Who’s more famous than Jonathan?!?” Beat 1. Beat 2. Beat -- oh. Right.
Looking forward to this listening!
Ha! Yes--Jonathan’s record sales have slowed a bit in recent years.
😂😂
Hooray - loving the challenges, loving the listening recs, can't wait for Emma, and no thanks for disrupting my work this morning as I could not bypass this headline and had to read instead of editing morning newscast scripts lol - happy Friday, John and friends 💮
I’m hoping to convince you to write a guest post for the Emma Challenge.
Sign me up 😊
Fist pump!
John - I can see the professor in you coming out! What a well thought out syllabus for the next year for your readers. Lots of greats stuff here. I have read most of your book selections so will look forward to following along with your articles on those. I am very keen on your listening lineup. While I enjoy classical music, I would not say that I am very knowledgeable about it. So I am looking forward to expanding my repertoire with your help.
Ha! Yes, I need a syllabus or I feel lost! Happy that you’ll be following along!
What edition of Troilus and Criseyde do you recommend? The Norton Critical Edition, which is the one I have been defaulting to, is more than $50(!) on Amazon, while the Oxford World's Edition is $11 and the Penguin Classics Edition is $19.
Hi, Deborah. I would look for an old used copy of the Norton Critical or the Broadview edition. Then, if you like, you might supplement this with the Oxford or Penguin, which are translations. I found some used copies quite cheap: https://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780393927559?invid=17841276905&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NMPi&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2eKtBhDcARIsAEGTG4146MNTOwhVtXDj75-amP7d2bQgtK_UjzzBsOFe7L3HSRVVxTV9QyMaAoB-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Thank you for leading us on the journey with these great books! I haven’t read Emma or SGGK before, so I’m looking forward to this opportunity.
Thanks, Ashley--so glad you’ll be joining the fun!
Thanks for the YouTube list! I also choose to believe I had some influence in the closeup of Abby's magnificent snout.
Yes, my girl has quite a nose, hasn’t she? She’s curled up next to me as I type this.
John, I learned of Bruno Walter when I saw the movie _Maestro_ that I loved and the scene where Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) directs Mahler in that gorgeous church brought me to tears. All the books in your list I have read and studied closely though long ago—perhaps with the exception of Emma that I tend to reread and have done so recently. For Austen, a fab Substack is: https://austenconnection.substack.com and Janet (aka plain Jane) did a post as my guest here on Inner life: https://innerlifecollaborative.substack.com/p/pride-and-prejudice-in-the-american
Thanks, Mary. I’m a big fan of the Austen Connection. In fact, Janet has just agreed to write a guest post for my Emma Challenge.
Oh fab: She's marvelous.
My reading list is absolutely full but I'm listening to the Bruno Walter playlist right now. I've made a New Year resolution to listen to more music. I think this has been sadly lacking in my life over the last few years. Your suggestions, therefore, are most useful.
Your dog and typewriter photos are truly delightful and make me giggle. Thank you!
Music and dogs always make the day better.