Coughers at the opéra

[DVV]

Maria, you cannot say Schumann was "supernul" for opera. Beethoven also wrote one only, that cannot be the reason why he should be "supernul".

Must say I like "Genoveva", yes I like it much, but there again I'm biased...To cut it short, it's just like the symphonies....Schumann symphonies are great and indeed influenced those of Brahms (and Brahms btw will ever be the disciple of the divine Schumann), but at the same time we know, and he knew, that he was better for finer achievements.

Sure, a sonata is a symphony without fat. The best genre, actually, and that is why my dear Schumann has written the best sonatas ever, and why they are rich and full of everything like true symphonies.

God bless Schumann's 105 & 121

[DVV]

"La musique de Schumann fait vibrer des cordes qu'aucun de ses grands prédécesseurs n'avaient jamais effleurées" (Tchaikovski)

[mariab]

Beethoven's Fidelio is an achievement. (Strongly influenced by Cherubini, but nevertehless a fine work.)

Both Schumann and Brahms are very fine symphonic and piano composers, and it makes sense that you like them both so much, and you're completely correct that Brahms owes so much to Schumann. Still, my personal favorite symphonies remain Beethoven's Eroica and Schubert's Die unvollendete. Call me depressive. ;-)

By the by, could I tempt you to give a chance to Meyerbeer? I'm sure you'd love Les Huguenots and Le Prophète.

Back to my dinner party, and you gave me the idea to maybe watch Un coeur en hiver later on. (Which plays the Ravel violin sonatas and the trio during the entire movie.)

[DVV]

"Nous y trouvons l'ého de notre mystérieux processus de vie mentale, ces doutes, ces dépressions, ces regards levés vers l'idéal qui émeuvent le coeur de l'homme moderne " (Tchaikovski)

[DVV]

"Pour Schumann, l'histoire n'a pas encore commencé " (Tchaikovski)

[DVV]

By the by, could I tempt you to give a chance to Meyerbeer? I'm sure you'd love Les Huguenots and Le Prophète.

Oh please tell everything that helps me appreciate it.

[mariab]

Hmm...not surprising. Tchaikovsky was gay.
(I'm just kidding here, didn't mean to offend Schumann, and I love Tchaikovsky's ballets, though I despise his repetitive symphonies.)

I just prefer Beethoven's harmony and substance, plus he's so poignant without being sentimental. Schubert too. Probably has to do with the fact that both were poor suckers, out of luck with money and in their personal life, while Schumann and Brahms were pure bourgeois. :-)

PS.: If you like Verdi's best, Meyerbeer is so much more fine and sophisticated. I could burn you some CDs someday, Davidou.
Gotta go back to the dinner, but I can check in in a couple hours.

[DVV]

Hmm...not surprising. Tchaikovsky was gay

Well, Schumann and I are not.

[DVV]

Tchaikovsky was gay.

True, as it seems, and it makes him even more interesting (I mean : both gay and real orthodox and conservative in Russia at that time).

[mariab]

Neither are Beethoven, Meyerbeer, and I.

(In undergraduate musicology class we were playing a game of stating which composers were gay, and my friend Bernd came up with “Bach“, which totally cracked us up. It's like saying Hercules and SPE are gay!)

[DVV]

Hey Maria, the thread ain't'bout gays but coughers.

We're longing for gays that caught cold, if any, mind you.

[Zodiac]

Hi Maria, Happy New Year!!! Hope that all is well with you.

Oh Maria, that last post of yours'... :-O You know what my dyslexia is like, (The less said about Sir Robert Anderson, the better!!!) So imagine my confusion as I stumble upon words like "Wood", "Shaking their instrument", their need to "empty their instrument", on a regular basis no less, and something to do with the swallowing of bodily fluids!!! Well, let me tell you, I very nearly went and took it in entirely the wrong way... but then again, I've done that in past too!!! lol. I used to charge extra for it of course!!! ;-)

Best wishes,
Zodiac.

[mariab]

Hi Z, Happy New Year, I hope everything is fine with you too.
I'm fine, except I haven't slept for almost 48 hours and STOOPID f*cking AT&T apparently lost the modem they FORCED on me (I didn't want to update) on the way to my boss or they forgot to ship it or something and now they don't answer their godamn phone. AT&T is my personal nemesis #2 – after easyjet.

Oh Maria, that last post of yours'... :-O You know what my dyslexia is like, (The less said about Sir Robert Anderson, the better!!!) So imagine my confusion as I stumble upon words like "Wood", "Shaking their instrument", their need to "empty their instrument", on a regular basis no less, and something to do with the swallowing of bodily fluids!!! Well, let me tell you, I very nearly went and took it in entirely the wrong way...

He he Z, maybe I'm dirty minded, but last night or whenever it was, just as I was typing “wood“ and “swallowing your own saliva“ and “shaking their instrument“, I was thinking “somebody's gonna comment on this the wrong way“. Didn't know it would end up being you though. :-)

By the by, there's a snowboard manufacturer called HEAD, and they occasionally print their logo on Tshirts. You can imagine the jokes when (non English speaking) riders wear those shirts.

Your dyslexic read of Sir Robert Anderson's ARSE in the Thames and the disaster which ensued periodically still cracks me up, by the way.

[Zodiac]

Hi Maria,

Glad to hear that you are well, AT&T aside! By the way, if you ever wanna "Go Postal" with them, count me in, ok!!! As for "Cheesy Jet" et al, well, take my advice, if you're going to fly with a U.K. based airline, check out my own local one, "Yorkshire Airlines" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VLYpKGVBUg

When you be needing a U.S. airline, check dis... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpI7U...eature=related

Best wishes,
Zodiac.

[mariab]

You're funny, Z. :-) As luck has it, I'm not flying with sleazyjet next time, but with SAS (like the spies!), which is a Scandinavian airline (real cheap too).
Plus I've slept like a log and finally caught up on some sleep, and my guest even did the dishes while I was out cold!
Later on we're going out on the town a bit, saying goodbye to Berlin.

Hope you're having a really nice weekend, with or without “Yorkshire airlines“. ;-)