The Modern Classical Thread

Listening to this music right now and honestly don't know what to make of it. I'm a big fan of minimalism as a modern classical form, yet this is so minimal it hardly even exists. It's definitely pretty, but so grave and reverential as to border on self-parody. I find it both calming and confusing. If I was in a space suit on a space walk outside the capsule, I would want this recording on permanent "repeat."

So I went to the 'net in search of information. Very interesting! Hardly the first time I remained completely unaware of something many others knew all about:

• I've heard Richter's soundtracks (especially in the great episodic series, THE LEFTOVERS) without knowing it. That's easy to do with music as slow and inward as this
• Many people adore this man's compositions. You might even say Richter represents an easy on-ramp for non-classical fans to become exposed to minimalism, at the very least--and maybe more if the go searching for similar compositions
  
• Whether he meant to or not, Richter trod in the path of other quasi-"ambient" composers like Brian Eno (I always thought his brilliant title, "Music for Airports," was unusually ironic and self-revealing)
  
• And no matter what else, Richter's music is Philips Glass-like at times, albeit even slower and more reverential (I'm a big Glass fan). The Richter compositions I'm hearing now lack that wonderful pulse so many Glass pieces have (I may not be listening to the right pieces)

Here's a fascinating article about Richter. It's beautifully written. Author Alex Ross drills into his own confused reactions to Max Richter's music. I wish all articles about confusion yielded this kind of insight & clarity. Here's a sample:

"What troubles me about Richter’s enterprise is, ultimately, its inoffensiveness.... Somehow, it keeps erasing itself and making itself new."

(IMO that's also the best thing about it, this mimicking of fungible consciousness)
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Here's the article:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/17/max-richter-music-review

 

Forgot to report back: I couldn’t find Krupowicz on Qobuz, but I loved the whole On Photography album. Thanks for the tip!

 

I just searched Qobuz (I'm not a subscriber, but can do full searches) and am shocked to find that the Camerata Silesia's recording, MISERERE, is not listed there. That's kind of surprising.

My separate open-web searches for other recordings of Krupowicz' works turned up next to nothing.

Sorry!

 

Just cross posted in the what are you listening to now thread but figure I would post here too since this probably falls under classical:

Found this thread online, but need more recommendations for organ albums that have deep bass and a lot going on.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=128963.0

I randomly remembered, after a lot of years, how good the bass can be in a good organ setup with a good recording and how good it is for testing sub setup, the sub itself, cohesion, etc. And also how much a good organ recording can reveal about your system as a whole.

That and even though I've only heard a handful of "really mind blowing and wow" organs, mostly in historical churches and cathedrals as a tourist, just listening to a few of the albums here makes me want to travel out to some of these places again just to hear their organs. More recordings will have to cut it for now.

 

Try “Saint-Saëns: Complete Music for Organ” played by Michele Savino (Brilliant Classics). Great recordings, and many go very deep.

EDIT: Ok, not as deep as that Felix Hell album. Wow.

P.S.: Not organ music, but do try To Dream Is To Forget by Hidden Orchestra, especially the track Broken.