Řezníček

[semloh]

Just a quick 'thank you' to britishcomposer for the superb downloads of Řezníček. 

These will be listened to with interest today. According to Wikipedia, RStrauss was sometimes on the receiving end of his somewhat sarcastic wit, and that he often got "into trouble in a world that was unaccustomed to the use of humour in music and art". My own feeling is that perhaps the popularity of the Donna D. overture has also been unhelpful.

[Alan Howe]

Indeed. Reznicek was a virtuoso composer in many ways - his writing for the orchestra is often extraordinary. Sometimes, though, I have the feeling that he is "living off" other composers such as Strauss - a bit like a comedian who would be nothing without celebrities to parody. Still, he's always interesting.

[chill319]

... a bit like a comedian who would be nothing without celebrities to parody

Reznicek certainly had a tough row to hoe -- not unlike Draeseke. And if, like Draeseke in Symphony 4 (second movement), Strauss was in his parodic crosshairs, in other works he aimed at -- or borrowed from -- older composers with equal equanimity.  In the  Lustspiel overture (where Schubert's Rosamunde overture is clearly a subtext) Reznicek reminds me of a provincial comedian doing his impression of John Wayne in "The Greatest Story Ever Told" ("He musta been the ... Son o' God"). Not that the Lustspeil overture isn't delightful. Although less so than Rosamunde.

The Reznicek I enjoy most appears in the late works, the Chamisso and Kol Nidrei variations. These are not as startling as Der Sieger or Schlemihl, but they have the advantage of sounding heartfelt.

[Ilja]

Nothing wrong with parody, so long as it doesn't descend into pastiche. Der Sieger is clearly inspired by Ein Heldenleben, but I enjoy it much more than the more than somewhat pompous 'original'. In fact, Reznicek's tongue-in-cheek is precisely what so endears him to me. Humour in 'serous' music is quite rare, after all.

[semloh]

Nothing wrong with parody, so long as it doesn't descend into pastiche. Der Sieger is clearly inspired by Ein Heldenleben, but I enjoy it much more than the more than somewhat pompous 'original'. In fact, Reznicek's tongue-in-cheek is precisely what so endears him to me. Humour in 'serous' music is quite rare, after all.

What's wrong with a dollop of pastiche now and then, Ilja?

I really enjoy humour in music - Haydn's string quartets, and various works by Shostakovich often have me laughing out loud - but I wonder if music in the romantic style can ever be funny. Maybe that's a whole new thread! 

[TerraEpon]

but I wonder if music in the romantic style can ever be funny. Maybe that's a whole new thread! 

How about Carnival of the Animals?

[Lionel Harrsion]

Dohnányi's Variations on a Nursery Song; and it's not just the portentous introduction -- the whole thing is a hoot from start to finish!