Can ANYONE listen to Nyman's music for more than about 90 seconds, with pleasure?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I like MN's music because as a result of CotW I just sold a CD of his concertos which has been sitting on my stock shelves for 2 years.

Or is that the wrong reason?

Not necessarily, BoD, but you are avoiding the question: can you listen to it, regardless of its (eventual!) beneficial effects on your profits? <paxmanemoticon>

I have the Essential Michael Nyman disc and the Argo CD of his first three String Quartets and I enjoy them every so often. I don't like his more recent stuff - dreary and faintly risible: Geography Teacher at the Sixth-Form Disco stuff.

[Roehre]

Methinks Nyman's masterpieces will be played long after those by Beethoven et al have disappeared from people's minds. But they shouldn't before that.

Sorry, I do think that I may say that I am musically a bit broad minded. But Nyman's music simply doesn't fit within my musical framework, I'm afraid. Most of it bored me at first listening, and started irritating me on second or further listenings as being boring, unnecessarily repetitious, void of good and well developing ideas. I am afraid it is just tasteless, a lot of screaming, but no contents worth mentioning.
Maybe this is music meant NOT to be listened to, but to be physically heard/experienced?

[MrGongGong]

Methinks Nyman's masterpieces will be played long after those by Beethoven et al have disappeared from people's minds. But they shouldn't before that.

Sorry, I do think that I may say that I am musically a bit broad minded. But Nyman's music simply doesn't fit within my musical framework, I'm afraid. Most of it bored me at first listening, and started irritating me on second or further listenings as being boring, unnecessarily repetitious, void of good and well developing ideas. I am afraid it is just tasteless, a lot of screaming, but no contents worth mentioning.
Maybe this is music meant NOT to be listened to, but to be physically heard/experienced?

I'm intrigued by you saying this

"But Nyman's music simply doesn't fit within my musical framework, I'm afraid."

I'm always trying to find music that is outside mine but Nyman's is hardly that IMV

and also this

"Maybe this is music meant NOT to be listened to, but to be physically heard/experienced?"

Could you suggest some music that can be experienced without physically being heard ?

(I can think of a couple of things )

[gurnemanz]

I have the Essential Michael Nyman disc and the Argo CD of his first three String Quartets and I enjoy them every so often. I don't like his more recent stuff - dreary and faintly risible: Geography Teacher at the Sixth-Form Disco stuff.

These are the exact two discs which I have and I listened to both of them a few times on first purchase but have not returned very often. I do think his music works really well in a film context. You can't imagine the Draughtsman's Contact or The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover without it.

[verismissimo]

interminable...

[Roehre]

.....
"Maybe this is music meant NOT to be listened to, but to be physically heard/experienced?"

Could you suggest some music that can be experienced without physically being heard ?

what I mean here, and what I therefore should have written: "Maybe this is music meant NOT to be listened to, but to be physically felt/experienced live"

[MrGongGong]

what I mean here, and what I therefore should have written: "Maybe this is music meant NOT to be listened to, but to be physically felt/experienced live"

So are you suggesting that "listening" isn't "feeling" ?
or more that you feel that (as I would maintain with pieces like Ligeti's Atmospheres ) it doesn't "work" outside the live context ?

[Roehre]

So are you suggesting that "listening" isn't "feeling" ?
or more that you feel that (as I would maintain with pieces like Ligeti's Atmospheres ) it doesn't "work" outside the live context ?

I mean the literal "gut-feeling" like the feeling of the big drums of a passing military band in you belly - a very physical experience therefore. It's possible that Nyman for me would work within the live context - though I haven't any problems with Atmosphères. I love that piece inside the concert hall as well as in my comfy chair at home.

[MrGongGong]

I mean the literal "gut-feeling" like the feeling of the big drums of a passing military band in you belly - a very physical experience therefore. It's possible that Nyman for me would work within the live context - though I haven't any problems with Atmosphères. I love that piece inside the concert hall as well as in my comfy chair at home.

Indeed
for me Nymans music works best live or with the Greenaway films (but LOUD)

context again ...............

I don't think its a "problem" with Atmosphères just having bought more or less every recording am never happy with the recorded sound object (as they would say at IRCAM )