Whenever music plays in my head

Originally posted by FMF
This I find this very interesting. I think more or less the same could be said for the vast majority of orchestra members playing huge swathes of the classical music that's out there.

The non-soloist professional orchestra musicians I have met have mostly been like chartered accountants (as opposed to entrepreneurs) in terms of how they go about what they ha ...[text shortened]... o classical music's voracious need to have thousands of jobbing musicians doing exactly that. 🙂

I do see what you mean although I'm not sure I'd ever characterise musicians as like chartered accountants. But there might, I suppose, be a significant 'corporate' aspect in many pro orchestral musicians' lives. Also, I think most if not all of the standard repertoire is inspiring, exciting and interesting for classical musicians to play, although I'm sure they get bored after a fashion now and again. Generally I am rather envious of musicians' lives, and don't tend to feel sorry for them. But the expressions on the faces of those in the video and the (to me) mind-numbing repetitiveness and rigidity of their parts did prompt feelings of pity. Of course, I don't know what they are thinking and feeling – they may be enjoying it intellectually and as an exercise in concentration, finding playing the music cathartic and generally be much more 'into it' than I perceived.

Originally posted by NoEarthlyReason
I do see what you mean although I'm not sure I'd ever characterise musicians as like chartered accountants. But there might, I suppose, be a significant 'corporate' aspect in many pro orchestral musicians' lives. Also, I think most if not all of the standard repertoire is inspiring, exciting and interesting for classical musicians to play, although I ...[text shortened]... tion, finding playing the music cathartic and generally be much more 'into it' than I perceived.

I would imagine they are happy to be playing Music for 18 Musicians. I would love to be involved in producing that pulsating, shifting sound alongside a team of people all contributing their piece to the overall effect.

I don't associate the playing of classical music by an orchestra with happy or inspired looks on the faces of its members ~ normally it's just concentration as they stare at their scores and count bars - just as we see in the video I provided.

I fully understand how and why Music for 18 Musicians might not engage you. I think it's an unusual artefact and it simply enthralled me when I was about 13 years old. Now, all this time later, I listen to it maybe once every 2-3 years, usually when I am working.

I gave it to a couple of cafes here a few years back; one thought it was truly awful (though they were polite about it); the other put it in their rotation along with some Brian Eno stuff I gave them.

I also read stuff in Dave Attenborough's voice.