[gregorymichael]

I love this so much, as someone who tends to listen to a single piece of music on repeat (especially while coding) and has spent a lot of time with Yo-Yo Ma's "Six Evolutions".

Loved learning about the deep diversity of recordings from other artists, the ambiguous history of the music, and that there's a question if the music was even originally written for a cello!

Also loved that the site recommends different recordings based on the mood of interpretation.

This all reminds me of the HN favorite, "Reality has a lot of detail." Feel like I just discovered fractal complexity in a piece of music I naively thought I knew well.

[jacquesm]

Different renderings of classical pieces can be night-and-day difference. There are some pieces that have been worn grey from over exposure and then you hear that one special version and it's like it is a completely new piece all over again.

[vunderba]

Now just imagine you lived during the romantic period of music where the virtuoso's highly personal interpretation of the piece was not only encouraged - it was downright expected.

Even today where the printed note is considered sacrosanct - you'll still find that artists are able to inject quite a bit of their own personality into a piece.

Great example is the Well-Tempered Clavier as performed by Glenn Gould versus Sviatoslav Richter.

[djtango]

Despite all that I still find myself so drawn to interpretations by Rubinstein and Perahia that prize themselves on their restraint.

Although Argerich is my goddess so who knows

[nullhole]

Dvorak's cello concerto in b minor, Rostropovich vs Yo-Yo Ma

(I'm strongly in the Rostropovich camp, myself)

[graycat]

Some Rostropovich, second movement of the Dvorak Cello Concerto, as at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyAMvctMEbI

[koverstreet]

Jacqueline du Pré played this with fire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_yxtaeFuEQ

[esafak]

Vivaldi's Four Seasons is like that for me; it has to be completely re-imagined, like Max Richter's "Recomposed", to pique my interest.

[jacquesm]

Try this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8zbPcuIvSM

[kleton]

The Ivry Gitlis interpretation of the chaconne is wild

[jojobas]

https://xkcd.com/915/

[jacquesm]

XKCD is just a high brow version of the reaction gif. But it carries just as much value.

[lukan]

Nope. Really does not apply here.

[KaiserPro]

As someone who grew up bathed in baroque orchestral and medieval choral music, I can imagine that to the outside this applies.

after all a genre that you're not familiar with tends to sound the same.

[kashunstva]

…which of course is a good reminder not to make assumptions about domains in which one has limited or no knowledge. I too have spent my entire life in classical music - I’m a collaborative pianist. But I have to guard against making judgements about popular genres which I don’t regularly listen to.

[mtalantikite]

My year in review music roundups from Spotify or Apple Music have always been totally useless because I code to Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians almost daily. Something about that composition just gets me in the zone and I've been using it to study or work to since I first heard it in college 20+ years ago.

[gregorymichael]

I’m listening to this now for the first time now. Somehow I had never heard of him. Thank you. I sense this music will be with me for a long time.

[mtalantikite]

Oh great, I'm glad! I vividly remember the first time a friend that was studying 18 Musicians for a class at Berklee came over to my apartment with the original ECM vinyl and we just sat there silently listening for the hour. I don't think I'll ever grow tired of listening to it.

[JSR_FDED]

Erik Satie does that for me

[mtalantikite]

I should try coding to Vexations sometime, it could last me the whole work day!

[kristianp]

"Reality has a surprising amount of detail" (2017): 7 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43087779

8 years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16184255

6 years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22020495

2 years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38407851