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ohio jones wrote:A point of clarification: J. S. Bach or P. D. Q. Bach?

Johann Sebastian was the one I had in mind.

Maybe my next poll can be "JS, WF, JC, JCF, CPE, or PDQ?"

Like them both but am extra partial to Beethoven.

mike wrote:

Josh wrote:Neither: both involve instruments...

For you, we have... The Swingle Singers.

Hmmm, is this singing in an unknown tongue ?

Shouldn't take long to learn the words.

Sorry, struck my funny bone.

ohio jones wrote:A point of clarification: J. S. Bach or P. D. Q. Bach?

I enjoy both!

So on Saturday evening my wife and I took in a concert that started out with a piece from Verdi and ended with
Beethoven's fifth. As always I was totally struck with the fact of how a man who was almost totally deaf could compose such beautiful music.

I was also reminded of a question that I always have when I hear this piece. I always wonder if the author of the hymn or gospel song "Is my name written there? " was inspired by the second movement of Beethoven's fifth? Or is the similarity a total accident? Anyone else ever notice it?

Mind you I see from the poll that I was the only one that choose Beethoven so maybe I am speaking to the wrong crowd. Looks like there are no other Beethoven fans here.

appleman2006 wrote:Mind you I see from the poll that I was the only one that choose Beethoven so maybe I am speaking to the wrong crowd. Looks like there are no other Beethoven fans here.

On the contrary, I was starting to feel bad for Beethoven, and I was glad to see him get a vote.

appleman2006 wrote:I was also reminded of a question that I always have when I hear this piece. I always wonder if the author of the hymn or gospel song "Is my name written there? " was inspired by the second movement of Beethoven's fifth? Or is the similarity a total accident? Anyone else ever notice it?

I'd never noticed that before, but you're right. There is a noticeable similarity.

I voted for Beethoven. I acknowledge Bach was a great composer but I rarely listen to his music. My focus is mainly into symphonic and opera. Bach has nothing in these two categories.

Bach is more ordered and mathematical in his music and comes from a more ordered time. Beethoven is more pure emotion and comes from a more turbulent time. As a pianist I like them both, but if I had to live on a desert island with only one, I'd pick Beethoven.

By the way, we named our youngest daughter 'Ana Magdalena" after Bach's wife Anna Magdalena Bach, who was a brilliant musician in her own right.

Also because it is a name that works equally well in English and Spanish as we split time between the US and Chile. She goes by Maggie here in the US but usually Ana in Chile.

Interestingly we have both Ana/Anna and Magdalena multiple places in the family trees on both sides of the family. So it seems like they were names that were equally popular in both German and Spanish.

Ken wrote: As a pianist I like them both, but if I had to live on a desert island with only one, I'd pick Beethoven.

For piano I really like Rachmaninoff. Of course Beethoven's piano sontatas are wonderful too.