The Western Lands Mixtapes Part I: Garden of Joy and Sorrow

I tell people that lately I have been listening to a lot of "classical" music, and they nod their heads as if they know exactly what I mean . . . which is, of course, even less sensible than pretending to know what I mean if I say I listen to "rock". What generally is called "classical" covers centuries of Western music, and if you think the Stooges would sound incongruous on your local classic rock station, it would be nothing compared to Stockhausen's Kontakte sandwiched between Bach and Vivaldi on the local NPR classical outlet.

I have been buying up classical LPs at the local shops, since they sell for a fraction of what rock, punk, and jazz LPs go for these days. I got into classical music backwards: coming from a punk/post-punk/free jazz/free improv background, I started with 20th Century experimental work and really only go back as far as Beethoven. The big names in 20th Century experimental - Stockhausen, Oliveros, Partch, Cage, Xenakis, et al. - have a certain cachet among the post-punk crowd, and therefore pull higher prices on the used market than the average classical records and CDs (collector items notwithstanding, of course) . . . so, I'm using this opportunity to fill the gaps in my (more mainstream) classical collection. My good friend Shannon has recently ferreted out a couple large classical LP collections, and has allowed my to skim off the top for almost nothing, so I've currently got a big haul that I am wading through. There's plenty here by some of my faves - Beethoven, Debussy, Mahler, Shostakovich - so I have the luxury of finding my favorite versions.

Whilst sifting through my booty, I've decided to start making classical mixtapes: after all, what goes better with vinyl surface noise than low bias cassette tapes? Below the track listings is a Spotify playlist which, when possible, has the exact version that I pulled from my collection. I find that, while the records I am picking up these days are more mainstream in nature, these mixtapes are pulling liberally from my whole collection, including the more "weird" sounding modern classical.

TAPE 1

Side 1

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 9 in D: I - Adante comodo (Bernstien/NYP)

Sofia Gubaidulina – Garden of Joy and Sadness (excerpt)

Charles Ives - Symphony No. 4: Comedy – Allegretto (Tilson-Thomas/CSO)

Side 2

Robert Schumann – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in A Minor (Prades Festival Orchestra, Pablo Casals, Cello)

Jean Sibelius – Kyllikki, Op. 41: II – Andantino (Glenn Gould, piano)

Walter Piston – Symphony No. 8: I – Moderato Mosso (Mester/Louisville Symphony Orchestra)

Elliot Sharp – Digital (Kronos Quartet)

TAPE 2

Side 1

Richard Wagner – Das Rheingold: Overture, Scene I (Von Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic)

Morton Feldman – The O’Hara Songs (Ensemble Avantgarde)

Arnold Schoenberg – A Survivor From Warsaw, Op. 46 (Boulez/BBC Symphony Orchestra)

Side 2

Carl Ruggles – Sun Treader (Rozsnyai/Columbia Symphony Orchestra)

Maurice Ravel – Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No.2 (Szell/Cleveland Orchestra)

Witold Lutoslawski – String Quartet, Introductory Movement (Kronos Quartet)

Luc Ferrari – Tête et queue du dragon (Ferrari)

Enjoy! There's plenty more to come; I'm already up to tape 5.