Is complicated music better than simple music?
Tom Service looks at complexity in music. From Bach fugues to contemporary pop production, musicians and composers love to elaborate ideas, but can we hear what's going on?
Tom Service looks at complexity in music. From Bach fugues to contemporary pop production, musicians and composers love to elaborate ideas to the limits of their imaginations. But when we listen, we only have one chance to hear all that's going on in their music. According to physicist Marvin Minsky, the human brain can only register a maximum of three different musical ideas going on at the same time. So how do we manage to enjoy listening to the rich counterpoint of a Mozart symphony, a Beethoven string quartet, even a highly produced pop song by Janelle Monae? Tom wrestles with ideas of detail versus texture, emotion versus intellectual design and asks, can we hear the wood for the trees?
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Music Played
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Arvo P盲rt
Spiegel im Spiegel for violin and piano
Performer: H茅l猫ne Grimaud. Performer: Lisa Batiashvili.- DG.
- 4779299.
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Brian Ferneyhough
La Terre est un homme for orchestra
Conductor: Martyn Brabbins. Performer: 大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra.- NMC.
- CD231.
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The Carpenters
We've Only Just Begun
- A & M RECORDS.
- 540 838-2.
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Richard D. James
Bucephalus Bouncing Ball
Performer: Aphex Twin.- Warp.
- Warp-094.
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Gustav Holst
The Planets - suite Op.32
Conductor: Claudio Abbado. Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. -
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John Dunstable
Preco preheminencie/Precursor premittitur/[textless]/Inter natos mulierum - motet for 4 voices
Performer: The Hilliard Ensemble.- EMI.
- CDC7490022.
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Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and fugue from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, bk.1 no. 2 in C minor BWV.847
Performer: Sir Andr谩s Schiff.- decca.
- 424388.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Grosse Fuge Op.133 for string quartet [original finale of Op.130]
Performer: Belcea Quartet. -
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Arnold Schoenberg
Variations Op.31 for orchestra
Performer: German S O Berlin. Conductor: Kent Nagano.- HMC.
- 901884.
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Arnold Schoenberg
Variations Op.31 for orchestra
Performer: German S O Berlin. Conductor: Kent Nagano.- HMC.
- 901884.
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The Beach Boys
Wouldn't it Be Nice
- EMI.
- CDP-7467382.
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叠别测辞苍肠茅
Formation
- Unknown.
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Janelle Mon谩e
Don't Judge Me
- ATLANTIC.
- 7567 86579.
Broadcasts
- Sun 7 Jul 2019 17:00大象传媒 Radio 3
- Fri 12 Jul 2019 16:30大象传媒 Radio 3
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The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
