Groovy Goofy French 19th century composer -> Theodore Gouvy

[otterhouse]

Hi all,

Recently got aquainted with the music of Théodor Gouvy (1819-1891). Admired bij Berlioz and Joseph Joachim, almost forgotten now. His music resembles Gottschalk sometimes!
Curious wat you think of this music.

http://classicalspotify.blogspot.nl/201 ... gouvy.html

Greetings,

Rolf

[jbuck919]

Definitely a dog. (You have to have seen the movie Stand By Me, and I promise no serious answer until I've had a listen.)

[jbuck919]

Admired bij Berlioz and Joseph Joachim, almost forgotten now.

Admired "bij" Berlioz? It's easy to see where you come from. (Henry Slofstra, where are you when we need you?) Anyway, enough kidding, because we need more interesting posts like yours from members who do not post frequently, and I would only want to encourage you. I listened to this and did not dislike it:



It almost makes me want to move to Sweden, although I have long had other motivations for that anyway, starting with the fact that they don't have to deal with Texas. But I promised to stop kidding.

Chamber music in "odd" forms is a little like violin concertos. Amazing things come from composers who are a mixed story in other genres and/or are sometimes not at all well known.

(The joke from Stand By Me involves a conversation among the kids about what kind of animal Goofy is, when all the other Disney characters are obvious. It does not make terrible sense that Pluto and Goofy are the same, but then it doesn't make sense that a Russian wolfhound and a chihuahua are the same.)

[johnQpublic]

I recently acquired my first Gouvy (the cpo recording of his 6th symphony & a Sinfonietta) and came away truly impressed by its quality. I plan to get more of his music.

Now back to my exile

[gfweis]

Rolf, thanks what is for me an introduction to Gouvy. I've never heard any of his music. I'm listening to the Piano Trio No. 2 as I write, using your Spotify link. It's not bad, but the surging swells in the first movement put me in a rolling boat (and I don't yet have my sea legs). The andante is more amenable, but seems desultory at first; still, it gets tighter as it develops. Mendelssohn-ish in the scherzo (which is a good way to be in a scherzo), carrying over into the finale, which is pleasant enough---the best movement I think---but in which the ideas seem to come rather predictably. I think I might have responded better to a recording on modern instruments. Is this a fortepiano? It sounds pretty shallow. But the musicians seem committed, and skillful.