Re: Desert Island biases

[turney@cs.cornell.edu (Jenn Turney)]

Bravo, R. McMillan, for listing something other than "pop" music in
his Desert Island Discs.  In particular:

>Sunday In The Park With George:
>	THE definitive Sondheim, and his statement on Art.  The most moving
>	Broadway show I've ever seen.  (P.S.: For you Dorothy Parker, Stephen
>	Sondheim, or Leonard Bernstein fans out there, Deutche Grammophon is
>	releasing their collaborative effort _Candide_ in August, with
>	Bernstein conducting... should be interesting!)

My favorite Sondheim too, though Sweeney Todd's definitely in the
running.  I saw this first five years ago and have not tired of it.

>Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony
>	The master's magnum opus.  The apocryphal story of someone turning
>	him around to see the applause he could not hear after the final
>	chord sounded makes it that much more appealing.  Every composer
>	afterward has been influenced by him; in a sense, he was the Newton
>	of music.

Finally someone lists bona fide classical music!  My list would
definitely include Orff's _Carmina Burana_ and Mozart's _The Marriage
of Figaro_.  Then I have a tough choice between Shostakovich's 5th and
Brahms' piano quintet in F.  Right now I think Brahms.

>Gilbert and Sullivan: H.M.S. Pinafore/The Pirates of Penzance
>	Gilbert and Sullivan grew to loathe each other, but not without
>	first giving us these beauties, reminding us that it's important
>	to be able to satirize important institutions.  "Saturday Night
>	Live" for the 19th century.

Encore, encore!  If I'm allowed two, the first is easily _Patience_
(sans "Twenty Lovesick Maidens"!) but the second is tough.  Having
just finished helping with a week-long G&S course, I'm inclined to say
_Utopia, Ltd._, swayed by the beautiful a capella "Eagle High".  Quite
an appropriate choice, actually, as it takes place on a South Sea
island.

So, so far:

1. Sondheim: Sunday in the Park with George
2. Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro
3. Orff: Carmina Burana
4. Brahms: Piano Quintet in F, Op. 34
5. G&S: Patience/Utopia, Ltd.

And I'll stick in one jazz selection:

6. Dave Brubeck: Time Out

And round it off with pop:

7. Kate Bush: The Dreaming
8. Jane Siberry: The Speckless Sky
9. Innocence Mission: Innocence Mission
10. Bel Canto: White-Out Conditions

This is hard!  I've left out so many!  Still, I think these selections
leave plenty of room for mood and provide ample material for
contemplation during those long, languid island days.

Jenn
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| turney@cs.cornell.edu | Dept of Computer Science | Cornell University |
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| I am not fond of uttering platitudes in stained glass attitudes...	|
|	 				-- Bunthorne, _Patience_	|
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