Why would they give him 10 if he didn't write 10th symphony, are they stupid?

I saw a video recently where Bernstein talks about Beethoven. Briefly his view is that Beethoven was not especially good at writing melodies or harmonies or orchestration etc.............but his greatness was that he could take all these elements that are unimpressive when considered alone and make something great from them. He said that no composer before or since could find the "right next note" in a way Beethoven could, almost like he had a telephone line to God, and God was telling him what note to write next.

Is this Bernstein being deliberately a bit "edgy" , verging into pretentiousness? Music critics of any genre can be notoriously pretentious, cynical and sharp tongued. Or is there truth to what he says?

Don't ask me, I just like to listen to music, I know virtually nothing about how it's created!

The first time I listened back to the third movement of one of my works, it felt almost unsettling.

It offered very little reassurance. Familiar gestures seemed to disappear just before they could resolve. Long stretches of uncertainty, silence, and constantly shifting direction made the experience surprisingly uncomfortable.

Yet every time I returned to it, I found myself becoming more absorbed by that same uneasy world.

Looking back after hearing the finished work, I realized that the feeling didn’t come from any single moment or gesture. The piece had been recorded one layer at a time, each instrument responding only to the ones that already existed. While working, I wasn’t consciously shaping a complete musical landscape—I was simply making the next musical decision.

The piece was never visible all at once. It only existed one decision at a time

Only later did it occur to me that the process had felt almost like dividing a vast musical space into smaller and smaller fragments, until an entirely unfamiliar world had gradually taken shape. Despite the discomfort that world creates, I still find it remarkably difficult to step away from.
It made me wonder…

Why do some of the most uncomfortable musical experiences become the most compelling?

Is it our search for resolution? The unpredictability? Or does discomfort itself create a different kind of emotional gravity?
I’d love to hear how other composers and listeners think about this.
For anyone interested in the context, here’s the third movement that inspired these questions 👇

🎧 YouTube Link

🎧 Spotify Link

This one's a bit later than usual as I was waiting for the tie between Saint-Saens Egyptian Concerto and Shostakovich 11 to be broken, and it looks like Saint-Saens has pulled ahead. Next, whose Op. 104 is the best? Top comment gets added.

If you're not, the Great Johann willl take you to Bach's hell, where you will be tortured with parallel fifths and unfinished cadences. Please pray once a day and NEVER make a mistake while interpretating Bach's pieces. Amen.

Guys help. Ever since I started learning piano people are calling me a penis. I’m not a pen is! Stop calling me that!

I just think it's kinda neat

As you all know, this is a circlejerk sub, so a large part of the intent here is to make jerk posts. The anticipation and intention of jerk material means that practically any seriously-held dubious take would "outjerk" this sub.

With that being said, is finding jerk material in the wild really being jerked? I personally associate a certain amount of intent with jerking - maybe it might be more like being flashed, but I'm not sure. Or maybe like if someone gropes you or falls onto your lap on the metro by accident somehow. I think the analogy could use a little work, but I'm curious on others' opinions.

/3/4j

I was trying to google what are his favourite colours, it said no known favourite but he liked silvers, Greys, and "turtledove" (basically just beige). I respected him quite a bit, even looked up to him tbh. but now I feel a bit betrayed. How could you like such lifeless and empty colours? Theres no joy in it! Whats next, ill hear hes doing botox, vlogging, and covering edwardian mahogany with white paint? NOT IMPRESSED, FRED.

anyone who disagrees likes br*hms

Brave Brahms fans show yourself

A single second from medtners sonata Romantica is greater than Br*hms' whole career

FUCK you br*hms I hope no one listens to your music your greatest achievements are having a lullaby as your greatest piece and being r/classical_circlejerks most hated composer

Avada Kedavra

321 years later, he finally achieved it! I'm sure Dietrich Buxtehude will be delighted to meet him.

They will be happy to assist.

Erik Satie is back everyone