It's going around again

[ng_moonmoth]

Been a while since I joined in on any of the non-friending memes. Lots of people are doing this one right now, and I had fun with it the last time, so here goes again:

Ask me my top five anything.

As usual, I won't promise to answer anything I consider too personal, or personally identifying. But as long as I can be creative enough, I might be able to come up with something. Also, I am picking out my personal favorites, with no implication that they are the best of their category. Just that I like them the best, or value the most.

Comments

[ng_moonmoth]

• Alexander James Adams: Extremely talented multi-instrumentalist. His concerts are always full of energy, and his songs are clever, well-written, and I enjoy them.


• Johann Sebastian Bach: In addition to being a master composer, was a supremely talented keyboard virtuoso, in an era where people who combined these skills were much in demand. An important driver for his prolific output was that frequently writing interesting new music was a desired skill for the positions he held; its quality was a reflection of his wanting to have something worthwhile he could play.


• Miles Davis: Never got a chance to hear him in concert. I have several recordings.


• Alicia de Larrocha: Heard her several times. Very big, yet nuanced, sound from such a small package.


• Yo Yo Ma: Knows how to make a cello really sing. I also appreciate his commitment to introducing people to music from around the world via his Silkroad organization. I played cello for a while growing up.

[paulamcg]

I seem to have asked a question that suits your interests well… Oh, but I can see that you explain wonderfully your answers to other questions, too! In any case, what an interesting, diverse list! Out of these, I’ve listened to Bach only, and besides him, heard about Miles Davis only. You make me feel like listening to the others, too.

[ng_moonmoth]

>> Oh, but I can see that you explain wonderfully your answers to other questions, too! <<

Getting to say something about things I like is a big part of what makes memes like this fun for me. Perhaps someone will check them out based on what I said, and the world will be at least marginally a better place for that.

"Aja", as his fans generally refer to him, has a website and lots of music you can readily find by searching for him. For Miles Davis, any decent jazz source will no doubt have plenty to choose from. The earlier stuff might be a bit more accessible than the later stuff, although if you ever liked funk or Motown, you'll get where he's coming from there. There are undoubtedly still lots of recordings available in classical departments featuring de Larrocha, even though she was no longer able to perform much or tour at all for some years before her death in 2009. If you can find some of her solo performances of compositions by Spanish musicians, you may well find a new category of music to enjoy. And for Ma, I would suggest you combine my interests by looking for any of his recordings of the unaccompanied cello music by Bach, as well as checking out the Silk Road Ensemble.

[paulamcg]

Thank you for the more detailed suggestions! These will make it easier to check out your favourites. It’s the best way to find new things when people with whom you share at least one interest write about other things they like. That’s what's fun about these memes, too! :)