u/ComposerWaehnen

I just finished the 2nd book, Helium Sea. It was a thrill! I absolutely loved the universe, the characters and the plot.

But I was very disappointed in these aspects:

• My favourite characters, the 3 Queens in exile were disposed of with a flick of a wrist.
• The collapse of Khepri´s grand game was never viewed from the point of view of her dominion.
• Lilliana and Gyvoy were just wiped out.
• The Mara Yama were not really shown or explained, just wiped out.
• Helena didn´t get to return in any form. (OK, this is just what I would have preferred).
• Thyra didn´t have to answer for his crimes, everyone just accepted her.
• The Elohim never showed themselves. (OK, this is just what I would have preferred).

All of these elements point towards a rushed ending or an ending (or a setting) that was agreed upon beforehand.

Sibelius’ 6th Symphony performed by Paavo Berglund and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is one of my dearest recordings, at the very top with a few others.

The performance — with the moderate tempos also in the middle movements which shine gloriously— is so convincing that I don’t find any other performance as satisfying.

Also, no other music on planet earth is more soothing and relaxing to me! (That is to say, together with some Bach, Mozart and Haydn and chamber and piano music movements by Beethoven and Brahms. To make it seven, I also have to mention the tranquil Chopin.)

It takes a genius to create such exquisite music yet make it subtle, profound and ground-shaking at the same time. Oh, it isn’t just modal beauty for the cerebral dimensions of our brain — the glorious dissonances are there for the visceral pleasure.

Have you heard the recording? What do you think?

I find this symphonic poem absolutely amazing. When I was younger I would never have thought to one day like it more than for example Pohjola´s Daughter, one of my all-time favourites... But nowadays the sheer emotional, expressive and dramatic power of En Saga places it very high on my list of greatest musical achievements of the human kind. Nobody else has made the orchestra sound like this.

Sibelius himself said: "En Saga is the expression of a state of mind. I had undergone a number of painful experiences at the time, and in no other work have I revealed myself so completely. It is for this reason that I find all literary explanations quite alien."

The only work remotely related in its dark atmosphere and free orchestral expression that comes to mind would be the Manfred Symphony by Tchaikovsky.

What are your favourite recordings? Berglund/Bournemouth and Furtwängler for me!

Which two do you think are at the opposite ends of a spectrum?

For me, it must be Joseph Haydn and Gustav Mahler! Both were great but so very different.

Haydn was joyful, wrote enjoyable music for others and his level of musical invention and innovation was unbelievable.

Mahler was very dark and mournful, focused mostly on himself and his own misfortunes, and recycled the same symbolic ideas and frameworks and templates from one work to the next.

So for me, completely different mindsets!

I admit I did not expect much from Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Symphony. I thought it would be the usual mediocre late romantic piece…

But was I surprised! I still am. In my books this one rises to the same tier as Bruckner’s 4th and 7th.

Any similar experiences? When your own prejudices have been swiftly thrown out the window?

Hi, everyone! I am new to this place and plan on getting more active and even analytical on Reddit. ;) There is one thing I want to discuss with you first, though.

I do not intuitively understand the upvote and downvote system. My assumption is that if certain music is being analyzed and there is some critique involved, it will automatically result in people downvoting especially if the critique is perceived to be "against" the favourites of the readers.

Then again I don´t believe Reddit would be so popular if it were nothing but a praising community, people fishing for upvotes through unconditional superlatives.

So what are the mechanics truly and realistically? How do you perceive the upvoting and downvoting and what would be your advice for someone who tends to criticize certain aspects of even my greatest favourites like Beethoven? ;)