u/MuhVlast

▲ 5 r/travel

How many of you have been to the 3 southern provinces of Thailand (Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat)?

As a Thai, I’m curious to know because many embassies advise their citizens not to go there. But I’ve also been on travel subreddits long enough to know that people break government travel advisories all the time. People who have been, do you think it was worth the trek and your insurance being unavailable?

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u/MuhVlast — 18 hours ago

How many of you have been to the 3 southern provinces (Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat)?

As a Thai, I’m curious to know because many embassies advise their citizens not to go there. But I’ve also been on travel subreddits long enough to know that people break government travel advisories all the time. People who have been, do you think it was worth the trek and your insurance being unavailable?

Pictured: Krue Sae Mosque, one of the oldest in the entirety of Southeast Asia!

u/MuhVlast — 19 hours ago

How many of you have been to the 3 southern provinces (Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat)?

As a Thai, I’m curious to know because many embassies advise their citizens not to go there. But I’ve also been on travel subreddits long enough to know that people break government travel advisories all the time. People who have been, do you think it was worth the trek and your insurance being unavailable?

Pictured: Inside the 1950s Central Mosque of Pattani.

u/MuhVlast — 19 hours ago

What’s your favourite recording of the Bacchus et Ariane Suite No. 2?

I’m asking specifically about the suite, since historically recordings of it were much more numerous than those of the full ballet.

My pick would be Igor Markevitch/Orchestre Lamoureux/DG. This recording is as you‘d expect from this crew: cleanly played, transparent, perfectly balanced, with punchy articulation and clearly terraced dynamics.

It’s surprising Markevitch didn’t record more neoclassical repertoire, since the aesthetics fit his conducting style like a tee. A Markevitch Roussel Third would have been scorching.

I’d love to hear about your favourites.

u/MuhVlast — 2 days ago

Who was the last uncircumcised US president?

It is my (possibly incorrect) understanding that (male) circumcision only became a big thing in the US in the late 19th century/early 20th century. So, people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were likely uncut. But who was the last of them? Is it possible that Barack Obama and, God forbid, the current occupant of the White House are also uncircumcised?

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u/MuhVlast — 8 days ago

Do you think Martinů would be more popular if his name didn’t have the weird accent over the u?

This is actually a /uj post which I feel could get me banned from the main sub.

My pet theory is that the average concertgoer knows very little about the repertoire being performed, and chooses which concert to go to based on how intimidating the programme seems. And Martinů happens to look particularly menacing.

The same goes, I think, for composers with long names with a lot of consonants, like Szymanowski or Lutosławski. Shostakovich seems to have escaped this curse, however.

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u/MuhVlast — 14 days ago

Pieces that are less often performed than you’d think by major ensembles/artists

Let’s take my home city of London as an example. Last September, Antonio Pappano and the LSO programmed Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. This marked, to the best of my knowledge, the first time since at least Covid that this piece was performed by one of the “Big Five” London orchestras. Which would mean that the piece is less often performed than Mahler’s Eighth (twice), Turangalila (at least twice), the full Daphnis and Chloé ballet (at least three times) and Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy (so many times I’ve lost count).

As far Beethoven is concerned, the decline in frequency of his appearance on concerts by “big name” orchestras can partly be attributed to the (some may say suffocating) influence of the Period Performance Movement, which has taken proprietary ownership of Baroque, Classical and early Romantic repertoire. Still, it is surprising to see Beethoven’s Fifth appearing less often than his Seventh, which seems to be a favourite of many of today’s conductors.

What are some other pieces that are less often performed than you’d expect?

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u/MuhVlast — 14 days ago