Stephen wrote:
> On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:27:57 -0700, Kevin Wampler <wam### [at] uwashingtonedu>
> wrote:
> 
>> Not trying to convince you to try it out of course -- I totally 
>> understand why many people hate that sort of music.
> 
> Well I have tried to like modern classical music but it is very hard going on my
> ears. I found that Benjamin Britain crept around my mental block with his Sea
> Interludes from Peter Grimes. Also Wagner is OK if you don't think about what he
> is saying, I draw the line at Mahler. I physically want to get up and leave. Sad
> as I feel that I *should* enjoy it.

That's odd -- I've never thought of Mahler as being particularly taxing 
to listen to.  It the tonality of the music actually grating to listen 
to or is it more that the large-scale structures bother you?

> Now I am listening to a lot of Handle especially his Concerto Grosse. :D

Good stuff!  Despite that I do really like modern music, I still spend 
most of my time listening to stuff more like this (well, this through 
late Romantic).

If baroque or classical style is more to your liking but you're still 
interested in listening to some more modernish composers without the 
earache you might take a listen to Prokofiev's Symphony No.1, 
Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras (no.5 is the best known here), or 
some of Busoni's Bach transcriptions (his arrangement of the famous 
Chaconne for violin in particular is quite well known) to name a few.

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