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Such a Tease
Nov. 6th, 2011 12:10 pmWas just now listening to a recently-acquired track of Liszt's "Les Preludes (Symphonic Poem No. 3)" and was struck by how he hints and teases for nearly three minutes, then makes it pay off.
How many other pieces of music can folks think of where the composer does this? How many where the tease isn't quite fulfilled, or fails completely?
This seems much more common in longer works, such as symphonies. Sometimes, entire first movements of symphonies can be considered previews - teasers - of what is to come. There's more room for both the tease and the fulfillment of the promise. In his Ninth Symphony, Beethoven keeps flirting with the main theme of the fourth movement, before returning to it in a joyous and magnificent finale which completes it.
How many other pieces of music can folks think of where the composer does this? How many where the tease isn't quite fulfilled, or fails completely?
This seems much more common in longer works, such as symphonies. Sometimes, entire first movements of symphonies can be considered previews - teasers - of what is to come. There's more room for both the tease and the fulfillment of the promise. In his Ninth Symphony, Beethoven keeps flirting with the main theme of the fourth movement, before returning to it in a joyous and magnificent finale which completes it.
