Thursday, October 25, 2007

The Dead Russian Composer Personality Test

If I were a Dead Russian Composer, I would be Dmitri Shostakovich!

I am a shy, nervous, unassuming, fidgety, and stuttery little person who began composing the same year I started music lessons of any sort. I wrote the first of my fifteen symphonies at age 18, and my second opera, "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District," when I was only 26. Unfortunately, Stalin hated the opera, and put me on the Enemy Of The People List for life. I nevertheless kept composing the works I wanted to write in private; some of my vocal cycles and 15 string quartets mock the Soviet System in notes. And I somehow was NOT killed in the process! And Harry Potter(c) stole my glasses and broke them!

Who would you be? Dead Russian Composer Personality Test

I suppose that if someone held a gun to my head, I'd be forced to admit that I prefer Tchaikovsky - being a big sap and such, er, I mean, HULK SMASH! - but hard to argue with the results.

10 comments:

Mary Ellen said...

Hey! I'm the same dead guy you are!

Dmitri Shostakovich!

Mary Ellen said...

Just for the hell of it, I tried it again and marked all the answers that have to do with being drunk and vodka and came up with "You are Modest Mussorgsky."

Which is really interesting because he composed "Pictures at an Exhibition", which is a piece that my son's marching band used for their half time show and competitions this year....that should give him something to drink about, people using his music for a half time show at a football game! Ha!

Randal Graves said...

Dmitri's great, especially the string quartets. Now that's some seriously dark stuff!

It's disturbing in a way - now watch me sound like an elitist, even though I love me some football - to have these artistic works that were created through blood, sweat and, well, vodka, played at something like a sporting event. Hell, the motif from Beethoven's fifth has become part of background noise, cell phone ringtones, not to mention all the Muzak-ified stuff. Ugh.

I can't imagine people are going "wow, what is that? Mussorgsky, you say? Gotta get me some of that!" :)

Mary Ellen said...

Randal- I remember, back in the day, when the half time shows for marching bands were...marches. Or, they had music that made you tap your foot. I don't get this at all. I noticed this is becoming common among the marching bands that are competing.

Another strange thing, the music department made arrangements for the kids to play for the half time show at one of the small bowl games in Florida, the Outback Bowl. Anyway, I assumed when my son signed up to go (and it costs a fortune!) that it was just the marching band. It turns out that it is marching band and symphonic band. I don't know, maybe they're trying to class up the games or something. Kind of an overkill after the nipple incident, maybe.

Randal Graves said...

Oh, please don't bring that up. I wasn't able to watch football for a year.

If you're right, strange way to class them up. "Dude, Beethoven rocks! Yeah!" Limiting beer sales might help. Always funny going to a game and having the people in front of you get beer five or six times during a three-hour span. I'm obviously not against alcohol, but I am against shelling out 5, 6, 8, 10 bucks for an American light beer. Each trip to the concession stand.

Mary Ellen said...

LOL! Yeah...nothing like seeing a guy get sloppy drunk on cheap light beer.

At Cellular Field...hell, I hate that name. At Comiskey Park, they have Miller Beer in the stands, which isn't good. But, you can get the better micro brewery beer if you get up and go get it yourself.

Anonymous said...

I'm Igor Stravinsky, another slight four-eyed finicky over-sensitive composer. Damn, I thought all Russians were burly 300-pound no-neck peasants who snarled and grunted all day. No wonder their nerdy composers stayed home and wrote music and drank vodka all day. Er, I don't mean that I checked the box next to "Vodka" over and over, I mean, uhh...

Randal Graves said...

Okay, speaking of Igor Stravinsky, no Tom, put down the glass of vodka and listen up fellow lefty moonbats.

Myself and a buddy of mine are the only two people in the history of the known universe who distinctly remember a character is some movie saying "Igor Stravinsky!" in a very strange way. It's not Fletch, which was our first guess. Does this ring a bell with anyone? The fact that someone other than myself remembers this makes me think I'm not completely insane.

Freida Bee said...

Dmitri would be a blogger today, it seems. Here, here!

Randal Graves said...

Only because Bush is president. Us commies would be watching Dmitri and Sergei like hawks!