ok,so before i ask this question i should state that i know absolutely fuck all about classical music,and am aware that this is probably a stupid question...
anyway,i just searched on amazon for gorecki,and listed alongside the naxos version of his third symphony is a record on another label,listed as "Henryk Gorecki: Symphony No.3 Opus 36 "
what does this mean?
is this the same piece of music?
if so why is the naxos version not opus 36?
if not what is the difference between the two?
― robin (robin), Saturday, 8 February 2003 16:36 (twenty-two years ago)
Answer (as best as I can tell, I'm no expert but I have
spent a lot of time browsing the Penguin guide to classical
cd's):
all classical works have been designated by opus number,
Opus 5, Op. 36, etc. This is to help us differentiate
between all of the works that composers have done.
Modern musicians, if have a long carreer, will release
a few dozen albums - easy enough to differentiate, but
most major composers have hundreds of individual works
under many titles (Symphony, Concerto, Fantasia, etc)
so the opus system is there to differentiate and keep
things from getting too confused. And no, there's no
difference between the two versions, they're both
Opus 36 even if only one identifies itself as such.
― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Saturday, 8 February 2003 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)
nice one squirrel police,thats what i was looking for...
― robin (robin), Saturday, 8 February 2003 20:09 (twenty-two years ago)
sometimes composers have a code from post-humous attempts to order their entire output, like Bach's works often have a 'BWV' number listed on the sleeve
― michael (michael), Saturday, 8 February 2003 21:43 (twenty-two years ago)
The difference there being that while op. sequences are meant to approximate chronological order, catalogue systems like the BWV are often thematic (i.e. vocal works c. 1-500, keyboard c. 500-1000, other instr works c. 1000-1100).
― Captain Sleep (Captain Sleep), Sunday, 9 February 2003 01:27 (twenty-two years ago)