I think it's entirely normal to have certain composers to whom you feel ambivalent.  I seem to remember a lot of people here felt that way about Brahms when this question was aired a few months ago?   (I certainly do).  I also have a block about Bruckner, despite having tried hard and listened to nearly all his orchestral output (I even visited his birthplace museum in Linz).

I'm sure that most of our contributors have mental blocks about certain composers, DE; though unlike the Beeb board, the majority here tend to hint at the fact rather than trumpet it from the rooftops and/or ascribe the problem to the composers themselves. Since we don't all care for exactly the same food, drink or people, there's absolutely no reason why our tastes in music should precisely align: indeed, wouldn't it be an infinitely more boring world were that the case?. If a composer is unable to push your personal button, it means that there must be others who most certainly do, and there lies the joy. It is neither a crime nor an aberration to be unable to connect with some music: after all there is so much of it out there that most of us will have little enough time to find and listen to even a fraction of what might please us.

I'm not sure that working at trying to like something is often the answer, but sometimes things creep up on you and penetrate defences: maybe the performances heard to date have been at fault, or it is a taste as yet unacquired, or even that the work that is yet to unlock the key to the love of a particular composer's œuvre has passed one by so far.

You're not alone by a long chalk, although the names may wll be different in other cases; but I do appreciate the sensitivity of your approach to this.

Best wishes,

Ron

What I find interesting is that certain composers - eg Brahms, Bruckner, Delius, Vaughan Williams - are more susceptible to the mental block syndrome than others. Any thoughts on why that might be?

I was hesitating mentioning my particular block but Richard has done it for me. Britten.  I have tried, truly I have tried but he leaves me cold, boardering on irritation. Apart from the Sea Interludes.  Maybe one day ...

In at least some of those cases, there's are very particular personal stamp on the music, isn't there? Delius's chromaticism can be something of an acquired taste: some of his works give me something akin to aural seasickness, though there are others where this doesn't happen at all. I've suggested before that what music communicates beyond its sound alone may create these barriers: hints of psychological components, maybe. That dark rather yearning side of Brahms, for example: if it is even a partial expression of his personality and the particular problems and disappointments associated with his private life, then I can understand why some find it unsettling. Perhaps the fact that much of RVW's music is based on the modal tonalities of the folk tradition rather than the stricter classical rules creates problems for some, though it seems recently that the imperialist establishment overtones of Elgar are equally as alienating for many of the contributing posters on the boards.

I used to struggle terribly with Mahler's 7th symphony but a performance at Leeds Town Hall when I was a student suddenly made it all click.  It was a great moment!

I tend to have blocks over particular works rather than composers' entire output.

These include Sibelius' Finlandia, Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien and Ravel's Bolero.

In all three of these cases, I very much enjoy other works by these composers.

Ian.