April – November 2020 November 2020 – March 2021 March – September 2021 September 2021 – May 2022 May 2022 – present

The Thirteen Emperors Scroll, Yan Liben, 7th-century, Tang Dynasty

The Artist and The Connoisseur, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565

Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione, Raphael, c. 1514–1515

Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, 1615–1618
Notice anyone?

Hello, Aza24

Thank you for creating Zachary Woolfe.

User:North8000, while examining this page as a part of our page curation process, had the following comments:

Good start. I marked it as reviewed. Happy editing!

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North8000 (talk) 12:33, 7 June 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you!! Aza24 (talk) 03:47, 5 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

June songs

Thanks for thanks, - Strauss birthday is the first thing in my memories, DYK? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:42, 11 June 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Lovely flowers! Came across an interesting Gould recording of Strauss's piano sonata, which I didn't even know existed. Aza24 (talk) 20:12, 12 June 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you! My song collection is especially rich, look, and the hall where I first heard DFD, Pierre Boulez and Murray Perahia. Do you find the baby deer in the meadow (last row)? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:22, 20 June 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

today: a song about getting through the night, after plenty of music over the weekend --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:14, 27 June 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hey @Aza24:! I see that you have done some work on the legacy of Rach. Unfortunately, and I'm certain you've already noticed this, it is probably the most complicated of any composer. I've read all of his biographies in English, including countless journals, and even a PhD thesis comparing his legacy in most musical dictionaries; in spite of all this, I still feel that I cannot duly give it justice, at least yet. As part of my research for rewriting Rach 2 (I've began focusing on pageviews), I'd say the life section is in relatively good shape apart from being visually bloated, probably due to the lack of images. Do you have plans on continuing the collaboration? I'll try to return to the article ASAP now that med school isn't as merciless. Wretchskull (talk) 10:37, 1 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Wretchskull! I am a bit distracted by the painful slogging away that has become the Josquin des Prez article, whose own legacy confusions rival that of Rach! I do very much want to return to the main Rachmaninoff article collab, and would be happy to continue the reputation section. I agree that this topic is enormously complex; the approach I adopted in User:Aza24/Sandbox4 was one of a very much general lens, but hopefully not so much that it over simplifies the complexities at hand. Let me know your thoughts on this—also, I'm curious, do you have a favorite Rach 2 recording? Aza24 (talk) 03:47, 5 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

@Aza24: Ah no worries! It already looks like you're trying to juggle a dozen tasks and here I come to give you another one; take your time! I must say that your legacy section is excellent, and you managed to get most of the major viewpoints included in a complicated subject..... in three days!? Bravo!!! I might tweak it from time to time if you don't mind. I'm currently on a small hiatus from my major projects to improve a painfully underdeveloped article. As for my favorite rach 2 recording? ...that is very difficult, but I would have to jump onto the bandwagon and say Richter/Wislocki. Ashkenazy/Previn is brilliant, and Rubinstein/Reiner is almost like rach's recording with better audio, but Richter's dolce moments are just heavenly. By the way, I'm curious too. Considering you're obviously interested in the suject, who's your favorite Renaissance composer? Wretchskull (talk) 09:22, 5 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Wretchskull sorry for my late reply. I appreciate your compliments, though could you point me to that PhD thesis you mention?—it sounds very useful. Good to see Debussy's quartet getting appreciation, I absolutely adore the second movement. My favorite Renaissance composer... hmm, probably a later figure like Byrd, Monteverdi or Gibbons... in reality though, I am so obsessed with Mahler that I almost answered your question with him! Aza24 (talk) 18:31, 10 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

@Aza24: Of course: [1]. I know Academia.edu is a little iffy, but the thesis itself is excellent. I've been really into Renaissance composers who experimented with chromatic harmony, like Gesualdo and de Rore. I feel like I've neglected early music; do you recommend any similar composer from that era? Also, I'm glad you share the same enthusiasm for Mahler that I have! Wretchskull (talk) 18:18, 16 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thanks for the thesis Wretchskull, I trust your discretion! On Gesualdo and de Rore, yes those two are fantastic!—Really, no one after approached their chromaticism until maybe Liszt/Wagner. There is indeed some precedent to it; some of Machaut actually is really strange in its unusual harmonic choices, and the ars subtilior has a few people like this as well, particularly Solage and his Fumeux fume. Though Machaut's style is just genuinely odd, I suspect others like Solage wrote such pieces as one-time eccentricities, rather than an expression of their musical style. Aza24 (talk) 19:26, 16 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

On 3 July 2022, In the news was updated with an item that involved the article Richard Taruskin, which you updated. If you know of another recently created or updated article suitable for inclusion in ITN, please suggest it on the candidates page. Spencer^T•C 08:51, 3 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you! Aza24 (talk) 03:47, 5 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hello Aza24! I am reaching out as you reviewed Paint It Black when it was at FAC. I have nominated Mick Jagger for FAC and was wondering if you would have the time and be able to post a review there? If so, it is located here: Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Mick Jagger/archive1. If not, I totally understand. The Rolling Stones now has an open peer review in prep for an FAC run as well and if you had time for that as well, it is here; no pressure though, if you can just do one (or none), that's fine. I greatly appreciated your help with Paint It Black . TheSandDoctor ^Talk 23:35, 3 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

TheSandDoctor, wow, that is most ambitious of you! I would be happy to look, though is ErnestKrause planning to do a SR already? Aza24 (talk) 03:47, 5 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you! My overall goals are far more ambitious, if I dare say...one day I'd like to get all the members (Mick, Keith, Ronnie, Charlie (RIP), and possibly Brian and Bill) through GA and FAC (maybe most of the albums, too hehe). Currently Mick is the closest, followed by the Stones main article, and then potentially Keith Richards. It is definitely going to be a grind, but is something that I can pick away at. I thank you for agreeing to do a review and look forward to your comments on any one you choose. ErnestKrause has supported the nomination of Jagger and though a "source review" was mentioned, I believe there was a miscommunication and that one isn't currently planned; I would greatly appreciate it if you were able to do one. ErnestKrause is unable to assist with reviewing the PR for the Stones main article. TheSandDoctor ^Talk 05:31, 5 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

July songs

today: violin solo and you can listen Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:08, 5 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

yesterday I attended a unique concert - the 18th Thomaskantor after Bach conducting - and with some good luck caught him happy afterwards! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:24, 9 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

thank you for the navbox but an English plural to a German word always causes some frowning ;) - The German plural is Kantoren, cantors is fine but Kantors? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:36, 10 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Largely agreed, but I was following Category:Thomaskantors. I suggest bringing this up at CFD for the category and then we can adjust the navbox. Aza24 (talk) 17:38, 10 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Sigh, eventually, check my talk for unfinished projects, deletions ... --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:05, 10 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

If it makes you feel better, I did a little research on the usage of the term, and as far as I can see both are used but Thomaskantors is more common—if you do put it on your list, I would says its relatively low priority. Aza24 (talk) 18:22, 10 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thanks for the search, - low priority. I heard Voces8, pictured! - I have a FAC open, in case you want to help again. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:07, 15 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

today: birthday music for a friend, after hiking in the Swiss Alps and a funeral with flowers on a bench and a Rilke poem --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:50, 28 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

There is a Rilke poem for every occasion.... Aza24 (talk) 07:07, 29 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

If you know that, can you please help with the FAR of Duino Elegies? - the task is to check refs and transform to sfn - those transformed are checked. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:27, 29 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I have to decline your offer; I'm just working on too many Wikipedia things take up any other projects right now :( Aza24 (talk) 18:22, 29 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Understand, and while the article is much better now, keeping it as FA was hopeless from the start, given the prejudice of the principal editor, the "hoaxer". Different request: could you finish the source review for the cantata FAC, - I believe it's stable now, and the coordinator asking questions. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:07, 12 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I think you've saw various improvements I've made to the project – fancy progress bars, goals and all of that. But I do think about how to transform the Vital project from basically useless to one that's productive. What do you think is the best way to do so, and how should we implement it? CactiStaccingCrane (talk) 10:16, 27 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I have been keep an eye and am in much agreement with your changes CactiStaccingCrane! Usually what the 'veteran' Wikipedians say about the VA project is that everyone there spends too much time ranking articles than actually improving them (a sentiment which my userpage echoes). However, while I believe that is true, I think the people that do the rankings are there for that in the first place, and getting them to start improving articles would probably be more difficult than recruiting outside help. The Wikipedia:The Core Contest (and to a lesser extent the Wikipedia:Million Award) is the closest and most consistently effective thing I've seen done to improve 'vital articles', so I do think the connection between the TCC and VA project should be solidified further. As of now, the TCC still uses VA lists 1, 2, & 3 for judging and most of the selection process, which is a something, at least.

I think your drive idea is great, I may took a look at Euclid. There are active users out there more than capable of improving such content, it's just a matter of motivation and confidence. With the latter in particular, a lot of our best editors seem to suffer from a sort of Dunning–Kruger effect, where they are qualified to handle huge topics (when general knowledge is often all that's needed) but too used to handling smaller ones so assume that they are not capable.

After the drive, I think creating smaller teams led by specialist editors is a possible tactic. Aiming for B-class and good articles would be the ideal approach imo. Say you took Space station, and asked Wehwalt to look at the History, Hawkeye7 to look at the architecture, and Balon Greyjoy to look at the Operations, then you could have a really solid team and get other VA Project people to fill in the sections like Legacy and Finance where background knowledge isn't as necessary as just basic research.

Another idea, which is completely unexplored afaik, would be to have the VA project work with other WikiProjects. This would only work, of course, with the few very active ones which exist, particularly WP:MILHIST, WP:TROP, WP:VG, and maybe even WP:CM, and WP:DINO. But again, the key here I think would be assigning different people different sections.

Of the top of my head, users I know who've worked on large subjects often are Buidhe, Wtfiv, Wehwalt, Chiswick Chap, Tim Riley, Midnightblueowl, Amitchell125, Little Jerry, Vami IV, Johnbod, God the Mild and Femke. But they all have their own specialities and probably pending projects, so approach with caution, if at all. I know this is a lot, but do lmk what you think of all of this. Best – Aza24 (talk) 21:04, 27 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I think that these suggestions are really solid. Personally, I'm a bit less optimistic about it working in practice though, as the hardest thing here is to convince these senior editors to tackle Vital Articles, which isn't really their cup of tea. They could just shrug off and say that it's our job to fix the VAs, WP:SODOIT kind of thing. CactiStaccingCrane (talk) 01:11, 28 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

CactiStaccingCrane That's why coming to those people with a plan & specific requests could be a lot more effective. Instead of "Hey, I saw that you writing about military history, could you bring the war article to GA?", something like "Hey, given your experience writing around military history, I was wondering if you'd be interested in working on the Ethics section of the war article, a few other users are going to do some other sections and we're aiming for GA." Aza24 (talk) 05:42, 28 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I normally don't re-revert reverted edits, but I explained why I did so this time in the edit summary. You're free to do a partial revert if you still object, but you can expect another AWB'er to come along and do it again unless you use ((not a typo)). I dream of horses (Contribs) (Talk) 19:44, 29 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I dream of horses, Indeed... and I'm not normally wrong when reverting edits, (Ha!) but alas. Bold of you to abide by grammar on Wikipedia, I will probably not be the last to try and stop you :) Aza24 (talk) 19:50, 29 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

@Aza24 Grammar is important, but there are more important things when creating/expanding articles, like sourcing content. That's why we need WikiGnomes to focus on the little things. Thank you for being understanding. I dream of horses (Contribs) (Talk) 19:52, 29 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza! To be clear, I'm not checking in with you because I care about our Sibelius project (although, perhaps let me know if you don't think you want to or will be able to continue);† rather, I just wanted to see how you're doing this summer, especially in that you've been at a new position. Things are good with me, although I will start school again in late August. I've been working (side-tracked?) on a The Maiden in the Tower expansion, and I'm learning a lot about this lovely, charming Sibelius 'deep cut.'

† One idea I had, tbh, is that I could do the complete list upgrade (including the parts we allocated to you... especially the songs, since so many were either orchestrated or also converted into pieces for choir) and you could do the FL nominations/review/edits when time (a process I don't enjoy). Silence of Järvenpää (talk) 16:47, 30 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

My dear Silence of Järvenpää, I of course want to continue with the list; obviously my attentiveness has been lacking—I do find it hard to find motivation for all of the rather tedious data insertion. I'm also continuously worried about finishing Josquin des Prez, a process of rewriting which I have been engaging with for around a year now, as I the FAR people are growing increasingly impatient. Your offer is most generous—perhaps we see what happens this week, and if I don't get around to adding much, we consider it further? In the past, I would have just set time aside and forced myself to work on whatever project was pending. Recently, though, I've found that doing that makes WP much less enjoyable, so I'm at the whim of working somewhat spontaneously, at risk of burning out.

I am doing well! My job is wrapping up a will resume around September. I've been vaguely following your The Maiden in the Tower progress, an admirable task! Aza24 (talk) 18:36, 30 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza! And here I was worried that my idea on the LoC would come off as rude! Thanks for being understanding. (Aside: You're right that it just feels like data entry... that's why I read about the compositions and listen to them as I add them to the list... makes it far more interesting for me. But, you've never expressed an interest in Sibelius's music, and so given that you are a devoted Rachmaninoffian and Mahlerite, I can imagine this LoC is pure drudgery!!) I also appreciate your compliments on The Maiden in the Tower work I've been doing... not sure why I started doing it, but when the inspiration strikes, I suppose it's best to follow! I'm also proud of myself for, finally, doing an expansion in the mainspace, rather than tucked away in my userspace (e.g., Kullervo... oh my, will I ever finish it or is it just another one of my WP projects to die a slow, slow death?). haha. ~ Silence of Järvenpää (talk) 13:50, 5 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza! Just wanted to say that I have begun reading (so far just the lede) the JdP article into which you have poured yourself (so much care and erudition), and I must commend you on an excellent job. It is so clearly written and of such wonderful quality, especially in how deeply it appears to have been researched and balanced between sources. I do wish I could write as well as this in my WP projects! Anyway, thanks for your hard work. ~ Silence of Järvenpää (talk) 14:33, 6 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you! I was very worried about the music section, but it is coming together nicely now. I experimented with 3–4 versions of the lead, because I really wanted to get it right, so I'm glad you appreciate it! As far as Sibelius, would you hate me if I told you I know Finlandia quite well?—I know it's the 'everyone knows'!

Your sentiment re Kullervo is quite relatable—I have numerous sandbox projects hiding in the dust. But I have returned to many of them later, and none of them I expect to be forgotten forever. I'm sure after some other burst of inspiration you will see Kullervo through! Aza24 (talk) 20:32, 6 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza24! Seems like you could use a ray of sunshine, so how about this anecdote (might it be an antidote, too, for the Wiki-blues? haha): Just discovered, deep in the Swedish-language 1896 bowels of Nya Pressen [fi], that on the night (7 November) that Sibelius's The Maiden in the Tower, premiered, the concert began with the march from Wagner's Tannhäuser. How ironic, given Sibelius's 1894 renunciation of Wagner's method! Anyway, this jogged my memory, and I recalled that you—gasp!—like Wagner, which as a loyal Sibelian I have studiously avoided! Haha... anyway, now I am listening to Tannhäuser and have learned to see your I've-only-heard-Sibelius's-Finlandia blasphemy in a new, more charitable light. If you can excuse me for not knowing my Wagner, then I can excuse you for not knowing your Sibelius (although, given Wagner's relative historical importance vis-a-vis Sibelius, mine is the greater sin). But do me a favor and find the time to listen to En saga (just 18 glorious minutes) sometime this week! Very warmly, ~ Silence of Järvenpää (talk) 22:47, 9 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

How lovely and interesting, thank you Silence of Järvenpää! I will certainly take a listen to En saga soon and report back my impressions. I must say that I have trouble thinking of Wagner as a single person—his style varies so wildly from Tannhäuser to Tristan that it rivals even Beethoven and Stravinsky in the 'early vs late' stylistic development. Ironically, this inconsistence seems to be the best way to characterize Wagner as a person—that is, there's always so much debate as to his intentions and views, the only thing I've seen scholars fully agree on is that he was obnoxiously inconsistent! I suppose I forgot to mention my intimate familiarity with Sibelius's violin concerto, perhaps the only thing in his oeuvre more 'main-stream' than Finlandia :) Aza24 (talk) 00:52, 10 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, dear Aza24! Whoa... who knew that Wagner wrote 3-hour operas! (Can you sense my eyes rolling? A composer who makes Mahler's symphonies seem short by comparison must be a bit loquacious, no? :P ) Anyway, I just finished Act II of Tannhäuser, so only about one hour to go! Ha! Anyway, I very much enjoyed the overture (how cliché of me), as well as this bit near the end of Act II, 1:51:25 to 2:00:10... divine harmonies and just gorgeous vocal writing! (I've listened to it four times, so that partly accounts for my delayed introduction with Act III.) Your description of Wager was really interesting (and balanced!); thanks for it. Is there another opera by Wagner you recommend to me? Tristan? Parsifal? I want to avoid the Ring Cycle for now. Thanks, ~ Silence of Järvenpää (talk) 16:35, 10 August 2022 (UTC) (PS: I was quite surprised to see that the WP articles for Wagner's operas are not, as a unit, GA or FA! I kind of feel silly for spending time on an inconsequential Sibelius opera when these mega-important items remain un(der)-done... but then again, I'm no Wagnerite.)Reply[reply]

Silence of Järvenpää, I'm glad you've enjoyed Tannhäuser! I listened to En saga, and found it surprisingly diverse in content, though with no shortage of tremolos or scales. I also had a pleasant listen to Sibelius's 7th, which I should think I'll return to hear again soon. As far as Wagner, hmm, the overtures to Parsifal and Die Meistersinger are wonderful, though I'm not particularly fond of the rest of those two operas. I think most agree (other than the Tristan crowd) that Die Walkure is Wagner at his best, but if you're avoiding the Ring for now, I am a big fan of the first act for Tristan.

Indeed his operas do not generally have Wikipedia articles are great quality. Brian actually worked a lot on the first two Ring operas, which are essentially in GA shape, but simply not nominated. Parsifal is a GA, but his middle-period operas are mostly C class, and indeed Tristan and the Ring's second half are far from ideal. I would say that it might take more than a normal Wagnerite to attempt them, as their scholarly literature is rather overwhelmingly vast. Aza24 (talk) 02:18, 11 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza24! Yes, I indeed completed Tannhäuser, and liked Act II the best (am I wrong that Act III is a bit meh)? I have long been curious about Tristan, given the obsession with the famous chord, so I think I'll give that a listen sometime tonight once I get my work out of the way. (I should probably also listen sometime to Parsifal, which was Sibelius's favorite Wagner.) I'm curious to know: how is it that you became a Wagnerite? And, for that matter, a Mahlerite, too? I always find the story of one's discovery of a subsequently-beloved composer so interesting. Also, a confession: when I listen to opera, I don't read the libretto or watch a live performance for the visuals and scenery as I go along... so, I suppose I take it just on its terms as a musical document. Wagner would be aghast, as I've disunited the art forms! Haha... I wonder if this is the reason, thus far, that I have struggled with this genre of classical music? ~ Silence of Järvenpää (talk) 17:02, 11 August 2022 (UTC) PS: Your profile update inspired me to do a spring summer cleaning, as well. I'm really happy with it now! :)Reply[reply]

Hmm, Silence of Järvenpää, for Mahler I'm fairly certain it was his 6th, which i've been told is a rather extreme way to be introduced—the 1st, 4th and 5th are a lot more accessible. I recall reading about orchestras and the 6th was the example some author used for how big they can get (though in this respect I'm surprised that they didn't mention the 8th instead)! For Wagner I'm not exactly sure, but it was probably the Tristan prelude, and I think the general ambition of the Ring lured me to him. I suppose it has also been on my mind: how did you get into Sibelius? Was it love at first sight?

I noticed your userpage update, which I find much more cohesive in design than mine! I also (as you'll probably see) found your guest book, wondering what the curious image was near the bottom :) Aza24 (talk) 00:15, 12 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza24! So glad that you found the secret concert (shhhhh)! First row, too! Haha, I felt like being creative, but whenever I do so I quickly reach the limits of my rudimentary understanding of wikicode. I tend to hammer square pegs into round holes, especially because I cannibalize code that's far too complex for my brain (I got the idea for a guestbook-as-secret-room from FormalDude, and took a peek at his code). (Aside: I can't figure out why one cannot click on the name of the concert attendees... has something to do with using the div thing, but I have no idea what it even means; also, is there a way to make the background color of text transparent?)

The story of how I came to Sibelius is a bit silly: it was 2013, and I was on a Grieg kick. I was still quite a classical music novice, a Tchaikovsky and Chopin fanboy. I remember when I first heard Sibelius in 2008, and I hated it: "Meh... what is this crap?" [Man, I wish I could recall which piece(s) it was (they were)!] But anyway, five years later Grieg was my gateway drug into Nordic culture, and I had an iTunes gift card; they had a Sibelius orchestral digital album (Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra; still one of my favorite interpreters, but ironically not for Kullervo!) on the cheap, and I took a chance. And this time, I was blown away! I joke that in 2008 "I wasn't ready for Sibelius". Certainly didn't ever think his music would become my main hobby! Once I liked the music, I wanted the biography and the deep cuts. I tend to do depth of an interest at the expense of breath of many interests, and the bad side effect is that there is so much classical music I haven't heard. (Aside: It amazes me how much you and the other WP Classical project members seem to know!) The funniest thing to me, though, is that I don't even listen to Tchaikovsky and Chopin anymore. The stories of your Mahler and Wagner affinities are fun... I'll add Mahler 6 (I did 4 and 5 last month) to my list now, after Tristan. Thanks! ~ Silence of Järvenpää 02:14, 12 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I tried substituting an annotated image, let me know what you think. I think you're right that it has to do with the div, I played around with it and tried some things but couldn't get it to work. I used the <span style="color:white; background-color:#FFD700; font-size:65px">Test<span> instead of the font template, but to no avail. Usually these div issues happen when there is an error in the code, but I don't know what the issue was. If you leave the background color parameter blank it will be a transparent background automatically, if that's what you mean?

That is a lovely story—Grieg is perhaps the most under appreciated of the major composers; his Wikipedia article, for instance, is in abysmal state. Of course this is not the case in Norway, where every building, street, brand and child is named after him! :) Aza24 (talk) 04:03, 12 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thanks, Aza! This helped quite a bit, indeed. Oh, by transparency I guess I meant what WP would call opacity? I wanted the picture to show through the yellow bg color... but it's a minor want, and I see you've been hit with a number of new requests. You're just far too helpful and generous, I suppose! :)

Yeah, Grieg is lovely... an actual Nordic composer who used folk themes (unlike Sibelius, who is often misidentified as having done so). The word that comes to mind when I think of Grieg's music is, quite simply, "fun"! Aside: Isn't it interesting that Norway has Grieg, Finland has Sibelius, Denmark has Nielsen (do you like his music? I love the first four of his 6 symphonies!), but poor Sweden has... no one quite so famous. Wilhelm Stenhammar? Hugo Alfvén? Lars-Erik Larsson? Dag Wirén? (outstanding four symphonies, fyi!) Just not on the same level. I would try to make a case for Kurt Atterberg but I'd come off sounding silly.

Also your Verdi comment made me laugh, but if you succeeded, then I'd have to change my username! Warmly, ~ Silence of Järvenpää 13:29, 13 August 2022 (UTC) (PS: There's a new treasure map on the secret page... haha).Reply[reply]

Silence of Järvenpää! My apologies for the late response, I was on a (rather brief) vacation the past couple of days. I have to catch up with a few pings, including yours below, which I will certainly do so promptly.

That piano trio is an interesting choice... I have it on my airpods as I type. I'm not a huge fan of Nielsen, though admittedly not very familiar with his music. For Danish composers, I know Nørgård and Abrahamsen much better, though probably still not well enough :) I wonder if the better known Swedish composer is Carl Michael Bellman, though his music seems to occupy a hazy place between so-called art and popular music traditions. Although my thinking of Bellman may simply be skewed influence from Chiswick Chap, a WP user who I've seen improve more Bellman-related topics than I knew existed. Aza24 (talk) 18:57, 22 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Ha! One can never know if interesting is being used positively as a compliment or negatively as an insult underhanded compliment. Anyway, it's not Sibelius's best work (too repetitive in the first movement)... but it is a lost gem of a deepcut from a man not known for his chamber output, and at any rate, I discovered it while we were working on the LoC project. I think the second movement is glorious! The Koorpo Trio wasn't known of until the early 1980s when the Sibelius family donated Sibelius's papers to the University of Helsinki! Wow!

Glad to hear you got a well-deserved vacation! Hope you had a lovely time: either full of activity or full of rest, depending on your style.

Hmmm... I only like some Nielsen. Never have enjoyed his concerti, but I like Symphonies 1 to 4 (especially 3). I've never heard of Bellman! And of course, he's early. So, that explains it. ~ Silence of Järvenpää 00:43, 23 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi there,

Could you do a source review for the 52nd Academy Awards regarding its featured list promotion? I would appreciate the feedback.

-- Birdienest81talk 08:06, 7 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

It seems that Z1720 has beat me to the chase after your message Birdienest81, though I will keep an eye out for your next list at FLC. Aza24 (talk) 00:52, 10 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, would you be able to source review (currently needs an image one as well) my new FAC? I apologize if me asking for a third SR this year comes off as a bit too much though and it would be understandable if you do not have the time. I kind of recalled your statement at the "Dear Future Husband" FAC about having spotchecked me before and my integrity so that might help as this is a lengthier article.--NØ 03:10, 12 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I've put it on my to-do list and will certainly attempt to get to it this weekend! I always appreciate your caution with approaching me for these things, but it is misplaced—I assure you! I am happy to help. It is certainly on the longer side, but at FLC I have reviewed a few lists with 300+ refs :) Aza24 (talk) 04:30, 13 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Highly appreciated! Let me know if there's anything I can do for you one of these days.--NØ 05:57, 13 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hope this message finds you well. I've left replies to all the source review comments at the FAC page. Cheers!--NØ 11:08, 19 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

MaranoFan just wanted to clarify that I wasn't ignoring you, but on a brief (now finished) vacation for a few days so was trying to avoid WP—I forgot to leave one of those terribly dramatic "On Vacation" banners at the top of my talk page with the white text and black background. :) Aza24 (talk) 19:00, 22 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

No problem at all. I should probably apologize about how impatient I get about these things, lol. It is absolutely okay to have a four-day gap between responses so you did absolutely nothing wrong or out of the ordinary. And in other good news, the nomination passed today!--NØ 19:04, 22 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Congrats! Still waiting on your Pop music FA. ;) Aza24 (talk) 19:27, 22 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

If you somehow find time to source-review a similarly large music article, I also have one for you. Like Marano, I would very much appreciate it, but I totally understand if you don’t want to review another large article so soon. FrB.TG (talk) 12:21, 14 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Ah, she was so good in the House of Gucci!— and for a song that famous I suppose I have no choice! I recall a rather odd comment from the stubborn but engaging Roger Scruton unfavorably comparing that song to a piece by Bach (or perhaps Mozart?)—which is rather missing the point, I think! I'll see what I can do FrB.TG. Aza24 (talk) 19:05, 22 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

		Vital Barnstar
		Congrats on expanding Euclid to 30 kB! Finally, the Vital Article project can stop arguing about adding/swapping/removing articles and start getting important stuff done. CactiStaccingCrane (talk) 09:57, 12 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you CactiStaccingCrane! I have plans to get it to GA in the coming future—probably going to reach out to a user I've worked with in the past for their expertise in mathematics. I suspect an entire mathematics section will have to be written separate from the works sections. Aza24 (talk) 04:34, 13 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

As an aside, I'm not sure how to get the proper KB number on the drive page, if you could perhaps adjust it for me. Aza24 (talk) 04:36, 13 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Just a food for thought: since you are going to push Euclid towards GA, how about placing it for first GA drive? It'll offload a lot of work from you and make the article improves faster. As for the kB number, it is the one that you see in the edit history written as (X bytes). In this example at Euclid, it is the "32,022 byte" bit.

05:51, 12 August 2022 Aza24 (talk I contribs) m . . (32,022 bytes) (+2) .. (ce) (undo | thank)

– CactiStaccingCrane (talk) 04:49, 13 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I did consider that, but I would probably prefer to do it on my own, and perhaps with the help of the editor I mentioned. I have a pretty clear idea of what the article should look like in a finished state, so part of me feels like adding a bunch more people into the process would be unproductive. I feel like for GA drives we would be better to spend our time on more general topics that are important but too broad to receive much editorship attention. In general, most biographies would probably not fall under that guise, but certainly there are exceptions. Aza24 (talk) 04:54, 13 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Well, I've a very happy news for you: the drive is now almost complete with 47 articles expanded to 30 kB out of 56. Though some articles are "expanded" via a click on IABot, I think that this drive is successful editor-wise as it is the first activity ever in over a decade that made WP:Vital Articles productive. Hopefully the WikiProject will have a good and glorious ending... CactiStaccingCrane (talk) 15:14, 30 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

CactiStaccingCrane, this is definitely a great win for the project. The remaining articles are all complex topics, even Social equality, which there is massive amounts of scholarship one would have to search through. You analysis of this drive's importance is certainly correct; only now has the project begun to leave a legacy. Aza24 (talk) 19:14, 30 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

August songs

pics and thoughts on 13 August -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:43, 13 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Did not know that Charles Wuorinen collaborated with Rushdie... how fitting to improve that opera, thank you! Aza24 (talk) 18:58, 22 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I improved that opera in 2020 when the composer died, but it seemed the right thing to say again. Several concerts and bike trips later, a pleasue to see Josquin des Prez on the Main page, and the church where I heard VOCES8 (finally, cancelled in 2020) pictured. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:58, 27 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Ah I see. And how funny about Josquin's anniversary today—just yesterday I finished rewriting the article! I adore VOCES8 and am terribly jealous you could see them in person...! Aza24 (talk) 17:08, 27 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

We had to wait 2 years, had tickets for a group in 2020, and it was cancelled, - same group made it this year! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:42, 27 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I highly recommend their recording of Josquin's Ave Maria, which is so good I linked it from the Josquin Wikipedia article :) Aza24 (talk) 19:57, 28 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I added their versions to pieces, recalling The Deer's Cry. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:38, 30 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Just listened to their Josquin Ava Maria interpretation (a piece I'd never heard), per the link Aza provided: Whoa! Gorgeous. (I also like the church's reverb.) :) Thanks for, yet again, expanding my horizons!! I'll program The Deer's Cry later today. Yay community and sharing! :) Warmly, ~ Silence of Järvenpää 15:31, 30 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Actually, I listened to the Pärt just now! Christ (pun intended), how beautiful. Double wow! Hmmm... I been meaning to start listening to Pärt's œuvre for years now. Perhaps this was the impetus I needed. ~ Silence of Järvenpää 15:38, 30 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you for the source review of Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, - crucial to making it a featured article! - images of a rich summer, especially in music --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:08, 31 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza! I hope you've been well. We're like peas in a pod: you can't seem to do that blasted music section for JdesP and I can't seem to do that blasted music section for MitT! Well, I am going to take a serious crack at the latter tonight, which (if successful) will mark the conclusion of my expansion work. Therefore, I was going to soon file a GAN and, seeing that you used to do a few (but not since 2020, it seems) and being that I admire your work and think we have similar thoughts about how articles should flow, I was wondering if you'd like to do me the honor of being the reviewer. No worries if not, but I thought you might at some point be planing to give it a read anyway. Warmly, ~ Silence of Järvenpää 00:37, 22 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

SOJ, I would be happy to do a GA review. I have actually been meaning to get more into GA reviews recently, so your timing is most fitting – Aza24 (talk) 19:34, 22 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza! Oh, wonderful! How fortuitous; I really do appreciate it. Seems like, based on your contributions history, you are active currently. Shall I go ahead an nominate it now, so that you can go into the GAN backlog and snatch it up before another editor? PS: I also just made your task 10,000 bytes easier! When I completed the expansion at midday, I still had a lingering feeling that the article was too long, and this was confirmed when I poked around the other GA and FA operas, which tend to be between 55,000 to 65,000 bytes. Why do I care? I guess TR in his comments during The Oceanides FAN left an indelible mark (he said it was too long for that piece, or something like that! haha... and yet one of his most amazing expansions was Orpheus in the Underworld, which is 84,300!). And so now I always worry when I do expansions! Anyway, I took The Maiden down from 74,600 bytes to 64,600 bytes! Whoa! And it wasn't as painful as I thought. My apologies if this has introduced new typos, but hopefully I'll get to those before you get to your review.) Warmly, ~ Silence of Järvenpää 00:35, 23 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi, Aza! I am going to submit the nomination now. Warmly, ~ Silence of Järvenpää 16:51, 23 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Glad to help out! I must admit, your bytes comment thoroughly confused me, as I usually refer to articles by word count in the readable prose size, which the max recommended length is 10,000 (see Wikipedia:Article size#Readability issues), less than half of which The Maiden currently is. I think Tim sometimes has his own opinions on these matters, though I know there is a diversity of takes on article length. Aza24 (talk) 17:47, 23 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Aza24 ~ Wait... how do you see the word count?! :) ~ Silence of Järvenpää 17:40, 27 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I use Wikipedia:Prosesize, which is tremendously helpful. Aza24 (talk) 17:45, 27 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Haha... you have so much to teach me! I just click edit and write in the Wiki-code HTML thing. Also, listening for the FIRST time to a Josquin work Missa Sine Nomine. The completed article looks great (glad you enlarged his portrait to be the same size as the navigation box below... I like clean lines... haha). I'm trying to understand something, though. Why if Josquin was already a FA did you have to labor so greatly on it? Feels like you deserve that gold star for your obvious expansion, no? ~ Silence of Järvenpää 17:51, 27 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Unfortunately there are a few composer FAs hiding around that are not really anywhere near that status. Josquin was among those, actually probably the worst, because his article was nominated in the time when anyone would nominate any article for FA, so the nominator didn't actually write any of it, and the user who did (Antandrus, who has been most generous with his council) wrote it before the first modern biography of Josquin even came out. Thus the entire biography had become more or less surpassed by more recent scholarship, and the inline sourcing was already weak to begin with, since the actual author Antandrus had never intended it to be FA.

The other poor composer FAs are Leo Ornstein and Dmitri Shostakovich, the latter which is on its way to being delisted. The articles for Messiaen and Takemitsu are probably not FA worthy either, but are less obvious in this respect. I fixed up Witold Lutosławski last year for similar reasons to Josquin, though the work required there was considerably less (though its probably still only GA standard). I continue to think that Tchaikovsky's article will need a big rewrite at some point, but I don't dare mention this to anyone :) Aza24 (talk) 18:13, 27 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

This is really interesting (as was reading the FARC on Shostakovich)... I hadn't realized that the WP FAC process had changed that dramatically over the years. You can probably tell that I haven't spent much time on the administrative end of WP, as I find writing content exhausting enough. I have a question: Why do you think the content about composers (both bio articles and composition articles) tends to be so... hmmm... unfinished? I just see so many stubs and start-class articles in this area of WP (and the sources cited are just so low quality... the low-hanging easily-Googled fruits), and I wonder why. So many people care about the music these individuals wrote! But, then again, I'm not sure I have really done much to advance Sibelius. After all, I have avoided the bio, which I would need to start from scratch on for an FAC push, and I tend to write about these lesser-known, less-important compositions (The Maiden in the Tower, The Oceanides, The Wood Nymph) rather than the key needs: Finlandia, the Violin Concerto, and of course the first two symphonies at least. Of course, for me, the most fun articles to work on are those that take a lot of research to piece together the lost narrative (at least to the English-speaking world). Like a detective. You can find a ton on any of the key compositions I mentioned above. But, e.g., The Maiden in the Tower? Good luck! So maybe I'm of two minds here. Who am I doing this editing for? Myself or for our readers? Haha... sorry to unburden myself and to get too deep! Warmly, ~ Silence of Järvenpää 21:19, 27 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Incomplete composer articles... well for pre-Baroque music I suppose it is an obvious disinterest from most editors, and those who do know about it were for many years so focused on quantity over quality, given the topic-area's underdevelopment! You might find User:Aza24/Vital composers (it is a bit roughly curated, but does the job) somewhat interesting, which reveals a clear pattern of intent in which article quality follows somewhat predictable patterns. Romantic composers, of course, take the cake in FAs/GAs; the somewhat unusual exceptions with Paganini, Schumann, Liszt and Grieg have no real explanation, except for the same reason we have a Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji FA, someone just happened to do/not-do it. Of course, the terribly mediocre articles on Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn, have constantly lingered over everyone's heads, but I suppose for fair enough reasons of overwhelm. It is rather ironic that, besides Britten, all of the Post-War and Contemporary FAs in that vital list are those which I already pointed out as poor! I suppose recentism often results in haphazard scholarship, which has not had appropriate time to grow, and thus is some what messy and unappealing in transferring to a Wikipedia article.

Your other question relates to a frequently discussed topic across Wikipedia—that of spending time on interesting topics or time on so-called 'vital' topics. The usual rationale of "work on whatever articles you enjoy working on regardless of anything else" is repeated enough, but not entirely satisfying. The sentiment once came back in such a heated debate that The Rambling Man changed his userpage to what it is now. I felt a strange guilt after I researched heavily for F. Andrieu and Grimace and ignored the article on Machaut, who is a composer of their time and location vastly more important than them. As a response I worked a lot on the History of music article to try and balance that out, and from then on have felt too guilty to work on niche topics too often. That's just how I have to treat Wikipedia, but it is a database of 'all human knowledge', which includes both The Maiden in the Tower and Finlandia. Aza24 (talk) 05:07, 28 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

		The Barnstar of High Culture
		For your exemplary work on several articles related to the arts — across a wide range of areas — and improving them to good and featured quality status. I have relied on some of your work to model articles I have worked on, and I am certain that you have inspired others as well. Thank you for all that you do and I hope you know that you have made Wikipedia a better encyclopedia! — The Most Comfortable Chair 15:34, 5 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The Most Comfortable Chair, thank you, this is very kind! I don't mean to pry, but am curious, which article(s) have you looked at as reference models? Aza24 (talk) 21:50, 5 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Its scope was limited, but I took ideas from Chinua Achebe about how to structure Red Jordan Arobateau. Especially when I cannot phrase something well, I read through featured and good articles of my peers — including yours, such as Portrait of a Musician and La Scapigliata (since I enjoy working with articles related to paintings). — The Most Comfortable Chair 23:18, 5 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

How touching! I was very happy to help out with Achebe at FAR; he must be one of our only (though with Rowling and Le Guin) FA writers who have lived in the 21st century. Aza24 (talk) 23:30, 5 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Achebe's article was a lovely read, and you did a fantastic job! I actually read Things Fall Apart after I read Achebe's Wikipedia article (trying to get ideas for Arobateau's article), and it was a great experience. I will be getting the other two from the trilogy as well. — The Most Comfortable Chair 23:59, 5 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Yes, Things Fall Apart is incredible! So chock-full of takeaways. Your work on Arobateau's article appears most thorough, bravo! Aza24 (talk) 00:34, 6 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi. I have replied with more detail on my talk page, because it's important to get it right. The (s)election system for board members (if one can call it that) is seriously flawed as one candidate has already stated on my talk page. If you wish your vote(s) to be as effective as possible, you can tactically vote only for your preferred candidate(s) and not for the others. There is no obligation to vote for all the candidates in order of preference. If you change you mind you can always vote again. It will overwrite your previous vote. As a shortcut for you, here is a list of the candidate statements, but it will suffice for you to read the statement talk pages. Some have no comments. Their local user pages are in brackets.

I take a great interest in Wiki governance. As usual, I will be writing a full voter guide (a permitted exposé) on the ACE2022, the most important en.Wiki event of the year, when the time comes soon. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 02:01, 6 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Will respond on your talk page, thanks for this. Aza24 (talk) 02:11, 6 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hi there,

Could you do a source review for the 94th Academy Awards regarding its featured list promotion? I would appreciate the feedback.

--Birdienest81talk 20:33, 6 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The first ever Vital GA Drive by the WikiProject Vital Articles has begun. The drive aims to improve Coffee and Land to good article status within 45 days, from 1 September to 15 October 2022. The Vital GA Drive is WikiProject Vital Articles's first step at achieving its ambitious goal: all Vital articles achieving good article status by 2032.

You've received this message because your name is on Wikipedia:WikiProject Vital Articles and Wikipedia:WikiProject Vital Articles/30 kB drive. If your name only appear at the 30 kB drive page, you won't receive any more future messages from the WikiProject. If you don't want to receive such messages anymore, you can remove the template ((MMsgI|user=YOURUSERNAME)) at the project's member list. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:30, 9 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

		Editor of the Week
		Your ongoing efforts to improve the encyclopedia have not gone unnoticed: You have been selected as Editor of the Week in recognition of your great contributions! (courtesy of the Wikipedia Editor Retention Project)

User:MaranoFan submitted the following nomination for Editor of the Week:

I nominate Aza24 for EOTW for being a class act and for their tireless contributions across several arenas. They have contributed various featured articles and lists, and quality content about sophisticated topics such as paintings and Chinese history. Aza24 has proferred quality source reviews to several featured article candidates without asking for anything in return, which are both thorough and constructively worded. A thoroughly deserving recipient having done a magnificent 112 reviews at FAR, more than half of them source reviews, making them part of the essential backbone of FAR. A wonderful servant of Wikipedia. They also delegate at WP:FGTC and play a major part in keeping that project alive. She has a special place of honour for reforming the WP:Vital articles project, seen here. Aza24's work ethic, civility, and underrated work on obscure topics are an example for the rest of us and make them a deserving candidate. Seconded by User:Kavyansh.Singh, User:Novem Linguae, User:Gog the Mild and User:CactiStaccingCrane

You can copy the following text to your user page to display a user box proclaiming your selection as Editor of the Week:

((User:UBX/EoTWBox))

Thanks again for your efforts! ―Buster7 ☎ 17:07, 17 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]