i know very little and own just as much. its a very exclusive musical environment and i feel like if you didn't study it, you have a very difficult time getting intitiated, so to speak.

all i know is i love pieces in minor. dark, moody, dramatic...i love it! i've got mozart's requiem and bach's mass in B minor. i've also got tchaikovsky's swan lake (which has been a favorite of mine for years). i have some individual pieces from sergei prokofiev, vivaldi, babell, handell, and haydn. that's about it.

i'm really interested in getting a few decent comps to start me on my way but i need some good comps because there's a lot of crap out there ready to be peddled to any unsuspecting fool, like me, who knows no better.

send me some info if you know anything. thanks!

i don't have a degree in like classical piano perf. or something/ but, i do have ba in music theory and comp. from unc chapel hill/ in 2003

i was mainy a trombone and tuba player/ but, now i all i focus on is guitar and piano strangely enough/ i do compose classical music when i can also

carlar said:

ok. so now that your credentials have been properly advertised, recommend some stuff for me! and don't be afraid to give me some heavy stuff.

try Tartini "Devils Thrill"

or any anything by paganini.

they are my favorite violinist.

well, now, that's a rather broad topic.

Are you looking for more moody, minor, heavy pieces like requiems and masses in B minor?

Do you lean toward symphonic works or chamber music?

Do you like concertos (soloist with a backing orchestra) or something like the Bach violin sonatas which have no back up only a solo instrument?

Do you like the Baroque 16th century noodling or the romantic sweep of 18th century stuff like Mussorgsky?

Or impressionistic composers for piano like Chopin and Debussy?

Do you like strong melody or dissonance?

I'll try make up a list of my own favorites for you when I get a chance, but it's quite a few.

I got to admit, I'm a bit of a Richard Wagner fan. He was an asshole of a person apparently, but his music is unbelieveable. Kind of like Prince in some ways: he was a very innovative, hermit-like character, full of contradictions. There are still hardcore Wagner fans out there just as there are Prince fans today!

If you like dark/heavy/mysterious/moody, he might just be the sound you're after. Check out any of the operas from The Ring Cycle.
[Edited 11/4/06 6:21am]

If you haven`t heard Grieg`s "I Dovregubbens hall" (In the hall of the mountain king), you should check it out, it`s beautiful...

so what are you looking for? There are so many different periods in "classical" music.

truly classical is stuff like Mozart and Beetoveen.

then you have the romantics -- chopin, brahms, berlioz,a lot of piano music.

modern -- shoshtakovich, ravel, bartok(think weird percussion stuff).



i suggest going to kmart and picking up one of those compilation cd's for $3.99, give it a listen and then you'd have a better idea of what you like.


let us know what you pick
[Edited 11/4/06 8:24am]

I actually do have a Performance degree in Classical Guitar, but I disagree with you about it being an exclusive realm. Music is music.

As for recommendations, if you want some darker pieces of music, try these:

-Toccata & Fugue-J.S.Bach
-Night On Bald Mountain-Mussorgsky
-The Old Castle-Mussorgsky (part of the Pictures At An Exhibition suite, which is fantastic and you should check out the whole thing!)
-The Usher Waltz-Nikita Koshkin (it's a guitar piece and you can actually find it on the John Williams "Seville Concert" album. The whole album is fantastic BTW!)
-"Mars"-Gustav Holst (one of the most evil sounding pieces ever written and is from a suite called The Planets that is really awesome!)

Check these out too:
"Clouds"-Debussy
"Symphonie Fantastique" Berlioz
"The Rite Of Spring"-Stravinsky
"Electric Counterpoint" Steve Reich (a minimalist piece but GOOD minimalism! You might even be able to download it)

Happy listening!

I really Bach's keyboard concerto 1. It's a cool minor piece. This is Glenn Gould playing the first movement.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...nEsvcbuzmE
[Edited 11/4/06 8:40am]

I'm not a classical music expert, but I am a fan.

I love Chopin, for example. A good introduction to Chopin would be the soundtrack to The Pianist. Also a good starter for Mozart would be the soundtrack to Amadeus. Then the soundtrack to Somewhere in Time (Rhapsodie sur un Theme de Paganini)would be a good starter for Rachmoninov. I also love the soundtrack to the original movie version of East of Eden. Also one of my most favorite opera arias is Pucinni's "O Mio Bambbino Caro"-- included on the soundtrack to the movieA Room With a View . I also love Bizet's Carmen and Mozart's Mariage de Figaro.

I also love Tchaicovsky. A number of ballets have been created to his work.. or he scored many ballets like Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet (inspired Prokofiev's ballet R&J composition.)

Others favorites include:

Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet

Ravel's Bolero

Orff's Carmina Burana---LOVE IT.

Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata.

Aaron Copland: Rodeo; Fanfare for the Common Man

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; American in Paris

Yo-Yo Ma: Appalachian Journey

Delibes- Flower Duet

Tchaikovsky- Symphonie Pathetique

Pucinni's Madame Butterfly

Pucinni's La Boheme; Tosca


I added on and edited a bit after looking through some of my collection.But that's still all I can think of right now. Oh... I love Bach in general and chamber music as well, but I can't think of the exact works... There are others in my head as well...Ohhh-- Kachaturian's Spartacus . There is just a lot that I love, but I can't recall the exact works. I think my favorite might have to be Rachmoninov Rhapsodie sur le theme de Paganini. That work just envelopes a person.. It's just beauTIful. really.. beautiful. Then Carmina Burana is so incredibly powerful. OOooo I also love Joplin as well--Maple Leaf Rag.
[Edited 11/4/06 10:13am]

you guys rock!

i'm making a list out of all this and as soon as classes end (two weeks, yay!) i'm gonna check it all out.

thanks!

sallysassalot said:

my fav classical songs are Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner
Cannon in G by Pachelbell

sallysassalot said:

No thank you for making this thread. I pulled-out some of my classical cd's and listened to them all day--while I cleaning house and finishing up some other business.

Oh man.. the soundtrack to Amadeus. Yes... yes.... YES!!!!! And I listened to the soundtrack to the Pianist..

I always listen to Carmina Burana and Rhapsodie... de Paganini. I just love those two. Those two.. I dunno.. Those are just my weekly listening pleasures.

Then I listened to some Miles Davis.

I had forgotten how much I loved classical--and jazz.
[Edited 11/4/06 18:01pm]

carlar said:

I forgot about Philip Glass. I have one of his cd's somewhere. We moved and still haven't unpacked everything.

I don't know much about classical music really except I've collected a lot over the years. People would recommend stuff to me, then I would buy it. And I'm familiar with ballet(studied ballet from a very early age), plus studied voice for a while, and participated in choir for many years, so I had some exposure to classical from that experience. I've taken a general music appreciation courses in college, too, so I'm vaguely familiar with certain artists.

I think I have some Verdi somewhere, too.

Yeah, there is so much that is really wonderful. For me, it's like classical is pure -- It just really impacts the spirit--I think.
[Edited 11/5/06 6:29am]

sallysassalot said:

Do not forget to add Eric Satie to your list.

If you want to get up to date, please be sure to check www.allmusic.com

Their classical corner has kewl links to performers and recordings.

http://www.allmusic.com > scroll down, click SITE GUIDE. The gray line has all their musical styles; click classical.

There is so much to classical music and tastes are very subjective as with any kind of music. These are a few of my favorites. Several of them I have played or heard live, so I have a personal connection to them with makes them special to me. I also have a preference for modern 20th century stuff, which not everyone likes.


The Barber of Seville by Gioacchino Antonio Rossini

Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens

Piano Sonata #2 in B flat minor - second movement Funeral March by Chopin

Symphony #8 in C Minor by Dmitri Shostakovich (I think that's the one that uses the grand piano)

Concerto Grosso #2 by Ernst Bloch

My Father Knew Charles Ives by John Adams (I was bowled over by the second movement called The Lake where the orchestra literally sounds just like a lake with water, boats and bouys, subtle and magnificent)

and for something rather hallucinatory and off the wall try
Phorion by Lukas Foss (which the composer described as a "Bach nightmare" )

...



I'm more a fan of the Impressionistic/Romantic/Modern symphonic stuff...My favorites:


Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring; El Salon, Mexico; Rodeo; Fanfare For The Common Man

Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin; Pavane pour une infante défunte; Schéhérazade

Claude Debussy: Arabesque; La Mer; Clair de Lune; Children's Corner

Frederick Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring; Brigg Fair; Summer Night On The River; The Walk To Paradise Garden; Song Of Summer

Ottorino Respighi: The Pines Of Rome

Anton Liadov: The Enchanted Lake

Erik Satie: Gymnopédies

Gustav Holst: The Planets

Arthur Honegger: Pastorale d'été; Napoleon

Gabriel Faure: - Sicilienne

Igor Stravinsky: Firebird Suite

Robert Farnon: A La Claire Fontaine; How Beautiful Is Night

Michel Colombier - Night Bird

Peter Shickele - Pentangle



...
[Edited 11/8/06 16:29pm]

Prince was right. Gustav Mahler is great. I'd check out Stravinsky, any violin chamber music or full pieces by Bela Bartok. Zappa has great orchestral stuff.

http://music.barnesandnob...RK=4809466

http://www.amazon.com/B%C...F8&s=music

http://www.amazon.com/Str...F8&s=music

Hate Bach, Mozart, etc. Too churchie sounding, too wimpy. I like music with fire, wit and pain. Beauty and mystery.

A lot of beginning listeners like the Romantic period the best--Tchaikovsky, Later Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Shubert, Mendelsohn. It's familiar sounding (kind of like movie sountracks) and dramatic, yet not too weird.

The first classical cd I got really into was:

Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto

And classical radio plays mostly "greatest hits" of classical, so it's a pretty good way to become aquainted with the major composers

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughn Williams

is also a lovely piece for a small chamber orchestra, strings only

2freaky4church1 said:

I'd say Bach and Mozart have oodles of fire, wit, pain, beauty and mystery. The problem is, they're way overplayed so it's kind of snoozefest by now.

Tchiakovsky is also a bit of a snoozefest for me. It's a bit too accessible, too pleasurable or something.

Love Waltz of the Flowers though (from the Nutcracker Suite)

heartbeatocean said:

He's great, but yes he's too easy. But that makes it an easy introduction. It's hard to not get the 1812 Overture or Romeo & Juliet

That's how I feel about most romantic music. It's a great place to start, but then you move onto the (possibly more subtle) greatest composers like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, or the more challenging ones like Stravinsky & Mahler

NDRU said:

Or better yet, Lukas Foss or John Zorn
[Edited 11/7/06 15:42pm]

heartbeatocean said:

well, now you're going over my head