The Classical Music Appreciation Thread

[ManInIronMask]

Recently, I took out some of the old music that I had and noticed that I had some brilliant classical music that I've heard a million times over in assorted advertisements, as muzak on elevators, in movie soundtracks and even as backing up tunes for cars that I'd want to smash in because of their shrill noises.

So I decided that I'd make a short list of interesting music for those that would like to listen to it and I would most definitely welcome contributions towards the same.

This list comprises of classical music that you've all heard, but didn't know the source for. Please be warned that I've been subjected to a thorough and elaborate diet of rock, metal, alternative and significantly contemporary music.

Here goes my first list:

1. Eine Kleine Nachtmusic - Mozart
2. 1812 overture - Tchaikovsky
3. Infernal Galop - Offenbach
4. Les Toreadors - Bizet
5. Wedding March - Wagner
6. Wedding March - Mendelssohn
7. Marriage of Figaro - Mozart (and I somehow can imagine this as the background music as I'm bringing a woman to the throes of orgasm - it is a nice mental picture I have in my head!)

 

[Octavian]

Classical Music

Great that you like such music. But if you do try to hear more. For instance if you like 'Les Toreadors' try to hear it in the context of Bizet's opera 'Carmen'. The same goes for Wagners Bridal Chorus which comes from Act 3 of Lohengrin, possibly the most approachable of Wagner's operas.
The Marriage of Figaro has been described as the 'perfect opera' a wonderful fusion of libretto and music. Try to hear it all if you get the chance but you must hear the last 15 minutes of Act 2, when as indicated in the film Amadeus, Mozart writes for a duet, then a trio, then a quartet, quintet, sextet and septet. It is impossible to listen to this music without smiling.

 

[caged_doll]

Other commonly heard classical pieces include:

Toccata and Fugue in D minor - Bach
Habanera from Carmen - Bizet
Liebestraum - Lizst (I prefer Barenboim playing it)
Rhapsody in Blue - Gershwin
Night on Bald Mountain - Mussorgsky
The Blue Danube Waltz - Strauss

Recommended pieces to listen to include:

Verklarte Nacht - Schoenberg (the sextet version is more intimate)
Piano Sonatas (Mondschein, Pathetique, Waldstein, Hammerklavier, Apassionata) - Beethoven (I like Kempff for this)
Overture from Tannhauser - Wagner
O Du Mein Holder Abendstern from Tannhauser - Wagner
Che Gelida Manina and Si, Mi Chiamano Mimi from La Boheme - Puccini
Willow, Where We Met Together from the Ballad of Baby Doe - Moore (Beverly Sills is an amazing Baby Doe)
Piano Preludes 1, 2, and 3 - Gershwin

I could go on forever. I agree with Octavian. Certain pieces need to be listened to with context. I highlight O Du Mein Holder Abendstern (To the Evening Star) from Wagner, but for the most pleasurable (and emotional) listening experience you almost need to listen to the entire Third Act of Tannhauser. The more you listen, the more you enjoy.

 

[Spoon77]

Some of my favorites are

Moonlight Sonata-Beethoven
Claire de Lune- Debussy
and Mozart's Requiem

 

[ShyMystica]

My faves

Love the thread start up My personal favorites are:
1. Cannon in D: Pachelbel
2. Moonlight Sonata: Beethoven
3. Flower Duet: Delibes
4. Für Elise: Beethoven
5. In the Hall of the Mountain King: Grieg
6. Flight of the Bumblebee: Rimsky-Korsakov
7. Sorcerer's Apprentice: Dukas
8. Air On A G String: Bach
9. Piano Concerto In A Minor: Grieg
10. Queen of the Night: Mozart

Some of these are actually 'inspiration' for some cartoons. That is how I learned and became fond of classical music. Though, as I studied more I can definitely say I am more of a fan of the more 'romantic' pieces.

Oh yes...AND Morning by Grieg. Can't forget that one

 

[operationorgasm]

I can't recall names of classical songs to save my life, but generally, I adore classical music. I'm a huge Tchaikovsky fan, as well as Bach (especially Cello Suite no. 1... but I'm biased since I play cello). And a piece I tend to listen to, on repeat, is Brahms' Hungarian Dance no. 1.

Oh! One I didn't see anyone mention is Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner.

 

[RiskFactor7]

I'm relatively impressed by the opera following in here.

 

[CaptainJack09]

these are all the lamest most hackneyed "greatest hits CD" pieces in the history of music. classical music is not some fucking "oh, this type of music is good for you and makes me sound intellectual when i talk about these composers etc etc" go out and find some real music before trying to sound high-brow and cultured with your reader's digest playlist.

 

[operationorgasm]

these are all the lamest most hackneyed "greatest hits CD" pieces in the history of music. classical music is not some fucking "oh, this type of music is good for you and makes me sound intellectual when i talk about these composers etc etc" go out and find some real music before trying to sound high-brow and cultured with your reader's digest playlist.

If you have such an issue with this music and with the discussion about it, why not post your own thread about the music you wish to talk about? There's no need to insult the music or the posters' preferences.

 

[CaptainJack09]

If you have such an issue with this music and with the discussion about it, why not post your own thread about the music you wish to talk about? There's no need to insult the music or the posters' preferences.

because its more fun to piss people off, and this way all of you fake music enthusiasts know that you aren't bullshitting anyone other than yourselves with your pretentiousness.

 

[ManInIronMask]

these are all the lamest most hackneyed "greatest hits CD" pieces in the history of music. classical music is not some fucking "oh, this type of music is good for you and makes me sound intellectual when i talk about these composers etc etc" go out and find some real music before trying to sound high-brow and cultured with your reader's digest playlist.

I admit that this list is more or less analogous to the 18th and 19th Century top of the pops list.

But since you're such a self-confessed subject matter expert, would you please like to guide us to other, more refined, non-muzak listening?

thanks!

 

[CaptainJack09]

But since you're such a self-confessed subject matter expert, would you please like to guide us to other, more refined, non-muzak listening?

Not particularly.

 

[ManInIronMask]

Not particularly.

Well, if you can't, then keep your bitchass mouth shut and fuck off.

 

[Octavian]

"all of you fake music enthusiasts"

So Capt Jack in the light of your comment, it would appear that I am also a fake music enthusiast .

I accept that a number of the popular items listed hitherto are well known and hence open to the charge of being hackneyed.

Clearly you are extremely knowledgeable about classical music. I would thus welcome a discussion on this subject. I am happy to offer topics for discussion. Perhaps we could talk about the merits of the operas of Verdi or Janacek. If opera is not your forte maybe we might consider Haydn who, as I'm sure you know, was the originator of string quartets and wrote 82 of them.
Alternatively we can exchange views about the influence of Beethoven on symphonic music.

If, as seems likely, you know very little about the subject , may I suggest you take the advice of the wife of Tony Soprano, and shut the fuck up!

 

[CaptainJack09]

So Capt Jack in the light of your comment, it would appear that I am also a fake music enthusiast .

I accept that a number of the popular items listed hitherto are well known and hence open to the charge of being hackneyed.

Clearly you are extremely knowledgeable about classical music. I would thus welcome a discussion on this subject. I am happy to offer topics for discussion. Perhaps we could talk about the merits of the operas of Verdi or Janacek. If opera is not your forte maybe we might consider Haydn who, as I'm sure you know, was the originator of string quartets and wrote 82 of them.
Alternatively we can exchange views about the influence of Beethoven on symphonic music.

If, as seems likely, you know very little about the subject , may I suggest you take the advice of the wife of Tony Soprano, and shut the fuck up!

No thanks, I can go look random incorrect facts up on wikipedia myself, don't need to have a fake conversation with you to relay that bs information. Awfully violent when your baseless claims to culturedness are in the least bit questions, aren't we?

 

[ShyMystica]

Interesting...

I always find it interesting to see people bitch-talk others when it comes to appreciating classical music. Really, it takes a tuned ear and an intellectual frame of mind to enjoy such music. So while CaptainJack's comments are fair to be said (I'm not one to go against freedom of speech), to me it only proves his own ignorance and stupidity for not being able to appreciate classical music and respect others opinions of it.

Yes most of the pieces listed are popular and well known, but that doesn't diminish their quality in the slightest. In fact, wouldn't that make them better? Really to me it seems this Captain guy has no idea what he is talking about and is just out for a fight. It makes me laugh when a person attempts to cause trouble with a subject they know nothing about. Especially when he is arguing with people who DO know what they are talking about. Stupidity...that is all it is, and he has done a fine job at proving how stupid he really is. *applauds CaptainJack*

 

[CaptainJack09]

I always find it interesting to see people bitch-talk others when it comes to appreciating classical music. Really, it takes a tuned ear and an intellectual frame of mind to enjoy such music. So while CaptainJack's comments are fair to be said (I'm not one to go against freedom of speech), to me it only proves his own ignorance and stupidity for not being able to appreciate classical music and respect others opinions of it.

Yes most of the pieces listed are popular and well known, but that doesn't diminish their quality in the slightest. In fact, wouldn't that make them better? Really to me it seems this Captain guy has no idea what he is talking about and is just out for a fight. It makes me laugh when a person attempts to cause trouble with a subject they know nothing about. Especially when he is arguing with people who DO know what they are talking about. Stupidity...that is all it is, and he has done a fine job at proving how stupid he really is. *applauds CaptainJack*

Try me, bitch.

 

[TallMan60]

Some of the ones I like are (off the top of my head)

Mahler: Symphonies, 1 2 and 5
Prokofiev: 5th and 7th Symphony, Cantata from Alexander Nevsky (this is really good)
Berlioz: Requiem
Puccini: Requiem
Kodaly: Missa Brevis
Bruckner: 4th Symphony
Shostakovitch: 5th Symphony

There are lots more, but they don't sit on the top of my head at the moment.

 

[TallMan60]

Um, oh, and I forgot one important one:

Vaughan-Williams: Concerto for Bass Tuba

 

[CaptainJack09]

Um, oh, and I forgot one important one:

Vaughan-Williams: Concerto for Bass Tuba

*vomits*

 

[TallMan60]

*vomits*

I'm pleased that you have had that reaction. Now clean it up.

 

[prometheus829]

Some standards I come back to:

Mozart clarinet concerto k622
Beethoven symph. 7 movement 2
Glazunov Sax concerto
Ibert Concerto de Camera

 

[romeothethird]

I prefer certain performances.

Mozart symphonies 40 & 41 Chicago Symphony conducted by James Levine is a very high spirited, energetic and inspiring recording. I've heard other recordings that made me laugh, they seemed so wrong.

Another good James Levine/Chicago is Mozart Violin Concertos 3 & 4. Good when you want to get down to work.

Mozart and Beethoven Piano Quintets with Andre Previn - put this one when you want to relax - I had a number of naps with this playing.

These are people who got it right, to my taste.