Classical Music Thread

[Vicky]

[size=1]Because there's [i]nothing[/i] but metal and genre arguments here these days. ¬_¬

Hey, I ain't some sort of classical music know-it-all, but I listened to more classical before I got into any other bands and it's one of the reasons I'm taking Music as a GCSE. It's really a massive area of music, isn't it? But I'm sure we can make a topic out of it. Favourite composers, era, influence on modern music .ect .ect.

Despite the crappy knowledge I do know a little bit, enough to know that early Romantic/late Romantic is my favourite, especially Ludwig Van for obvious reasons I guess. Mozart is alright, as well, though I definitely don't prefer him over a few other composers. Franz Liszt, again because I like the Romantic era best, is also another one of my favourites - sadly he doesn't have the omnipresent fame of Beethoven, well I think around my area anyway, so the underpaid twits in music stores don't know what I'm talking about at all =/.

And Samuel Barber. [I]Before[/i] the silly DJ Tiesto and William Orbit remixes came out, because everyone knows the one song (that being Adagio for Strings) and nothing else.

I don't know what to put, really, being no genius at all. I'll post a list of more I like later. What I'm not too keen on, though, is contemporary classical music. Some composers are okay, though I'm more of an oldie - for such a young person - but I guess some contemporary music they use in movie scores are pretty neat these days. I don't know if it counts, but the soundtrack for Requiem for a Dream was pretty cool. It had the Kronos Quartet playing most of the violin parts... I don't know if it counts as contemporary or not, though I reckon a lot of the soundtrack is definitely contemporary. That's what my music teacher said =/.

Bah, I'm not too fond of the new sounds anyway. Oldies stuff.

I'll get back to you when I actually learn the stuff XD[/size]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]As much as I enjoy some modern music, in the end I often fall back on listening to classical styled music. Most of what I really like is from the classical and romantic era. Though some of them are considered to be transition composers instead of being just in one era. Anyway, there?s a lot out there that I?ve heard and yet I couldn?t tell you who the composer is, but there are some that are well known that I really enjoy.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - He has a meticulous precision to his music that when I?m in the mood for it I really enjoy listening to it. And though I never went anywhere with music once I got older, I was a part of an orchestra in High School so I have fond memories of playing some of his works, even if I wasn?t very good at it.

Ludwig Van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata is one of my favorite pieces by him.

Felix Mendelssohn - I positively adore his violin concerto in e-minor, by far one of my favorites when it comes to this type of music.

Frederic Chopin - I wouldn?t know where to begin with Chopin since he has so many works that I enjoy listening to.

Richard Wagner - For the music to Der Ring Des Nibelungen. Which is surprising since normally I am not a fan of opera! lol

Johannes Brahms - Another one of my favorites. I?d be hard pressed to pick any favorites by him since there are so many that I like. Currently the one I enjoy listening to the most is Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major. It?s hard to describe how much I like the piano part to this piece.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - For The Nutcracker of course.

Sergei Rachmaninoff - That one is a given, I adore his piano concertos and have had the good fortune to hear them performed live.

I think I?ll stop here and come back later since there are more that I like and this tiny list is far from complete. That?s just some of the ones I can think of offhand at the moment. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[Panache]

I was gonna make a Classical music recommendations thread...

So can anyone recommend me something that sounds like Beethoven or is from the 1800's?

[Rachmaninoff]

I'll second everything in your list Beth, but then there are far too many composers that I like and I'm not even going to get started on that here. XP I'd be typing for far longer than I want to. But I will address this:[quote name='Avenged666fold']So can anyone recommend me something that sounds like Beethoven or is from the 1800's?[/QUOTE]If you?re looking for something that is similar to Beethoven and is also from the 1800?s, then a good composer to look up would be Johannes Brahms since he has some imitations of Beethoven in his works.

For example his First Piano Sonata is similar to Beethoven?s Hammerklavier Sonata and his First Symphony carries a similar theme to Beethoven?s Ninth. Though I wouldn?t stop there, his music has appeared in many films and other works of popular culture so it?s likely that exposing yourself to his works will have you realizing that you?ve heard the melodies of many of his pieces before.

[Panache]

[QUOTE]Though I wouldn?t stop there, his music has appeared in many films and other works of popular culture so it?s likely that exposing yourself to his works will have you realizing that you?ve heard the melodies of many of his pieces before.[/QUOTE]Yea I have heard of him...they talked about him in this book I read about the holocaust. Anyway thanks for the recommendation.

[Boo]

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Ludwig Van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata is one of my favorite pieces by him.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE][size=1]It's one of my favourite pieces [i]ever[/i]. The whole sonata is pure brilliance, technically and emotionally. It's kept a rather simple level that builds up perfectly, but it's never under the top, nor is it ever boring. I envy that deaf fellow.

I like to listen to some Gustav Mahler every now and then. His pieces mostly last between 10 and 30 minutes and build up real good as well. But he was one of the more progressive and modern composers of his time (late 19th century and early 20th), so you can't really compare his pieces to Mozart, for example.[/size]

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1]I think Moonlight Sonata is one of the favourites in the classical world, it's the sole reason I paid attention to the British Gas adverts on TV.

But it's one of those songs where when most people play if for you, it doesn't sound right, especially the tempo. I mean, you [i]could[/i] be playing it technically flawlessly at the correct speed, though it still sounds too fast/slow. It's one of those where you can have everything about the piece nailed on the head, but if you play it like a mushroom without the feeling behind it, it doesn't sound right. I think. You could probably find that with most pieces, though Moonlight Sonata is very noticeable - British Gas got the tempo right! XD

Ludwig Van is also good for sick movies and books, haha. A Clockwork Orange has got me saying 'Ludwig Van' now - that soundtrack to that movie is [i]cool.[/i][/size]

[Panache]

Would tangerine Dream from the Clockwork orange album be considered classical? It sounds like it has a lot of electronic sounds in it but still has a sort of classical melody.

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1]In contemporary classical, you can actually find a lot of electronic sounds in classical compositions. I don't have my old computer so I can't play the Clockwork Orange album at the moment, though I think the majority of the score is classical (save for Singin' in the Rain). The main theme, the March, is definitely classical but with electronic sounds incorporated into it.

I think what they did was use classical and put the electronic sounds in where nescessary. A Clockwork Orange's soundtrack should indeedly be a classical score.

If you like that soundtrack, maybe you'd like Requiem for a Dream. It uses a lot of sharp string sounds to make it sound uncomfortable, but still good with a lot of electronic stuff in there too - it's quite an epic score. Lux Atena, in that soundtrack, is remixed [i]a lot[/i] and a remix can be heard on the Lord of the Ring's Two Towers trailer. Pretty neat stuff.[/SIZE]

[Panache]

Thanks Vicky. Is there a website that is similar to the Encyclopedia Metallum for Classical music? I would really like to know. That way I can look for groups and songs n stuff myself.

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='Vicky'][SIZE=1]I think what they did was use classical and put the electronic sounds in where nescessary. A Clockwork Orange's soundtrack should indeedly be a classical score.[/SIZE][/QUOTE]If you are talking about the movie A Clockwork Orange, then you are correct. The main theme is an electronic transcription of Henry Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, which was composed in 1695. If you are referring to something else then I wouldn't know. XP

[Mr. Maul]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DimGray]The score for [B]A Clockwork Orange[/B] consisted of classical works performed by [B]Wendy Carlos[/B] on synthesizers. She was also involved with the [B]Tron[/B] soundtrack.

My absolute favorite piece if classical music is the [B]Cello Suite 1 in G Prelude [/B](as performed by [B]Yo-Yo Ma[/B] on the [B]Master and Commander[/B] soundtrack) by [B]J. S. Bach[/B]. It is a heavenly and truly beautiful song that I can just listen to over and over again without growing tired.

[B]Mozart[/B] is also a favorite of mine (I love the movie [B]Amadeus[/B]), as I find his works to be creative and sometimes fun, yet also quite dark at times.

Back to electronic classical music:

I must once again plug the album [B]Rossz Csillag Alatt Született[/B] by [B]Venetian Snares[/B]. It is, in my opinion, the greatest re-working of classical music ever. It is hard to describe in words just how massively epic this album is. Here is a link to one song off of the album:

[URL="http://www.miniluv.biz/mp3/08%20Szam%e1r%20Madar%20copy.mp3"]Szamár Madár[/URL]

It is definitely not one to skip over, especially if you love classical music.



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[Jakehammaren]

[B]Paganini[/B], [B]Vivaldi[/B], and [B]Wagner[/B] FTW. That is all.

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1]Jake's right on Paganini's part, haha, he should have been mentioned. Not too keen on Vivaldi, though.

And yep Rach, I did mean the Movie, heh.

I also listened to what you linked to, Mr Maul. I'm not really that keen on the first part, though it catches my attention a lot more as it moves along. It's quite interesting really, I might look into some more. And as for Amadeus, I like the movie to... except... it was a bit 'dodgy' on the basis of historical truths, so I hear. [/SIZE]

[Mr. Maul]

[quote name='Vicky][SIZE=1'] I also listened to what you linked to, Mr Maul. I'm not really that keen on the first part, though it catches my attention a lot more as it moves along. It's quite interesting really, I might look into some more. And as for Amadeus, I like the movie to... except... it was a bit 'dodgy' on the basis of historical truths, so I hear.[/SIZE][/quote]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DimGray]Yeah... I find that introduction to be a tad too erratic as well, although one of the album's themes is dark, despairing chaos, so I guess it works. Most of the songs on that album have rather long intros, but this one is by far the best:

[URL="http://phwelo.chadmello.com/hajnal.mp3"]Hajnal[/URL]

In that song, he "samples excerpts from the second of [B]Stravinsky's 3 Pieces for Clarinet[/B]" (Wikipedia), reworks elements from the [B]Red Violin[/B] soundtrack (my own knowledge), and also [B]Paganini's 24 Caprices[/B] (again, me).

What you said about [B]Amadeus[/B]: Aren't all historical movies a bit dodgy?

And to [B]Jake[/B]: Definitely [B]Vivaldi[/B] (sorry, [B]Vicky[/B]).



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[eleanor]

[font="trebuchet ms"]I used to play in orchestra, a damn good one at that, and I definitely appreciated and respected the talent that went into composing and playing classical music. Sitting at rehearsal for hours playing the same three measures over and over (and for the cellos it was continuous whole notes...) again drove me insane sometimes, but it's amazing how that kind of conenctration can produce great results. The level of musical talent needed to compose great classical pieces compared to music being put out by bands and singers today makes me sort of sad. lol

I like [i]Tchaikovsky Concerto for Violin & Orchestra in D, Op. 35, 1. Allegro moderato[/i] (and Tchaikovsky in general, as I liked the romantic era). I think I have two versions of it, one played with Zukerman and one with Milstein.

Props to Bach for making some of the hardest but most beautiful music ever; I love listening to [i]Chaconne[/i] and learning how to play the Bach Suites technically and musically was a very rewarding experience.

Some other random favorites are [i]Danse Bacchanale[/i] by Saint-Saëns; it was mad fun to play that with a full orchestra. I also like [i]Danse Macabre[/i], mostly because I liked hearing Gil Shaham play it so well. Vivaldi's [i]Eight Seasons[/i] is always popular... rightfully so.

But I do need to expand my classical music selection. Any recs?[/font]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Another one that I really like is Johann Sebastian Bach. He just has so much music that sounds deceptively simple and yet can be so difficult to play correctly. And when someone gets it right I just love listening to it. For instance I'm currently listening to The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Bach. No matter how many times I hear them I never get tired of them. I also love the six Brandenburg concertos as well. I've played some of those, though the orchestra I was in in High School wasn't all that good. Still it was fun.

And then there's his Toccata and Fugue works for the organ which I also never get tired of. It's been a while but hearing those performed live is very enjoyable. Bach is definitely one of my favorite composers from the Baroque era. ^_^[/FONT][/COLOR]

[eleanor]

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Another one that I really like is Johann Sebastian Bach. He just has so much music that sounds deceptively simple and yet can be so difficult to play correctly. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[font="trebuchet ms"] Isn't that always the sign of a master? :) I love Bach.[/font]

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Another one that I really like is Johann Sebastian Bach. He just has so much music that sounds deceptively simple and yet can be so difficult to play correctly. And when someone gets it right I just love listening to it. For instance I'm currently listening to The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Bach. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Sounding deceptively simple would be accurate. lol As much as I love The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello... I don't even want to think about how many hours and hours I have spent learning to play them. XP Bach is great fun and yet as you said, his works can be very difficult to get correctly. When it comes to the suites, the fourth and the sixth one were the hardest to learn. Not that the others didn't have their issues, but those two took a lot of work to get right. Though technically I would have to say the fourth was the most demanding.

Anyway, moving to more recent classical composers or rather 20th century ones, I also like the work by John Williams. I've always liked the music to movies like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the music he did for the Olympics when it was here in Salt Lake City. It was performed with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. My only regret is that I was not a member of any of the orchestra's in Salt Lake at the time. That would have been sweet to be a part of.

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Lunox][font="trebuchet ms"']But I do need to expand my classical music selection. Any recs?[/font][/quote]
[FONT=Arial]Brahms and Beethoven.

Beethoven basically bridged the Classical and Romantic eras, and some of his works after he completely lost his hearing are powerful. (Also, the curse of the Ninth Symphony started with him, I believe. :p)

Brahms is just gorgeous. I was fortunate enough to have been able to play an arrangement for trombone choir ? done by Blair Bollinger ? of the Andante from his Third Symphony, and the texture is wonderful.

Oh, and if you like crazy stuff, check out Charles Ives. That's all I'll say.

(Jays, I love Ives. What a wacko.)[/FONT]

[eleanor]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Brahms and Beethoven.

Beethoven basically bridged the Classical and Romantic eras, and some of his works after he completely lost his hearing are powerful. (Also, the curse of the Ninth Symphony started with him, I believe. :p)

Brahms is just gorgeous. I was fortunate enough to have been able to play an arrangement for trombone choir ? done by Blair Bollinger ? of the Andante from his Third Symphony, and the texture is wonderful.

Oh, and if you like crazy stuff, check out Charles Ives. That's all I'll say.

(Jays, I love Ives. What a wacko.)[/FONT][/QUOTE]

[font="trebuchet ms"] lol Well yes, I know who Beethoven and Brahms are, but I was looking more for specific pieces. I'm familiar with all the popular classical music, but I wanted some more symphonies or neat-sounding music (i.e. Danse Bacchanale).

I will check out this Charles Ives, though. :) [/font]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Lunox][font="trebuchet ms"'] lol Well yes, I know who Beethoven and Brahms are, but I was looking more for specific pieces. I'm familiar with all the popular classical music, but I wanted some more symphonies or neat-sounding music (i.e. Danse Bacchanale). [/font][/quote]
[FONT=Arial]Well, [I]naturally[/I] there's Beethoven's [I][U]Moonlight Sonata[/U][/I], but you also might look for his [I][U]Sonata Pathétique[/U][/I], which I absolutely love. (Especially that wicked tremolo in the left hand.) Other than that, you can take your pick of symphonies, though his first two hadn't quite shifted to his Romantic style yet; [I][U]Symphony No. 5[/U][/I] come to mind.

I was going to say something about Brahms, but my mind just went absolutely blank on his works, so instead I'll recommend Belá Bartók's [I][U]Concerto for Orchestra[/U][/I]. I was lucky enough to see the Chicago Symphony perform this one live; at the very end, the timpanist broke his mallet so hard that the head flew up into the seats behind the stage. And I freakin' [I]missed[/I] it 'cause I was so fixated on the principal flautist. Mathieu Dufour is a lot of fun to watch. (I play trombone, and this guy was good enough to distract me from Charles Vernon. :o)[/FONT]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]I was going to say something about Brahms, but my mind just went absolutely blank on his works,[/FONT][/QUOTE]As I mentioned earlier in the thread... [U]Currently the one I enjoy listening to the most is [B]Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major[/B].[/U] One of my favorites by Brahms and most definitely one I would recommend picking up and listening to. ^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Arial]Well, yeah. I knew there have already been pieces mentioned in the thread. I was just, you know, humoring ... umm ... her. (Her?)

(This is [I]so[/I] frilling awkward.)


[B]Edit:[/B] Yes. Her.[/FONT]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Well, yeah. I knew there have already been pieces mentioned in the thread. I was just, you know, humoring ... umm ... her. (Her?)

(This is [I]so[/I] frilling awkward.)


[B]Edit:[/B] Yes. Her.[/FONT][/QUOTE]Hmmm... I didn't word that right, the recommendation is for both of you. If you haven't heard that piece, you are missing out Allamorph. ^_~ It's one of my favorite piano concertos of all times. [/FONT][/COLOR]