[dynasonic]

I am new to classical music and I would like some help in locating some more composers that may be of interest to me. I had a great time listening to Mozart this weekend. I don't know the names of the pieces that I liked, but I enjoyed all of the darker more brooding compositions the most. What can you guys suggest that is really dark? I am not partial to any composer because I am so new to classical. I don't know a better way to describe it what I am looking for either so sorry for being so ignorant on the topic.
 
Thanks! 

 

[scytheavatar]

You will almost certainly love Beethoven, who carried on from what Mozart was doing. Check out his Symphonies, Piano Sonatas and String Quartets for a start. After that you can check out Schubert's stuff, who carried on from what Beethoven was doing. Then you can check out the music of the romantic era musicians; Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Chopin are the usual mainstays of classical music, then of course there's the operas of Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Donizetti, Mozart etc that you should consider checking out. 

 

[earerror]

Listen to Chopin- he composed some really good stuff. 

 

[dziendobry]

Mahler - http://www.mahler150.com
Watch Mahler being performed - http://mahler.christoph-eschenbach.com/
 
I highly recommend picking up a Karajan Beethoven symphony cycle, or Solti.
I buy a ton of music from Passionato when its on sale but always check to see if amazon has the physical counterpart for cheaper.
 
I forgot to include The Concert Podcast
 
Happy listening, once you get started you may not be able to stop.

 

[moocow111]

I second that decision. I certainly recommend Chopin, for someone who is new to the genre. If you can find it, try to get Etudes Op. 25. It includes some of his best work.
Quote:

Listen to Chopin- he composed some really good stuff. 

 

[Quinto]

Some suggestions that come to mind:
 
Shostakovich 4th, 8th (Kondrashin) and cello concerto (Rostropovich or Han Na Chang),
Mahler 3 (Chailly),6 (Boulez),9( Karajan live) , Das Lied vonder Erde (Bernstein, Ditrich Fischer-Dieskau!!)
Tchaikovsky 6th (Gergiev) and violin concerto(Gidon Kremer),
Brahms 1st and 4th (Bernstein),
Liszt Faust Symphony (Bernstein)..
Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 20 (Brendel or Richter),
Bach piano concertos (David Fray),
Bartok violin concerto no. 2 (Gil Shaham)
Stravinsky, le Sacre du Printemps (Gergiev)
 
I would never recommend Chopin, but thats me 

 
You have a wonderful journey to go, I envy you, I had my first time Bach, Mahler etc. experiences already.. but I'll keep on looking for more 

 

[dynasonic]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I will pick up some more pieces this weekend and report back.
 
 
Thanks again!

 

[p a t r i c k]

Quote:

What can you guys suggest that is really dark?.
 
Thanks! 

Hi
 
It is easier for me to think of music that has darkness within it rather than being simply dark.
 
A lot of Shostakovich's music contains much darkness, in particular his struggle with the Stalinist regime he lived under.
 
Just such a work is:
 
Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60 “Leningrad”
 
You might be interested in the work of another Russian composer, Alfred Schnittke.
 
I just did a google for a quote about Schnittke and I found a great one:
 
 
Quote:

Though it's well-reputed he had a wonderful affability in company, you still wouldn't really want Russian composer Alfred Schnittke singing carols to your kids on Christmas eve. He brings dark, disenchanted baggage into almost everything he writes—historical baggage (like the disenchantment of a horribly failed Utopian political plan), spiritual baggage (like the absurd attempt to believe in a divinity amidst such profound evil and corruption), creative baggage (like how to write a symphony after the death of tonality), even familial baggage (like the burden of being born to Catholic and Jewish, Russian and German parents).

 
That came from here.
 
He is great to check out!

 

[moouers]

Mahler
Tchaikovsky
Chopin
Franck
Sibelius
Poulenc
Rachmaninov
Scriabin
Bach's "Come Sweet Death"
Bartok
Smetana
Tavener
Gorecki
Brahms
Bizet
Faure
Rodrigo
Kerll
Debussy
Satie
Elgar
Shostakovich
Kancheli
Mendelssohn
 
Good list to get you started. All these composers have some pretty dark music. If you'd like some specific pieces from their compositions, just let me know.

 

[Dexon]

If you like Mozart why not just listen more of his stuff for start. If you like 'darker' moods then look into his compositions written in minor keys. Among first that comes to mind are piano concertos no.20 and no.24, piano quartet K478, string quintet no.4, symphony no.25... Also you must check his piano sonata no.14 and fantasy for piano in c minor, you won't believe your ears, they are his darkest compositions. One would never tell that's also Mozart. I suggest you also give a good listen to Mendelssohn, his often called Mozart of the 19th century, he has much more compostions written in minor keys within his opus.
 
I see people here recommending you very wide range of music from Chopin to Shostakovich which are totally different from each other, like apple and oranges. If one is really passionate about Chopin its quite possible that he couldn't care less for Mahler. Well, I do listen both but you now what I mean. I'm just saying if you like Mozart you should stick with classical era for a while before jump into any other and spend money on music you don't happen to like.
 
Although, if you have approach to decent performances of other composer's music do so, but no rush. Some of the music I like very much came to me accidentally. While listening to piece I like and it gets finished i being lazy to switch cd and just leave another work that comes after on. Even though I don't like that second piece on the CD from the starts many of them starts to grow on me. All of the sudden I think "what the heck, where this part was before, how come i didn't notice this masterpiece earlier". I remember when I heard Mahler's 5th for the first time, i thought how can one listen to this noise. Today, this is one of my favorite symphnies. So many time with classical music it gets to you only after 3rd, 5th or even 10th listen.

 

[Asr]

I find it interesting that no one has yet mentioned that the conductor also has an individual interpretation of the music that is being performed and this interpretation sometimes affects how "dark" or "brooding" an actual performance will be. Picking out individual recordings is further complicated by this too of course, as a lot of recordings can usually be found of just about any masterwork.
 
Some great composers have already been mentioned but I also find it interesting that no one mentioned either that "dark brooding" music tends to be more from the Romantic and 20th Century (including post) eras than from the "Classical" era and it was the Romantic composers who started being typically stylistically dark, brooding, dramatic, epic, dynamic, etc. Of course there were also composers that started in the Classical era and lived into the Romantic era and produced some transitional work that sounds it came from then, like Beethoven for example.
 
Oh and Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" is one of the well-known "dark/brooding" masterworks. Gustav Holst's The Planets also has its dark moments - Mars being a great example of a militaristic type of dark.
 
And probably Mozart's most well-known "dark" music was his last unfinished work, the Requiem Mass.

 

[Uncle Erik]

If you enjoy dark and brooding, then you really need Beethoven's 7th. You'd probably love Orff's Carmina Burana, too. Same with Night on Bald Mountain.

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

Mahler
Tchaikovsky
Chopin
Franck
Sibelius
Poulenc
Rachmaninov
Scriabin
Bach's "Come Sweet Death"
Bartok
Smetana
Tavener
Gorecki
Brahms
Bizet
Faure
Rodrigo
Kerll
Debussy
Satie
Elgar
Shostakovich
Kancheli
Mendelssohn
 
Good list to get you started. All these composers have some pretty dark music. If you'd like some specific pieces from their compositions, just let me know.
 

 
What a great list. I love all these composers, with the possible exception of Sibelius. Try Mendelssohn's 5th Symphony, the Elgar Cello Concerto (du Pre), Tchaikovsky Souvenir of Florence, Bach Cello Suite 5, and the Faure Pavane.
 

 

[moouers]

Quote:

 
I love all these composers, with the possible exception of Sibelius.  

I'll change you yet! Have a listen to these examples of his work, not including his symphonies:
 
The Bard, Op. 64
Valse Triste, Op. 44
Canzonetta, Op. 62a
King Christian II, Op. 27
Luonnotar, Op. 70
Lemminkainen Suite, Op. 22
 
They can all be found on this set of discs: http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Tone-Poems-Jean/dp/B0009W4LLI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1283102565&sr=1-4. The quality of these recordings is amazing. They really poured their hearts into this.

 

[dynasonic]

Wow thanks for all the input! I have taken some time to get familiar with a lot of the composers that have been listed (thanks to my fantastic local library) and I am really enjoying almost everything I have heard. Coming from years of playing drums in a metal band (hardcore screamo not hair metal) I am shocked that I enjoy classical as much as I do but I am sure that this is why I enjoy the darker pieces the best. 
 
Thanks again guys for all of your input!!!!