[Lamenthe]

Thanks for all the additional responses. I've got quite a "to buy/listen" list going now. With Mozart: Requiem and Holst: The Planets at the top. I love "dark, elegant, and tragic music" so davidhunternyc's suggestion really spoke to me. These should keep me busy for quite a while.

I just saw another thread like mine, so now mine feels a bit redundant. I'll be reading the posts on the other one too.

 

[shubhangam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregorio /img/forum/go_quote.gif You may well find some of Stravinsky's stuff interesting. Although it's a little hardcore, you could try the Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Pretemps). the Firebird is another piece by Stravinsky but is not anywhere near as hardcore as the Rite of Spring. Also Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. The Mahler Symphonies might be good for you, although you may find them a little heavy going. Try Maher's 5th Sympnony first. Holzt's The Planets as mentioned above could well float your boat. I'm sure you'll recognise at least the Mars movement. Mozart's Requiem is one of the all time classics but an appreciation of the Requiem form would help you to enjoy it more. If the idea of the Requiem appeals, another classic would be Verdi's Requiem. You might even consider something like Carmina Burana (Carl Orff). Some pieces actually have a storyline and these can often be easily understood and appreciated. There are many pieces in this category (often called tone poems) but a big dramatic one worth listening to would be Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony. Mendelssohn's Hebridies Overture is a good tone poem and much more closely related to Mozart than most of my other suggestions. See how you get on with some of these. If you like any of them we can suggest other similar pieces, if not we can take a different track and try something completely different. G

Thanks a Lot for the boatload of suggestions !

It should take me quite some time to give all of them a listen.

I will post my views on them when I give them a go.

Thanks again

 

[shubhangam]

Oh and FWIW, I have the LOTR soundtrack and absolutely LOVE it

 

[gregorio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lamenthe /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for all the additional responses. I've got quite a "to buy/listen" list going now. With Mozart: Requiem and Holst: The Planets at the top. I love "dark, elegant, and tragic music" so davidhunternyc's suggestion really spoke to me. These should keep me busy for quite a while. I just saw another thread like mine, so now mine feels a bit redundant. I'll be reading the posts on the other one too.

Mahler (Gustav) may be one for you to look out for. Mahler had a rough upbringing, with a lot of dead siblings, so his music tends to always have a quite dark under-current. Also, he was a Jew at the darkest and most dangerous time in European history. Even when he's trying to write something happy he never quite manages it without a certain darkness. My personal favourite is his 5th Symphony but his Song of the Earth (Das Lied von den Erde) is very highly regarded as are most of his other 9 symphonies. It's very big (large symphony orchestra), very dynamic and often very dramatic, he uses a great deal of contrast both emotionally and in orchestration (forces he employs).

G

 

[jonathanjong]

Speaking of Requiems...it's my favourite subgenre (if we can call it that) of classical music. It's the balance between grandeur and darkness, the sheer emotionality that grips me. Mozart's Requiem is certainly a favourite, as is Brahms's and Cherubini's. I didn't like Britten's War Requiem, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem and Faure's Requiem as much. YMMV.

 

[Lamenthe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregorio /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mahler (Gustav) may be one for you to look out for. Mahler had a rough upbringing, with a lot of dead siblings, so his music tends to always have a quite dark under-current. Also, he was a Jew at the darkest and most dangerous time in European history. Even when he's trying to write something happy he never quite manages it without a certain darkness. My personal favourite is his 5th Symphony but his Song of the Earth (Das Lied von den Erde) is very highly regarded as are most of his other 9 symphonies. It's very big (large symphony orchestra), very dynamic and often very dramatic, he uses a great deal of contrast both emotionally and in orchestration (forces he employs). G

Will do, thanks for being so helpful and informational. My listening list just keeps growing

 

[shubhangam]

I spent yesterday listening to Classical Radio – Last.fm and I have a long list of works noted down lol.

classical music sure is HUGE

 

[stokitw]

For those who are "new" to classical music.
The following in a short list which I can think of now.
I'm not an expert of Baroque music, so I'll start with Vivaldi and Bach.

I try to make some categorization, so you can pick one from the block first to check if you like those type of music.

Block 1:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Vivaldi - Four Seasons
Bach - Brandenburg concertos
Orchestral Suites
Stokowski's transcription of Bach works
Haydn - London Symphonies
Mozart - Piano Concertos No.20 and later
Symphony No.36 and later
------------------------------------------------------

Block 2:
------------------------------------------------------
Beethoven: Symphony No.3,5,6,7,9
Piano Concerto No.5
Violin Concerto
Schubert: Symphony No.8, 9
Mendelssohn: Symphony No.3, 4
The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26 "Fingal's Cave"
Franck: Symphony in D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 3:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schumann: Piano Concerto
Brahms: Symphony No.3, 4
Violin Concerto
Hungarian Dances
Dvorak: Symphony No.7,8,9
Cello Concerto
Slavonic Dances
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 4:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5, 6
Nutcracker Suite
Piano Concerto
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Ravel ed.)
Khachaturian: Violin Concerto
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.2, 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 5:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ravel: Bolero
Ma Mere L'Oye - Suite
Saint-Saens: Symphony No.3
Piano Concerto No.1, 2
Debussy: La Mer
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 6:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falla: El Amor Brujo
3 Cornered Hat
Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Smetana: Ma Vlast
Janacek: Sinfonietta
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 7:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite
Piano Concerto
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Symphony No.1, 2
Atterberg: Symphony No.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 8:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruckner: Symphony No.4
Mahler: Symphony No.1, 5
Strauss, Richard: Also sprach Zarathustra
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 9:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prokofiev: Symphony No.1, 5
Piano Concerto No.1, 3
Violin Concerto No.1, 2
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, 7, 9
Piano Concerto No.1, 2
Roussel: Symphony No.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 10:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Enigma Variations
Holst: The Planets
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.2
The Lark Ascending
Finzi: Clarinet Concerto
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 11:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
The Rite of Spring
Messiaen: Turangalila-Symphonie
Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto
Paganini Variations
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Block 12:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Concerto in F
An American in Paris
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Everyone always forgets the chamber music. For chamber music, I recommend Schubert's Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat. Pretty much any rendition other than the Beaux Art Trio (they're just too romantic with the pacing -- Schubert's music plays itself, and should be played "straight"). My personal favorite is the Trio Italiano (a little hard to find, though).

The Tchaikovsky "concertos" pairing (usually by wildly different artists because it's the piano and the violin concerto) is another good recommendation.

Another good way to get started is to just start buying everything on RCA Living Stereo (especially the SACD's) or some other "nothing but 5 star recordings" series: Mercury Living Presence; all Penguin Rosettes, etc.

 

[J W]

Not to try to hijack the thread or anything, but i was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for books that sort everything out in classical music. something like classical music for dummies (not sure if that book actually exists or not).

Help is certainly appreciated.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I believe it does (exist, as well as answer your question).

 

[scytheavatar]

Amazon.com: The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2008: Ivan March, Edward Greenfield, Robert Layton, Paul Czajkowski: Books

This is the most famous of the classical music books, but to be honest you are better off getting recommendations from head-fi and other sites.

 

[stokitw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by J W /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not to try to hijack the thread or anything, but i was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for books that sort everything out in classical music. something like classical music for dummies (not sure if that book actually exists or not). Help is certainly appreciated.

There are tons of books like that.
Sorry I cannot be much help on this issue since English is my second language and I came to U.S. as a classical guy for a long while....

One tips I can give you is that don't be limited by those books.
For a quick recommendation, people tend to limit themselves (just like my previous post).
It's important to keep an open mind, and just enjoy the music.
Do not feel bad if you don't find the recommendations from the book interesting.
And remember always be ready to explore outside the book.
Just use those books as guide in the beginning, and enjoy the exploration later on.

 

[Lamenthe]

Thanks for the in depth block of suggestions stokitw! More to add to my to-do list.

I've been listening to some previous suggestions for the past few weeks (Holst: Planets & Mozart: Requiem). I have to say I enjoyed them both very much, especially Mozart: Requiem.

 

[superpiper]

Vivaldi, nigel Kennedy
****ing awesome.