mbriant,
There are a number of things that move me about classical music:
1. Tonal painting--when the composer attempts to paint a picture through the instrumentation and/or melodic/harmonic elements.
This is the easiest way to get hooked on classical music and is the way I first got interested when I was a boy.
Examples:
Debussy: La Mer (painting the ocean waves and sounds)
Respighi: Pines of Rome (among other things, you hear the sound of a Roman army marching--coming in the distance, approaching, then right on top of you!)
Vivaldi: The Seasons "Spring" (hear the sounds of springtime, including the sound of birds chirping)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral" (hear the sounds of a brook, the sounds of the countryside, the sounds of a thunderstorm)
Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite (The sounds of a mule traveling on a trail into the canyon; the sound of a storm in the canyon)
Holst: The Planets (captures the "spirit" of each of the
then-known planets).
2. Emotion of the music itself--this may be enhanced by an understanding of the composer's life in some cases
Examples:
Mozart: Don Giovanni. Mozart's only "dark" opera, about a rogue who pays for his crimes with the punishment of being swallowed up into hell. Mozart wrote this after his father died, and you can sense his grief. Of course, just about everything else that Mozart wrote (except a couple of symphonies/concerti) reflected his normally happy nature, which is one reason that his music is so well-liked.
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 (Really, his last 3 symphonies are somewhat similar) Tchaikovsky was a man torn by an inner emotional struggle (his hidden homosexuality) and it shows in the super-charged emotionalism of his music.
Rachmaninoff: Piano concerti, especially number 2 and 3.
Another Russian composer (who came to live in the U.S.), Rachmaninoff's music is beloved by many for its gorgeous melodies and unrestrained emotion. If you want to be moved by classical music, this is a good place to start!
Mahler, of course, has been mentioned. His music (especially his symphonies) is emotionally moving on its own, but is much better appreciated with an understanding of his life, as each symphony is autobiographical in nature.
3. Beauty of melody, tone, and form.
Much of classical music can be appreciated simply for the beauty of its sound--the beauty of a melody or the sonority of the harmony created by a certain group of instruments (orchestration). Don't forget that much of classical music (especially from the Baroque [ca. 1685-1750] and Classical periods [ca.1750-1810]) was commissioned by the well-educated of the day (kings, queens, princes, dukes), who had a cultivated taste for beauty. Their musical appreciation included an appreciation for beauty of form and style.
Just as the buildings of the period had beauty of style (columns, symetry, ornamentation), so did the music. Common forms included:
ABA
The most common form which is still prevelant in much
of pop music, where you have two different parts to
the music, A and B, and the A is repeated. This
correlates to the verse and chorus in pop music, the
chorus being the words/music that repeat. Much
of Chopin's piano music is a good example (Nocturne
in E-flat major, Opus 9 no. 2, for example).
Theme and Variations
This is a form in which there is a
main melody/theme, followed by an number of
variations where the original theme is altered in
various ways. (e.g., Brahms' Symphony No. 4, 4th
movement, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, 2nd
movement)
Sonata form
This is the major form used in many symphonies
and concertos. It is a variation of the ABA form.
In the Exposition (A), two contrasting themes are
stated. In the Development (B), the two themes
grow/change or are developed (similar to theme and
variations). In the Recapitulation (return of A), the
original themes are stated, often with some minor
changes, one more time, to give a sense of symetry
and completeness. (e. g., Beethoven Symphony No. 5,
first movement, Mozart Symphony No. 40, 1st
movement)
There are other forms (Rondo, e.g.), but these are the most important to understanding where a composer might be going with the music.
Of course, it takes some effort on the listener's part to hear and appreciate the forms. But as one hears what the composer is doing to change a melody during its development, for example, there is increased appreciation for what is happening and better enjoyment of the music overall. The music no longer sounds like just a long piece with seemingly no purpose other than a lot of notes; suddenly, the music begins to take on a shape and purpose.
Although hearing/understanding these forms may seem like a daunting task at first, with effort and a little practice you can soon be hearing the structures. Of course, one doesn't HAVE to know the structure to appreciate the beauty of a clarinet solo backed by strings, for instance, or to relish the climax of a long crescendo by the entire orchestra during which tension builds and then is released (Mahler is especially good at this). But understanding the form of a piece (if there is one--some pieces don't have the classical forms, or they have a very loose version)
is one way to increase your attention span to keep up interest in what is happening.
Finally, I'd like to say that all of the above reasons contribute to why I LOVE classical music. Because of the variety of different instruments of the orchestra with which the composer has to work (much like the color palette of a painter), as well as the multitudes of various emotions that are possible with such a wide range of sounds, coupled with the almost infinate variety in which these sounds can be combined into various forms, melodies, and harmonies, classical music has the potential to move the mind, heart, and soul in ways that are just not possible with pop music.
Yes, I love pop music too (I'm really into contemporary Christian and Jazz), and there are times when only this kind of music will suffice. But over the long haul, there is no other kind of music which has such a wide RANGE of expression intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually, as classical. Each time I listen to a
favorite classical work, I hear something/am moved in a way unlike ever before--because typically there is so much to hear and savor in this music. For me, it's kind of like the difference between enjoying a Hershey's chocolate bar and having a Godiva chocolate bar--the first is enjoyable and I eat it up quickly, but the second has such a refined/complex/enjoyable taste, that I eat it slowly, so I can savor each bite.