I think I'm starting to like Debussy more than this; regardless this is still a 5.

Nightmare Cinema: Dmitri Shostakovich's 5th Symphony

Album Rating: 5.0

i shall listen to all of it



i'm pretty unfamiliar with debussy's work tho, besides of course clair de lune which i'm learning on the piano (and is way harder than it sounds!!!)

I don't think I have ever really heard much Rachmaninoff.

Album Rating: 5.0

never taken you for a classical man, ecnal

I love Chopin and quite a few classical guitar stuff and am fairly familiar with Bach's stuff (at least what I have played that was arranged for guitar anyway). I kinda know some Beethoven and Vivaldi as well, but just random stuff that I don't remember the titles of.

well clair de lune is a classic, but his early preludes are so fucking good

Album Rating: 5.0

Oh sweet sweet. I'm not sure how you feel about concerti and their length but you might enjoy some of Rach's famous preludes. There's the infamous Opus 3 No 2---Prelude in C# minor---that's personally one of my favorite solo piano pieces (and one I'm learning right now!) And there's the also-very-famous Opus 23 No 5---Prelude in G minor---which is equally amazing. I'd also maybe recommend Opus 3 No 1, Elegie in E Flat Minor.



TBH I'm in the midst of going through a lot of composers' stuff as well. Chopin is awesome though!

toxin. if you're feeling adventurous/confident try and learn some Franz Liszt. his piano concerto's are so fucking hard to play, my brother is really really talented on piano and he can't play pretty much any of his songs.

Sure, I will youtubes them. Have you played Eternal Sonata, toxin? That's actually how I started listening to Chopin. I never thought a video game would get me interested in classical music on a different level than studying it for school, but that game did it for me.

C# minor, you say? That's one of my favorite keys! On a related classical note, but not key signature wise, you might try this out if you have about 6 or 7 minutes to spare, toxy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCE5aPnB5aI

Probably my favorite classical guitar piece. The 3rd movement is the best and slightly on the nuts side. But heck yeah, I will check out this guy's stuff. Already started digging into this particular one a little bit now.

Album Rating: 5.0

@mind,



TBH I have my hands full with Rach's Prelude in C# minor, which is one of his easiest pieces. I just don't have the technique for virtuosic pieces, and Liszt is the mother of virtuoso composers. I'd loved to be able to play some Liszt but there's no way I'd be able to tackle his stuff. Maybe if I had the work ethic from like age 7-18 but it's probably too late for me now, especially with my carpal tunnel.



@Ecnal, nope I've never heard of Eternal Sonata, but a Chopin-based video game? That sounds awesome. And ha! I love Chopin's Prelude in C# minor as well (it was in The Pianist!) But awesome, my knowledge of classical guitar is zilch so this will be a fun listen, thanks!

The game was done really well, but the story line got very preachy in spots. It's very JRPG with some really pretty anime style graphics if you are into that type of game.

I have heard Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor (and absolutely love it), but I am not sure if I have heard the prelude. Here are all his pieces featured in the game:

Preludes, Op. 28: No. 15 in D-Flat Major, "Raindrops"
Études, Op. 10: No. 12 in C Minor, "Revolution": Allegro con fuoco
Fantaisie Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66: Allegro agitato
Waltzes, Op. 18: No. 1 in E-Flat Major, "Grand Valse Brilliante"
Nocturnes, Op. 9: No. 2 in E-Flat Major
Études, Op. 10: No. 3 in E Major, "Tristesse"
Polonaise in A-Flat Major, Op. 53, "Heroic": Maetoso

I haven't seen The Pianist; was it good?

Album Rating: 5.0

I don't mind JRPG's and watch anime and love Chopin so it actually might be something that interests me, ty for bringing it to my attention.



And yeah, Fantaisie Impromptu is great too. Actually I like all of those except for the Waltz and the Tristesse Etude which I haven't heard. I actually only know that Chopin's prelude was in The Pianist by being familiar with that particular piece of music lol but it was a super acclaimed movie and one that I've been meaning to watch for a while.



That classical guitar piece was really nice. Definitely liked the 3rd movement the best. Haha to the uninitiated nothing's as impressive as speed

Album Rating: 5.0

I knew I was saying something wrong. It's Chopin's Nocturne in C# minor that was in The Pianist.



His Preludes are something else.

I don't know that much classical, but I do love Debussy. Should probably give this a go.

Yeah, I love it. I found that I really enjoy Spanish guitar in college. The composer of that was Agustin Barrios and he was Paraguayan.

Speed is king sometimes. I got another, if you are interested. It has a really nice chord progression at the beginning, and then it just goes a little bonkers for the rest of it. It's hella fun though; I played this and the other one at my senior recital.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmxtEeNjpQY

This is more recent, though. You could call it modern or maybe even pop classical, I guess. It was written in the 80s if I remember right. That's actually the guy that wrote it, and uh... well, he is very... expressive with his face while he plays, lol.

I have almost made it through all of this concerto; the last movement is about to start. It's really beautiful so far.

Edit: Ah, well I haven't the Nocturne either. I need to just get some high quality recordings of Chopin's entire works. That would be awesome.

Aw, damn, I just found this:

http://www.amazon.com/Chopin-Collection-Frederic/dp/B000026OW3/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1377921949&sr=1-1&keywords=chopin

It's an eleven disc set of Chopin's music. I want to go to there.

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

More comments appeared? Well, I guess I missed something. No big deal. I'll have a new review out in about a week.

Album Rating: 5.0

@Nightmare, expect comments on this as long as I'm active ;-)



@Amphoteric, I don't think this is too much like Debussy. I've found Debussy's melodies to be a little more textured and intricate than Rach/Romantic composers in general. This is a pretty great starting point for Rach (maybe less so than Prelude in C# minor tho)



@Ecnal, that York piece was interesting. I didn't really like that melody at 1:07 :/ the intro was really pretty though. And good to hear you're liking it. The 2nd movement really is beautiful. The 3rd is really nice too, but it's probably my least favorite if I had to choose.

Yeah, toxin, the beginning of the York piece is my favorite part, too. The rest is more about technicality than it is composition. A lot of his stuff is like that though; he is a better guitar player than he is composer. He has his moments though.

Definitely enjoyed this and am looking forward to hearing more. Glad I was on when this thread became active.