Classical Music
 

Hello. :) I figured that, since the number of classical music fans on this board is probably rather minimal, and this part of the forum so musically diverse, that we may as well have a thread dedicated to classical music. That, of course, is the "layman's term" for all of the various historical periods, including Baroque, Romantic, classical, neo-classical, etc. So.....talk about classical music! Talk about/recommend your favorite artists, discuss the differences between styles/periods, even talk about your favorite modern symphonies. I know that the number of classical music fans on this board are small, but I also know that you're out there!!

I just picked up Bizet's "Carmen" piece on CD from my school's library, should be a fun listen. :) Last week's obsession was Carl Orff; "Carmina Burana" is a fantastic piece of music! I was drawn to it by the "O, Fortuna" number, which actually appears on a Therion album (Therion is a classically orientated/symphonic metal band that uses choirs and soloists in place of a single vocalist). Very powerful music, I can definetly see how Orff influenced bands like Therion.

Ah, we had a classical music thread last year sometime, but it died away.:(

Classical (all the eras contained within the general genre "classical") is my preferred genre of music. I love it! It covers every emotion.

I own Bizet's "Carmen", I'll have to have a good listen tomorrow, as I don't know it too well. Carl Orff is alright, I enjoyed him when I was lent his CD a while back

At the moment I'm into a couple of records I bought recently, one including Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in D minor and his Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Strings, also in D minor (written at ages 13 and 14 respectively); the other including his two Concertos for Two Pianos, the first in E, the second in Ab (written at 14 and 15 respectively). They are quite brilliant! So "Mendolssohnian". I'm not sure they're quite as good as the E minor Violin Concerto just yet - certainly not as well known, anyway - but they're still growing on me.

Has anyone got any links to classical mp3's? It's a bitch to try and find them on kazaa :(

[QUOTE=manuscriptreplica]Has anyone got any links to classical mp3's? It's a bitch to try and find them on kazaa :([/QUOTE]
Here you go:[url]http://www.classicalarchives.com/[/url]

Avoid the MIDI files, they sound aweful.

Have a field day. :thumb:

Thanks man. Steve Waugh :thumb:

Yeah....so far Bizet is a bit dense and *really* long, so it was kinda hard to follow. I'm more a fan of the more compact, shorter symphony style than the huge, epic operas really. Operas seem to be more story driven, with lapses and musical interludes occuring every once and a while but prolonged vocal passages more the norm...which can get kind of boring. The opening sequence to "Carmen" was cool as hell, though, as well as the famous theme.

I'm very ignorant, considering where I should be. Some of my favorites are:

Igor Stravinsky
Aaron Copland
Edgard Varese
Maurice Ravel
Bela Bartok
Peter Tchaikovsky
Witold Lutoslawski
Richard Wagner
Claude Debussy

Rock....Tchaikovsky is actually a favorite of mine as well. His "March Slav" piece is absolutely brilliant IMO, very cool use of exotic melodies and nice emotional control. I've heard alot about Debussy...he's supposed to be a "lighter," more pleasant type of guy compared to the likes of Wagner, etc right? What you recommend by him?

Stravinsky is mentioned often as a big influence upon guys like Malsteem, etc, but I haven't heard much from him, either...yet. School Music Library = :cool: .

Gustav Mahler!!!!

EDIT: And as for Studio Era conductors, I would say Robert Smith, who wrote "The Inferno" (Not the guy from The Cure)

Tchaicovski (sp?) is amazing. I hadn't listened to him in a few months or so, and the other day at school I started humming the music to "The Nutcracker".


Does anyone else have Glenn Gould's recordings of the Goldberg Variations (bach)? I have it and everytime I listen to it it blows me away.

I'm sorry, but a single thread devoted to the entire field is utterly absurd. Consider the time frame alone: (Western European) classical music spans two millennia, whereas as rock and roll--the various SUBDIVISIONS of which get their own FORUMS here--has existed for a mere five decades (a moot point for PianoDan, of course, whose interest in classical music seems entirely absorbed by the middle five decades of the nineteenth-century).

[QUOTE=Ned]I'm sorry, but a single thread devoted to the entire field is utterly absurd. Consider the time frame alone: (Western European) classical music spans two millennia, whereas as rock and roll--the various SUBDIVISIONS of which get their own FORUMS here--has existed for a mere five decades (a moot point for PianoDan, of course, whose interest in classical music seems entirely absorbed by the middle five decades of the nineteenth-century).[/QUOTE]

Seemed to be working fine before your post.

Yngwie Malmsteen did a really good version of Beethoven's fifth symphony. You should check it out :thumb:

No, he totally butchered it.

[QUOTE=Ned]I'm sorry, but a single thread devoted to the entire field is utterly absurd. Consider the time frame alone: (Western European) classical music spans two millennia, whereas as rock and roll--the various SUBDIVISIONS of which get their own FORUMS here--has existed for a mere five decades (a moot point for PianoDan, of course, whose interest in classical music seems entirely absorbed by the middle five decades of the nineteenth-century).[/QUOTE]

Ok. Create a few million threads for each individual period of music, and see how fast they sail off of the first page. :rolleyes:

This would be more appropriate for an entire FORUM dedicated to classical music, but this is not...this is an off-shoot of MXTABS.NET. So, get off of your high horse, stop being pretentious, and talk about whichever artist from that whole 2 millennia that you feel about talking to. Or, HELL...if it really makes you happy, then you can go ahead and ONLY talk about composers from the "classical" era (maybe you could get away with neo-classical as well). Frankly, I don't care. ;)

What is everyone's thoughts on Concerto De Aranjuez by Rodrigo?.

I have encountered many people that think it is one of the greatest concertos of any instrument and it was been voted right up there in a lot of polls I have seen. I personally don't think that the guitar works well with the large orchestra.

I only know the Miles Davis version from Sketches Of Spain (providing it's the same piece). Which I love, though I imagine it's pretty different to Rodrigo's version.

[quote=Ned](a moot point for PianoDan, of course, whose interest in classical music seems entirely absorbed by the middle five decades of the nineteenth-century).[/quote]

That was the best period!!

Anyway, I don't like much Classical music (Classical meaning, 1750-1820, or thereabouts). I adore the music of the Romantic era, though. And my appreciation of Baroque music has shot up recently, also.

On ABC Classic FM at the moment is a countdown of the top 100 Classical Piano pieces, as voted for in a large listener/reader survey.

[url]http://www.abc.net.au/classic/classic100/countdown.htm[/url]

There's some beautiful music in that list! I'm expecting to see some more Chopin and at least two, possibly four Beethoven Sonatas to come in the top 21 (at the time of posting, the list went down to No. 22). I would have voted for Chopin's Ballade in G minor, which I'm really hoping to at least see in the top 21, but I suspect something like the Moonlight, Pathetique, or Appassionata Sonata might be No. 1; or Claire de Lune; or maybe Mozart's K331.

Also, three years ago there was a similar countdown of any classical music (classical - genre - not period).

[url]http://www.abc.net.au/classic/classic100/previous.htm[/url]

The list had a few surprises, and some obvious classics right up there. I was surprised to see what was No. 1, in fact.

Thought this would make an interesting discussion point!

I love Bernard Herrmann and Hanns Eisler + many more! :P

BOOP!

(as if anyone cares) I recently read in an old interview with Christofer Johnsson, the musical mastermind behind "Therion," in which he discussed his favorite classical composers. Aside from a few obvious ones (Wagner, Orff), he also mentioned a particular liking for Tchaicowsky's "March Slav" piece, which was pleasantly surprising for me, because the piece has always been a favorite of mine despite being relatively unknown compared to his more popular pieces...I think I stumbled upon it by accident. Yay, Christoffer! :cool:

[QUOTE=Det_Nosnip]BOOP!

(as if anyone cares) I recently read in an old interview with Christofer Johnsson, the musical mastermind behind "Therion," in which he discussed his favorite classical composers. Aside from a few obvious ones (Wagner, Orff), he also mentioned a particular liking for Tchaicowsky's "March Slav" piece, which was pleasantly surprising for me, because the piece has always been a favorite of mine despite being relatively unknown compared to his more popular pieces...I think I stumbled upon it by accident. Yay, Christoffer! :cool:[/QUOTE]
I don't think I've heard Tchaikovsky's "March Slav" piece, but I like almost all of Tchaikovsky's music. What is "Therion"? I don't think I've heard of them outside this thread.

Therion are a metal band with a pronounced influence from symphonic music.

[QUOTE=Iai]Therion are a metal band with a pronounced influence from symphonic music.[/QUOTE]
Sounds interesting, though I'm not a big fan of metal.

Or a symphonic band with a pronounced influence from metal. :lol: They really straddle the lines at times.

For the record, "Therion" is a Greek word (supposed to have accents and whatnot on it), that translates to "Beast." Rock. :)

"March Slav" is a very famous piece.

Do you guys like Enya?

not bad

My favourite classical composer would be Tschaikovsky... However, I mostly dig modern stuff, so Olivier Messiaen would be up there too.

It is a repetition, but, Kaaija Saariaho. You've got the check her music out... it's so weirded out, emotional and clear. I'm listening to her right now.

And I'm not in the mood of writing everybody I know, however, I recommend Webern too. That guy has NOTHİNG unnecessary, his music is just pure simplicity. Beautiful.

[QUOTE=D'Angelo]Do you guys like Enya?[/QUOTE]
I do like Enya, but she's not classical.

My favourite is definietly Tchaicokski. At the moment im learning Romance in F Minor for my grade 8 exam, it sounds so good and is so fun to play. I just love the expression and things in it. Does anyone know of anything similar i could play/hear to expand my music?

Hmm well most of you seem to like Tchaikovsky, and I agree :p He's definitely one of my favorites. 1812 overture is brilliant, powerful, you name it.. one of my favorite classical pieces!

I also like Gustav Holst, although noone seems to have mentioned him yet :p His planets are great.

Also, Franz Liszt is a genius, a virtuoso.. his piano songs are pure orgasm (namely Hungarian Rhapsody #5, which I'll never EVER be able to play :p )

There's also Strauss and his variouis waltzes that makes me go crazy.

There are many more, just a tentative list :p

So who here thinks Mozart is overrated?

[QUOTE=DonMancini]
So who here thinks Mozart is overrated?[/QUOTE]
Well, he did write symphonies at the age you were learning to write :p

I like his stuff well enough, but he's not the best imo.

Mozart is great.

Something people here should check out is Georges Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody, it's [i]badas[size=2]s[/size].[/i]

[QUOTE=DonMancini]So who here thinks Mozart is overrated?[/QUOTE]

not me

And this thread reminds me that I need to find a classical music radio station for my car. (I have no CD player in it)

[QUOTE=DonMancini]Hmm well most of you seem to like Tchaikovsky, and I agree :p He's definitely one of my favorites. 1812 overture is brilliant, powerful, you name it.. one of my favorite classical pieces![/QUOTE]
Indeed, I agree. My favourite Tchaikovsky works, though, are his equally (or perhaps even more) famous Piano Concerto in Bb minor, and his Violin Concerto in D. I saw the Violin Concerto performed (by a 20 year old) in a small theatre where I was right up close and could see everything... it was breathtaking...

[QUOTE=DonMancini]I also like Gustav Holst, although noone seems to have mentioned him yet :p His planets are great.[/QUOTE]
I've not heard any of his stuff, so I'll keep my ear pealed for him.

[QUOTE=DonMancini] Franz Liszt is a genius, a virtuoso.. his piano songs are pure orgasm (namely Hungarian Rhapsody #5, which I'll never EVER be able to play :p )[/QUOTE]
Liszt was a genius, and is still considered by some as perhaps the greatest pianist of all time. Personally, I'm not as big a fan of some of his compositions as of some other composers, but certainly he was a great composer as well. Liebestraum is one of my favourite pieces.

I've not heard Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5 before, but it is an AMusA level piece here in Australia, meaning it would probably be hard but still playable. Do you mean it or No. 2, in C# minor? No. 2 is the famous one that goes for more than 10 minutes and is impossibly hard for any normal human being to play.

[QUOTE=DonMancini]There's also Strauss and his variouis waltzes that makes me go crazy.[/QUOTE]
Strauss is fantastic as well!

[QUOTE=DonMancini]So who here thinks Mozart is overrated?[/QUOTE]
Mozart is anything but over-rated. He epitomised the term "genius". By the age of 10 he'd written three or so symphonies and an opera. He once went to a concert, and the score of one of the pieces performed (I'm not sure if it were a symphony or what) was not being released (for some reason). So, Mozart remembered it and wrote it down, entirely, when he got home. It is said he would carry on conversations while writing music. He wrote over 200 hours of music and lived only until his mid-30s. Mozart, Beethoven, and J. S. Bach are seen as the "Big Three" in classical music, and rightly so. All three though had different aspects to their genius, and neither Beethoven nor Bach had all the aspects that Mozart had.

I can understand how someone might not like his stuff - it's all got a particular, "Mozarty" style about it which is very light, easy-listening, background type music. It might not always bring the same emotions out for some people who tend to like the more Romantic-era type composers like Tchaikovsky and Strauss and Liszt and so on. Mozart was one who churned out music as quickly as possible, unlike Beethoven, who wrote and re-wrote and re-wrote until it was perfect, so perhaps Mozart might seem to be a bit "samey" after a while. All this I can understand, and when I was learning my third Mozart Sonata within a year or so I would have readily agreed. Now, though, I see Mozart as a pure, unparalleled genius who never was and never will be matched, and who wrote some of the most beautiful music in history.

I don't like Mozart.

Don't hate him, just don't like him.

This is why.

[quote]"it's all got a particular, "Mozarty" style about it which is very light, easy-listening, background type music. It might not always bring the same emotions out for some people who tend to like the more Romantic-era type composers like Tchaikovsky and Strauss and Liszt and so on. Mozart was one who churned out music as quickly as possible, unlike Beethoven, who wrote and re-wrote and re-wrote until it was perfect, so perhaps Mozart might seem to be a bit "samey" after a while."[/quote]

Fun fact: Beethoven heard his 5th symphony in a dream, and wrote down what he remembered. He said his dream version was much grander and better though :p

(source: Humanities teacher)

And I'm not too crazy about mozart for the reasons you said PianoDan, although I don't deny his exceptional gift and talent.

(PS: I want a steinway :()

[QUOTE=DonMancini]Fun fact: Beethoven heard his 5th symphony in a dream, and wrote down what he remembered. He said his dream version was much grander and better though :p[/QUOTE]
Wow. I'd never heard that before.

[QUOTE=DonMancini]And I'm not too crazy about mozart for the reasons you said PianoDan, although I don't deny his exceptional gift and talent.[/QUOTE]
And fair enough, he's not to everyone's taste.

[QUOTE=DonMancini](PS: I want a steinway :()[/QUOTE]
Me too.:(

Hello.

I prefer Baroque music, composers like Robert De Visee and Johann Sebastien Bach. I love the lute music that was written by those composers.

At the moment, however, I am listening to the andante con moto part of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

[QUOTE=ThePianoSonata]Hello.

I prefer Baroque music, composers like Robert De Visee and Johann Sebastien Bach. I love the lute music that was written by those composers.[/QUOTE]
Hello. I love Baroque music as well. I've never actually heard of De Visee... what is he like? I'm not sure that I'm such a fan of lute music, and I usually steer clear of much harpsichord and organ music, but I love orchestral Baroque works such as Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and Handel's Fireworks and Water Music Suites.

[QUOTE=ThePianoSonata]At the moment, however, I am listening to the andante con moto part of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.[/QUOTE]
Terrific. :thumb: