Who likes classical music?

jenat-lai · Post by **jenat-lai** » 2004-01-05 03:30am

the world has changed? Most of the music I listed up there in my links has been written since 1901 or later, 1970 in the Messiaen... 1980's and '90's with some of the minimalist stuff....

of the Dvorak's 9th symphony, the 4th and final movement begins like this... is this the piece you are talking of?

Post by **haas mark** » 2004-01-05 04:27am

jenat-lai wrote:the world has changed? Most of the music I listed up there in my links has been written since 1901 or later, 1970 in the Messiaen... 1980's and '90's with some of the minimalist stuff....

of the Dvorak's 9th symphony, the 4th and final movement begins like this... is this the piece you are talking of?

Yes, that would be it.

-sighs- How I wish I still had the music to that...

~ver

jenat-lai · Post by **jenat-lai** » 2004-01-05 05:01am

For which instrument? I have Trumpet parts of the original tucked away somewhere... plus audition cut copies... I play it enough to have collated quite a few copies of it over the years lol

Post by **haas mark** » 2004-01-05 05:03am

jenat-lai wrote:For which instrument? I have Trumpet parts of the original tucked away somewhere... plus audition cut copies... I play it enough to have collated quite a few copies of it over the years lol

Viola, actually.

~ver

jenat-lai · Post by **jenat-lai** » 2004-01-05 05:16am

Ah, no don't have any viola music for anything at all really. a little violin stuff, but not much. no I don't play violin, an ex of mine did...

Post by **haas mark** » 2004-01-05 05:49am

jenat-lai wrote:Ah, no don't have any viola music for anything at all really. a little violin stuff, but not much. no I don't play violin, an ex of mine did...

Eh, used to play violin (atill can, just don't like to; besides, my fingers are too big for it). Now I concentrate solely on the viola (which, in my opinion, is the most beautiful of the string instruments, if not all, when played correctly).

~ver

jenat-lai · Post by **jenat-lai** » 2004-01-05 05:58am

ok continuing my all out assult, I give you tasters and teasers for good big music.

audio sample of Rehspigi's Feste Romane, available on this CD

again I suggest Messiaens Turangulilia Symphony audio clip here and once you fall in love and buy that too then you can go off and enjoy music so much more

and bad music so much less lol.

These two different CD's should introduce you to two extremes of idealogies of music, which yet, somehow are so similar also.

and if you think there can only be 2 extremes, well your wrong, as these next two will show!

an audio sample of Steve Reich's Desert Music

making a piece long by developing small cells in almost hypnotic repetition...

and

an audio sample of Anton Webern's Five Pieces

making a piece short by developing all the possible possibilities of a musical cell once each. with repetition being on the theoretical level only.

I'll probably post more, because I love this stuff so much

Post by **RogueIce** » 2004-01-05 12:36pm

Anyone got any good recommendations for more somber/sad pieces? Those are my personal favorites.

And jegs: I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment (vocals can ruin good music) so there are very few (relatively speaking of course) vocal pieces that I like.

Post by **haas mark** » 2004-01-05 01:02pm

RogueIce wrote:Anyone got any good recommendations for more somber/sad pieces? Those are my personal favorites.

Soundtracks to sad movies. Seriously.

First movement to the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, maybe (yes, you have heard this somewhere, I am more than sure).

Or oddly enough, Samwise the Brave from the TTT soundtrack (which I'm listening to on radio now). o.O

Greensleeves maybe?

You might also take a look into Celtic/Irish music.

And jegs: I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment (vocals can ruin good music) so there are very few (relatively speaking of course) vocal pieces that I like.

I think that is true for most people that are orchestrally inclined than operatically.

~ver

IRG CommandoJoe · Post by **IRG CommandoJoe** » 2004-01-05 02:37pm

RogueIce wrote:Anyone got any good recommendations for more somber/sad pieces? Those are my personal favorites.

Rachmaninoff's 18th Variation from Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.
Liszt's piano transcription of Schubert's Standchen.
Tchaikovsky's Barcarolle.
Siegfried's Funeral March by Wagner.
Brahms' Intermezzo No. 6 in E-Flat Minor Op. 118.
Brahms' Intermezzo No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor Op. 117.
Rachmaninoff's Prelude No. 6 in E-Flat Op. 23.
Rachmaninoff's Prelude No. 7 in C-Minor Op. 23.
Rachmaninoff's Prelude No. 12 in G-Minor Op. 32.
Schumann's Träumerei.
Debussy's Rêverie.
Tchaikovsky's Waltz No. 9 Op 40.
First and fourth movement from Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 ("Pathetique")
Liszt's Liebestraum.
Prokofiev's Sonata for Cello & Piano No. 1.
And last, but certainly not least, Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. There's more I have to list, but that's a good start.

jenat-lai · Post by **jenat-lai** » 2004-01-05 10:40pm

Sad music? howbout this?

Harmonilehre Movement 2 "The Antifortas Wound"

there are many sombre pieces in classical music. some of the more famously sombre/depressive ones are

Mahler's Symphony 6 which is an interesting. it's not soft music, it's often quite loud... like terror/anguish stuff.. listen to the first movement and the final movement to get a feel for it...

you will find most Romantic music is a bit, schizophrenic, as to say, it never stays the same mood at the same time, often very grand (lotr style sometimes) but also menacing at the same time... a good example is the final movement of Bruckner's 8th symphony. compared to the first movement of the symphony which shows a little more of how varied moods in Romantic era (1800's to very early 1900's) music really was. unfortunatly because of the size of the pieces, a 1 minute sample is hardly enough to show this. (the piece is on 2 CD's dammit, nearly 2 hours of music...) which is another facet of that era of symphonic music... length. like Mahler's quote "I wanted to put the world into this symphony".

of course the 20th Century also bought up some very sombre music, from the famous Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, with it's famous rhythmic and dissonant sections, and even some of it's darker, moodier sections contrasting to the very plaintiff, almost quasi-aincent style of Arvo Part's late works such as Cantus in memorium of Benjamin Britten or some of his string orchestra works such as Fratures available on a CD which also includes his Third Symphony, another very reflective work.

And when you want moody, you can't go past a good Verdi's Requiem with it's moods varying from sombre rememberance to anger and despiration

Baron Scarpia · Post by **Baron Scarpia** » 2004-01-05 11:01pm

I was a music major, am active as a classical baritone vocalist, and have quite an extensive background in all things musical.

So yes, I like it. In fact, I listen to classical music almost exclusively, and have well over 300 classical CDs in my possession.

RogueIce wrote:Anyone got any good recommendations for more somber/sad pieces? Those are my personal favorites..

If you want sad in a beautiful way, probably the most famous is Barber's Adagio for Strings, which was featured in the movie Platoon. It was originally written for string quartet, and you can find it almost any number of arrangements.

Another great piece is Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. This is for a double string orchestra, and was recently used in Master and Commander.

Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in E Minor is quite a somber piece, full of his favored "autumnal" colors. The finale is unusually tragic, probably the first symphony to ever end as such. Some consider it Brahms' response to Beethoven's Ode to Joy, and the answer is "no."

Brahms has a considerable number of other sad works, including the aforementioned piano works, the minor-key chamber works (I love the Piano Quintet in F Minor), the third movement from his Symphony No. 3, and so on.

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is another well-known one, as is the Allegretto from Symphony No. 7. Also check out the Pathetique piano concerto.

If you really want emotionally wrenching music that will rip your guts out and rack you with sobs, then you must listen to Mahler, toute suite. I've simply never found any composer who so deeply exposed the raw, desperate sadness found in human existence. Anyone who writes "Songs on the Deaths of Children" can't be a barrel of laughs, though, right?

The epitome of Mahler's somber output is the black jewel of his symphonies, No. 6 in A minor. It's even subtitled "tragic," but forget that. One word can't encompass the emotional wollop this piece packs. It begins with a sinister, tromping military march, full of ominous dread. The second movement is a fiendish scherzo, perhaps a dance of devils. The third movement is achingly beautiful, a pure expression of melancholy desire. But the finale is the cornerstone, the stunning acheivement. It's form is practically indescribable, except to say that its united by four iterations of the opening chord (a dissonant, terrifying screech of brass and thud of bass instruments), three massive blows from a specially-designed "hammer," and a double development section. The third hammer blow so terrified even Mahler that he excised it from the first performance, unable to bring himself to conduct what he believed to be his own death...

Don't expect to leave the 6th unscathed.

And jegs: I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment (vocals can ruin good music) so there are very few (relatively speaking of course) vocal pieces that I like.

I can't imagine not having the vocal masterpieces. Mozart, Brahms and Verdi Requiems? The Ode to Joy? Das Lied von der Erde? The Bach masses? Mahler's 2nd, 3rd and 8th symphonies? The great choruses of Verdi, Mussorgsy and Wagner? Oh no no no, they must remain...[/i]

Baron Scarpia · Post by **Baron Scarpia** » 2004-01-05 11:05pm

Bruckner's 8th is his greatest symphony, and is worth having just for the third movement alone--a vast, gorgeous work that gives the impression of the infiniteness of space itself.

Overall, however, Bruckner is not for most people. His works vary from quite good to the banal. I think it's best to sum up the majority of Bruckner as being brilliant ideas executed badly and bad ideas executed brilliantly.

Baron Scarpia · Post by **Baron Scarpia** » 2004-01-05 11:18pm

jenat-lai wrote:Sad music? howbout this?
Mahler's Symphony 6 which is an interesting. it's not soft music, it's often quite loud... like terror/anguish stuff.. listen to the first movement and the final movement to get a feel for it...

NO NO NO NO!

GARRRRR, Jansons reverses the 2nd and 3rd movements! WHY WHY WHY would he do that? The Andante Moderato simply must be before the finale, otherwise the horrifying impact is lost. It should be seemingly tranquil beauty shattered by terror.

*grumble*

jenat-lai · Post by **jenat-lai** » 2004-01-05 11:29pm

I tend to agree... thus I'v updated my link (for the CD, not the audio) to one Boulez (yes, Pierre) performance. I myself have a Bernard Haitink, which isn't too bad. apparently this Boulez 6 isn't too bad. *shrugs*

my favourite recording I'v come across so far is a Bernstein, but I don't own it myself.

Baron Scarpia · Post by **Baron Scarpia** » 2004-01-05 11:44pm

jenat-lai wrote:I tend to agree... thus I'v updated my link (for the CD, not the audio) to one Boulez (yes, Pierre) performance. I myself have a Bernard Haitink, which isn't too bad. apparently this Boulez 6 isn't too bad. *shrugs*

my favourite recording I'v come across so far is a Bernstein, but I don't own it myself.

The Bernstein 6th with the VPO is phenomenal--simply unbelievable in all regards. Get it get it get it. You won't regret it.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2004-01-06 01:02am

Scarpia: What do you think of Das Lied von der Erde?

Baron Scarpia · Post by **Baron Scarpia** » 2004-01-06 01:10am

Ist wunderbar.

IRG CommandoJoe · Post by **IRG CommandoJoe** » 2004-01-06 02:26am

Baron Scarpia wrote:I can't imagine not having the vocal masterpieces. Mozart, Brahms and Verdi Requiems? The Ode to Joy? Das Lied von der Erde? The Bach masses? Mahler's 2nd, 3rd and 8th symphonies? The great choruses of Verdi, Mussorgsy and Wagner? Oh no no no, they must remain...[/i]

Quite right. Add to the list Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, Rachmaninoff's Agnus Dei (Ave Maria), Wagner's Ring, etc.

I just finished downloading and listening to Rachmaninoff's The Isle of the Dead. I was surprised when listening to it. It didn't sound like the other works I've listened to by Rachmaninoff. It sounds almost like film music. Either way, it's good.

Also, for more somber/sad music, I recommend Strauss' Death and Transfiguration. Strauss claimed that on his death bed, this piece accurately portrayed what he felt. Definitely worth listening to.

Another Rachmaninoff piano piece I recalled is his Prelude No. 12 in G- Minor Op. 32.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-01-06 09:52am

Baron Scarpia wrote:If you want sad in a beautiful way, probably the most famous is Barber's Adagio for Strings, which was featured in the movie Platoon. It was originally written for string quartet, and you can find it almost any number of arrangements.

The computer game Homeworld has a choral arrangement of Adagio for Strings -- the Game of the Year Edition has it as Track 2 on the included audio CD.

Another great piece is Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. This is for a double string orchestra, and was recently used in Master and Commander.

I've got that, it's good.

If you really want emotionally wrenching music that will rip your guts out and rack you with sobs, then you must listen to Mahler, toute suite. I've simply never found any composer who so deeply exposed the raw, desperate sadness found in human existence. Anyone who writes "Songs on the Deaths of Children" can't be a barrel of laughs, though, right?

My brother on Mahler: "He needed Prozac."

It's form is practically indescribable, except to say that its united by four iterations of the opening chord (a dissonant, terrifying screech of brass and thud of bass instruments), three massive blows from a specially-designed "hammer," and a double development section. The third hammer blow so terrified even Mahler that he excised it from the first performance, unable to bring himself to conduct what he believed to be his own death...

Yes. Mahler's 6th rocks.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-01-06 09:59am

For some other pieces, I'm tempted to get Telarc's rendition of the 1812 Overture (Telarc CD-80541, SACD-60541, DVD-A-70541). It's not the best rendition of it, I hear, but they actually recorded cannons for it

(The SACD edition is dual-layer, so it'll play in normal CD players)

Bob McDob · Post by **Bob McDob** » 2004-01-06 10:33am

ace Hyphen One - The Adventures of Darfswartz Bobo and the Magic Panda

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2004-01-06 10:37am

Music? My tastes in music are much better defined by what I avoid, which is a fancy way of saying "I like all music except the following types":

Talentless Pop Music. Does this need any explanation?

Gangster Rap, with a few exceptions: mostly Eminem, Cypress Hill, parodies, and anyone who extolls the virtues of the sacred leaf in my sig

"House" Music. Basically if it sounds like it would be perfect in a gay bar, I won't like it. DJ Sammy is a perfect example of this. My current rebellion against gay stereotypes does not help this.

Commercial jingles. They're always flat, trite, and thoroughly clicheed to the point they physically leave a bad taste in my mouth after I hear them only for the fucking 90th time today and/or getting one stuck in my head.

MIDI music. Nothing worse than clicking a URL at 3 AM only to find out the Hard Way that the volume setting is set to max when the asshole webmaster embeds a stupid MIDI into his site. The effect on one's psyche (and hearing!!) is like a nuclear bomb, except a nuke just goes BOOM! instead of BWEEP BWOP BWEEP BWOP BOOMP! BOOMP!! BOOMP!!!

Cabaret Music (aka the shit they play on the musical Chicago). Same reason as for House Music.

Disco Music. The '70s were hella kind to us RoKKeRs, but also cruel... See 'House' and 'Cabaret' too.

Musak/Yanni/Elevator Music. I honestly wish I could buy/find/build an MP3 player to keep with me in case of encounters with this shit.

Grocery Store Music: Similar to Musak, but lately I've heard Tatu (ouch), Godsmack (kewl), Eminem (also kewl), Fifty Cent (Fuck j00 asscunt!!1 ), Limp Bizkit (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot), some weird techno shit that sounded like a train horn (Major Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ), and Nine Inch Nails (RoKK!) being played, so at least it's getting better (well except Fifty Cent. Fuck you 50c for killing Tupac and general being-a-no-talent-dick!)

EDIT: Forgot one: COUNTRY MUSIC! YERGH GURFLE! I like Dueling Banjos and Olde Skoole bluegrass and folk music, but not 'Pop'ified country (anything Billy Ray Cyrus and thereafter). I'd rather a pitchfork through the braincase than that shit.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2004-01-06 10:53am

phongn wrote:For some other pieces, I'm tempted to get Telarc's rendition of the 1812 Overture (Telarc CD-80541, SACD-60541, DVD-A-70541). It's not the best rendition of it, I hear, but they actually recorded cannons for it

(The SACD edition is dual-layer, so it'll play in normal CD players)

Ah yes, the one that comes with a warning sticker since it's been known to kill speakers & amps with strong bass that goes down to something like 6Hz.

Post by **haas mark** » 2004-01-06 11:40am

Baron Scarpia wrote:I can't imagine not having the vocal masterpieces. Mozart, Brahms and Verdi Requiems? The Ode to Joy? Das Lied von der Erde? The Bach masses? Mahler's 2nd, 3rd and 8th symphonies? The great choruses of Verdi, Mussorgsy and Wagner? Oh no no no, they must remain...

It's a general thing.

As for the 1812 Overture, I don't understand why so many people like it. It's overdone, as is Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.

A good suite would be the Nutcracker suite by Tchakovsky, particularly The Waltz of the Flowers (which, by the way, is one of the most fun pieces I've ever played).

Franz Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and Rosamunde Overture are also beautiful pieces (again, very fun to play, as well as listen to).

Then, of course, there is Mozart's Requiem, one of the best-known requiems, I think, and a truly outstanding piece.

The Brandenburg Concertos by Bach are simply amazing, and my preference goes to the second and third concertos, especially the third movement of the third concerto.

The Cello Suites are very popular, but you don't want Ma's renditions, you want Casals'.

[EDIT] Almost forgot Bach's Keyboard Concertos and Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in a minor and Norweigian Dances.

~ver