Favourite pieces of Classical music?

I was listening to my iPod on shuffle over the weekend and a few great pieces of classical music came on.

There were a couple of Rachmaninov piano concertos that I used to play back in the days before I went guitar mad; The Prelude in G major and the C# Minor prelude. I cant play any of them now, mainly due to a lack of practice and a lack of a piano, but I do love all those crazy piano pieces...!

The other one was Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt.

I cant actually decide which one I like best of the three, but I love 'em all!

So what are your favourite pieces of classical music?

John Cage's 4'33" and Luigi Russolo's Macchina Tipografica are two pieces that come to mind.

I'm not big on classical music but adore noise and its history. :)

Beethoven and Tchaikovsky symphonies. Particularly Beethoven's 7th, 9th and Tchaik's 4th. Chopin's études and Bach's solo cello suites. Many more but those stand out.

How funny. I am sitting here listening to the Brandenburg Concertos being performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and conducted by Sir Nevell Marriner. Just beautiful.

I also really like Holst's The Planets, Mars being my favorite. Any Beethoven.

This list is pretty long.

DAvid

I have an old vinyl disc of the Chopin's Piano Concertos 1 and 2 played by Alexander Brailovsky. I've listened to new performances of these and to my ear no one can compare to his interpretation.

:beer2:

I have to choose?

'Mendelssohn' concerto in E Minor OP.64

'Bruch' concerto Nr 1 in G Minor OP.26

'Wagner' Tristan und Isolde - Tannhäuser - Die meistersinger von Nürnberg

I dont have a large library of Classical but if I had to choose one it would easily be Arvo Pärt's Alina.

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Originally Posted by Stubear

There were a couple of Rachmaninov piano concertos that I used to play back in the days before I went guitar mad; The Prelude in G major and the C# Minor prelude.

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Is the C# Minor the one that Eric Carmen took and wrote All By Myself (in his post-Raspberries phase)?

If so, a beautiful tune. He reportedly heard it on the radio and felt more people should enjoy it and wrote a pretty successful pop song to do just that.

Just one problem, I can't help sing the words when I hear the piano concerto now so, well, maybe it has ruined the original a little?

Damn that Bridget Jones film.

P.S. I love khachaturian, especially his score for Spartacus Rising.

The list is very long. Right now, in teh past few days, I have been listening to the following (In no particular order):

1. Leo Delibes: Lakme (Flower Duet)
2. Aram Khachaturian: Spartacus and Gayane
3. Frederick Chopin: Paiano Sonata #2 in B-flat minor (Op. 35)
4. Gustav Holtz: The planets
5. Antonio Vivaldi
6. Giacomo Puccini

the list goes on on on...of course, one cannot ingnore the masterpieces: Beethoven, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, etc...

-Robert

Another long, long list here--classical and church music were what I grew up on, and if I name a few favorites, I'll think of a dozen more in minutes.

But high on the list, always, is Barber's Adagio for Strings.

Another vote for Die Meistersinger, and I'll mention the Ring cycle as well. (Iron butt music, but worth it.)

Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (I'm usually kind of an original-language purist, but I sang this and learned to love it in English).

Brahms's Deutsches Requiem, especially "Wie Lieblich Sind Deine Wohnungen"--that would be what I'd want sung at my own service, if I still knew a bunch of singers and thought I had lived a life deserving a good funeral.

Randall Thompson's Frostiana cycle, especially "Choose Something Like a Star."

And of course that incomparable glee-club classic, Grieg's "Brothers, Sing On".

Among many, many others ...

~Rich

Gentlemen:

Such great choices of classical music. Thanks to our English friend Stuart for bringing up the subject.

Which reminds of a little story from the great British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham, known for his acerbic humor, who said, "The English may not like music, but they absolutely love the noise it makes."

Sir Thomas also gave a great description of the harpsichord. He said it "Sounds like two skeletons copulating on a corrugated tin roof."

Stuart, the Rachmaninoff piano concertos 2 and 3 are gorgeous. So is the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, which I assume is the one you mean. Symphony No. 2 is moody and lush piece of music. It's stunning.

JimmyHAD: Ah, yes, you can't go wrong with the great Beethoven. And the Bach solo cello suites I often listen to early in the morning. Also, I love the sonatas and partitas for solo violin. All good stuff.

Proraso Man: Mahler's music is simply glorious. So moody and introspective. Mahler was a troubled man, since childhood, and all those emotions appear in his music. That Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" is worth listening to over and over again. The Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 is one of the most lush and the moodiest pieces of music I have heard. By the way, the piece was used extensively in the movie "Death in Venice," based on the novel by Thomas Mann. Great movie.

Ah, Alembic: The Bach Brandenburg Concertos, all six, are masterpieces of orchestration. Bach was in Berlin, shopping for a harpsichord, when he received the commission for them from the Margrave of Brandenburg. He combined new pieces with some he had already written and created the concertos. He presented them to the Margrave, who subsequently put them on the shelf and never heard them. Great music, though.

Bruce: The great Chopin was not the powerhouse pianist that Liszt was. Chopin's style was more intimate and luscious, and more suited for the salon than the big concert hall. Heavenly music, I might add. He is one of my favorite composers. By the way, the second piano concerto was written first and the first written second; however, they were published in reverse. Chopin's body is buried in Paris, but his heart in a church near Warsaw.

Max: I tip my hat to you, sir, for the Mendelssohn E-Minor and the Brush No. 1. Jascha Heifetz premiered the Mendelssohn at age 11. During the performance he lost his bow. Without falling apart, he reached over and took the bow from the concertmaster and resumed playing. Great stuff here.

Bladerunner: "Vienne Malika," the "Flower Duet" from Leo Delibes' opera Lakme is delicious. TV commercials especially love it. Also, if you listen carefully to the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from Khachaturian's Ballet Spartacus, it has an incredible similarity to "Stormy Weather," the pop tune Lena Horne made famous. Great music.

Gentlemen, there is so much magnificent music. My own favorites are many. Some that come to mind immediately are:

Brahms: everything he wrote.
Beethoven: especially the string quartets.
Mozart: the quartets and the piano concertos. Also his operas.
Schumann was the height of early romantic music. I'll take everything he wrote.
Bach: everything he wrote. When Bach died, hardly anyone paid attention to his death.
Vivaldi: much of his music.
Ravel and Debussy: almost everything they wrote.
Many of the Spanish composers: Albeniz, Manuel de Falla, etc.

Ah, there is so much more, plus what you gentlemen have listed so far. If I were to list all my favorites, I'd spend half the day here.

Regards,
Obie

I have always been partial to Cello...

YouTube - Tanya's Bach

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Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

I have always been partial to Cello...

YouTube - Tanya's Bach

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Baroque cello, nonetheless. Very nice!

Mark,

The adagio sostenuto of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 is the basis of "All By Myself". I love listening to the debut recording of pianist Cecile Licad playing this piece with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I too am annoyed by the fact that I can't listen to this incredible music without hearing the lyrics to All By Myself in my head. Arrgh!!!

Greg

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Originally Posted by majurey

Is the C# Minor the one that Eric Carmen took and wrote All By Myself (in his post-Raspberries phase)?

If so, a beautiful tune. He reportedly heard it on the radio and felt more people should enjoy it and wrote a pretty successful pop song to do just that.

Just one problem, I can't help sing the words when I hear the piano concerto now so, well, maybe it has ruined the original a little?

Damn that Bridget Jones film.

P.S. I love khachaturian, especially his score for Spartacus Rising.

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YouTube - arvo pärt: spiegel im spiegel

Okay, here is ONE of my favorites... the third movement from Ein Deutsches Requiem, Herr, lehre doch mich, in the 1961 recording with Otto Klemperer conducting. Sublime. ( Wie lieblich is the 4th mvt, which this will also link to. If you like the Deutsches Requiem this entire recording is on youTube, and is exquisite.



YouTube - Ein deutsches Requiem - 3. Herr, lehre doch mich

I forgot to list some of my favorites in my last post:

1. Second Piano Concerto in C minor - Rachmaninoff
2. Claire de Lune - Debussy (love to play this on the piano)
3. Prelude in C minor - Chopin (again, why did Barry Manilow have to implant the lyrics of Could It be Magic into my head on this one?)
4. Pretty much anything Bach, although Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and Sheep May Safely Graze are at the top (especially listening to Christopher Parkening playing them. Heard Parkening play them in concert at a very small venue a few years ago and had the honor of shaking his hand at the reception after the performance, a highlight of my life).

If we switch the topic to more modern classics, I love anything Gershwin, especially Rhapsody in Blue.

Greg

YouTube - homer takes photo of himself everydays for 39 years - Noah Like Video.wmv

Holy cow guys...
I can't do this anymore ;):rofl2:. I feel like all this beautiful music talk is causing me to develop a second AD (Acquisition Disorder)...

Time to get my credit Card and update my iTunes account :idea:

We have to stop this insanity :banghead:...Between Str8 Razors, cremes and other shaving stuff and now, classical music I am going to go bankrupt :gaah:.

This site can be hazardous to one's health :(...I guess I have been assimilated :borg:

-Robert

I've always had a thing for Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

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Originally Posted by BladeRunner001

Holy cow guys...
I can't do this anymore ;):rofl2:. I feel like all this beautiful music talk is causing me to develop a second AD (Acquisition Disorder)...

Time to get my credit Card and update my iTunes account :idea:

We have to stop this insanity :banghead:...Between Str8 Razors, cremes and other shaving stuff and now, classical music I am going to go bankrupt :gaah:.

This site can be hazardous to one's health :(...I guess I have been assimilated :borg:

-Robert

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My dear Robert:

At this address, Beethoven and Boker rock. The price for admission is a roll of pleasure.

Regards,
Obie

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Originally Posted by Obie

My dear Robert:

At this address, Beethoven and Boker rock. The price for admission is a roll of pleasure.

Regards,
Obie

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:beer2::popcorn:

Hard to choose only one, but it would have to be Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3.

After that, anything by Bach or a cello and Yo-Yo Ma will do nicely.

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Originally Posted by Obie

Beethoven: especially the string quartets.

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Yes, yes, and yes, good sir! I don't know why I so love the Beethoven quartets. String Quartet in C# Minor from Op 131 is part of my regular rotation for morning shave music. It is so melancholy, and yet it exudes such beauty that one can enjoy its sadness and still come away feeling good... what a genius Beethoven was.

Sunday's shave selection comes to mind.

YouTube - M.Rostropovich - Haydn Concerto No.2 in D, 1st mov (1)

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Originally Posted by MrDavid

Yes, yes, and yes, good sir! I don't know why I so love the Beethoven quartets. String Quartet in C# Minor from Op 131 is part of my regular rotation for morning shave music. It is so melancholy, and yet it exudes such beauty that one can enjoy its sadness and still come away feeling good... what a genius Beethoven was.

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Hello, Mr. David:

You have excellent taste. The Opus 131, composed around 1825 and 1826, comes from Beethoven's introspective period. By then he was completely deaf (he died in Vienna in 1827, and his funeral was packed with 20,000 people). Yes, the piece is melancholy and exceptionally beautiful. Makes you reach within yourself for all kinds of reflection. Ah yes, the great Beethoven.

Regards,
Obie

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Originally Posted by Blue

Sunday's shave selection comes to mind.

YouTube - M.Rostropovich - Haydn Concerto No.2 in D, 1st mov (1)

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Hello, Blue:

Rostropovich was a great cellist. The cello he uses — that might be the one — has a little nick in it caused by Napoleon's boot spur, when the emperor had tried to play it. I forget who the cello's owner was at the time.

Regards,
Obie

When I find myself sitting in my office on rainy days, trying unsuccessfully to concentrate, I enjoy Debussy, especially the Preludes, Bk. 2.

At other times, and obviously for other reasons, there is always Wagner . . .

When I think of music to associate with a straight razor shave it has to be something testosterone filled like the third movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. However, I don't have the nerve to try shaving while it's playing. And, to induldge in a bit of irony, here it is played by a girl.
YouTube - Beethoven Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement

My favorites:

Dvorak's New World Symphony

Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring

Mahler's Symphony No. 8

I'm also a fan of the low voice. Is anyone familiar with Chaliapin's aria from Dargomyshky's Rusalka, the miller's mad scene? Powerful stuff: you can hear/visualize a father going stark raving mad over the death of his daughter. I've never heard another singer doing anything so moving.

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Originally Posted by Bruce

I'm also a fan of the low voice. Is anyone familiar with Chaliapin's aria from Dargomyshky's Rusalka, the miller's mad scene? Powerful stuff: you can hear/visualize a father going stark raving mad over the death of his daughter. I've never heard another singer doing anything so moving.

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Hello, Bruce:

Yes, I have heard the miller's mad scene from Rusalka (1856) by Alexander Dargomijsky. It's a great piece. Chaliapin was a great Russian bass, with an exceptionally dark tone when called for, who also had a remarkable stage presence.

By the way, there's another version of Rusalka, by Dvorak, with an aria for soprano titled "Song to the Moon." It's glorious.

A lot of good stuff out there.

Regards,
Obie

I enjoy the Artists' Life-J. Strauss, this conductor is amusing too

YouTube - Ozawa - Artists' Life Waltzes by J Strauss

http://www.upaboveit.com/images/misc/music/requiem.jpg

Mozart - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Herbert von Karajan - Requiem
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog#:429 160-2
Format:CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered

Country:US
Released:
Genre:Classical
Style:Classical
Tracklist
I. Introitus
1 Requiem 6:01
2 II. Kyrie 2:51
III. Sequenz
3 No. 1 Dies Irae 1:59
4 No. 2 Tuba Mirum 4:24
5 No. 3 Rex Tremendae 2:32
6 No. 4 Recordare 5:29
7 No. 5 Confutatis 2:39
8 No. 6 Lacrimosa 3:29
IV. Offertorium
9 No. 1 Domine Jesu 4:15
10 No. 2 Hostias 5:11
11 V. Sanctus 1:47
12 VI. Benedictus 5:13
13 VII. Agnus Dei 3:56
VIII. Communio
14 Lux Aeterna 6:26

Credits
Alto Vocals, Contralto Vocals - Hilde Rössel-Majdan
Artwork By [Art Direction] - Peter Schuppe
Artwork By [Typo Design] - Werner Koberstein
Bass Vocals - Walter Berry
Chorus - Wiener Singverein
Chorus Master - Reinhold Schmid
Composed By - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Conductor - Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra - Berliner Philharmoniker
Organ - Wolfgang Meyer (2)
Photography [Cover] - Harro Wolter
Soprano Vocals - Wilma Lipp
Tenor Vocals - Anton Dermota
Notes
℗ 1962 Polydor International GmbH, Hamburg
Digitally Remastered
Manufactured & Marketed by PolyGram Records, Inc., New York, New York
Barcode 0 28942 91602 9

What great taste you all have in music. I have a fairly extensive selection of classical music and won't try to mention all of my favorite pieces here. Suffice is to say that my favorite composers are Vivaldi, The 3 B's, (Bach, Beethoven and Brahms), and my all-time favorite is Mozart.

Regards,

Mark

If anyone is looking for something fun may I suggest Queen of Sheba by Respighi - a great orchestral work. :)

Hello, Frankenstein:

Yes, Ottorino Respighi's Queen of Sheba also has some lush and sexy parts. There is a scene which depicts the Queen of Sheba traveling to meet King Solomon. I forget the scene's title. Talking about sexy music. Oy!

I loaned my recording of Queen of Sheba to a friend for some research he was doing and never saw it again. The moral of the story is not to ever loan your recordings to anybody.

Good choice of music.

Regards

Or the tools from your shop...

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Originally Posted by Obie

Hello, Frankenstein:

Yes, Ottorino Respighi's Queen of Sheba also has some lush and sexy parts. There is a scene which depicts the Queen of Sheba traveling to meet King Solomon. I forget the scene's title. Talking about sexy music. Oy!

I loaned my recording of Queen of Sheba to a friend for some research he was doing and never saw it again. The moral of the story is not to ever loan your recordings to anybody.

Good choice of music.

Regards

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Obie

Hello, Frankenstein:

Yes, Ottorino Respighi's Queen of Sheba also has some lush and sexy parts. There is a scene which depicts the Queen of Sheba traveling to meet King Solomon. I forget the scene's title. Talking about sexy music. Oy!

I loaned my recording of Queen of Sheba to a friend for some research he was doing and never saw it again. The moral of the story is not to ever loan your recordings to anybody.

Good choice of music.

Regards

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Indeed, indeed...beautiful work. I believe what you are talking about is "The Metamorphoseon"?

Robert