Following on from the Beautiful Tracks thread, I thought of a few classical pieces that would fit the bill, but that thread went in a different direction, and anyway classical music is such a broad category I think it deserves a thread of its own. So, if you have a favourite classical tune or composer or if you've heard a piece on TV or films that you don't know the name of, post it up on here. Extra points if it's quite obscure.
The description 'classical' can be fairly loose - anything from opera (Bizet's Pearl Fishers duet holds a special place in my heart), film (Schindler's List) or even video games (the sig from Fallout 3 and the piano version in 4 are favourites of mine) is fine.
To kick off, the first one I thought of for the Beautiful Tracks thread was The Gadfly Romance by Shostakovich (try the second movement of his second piano concerto too) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Xfyn0-YhU
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Thread: The Classical Music thread
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12-11-2017 10:07 AM #1
The Classical Music thread
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12-11-2017 10:18 AM #2
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This, for me.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ksV5pORvWXE
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12-11-2017 11:28 AM #3
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I like both of the above. At the moment I'm listening to Chopin piano stuff, and I'm particularly fond of this one (my daughter plays it when she's home from uni): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_6APTb3RNQ
I'm also listening to Holst's military band suites, and this is my favourite bit (from the First Suite in Eb): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7EZEEuTmu0
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12-11-2017 12:08 PM #4
Chopin's Opus 10 etude no. 3 is my favourite piece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpiJbQvBP8A
I also love the music of Johann Strauss II.Last edited by snooky; 14-11-2017 at 01:04 PM.
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12-11-2017 01:24 PM #5This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
My own favourite composer has to be Beethoven - the Egmont overture is stirring stuff and his odd-numbered symphonies are just brilliant (I got the organist to play Ode to Joy at my wedding). Favourite pieces are harder to identify - there's just so many of them. One I've been listening to a lot recently is Borodins 'In the Steppes of Central Asia' and one that makes me grin while being awestruck by the musicianship is Monti's Czardas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMOHAcjlIWs ).
I also think a lot of the 'mainstream' stuff - e.g. Beethoven's fifth, The Blue Danube Waltz, The William Tell Overture - are played so much that people tend not to hear the subtleties in them any more. They're all excellent pieces of music if you listen to them rather than just hearing.
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12-11-2017 03:39 PM #6
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12-11-2017 04:23 PM #7This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
I agree that the 1812 is another of them. One of Tchaikovsky's that's similar but less well known is Capricccio Italien - try it if you don't already know it.
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12-11-2017 06:42 PM #9
Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 from Liszt. The piece was so far ahead of its time I find it hard to believe he composed it back in 1850 odd.
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12-11-2017 07:56 PM #10This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
For vocal or choral pieces, I will chip in with Allegri’s “Miserere” and Geoffrey Burgon’s “Nunc Dimittis”.
I like Shostakovich a huge amount and there is a different kind of beauty to be found in his symphonic works. The first movement of his Tenth Symphony, especially as it builds roundabout halfway though is perhaps my favourite, but it’s also difficult to match the third movement of his Fifth. The piece as a whole has been interpreted in conflicting ways over the decades and I choose to interpret ithe third movement as a portrayal of the horror of Stalin’s persecution of the population.
Final recommendation is something from the same time and also very ethereal, but completely different altogether - Vaughan Williams’ “Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus”. It’s simply sublime.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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12-11-2017 07:58 PM #11
That bit of opera in Shawshank Redemption gives me goose bumps!
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12-11-2017 08:01 PM #12
Also.. Related to the thread... I remember when Classic FM started up... When driving in heavy traffic I always switched over to it..... Made me a better driver.... Peace man!
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13-11-2017 09:21 AM #13This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Incidentally, don't think I've forgotten about your slur on Rachmaninov - there's nothing wrong with a bit of overblown romantic guff, in fact it's the only thing that makes Brief Encounter remotely watchable. So just to annoy you here's the sugary one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNyQz7SiPQY. I think I prefer the first movement to the rest of it tbh.
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13-11-2017 09:31 AM #14This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Probably my favourite aria from my favourite opera is the very dark 'Va Tosca' from ....Tosca. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3lPxwct2sk
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13-11-2017 10:00 AM #15
Dvorak's 8th Symphony is a big favourite. Amazing melodies, punchy brass in the orchestration. Nobody comes close to Mozart as a composer IMO, but I love Dvorak's music and outside of Mozart probably listen to his works the most.
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13-11-2017 10:40 AM #16
Rachmaninov. Anything by Rachmaninov!
Love his piano works (prelude in C# minor is utterly amazing, I once spent about 2 years trying to master it, and got nowhere near!) and his orchestral stuff is fantastic. It seems a bit 'overplayed' now, but the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini is one of my go-to pieces of music, it's fantastic. Think it's variation 18 (beautiful strings) that gets me every time...
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13-11-2017 12:08 PM #17
Was listening to Strauss' Casanova a while back and had forgotten how good Anni Frind's Nun's Chorus was. Been listening to it regularly recently.
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13-11-2017 06:19 PM #18This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Sticking with Rachmaninoff, I would give him a lot of credit for one of his few choral works, The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. This Liturgy is the most important, or one of the most important, masses in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Rachmaninov’s rendering of it is beautiful. For some reason it’s a piece I tend to reach towards in November and it gets a few good plays up until Christmas.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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13-11-2017 09:57 PM #19
Beethoven's five piano concertos are what I'd recommend to a newcomer to classical music. Each one is short enough to listen to at a sitting.
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13-11-2017 10:25 PM #20
I write a lot to classical music when I'm at work. Data analysis/programming requires heavy rock, but writing requires classical music!
In terms of original pieces, Barber's Adagio in D is probably my favourite piece. I'm also a fan of Gabriel Faure's Pavane, and Holst's Planets' suite. I've also recently been listening to a lot of Dvorak's work - definitely provides the ups and downs required for any piece of written work!
I also listen to a lot of 'contemporary' classical in the form of film/game soundtracks - Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings trilogy soundtrack is a popular choice, but anything by Hans Zimmer or John Williams is likely to capture my attention for a while.Madness, as you know, is a lot like gravity. All it takes is a little push.
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14-11-2017 09:36 AM #21
Having only scraped the surface of classical music in my time, this thread is great and is encouraging me to dig deeper.
My thanks to CG for kicking this off.
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14-11-2017 12:04 PM #22
Not very knowledgeable of classical music but my all time favourite would be the The Flower Duet (British Airways Advert) Leo Delibes I think
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14-11-2017 12:14 PM #23
I see the theme from The Lone Ranger was mentioned earlier. I'm surprised nobody has brought up the Hamlet advert yet.
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14-11-2017 12:16 PM #24
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14-11-2017 12:51 PM #25This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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Some interesting stories behind it. It was written at the time Italy was trying to unify and free itself from foreign rule and was adopted as the country's unofficial anthem. Also, Verdi had instructed that no music should be played at his funeral, but the crowds lining the streets spontaneously started singing Va Pensiero as the funeral procession passed.Last edited by Caversham Green; 14-11-2017 at 01:26 PM. Reason: Schoolboy grammatical error
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15-11-2017 09:39 AM #26
On the subject of TV adverts, remember the perfume one with the woman in her skimpies and the campest sailor on the planet? Rescued by this lovely song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg4L5tcxFcA
Sopranos can be something of an acquired taste (no offence intended Tony) but here's a couple with minimal screeching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHM3zMBQxTQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuYQ9KRJms
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16-11-2017 10:05 PM #27
If you wonder what the term "Wagnerian" means ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTM7E4-DN0o
(Play it loud!)
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20-11-2017 02:40 PM #28This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
One of my favourite pieces. A potential side thread would be your ideal concert - the Tannhauser overture fits the bill nicely because you could have it alongside a concerto in the first half, with a symphony after the intermission.
I came to like Tannhauser a lot because I cook a lot and I listen to music when I cook. I eventually got a Bluetooth speaker to sync to Spotify on my ipad but before that I had a quite smart but very old CD system in the kitchen. It gradually stopped playing CDs and in the end I was left with only a few that actually worked on it, one of which was Sinopoli's 'Tannhauser' with Domingo and Salminen. As a consequence it got played to death in my kitchenThere's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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20-11-2017 03:17 PM #29This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
I don't really listen to Classic FM much but recognise that it is a very accessible way for people new to classical music to familiarise themselves with it and work out what periods and styles they like.
One thing I do like about them is their annual chart, voted for by the public - I think it's a top 300 and is broadcast over the Easter weekend.
I've not caught all of it ever, but usually hear a bit of it at least and what has been noticeable in recent years is the increase in the number of pieces that have featured on games.
What seems clear is that there is an increase in people liking music of that ilk. If that translates into more people thinking of listening to more 'traditional' classical music then that's got to be a good thing.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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20-11-2017 04:24 PM #30This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
My turn to be accused of overblown romantic guff -- I'm a sucker for 'Mi chiamano Mimi' and 'O soave fanciulla' from La Boheme and hide no shame in admitting to a fondness for 'Un bel di vedremo' from Madama Butterfly
I'm a big Puccini fan and would rather listen/see his work than Verdi, for example, notwithstanding the quality of what Verdi wrote. Tosca is outstanding and like so many of Puccini's works it tells a tale that is essentially an eternal truth and is therefore easily translatable into different settings and eras - a truly timeless story.
My favourite however is La Fanciulla Del West, sadly under-performed nowadays. Some of the duets are sublime and the mostly male arias are sumptious. It's a shame the opera isn't performed more often, I believe it was Puccini's favourite of all his compositions.There's only one thing better than a Hibs calendar and that's two Hibs calendars
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