Music to read by

[Dvorak]

what is/are your favorite piece(s) of music to listen to while you read?


(alright, you caught me. This sucky "poll" was brought to you by the fact that I am just trolling for decent classical music that I might hopefully be able to download off of the internet. Oh, and if you want to listen to almost every calssical piece there is, go to http://www.classicalarchives.com/ the only catch is that most of the music can only be heard on the site; hence, the wanting to download the music and listen to more than 5 of them per day.)

[Redwing]

This varies greatly by mood and subject matter. My current reading music is Appalachian Spring from Copeland, and the book I am reading is The Island of the Day Before by Eco.

[panache45]

Nothing. If I'm reading (or writing) more than a few sentences, I have to turn off the music; otherwise my brain hemispheres start colliding.

[E. Thorp]

I agree with panache45.

[picker]

I really enjoy reading to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (Concerti?) and Chopin's Nocturne - nothing too dramatic, but beautiful background.

I also enjoy the Bach Lute Suites.

[jimpatro]

I'm also a filmmaker and film buff. Unless the music fits with a particular "scene" I'm reading then it throws off the whole tone. So no music at all here.

[Cunctator]

If I'm reading for work or study purposes, then I never have any music on. I find it too hard to concentrate. If I'm just reading for general amusement, then I usually have 15th and 16th century choral music on. My current favourites are works by Ockeghem and Lassus (especially the Missa Pange Lingua).

[Misnomer]

Lately I've been reading to the Bach cello suites, as recorded by Yo Yo Ma in 1983 . . . except for the prelude to Suite No. 1 in G Major (BWV 1007), which I love so much that I always have to simply listen to it.

A newer recording of the suites is available on iTunes, though in my opinion the faster tempo of the prelude is all wrong.

Originally Posted by Redwing

My current reading music is Appalachian Spring from Copeland

When I read the OP my first thought was "Aaron Copland." I have a kind of "best of" album that I also like to read to. There's a bunch of his stuff available on iTunes, as well -- some of it recorded by Copland himself.

[rowrrbazzle]

The piano music of Debussy, Chopin, and Ravel are also good choices. As picker said, nothing overly dramatic.