# Classical Music for Beginners ... Setting the Mood

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-for-beginners-setting-the-mood/159444>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 6, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-for-beginners-setting-the-mood/159444 "2003-03-06T06:35:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-for-beginners-setting-the-mood/159444/21 "2003-03-07T00:50:47Z")

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Now, really. ‘toten’ of course means ‘to kill’ as in evil genious Gustav Mahler’s _“Kindertotenlieder”_ - (songs to kill children by).  
To balance this post with content, I’d suggest Satie, one of the late 19th century/early 20th Century French composers **TTT** was referring to. His piano works are very calm and understated. (Here’s some [samples](http://www.af.lu.se/~fogwall/samples.html) for listening)

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**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-for-beginners-setting-the-mood/159444/22 "2003-03-07T01:26:11Z")

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Curse you, **panamajack**! When the OP mentioned “relaxing” and “piano,” I immediatedly thought of Erik Satie. Anyway, sort of in the vein of “soft brassy sounds,” one might try Wagner’s _Siegfried Idyll_. Richard Wagner is usually associated with the “loud and militant” school of composing, but this piece is really wonderful and quite intimate.

I’m surprised no one has yet mentioned Betthoven’s piano sonatas – start with the famous ones: _Moonlight_, _Appassionata_, and _Pathetique_.

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**Author:** ![kali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e57/32.png) [@kali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kali)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-for-beginners-setting-the-mood/159444/23 "2003-03-07T04:11:30Z")

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WOW … you guys are truly amazing. What a great list to start me off … I hope this thread will be useful for other classical music naifs who want to get into it. I’m in a China backwater right now with a slow internet connection, but I can pick up (pirate) CD’s in Beijing in a week so I will get started then. And I shall think of all you sweet Dopers each time I listen. Thank you so much.

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