# Classical music recommendations (especially Romantic era) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725 "2020-01-01T17:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/21 "2020-01-03T01:19:24Z")
I think this is one of the most underrated, underappreciated orchestral works of the Romantic age: [Josef Suk’s Scherzo Fantastique.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TISaiU-fkAE) ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/22 "2020-01-03T01:20:48Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > And how could I have forgotten the Franck Violin Sonata (sometimes also played on the cello)? Seconded. Such a beautiful piece! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/23 "2020-01-03T01:40:43Z")
A lot of new things for me . . . We’re definitely on the same wavelength - a number of you have recommended pieces that I’ve already ‘discovered’ and have been listening to (again and again) in the last months (e.g. the Franck Sonata and his Piano Trio, Mendelssohn Octet, Dvorak’s American, and Liszt, too). Thank you all! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/24 "2020-01-03T04:27:30Z")
Ummmmm…concertos ARE symphonic. They are works for a lead instrument — most often piano or violin — with full orchestra. Okay, the Bee wrote a triple concerto (violin, cello, piano), and Brahms composed a superior double concerto (violin, cello). **EmilyG:** Holy cats, another Suk buff! My favorite piece of his is the “Azrael” Symphony in C Minor for large orchestra. It’s some doom-haunted Scorpio shit, written shortly after the death of his wife. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wFoFxa7Hc04/hqdefault.jpg "Josef Suk Asrael Symphony for large orchestra in C minor Op.27, Jiří Bělohlávek, 2014") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFoFxa7Hc04) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/25 "2020-01-03T13:41:09Z")
Schubert’s eight piano impromptus are particular favourites of mine, but you may well already know them. I’ll add the great Requiems by Brahms and Faure to your list. Sticking with the singing, there has been no mention of opera yet - start with Puccini, then Verdi, and if you like those you might even get into Wagner. Finally, don’t forget all the Lieder by Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Strauss, et al. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/26 "2020-01-03T15:38:06Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > There are so many good pianists, why would anyone ever listen to Brendel? For me, it would be because his 1993 recording of the late piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven are a towering achievement in classical music. 😉 As to the OP, despite what you have written, I would still suggest giving Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony #9, _From the New World_ a listen. Absolutely magnificent stuff. It’s extremely popular for a reason. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/27 "2020-01-03T16:31:21Z")
Indeed, the New World Symphony is wonderful (but ‘familiarity breeds contempt’). On the other hand, [The Lark Ascending](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6PYDPspMG8) by Ralph Vaughan Williams was new to me. It is beyond words. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/28 "2020-01-03T17:05:07Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Indeed, the New World Symphony is wonderful (but ‘familiarity breeds contempt’). > > On the other hand, [The Lark Ascending](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6PYDPspMG8) by Ralph Vaughan Williams was new to me. It is beyond words. Funny thing, when I was a kid I would check out random classical albums from the library. I never checked out anything by him, because “Ralph” just seemed like a silly name for a serious composer. 🙂 Then I found out it was pronounced “raif”, or “rafe”, so then I did. But I haven’t heard this, so I will indeed check it out now. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/29 "2020-01-03T19:38:35Z")
Dvorak’s Symphonies no. 7 and 8 are really good. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/30 "2020-01-03T20:11:01Z")
The Lark Ascending is nice, but Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis is transcendent, there is nothing else like it. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/31 "2020-01-03T20:15:00Z")
I know the OP was discounting symphonies, but Sibelius wrote several fantastic ones. Start with No. 2, and then No. 5. And speaking of fantastic, there’s Berlioz Symphony Fantastique. Also Tchaikovsky 5 and 6. And 4 is good too. All these suggestions for symphonies are quite different than what you heard in the Classical Era or even among Romantic contemporaries. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/32 "2020-01-04T06:58:35Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Also Tchaikovsky 5 and 6. And 4 is good too. As well as 1, 2 and 3. And his Piano Concerto #1 and Violin Concerto. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/33 "2020-01-04T10:21:24Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > As well as 1, 2 and 3. And his Piano Concerto #1 and Violin Concerto. Seconded. **Tchaikovsky** ’s _First Symphony_ is one of the most underrated works of the genre. It’s full of great brooding tunes and clever ideas from start to finish (ok, the finale may be a bit bombastic…). Anyway, I like a lot more than the highly-esteemed last three. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/34 "2020-01-04T23:54:14Z")
And Tchaikovsky’s _Second Piano Concerto_ is quite underrated, obviously overshadowed by the First. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/35 "2020-01-09T07:35:47Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > The information in the last sentence appears to come from Harpo’s autobiography. In other versions of the story, it’s claimed that Rachmaninoff hated the prelude and Harpo knew it. Here it is in Harpo’s words. [Harpo Speaks! - Harpo Marx, Rowland Barber - Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=QGeDDgAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&pg=PT393#v=onepage&q=rachmaninoff&f=false) Harpo certainly was trying to annoy Rachmaninoff. But he wrote, “I didn’t really know until much later how sharp my intuition had been. I found out the great pianist and composer _detested_ his Prelude in C-Sharp Minor.” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/36 "2020-01-09T11:03:38Z")
I’m assuming that if you’ve explored Schubert’s chamber music you already know his [String Quintet in C major](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ-vroCJvzo), which remains my all-time favorite of his chamber works. At the other end of the time period I’d recommend Richard Strauss’s “Divertimento for Chamber Orchestra after Keyboard Pieces by Couperin”, which are delightful little pieces and not at all as heavy or harmonically dense as some of his better-known works. The third movement “Le Tic-Toc-Choc/La Lutine” is especially sweet. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/37 "2020-01-21T00:58:39Z")
A brief report: A lot of folks mentioned various pieces by Mendelssohn. Thank you! They are wonderful. In addition to the works recommended above, I discovered his [Songs without Words](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdDazqakigY) (_Lieder Ohne Worte_). I am listening to it over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/38 "2020-01-21T02:30:34Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > A brief report: > > A lot of folks mentioned various pieces by Mendelssohn. Thank you! They are wonderful. > > In addition to the works recommended above, I discovered his [Songs without Words](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdDazqakigY) (_Lieder Ohne Worte_). I am listening to it over and over again. If you like Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, you might like Grieg’s Lyric Pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/39 "2020-01-21T02:43:53Z")
Mendelssohn, you can’t go wrong with Mendelssohn. Grieg, he wrote a lot of chestnuts. They sound good at first, but they weigh heavy on your ears after a dozen listens. The classical flash mob in the Copenhagen subway eight years ago is a nice way to enjoy Grieg. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gww9_S4PNV0/maxresdefault.jpg "Flash mob in the Copenhagen Metro. Copenhagen Phil playing Peer Gynt.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gww9_S4PNV0) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725/40 "2020-01-21T04:03:06Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > If you like Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, you might like Grieg’s Lyric Pieces. “Bach and Beethoven erected churches and temples on the heights. I only wanted… to build dwellings for men in which they might feel happy and at home.” –Edvard Grieg. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-especially-romantic-era/845725.md?page=3)