# Classical Music Recommendations, Please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474 "2011-05-19T17:35:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/1 "2011-05-19T17:35:13Z")
I’ve recently re-discovered classical music. 🆒 Can I get some recommendations from the more knowledgeable Dope? I’m already familiar with everything on [this list](http://www.kickassclassical.com/classical-music-popular-famous-best-top-100-list.html), and have most of the songs already on my mp3 player. What I’m particluarly interested in are thundering overtures like the _1812 Overture_; tunes that are generally “fun” (for lack of a better choice of words), like Saint-Saenz’s _Carnival of the Animals: Finale_; classical music by more recent compposers; or unique interpretatioins of existing pieces (for example, Beethoven’s 5th interpreted by a Mariachi band, or something). Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![vdgg81](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@vdgg81](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vdgg81)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/2 "2011-05-19T18:13:19Z")
Tough one. I thought the request was too specific for me too just recommend anything I like but too generic for me to have a clear idea of what to recommend. But I think I have it now: what you want is the _Turangalila Symphony_, by Olivier Messiaen. The fifth movement, “Joy of the Blood of the Stars”, is as thundering as anything, there’s lots of fun moments along the way, it’s kinda, sorta recent (it’s from the 30s, which I guess is recent enough in classical music) and has a part for a very weird instrument, the Ondes Martenot, which would seem to appeal to the same sensibility that enjoyed “Mariachi Beethoven”. Naxos has a very cheap recording that’s also pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/3 "2011-05-19T18:59:58Z")
Looking at that list, I see it more as a “highlights” reel – do you listen to just the sections listed or the entire piece? For instance, I see that Beethoven’s 7th symphony is listed, but only the 2nd movement – which is fairly dark and brooding. The oft-overlooked 3rd and 4th movements are quite high energy and, in my mind at least, “fun” romps. Ditto Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – Spring is on the list, but I find Summer and Winter to be rather intense and enjoyable as well. Some other recommendations: Mahler’s 2nd Symphony (“Resurrection”) Berlioz’s Requiem (antiphonal brass is epic) Brahms’s Liebeslieder Waltzes (piano + vocals, whimsical, romantic, and fun) The obvious extension of this interest is movie scoring – Hans Zimmer and John Williams are obvious starting points! ---
**Author:** ![Walther\_Ego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Walther\_Ego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walther_Ego)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/4 "2011-05-19T19:06:19Z")
Well, since Beethoven’s sixth symphony is missing, the mother of all orchestral storm depictions is missing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/5 "2011-05-19T19:20:55Z")
J.S. Bach: the Goldberg Variations and the Brandenburg concertos. Dmitri Shostakovich: The Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. (That was a good list, but I cannot understand the omission of Shostakovich.) Wagner: The Ring Cycle As for more recent works, I would recommend: \*Pavanne for a Dead Princess \*and \*Daphne et Chloe \*by Maurice Ravel The West Side Story suite by Leonard Bernstein \*Brown, Black and Beige \*by Duke Ellington. Try to get the version with Mahalia Jackson doing the vocals. Anything by Scott Joplin \*Symphony in F Major for Piano and Orchestra \*by George Gershwin \*The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny \*by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht John (I think) Adams has done some good operas, including one about Nixon going to China I don’t know who does it, but somewhere there exists a version of the Moonlight Sonata played on a toy piano. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/6 "2011-05-19T19:43:01Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > What I’m particluarly interested in are thundering overtures like the _1812 Overture_ Try the big, brassy opening of his (Tchaikovsky’s) 4th Symphony > [@](#): > > tunes that are generally “fun” (for lack of a better choice of words), like Saint-Saenz’s _Carnival of the Animals: Finale_ Why just the Finale? Listen to the whole thing! > [@](#): > > classical music by more recent compposers I loves me some Prokofiev. His 3rd piano concerto springs to mind, but he wrote a lot of great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/7 "2011-05-19T19:51:46Z")
> [@vdgg81](#): > > The fifth movement, "Joy of the Blood of the Stars \ has a part for a very weird instrument, the Ondes Martenot \ You’re right, that _was_ really weird. But kinda cool too. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/8 "2011-05-19T19:53:01Z")
I think what the list in my OP was going for was not so much “the best,” but more like “stuff the Average Joe is most likely to be familiar with.” Of course, I could be way off. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/9 "2011-05-19T21:57:39Z")
This isn’t quite what you’re asking for, but I’d highly recommend Horowitz’s recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor. His playing is superlative, and the orchestra isn’t too bad, either 😉 ---
**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:** [May 20, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/10 "2011-05-20T01:07:18Z")
Here’s a mix tape that I did recently for a friend… It was intended to be classical pieces that had a bit of “wow” factor in them. Aida - Grande March and Ballet (Verdi).mp3 Bolero (Ravel).mp3 Canon and Gigue (Pachelbel).mp3 Carmina Burana - O Fortuna (Orff).mp3 Concierto de Aranjuez - Adagio (Rodrigo).mp3 Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg - Overture (Wagner).mp3 Die Moldau (Smetana).mp3 Die Walkure - Ride of the Valkyries (Wagner).mp3 Egmont Overture (Beethoven).mp3 Enigma Variations - Nimrod (Elgar).mp3 Fanfare for the Common Man (Copland).mp3 Finlandia (Sibelius).mp3 Gianni Schicchi - O Mio Babbino Caro (Puccini).mp3 Guitar Concerto in D - Largo (Vivaldi).mp3 Hungarian Dance No. 1 (Brahms).mp3 Karelia Suite - Alla Marcia (Sibelius).mp3 Les Pecheurs de Perles - Au fond du temple saint (Bizet).mp3 Les Preludes (Liszt).mp3 Lohengrin- Prelude to Act 3 (Wagner).mp3 Madama Butterfly - Un Bel Di (Puccini).mp3 Masquerade Suite - Waltz (Khachaturian).mp3 Nabucco - Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Verdi).mp3 Pictures at an Exhibition - The Old Castle (Mussorgsky).mp3 Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini - Variation 18 (Rachmaninoff).mp3 Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture (Tchaikovsky).mp3 Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2 - Montagues and Capulets (Prokofiev).mp3 Rusalka - Song to the Moon (Dvorak).mp3 Samson et Dalila - Bacchanale (Saint Saens).mp3 Songs of the Auvergne - Bailero (Canteloube).mp3 Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2 - Waltz (Shostakovich).mp3 Symphony No. 3 ‘Organ’- Finale (Saint Saens).mp3 Symphony No. 5 - Adagietto (Mahler).mp3 Symphony No. 7 - Allegretto (Beethoven).mp3 Tannhauser - March (Wagner).mp3 The Gadfly - Romance (Shostakovich).mp3 The Planets - Mars, the Bringer of War (Holst).mp3 Tosca - E Lucevan le Stelle (Puccini).mp3 Turandot - Nessun Dorma (Puccini).mp3 Valse Triste (Sibelius).mp3 Violin Concerto No 1 - Adagio (Bruch).mp3 ---
**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:** [May 20, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/11 "2011-05-20T03:52:22Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > What I’m particluarly interested in are thundering overtures like the _1812 Overture_ Wagner: overtures to Tannhauser, Rienzi, Flying Dutchman > [@](#): > > tunes that are generally “fun” (for lack of a better choice of words), like Saint-Saenz’s _Carnival of the Animals: Finale_ Rossini’s overtures are fun in a slightly different way. Try Semiramide, Barber of Seville (used in “Rabbit of Seville”), Thieving Magpie (cartoon “Pixie Picnic”). > [@](#): > > or unique interpretatioins of existing pieces (for example, Beethoven’s 5th interpreted by a Mariachi band, or something). The Swingle Singers did jazzy versions of Bach, Mozart and some other composers. Also search this forum for the many threads with “classical” in the title. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/12 "2011-05-20T06:15:48Z")
I’ve never understood how [Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlYen5oEaFY) never seems to get any love. Was [3:22](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZnQNCpbbbE&t=3m22s) about what you had in mind? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-recommendations-please/582474/13 "2011-05-20T12:03:26Z")
All of Beethoven’s symphonies Dvorak’s symphonies, especially the _New World Symphony_ and _Festival Overture_ Bizet’s _l’Arlesienne_ and (although you’ve heard it a bajillion times) the overture to _Carmen_ Gustav Holst’s _The Planets_ Suite