Oh, yeah, Vivaldi, Four Seasons and all that. :smack: How could I forget? My favorite Chopin Nocturnes would have to be Op. 9. No. 1 & 2. (That’s in B-flat minor and E flat major.) I would highly recommend Yundi Li’s CD of Chopin which includes these Nocturnes. His interpretations of these classics are sublime. Check it out.
Here’s a few oddballs from the turn of the last century that I’ve been enjoying lately…
Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920). First US composer to assimilate Stravinsky and Debussy. Chiefly remembered for his piano works, especially “The White Peacock,” and the Poem for Flute and Orchestra. I particularly like The Kairn of Koridwen (1916), a chamber piece for flute, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, harp, celesta, and piano.
Franz Schmidt (1874-1939). Czech cellist, regarded as the leading Viennese composer after the death of Mahler in 1911. I like the *Symphony No. 2 *in E Flat (1913).
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937). Influenced by German romanticism, French impressionism, Oriental culture and history, and the ethnic traditions of his Polish homeland, which makes for a rather heady mix. Best known for the glowingly decadent opera King Roger, but his two violin concertos are very beautiful, too.
Franz Schreker (1878-1934). An interesting bridge between the late romantics and the Second Viennese School of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, Schreker’s music seems to lack discipline in its shifting and flowing…strange stuff. His operas have a sultry, oppressive atmosphere all their own. I’m listening to his Chamber Symphony for 23 Instruments.
Henry F. Gilbert (1868-1928). US nationalist and folklorist, disdainful of the academic, European orientation of most of his contemporaries, Gilbert believed that any truly American music must be based on Negro melodies and rhythmic material. He started but never finished an opera based on the Uncle Remus tales. His best-known piece is the symphonic poem The Dance in Place Congo (1906), which depicts the Sunday afternoon day-off revels of New Orleans slaves.
Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942). Friend of Gustav Mahler (and luster-after of Mahler’s gorgeous wife, Alma) and brother-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg, Zemlinsky (like Schreker) fell foul of the Nazis, emigrated to the US, and died in poverty in New York. Much of his once-popular work has been forgotten or destroyed, but scholars pieced together his tone poem Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid, 1906), and it recieved its first contemporary performance in 1984.
Don’t know if these bands are far enough from the mainstream, but how about They Might Be Giants and The Moldy Peaches?
Classical: Villa-Lobos, Bachianas Brasileiras (Bach themes done over in Brazilian whatever). very cool.
World music: Check out the label Putumayo (http://www.putumayo.com/), which puts together wonderful compilations – three of the five CDs in my stereo right now are by them. I esp. recommend Mali to Memphis, which goes back and forth between musicians from Mali and American blues musicians (John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Guy Davis, who’s apparently the son of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee). This is THE album for me right now.
Holst’s The Planets
probably my favorite piece of orchestral music. Up there with “La Mer” and “Rites of Spring”
I strongly recommend the following:
Karl Orff - Carmina Burana Yes, I’m sure you’re familiar with the opening movement “Oh Fortuna” but be sure to take a listen to the remaing movements for a wonderfully varied musical experience. FYI, Orff based this composition on old German and Austrian drinking songs, for the most part.
Antonin Dvorak - whatever you can find. He is considered a classical composer for people who do not like classical music.
Vanessa Mae - again, anything. She is a violinist who takes known classical pieces (ie. Four Seasons) and gives them a slightly modern, rocky sound. She is incredibly talented. Her stuff is wonderful to listen to on a stormy night, curled up in front of a fireplace, with a cup of hot chocolate.
Enjoy!
I third the Flogging Molly suggestion, along with Pogues and Black 47. They rock! In the Irish punk vein, there’s also Boiled In Lead.
Some other bands in the non-quite classical but vaguely classical feel:
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
String Cheese Incident
Strunz and Farah (really good guitar work)
Medieval Babes
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Maurice Ravel wrote some beautiful classical pieces.
If you want to checkout the best band no one has ever heard of, try any selections by Camel, a progressive rock band from the UK. If you can, get a hold of the CD called Pressure Points, and check out the tracks entitled “Drafted,” “Sasquatch,” and the title track, “Pressure Points.”
I’ve been listening to a lot of Dave Brubeck and Steely Dan lately. Very slick arrangements. Current favorites for each are Kathy’s Waltz by Brubeck and Your Gold Teeth (versions I and II) by the Dan, although I would heartily recommend anything by these two artists.
For lighter listening, I like (Paul McCartney and) Wings. I tend to go for their more cheery stuff however.
Sometimes, I like to pick a random song that strikes me as entertaining and analyse the musicians to the point of insanity (minus the actual losing-of-mind).
try Ibrahim Tatlises’ cd “Mavi, Mavi”. turkish arabesque. this album is primo!
Sounds like you’re pretty open-minded, so I will recommend Philip Glass. He’s a contemporary composer, with a lot of film scores to his credit. Truly a unique and hypnotic sound.
For a Philip Glass virgin, I’d definitely suggest starting with Koyaanisqatsi.
of course, Floggin’ M
Pogues
Spirit of the West
Uisce Beatha
The Chors
Sarah Brightman
Andrea Bocelli
Michael Junior
Pop Will Eat Itself
An amalgam of rap, rock, hip-hop, and soul. In myopinion, the first “real” rap-rock band and sadly, never gained the recognition they deserved. They alomst made it wwhen they signed to Trent Reznor’s Nothing record label.
I’ll second Laurie Anderson for sheer creative power.
A few classical pieces I highly recommend:
Giovanni Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. I simply love to pieces the Emma Kirkby/James Bowman version.
Olivier Messaien’s Quartet for the End of Time. Written in a concentration camp (or, if you prefer, a POW camp), it contains some tremendously moving music.
Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. This grand choral work has a very Catholic text, but even little old agnostic me can’t get enough of it.
Carl Maria von Weber’s opera Der Freischutz. It’s worth it for the Wolf’s Glen scene alone.
Tomas Victoria’s O Magnum Mysterium.
Sergei Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky.
Things I don’t recommend:
Unfortunately, I’ll have to unsecond Henrik Gorecki – his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs bored me pooey (and this is speaking as a man who owns a recording of Terry Riley’s In C). SoSS felt like a long introduction to a piece that never happens. And his Salve Sidum Polonorum was banal to the extreme. If you like Sacred Minimalism, try Arvo Part or John Tavener (not to be confused with John Taverner who, while also an excellent composer, was on the scene several hundred years before his modern colleague), both of whom are much better in my estimation.
Being the purist that I am, I also dislike “pop classical” performers: this includes such dignitaries as Russell Watson, Vanessa Mae, Bond, Medieval Baebes, Opera Babes, Charlotte Church, Lesley Garrett, and (Nigel) Kennedy. It’s not that I think they’re horrible; it’s that they represent a triumph of marketing over talent, concentrating on glitz and presentation over any even halfhearted attempt to do a good performance, with the end result that those who began with a lot of talent and promise get sloppy and squander it all for a quick buck. Sadly, two of my musical friends have gone off to worship Mammon instead of St. Cecilia, and are now playing in Bond and The Planets (the group, not the Holst piece). <sigh>
Chacun a son gout, and all that.
What’s wrong with (Nigel) Kennedy?
I’ve got a recording of him doing the Elgar Violin Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony under Simon Rattle, and it’s a sweet rendition.
Of course, I’d buy a Si Rattle recording even if the featured soloist was Spike Jones.
Ok, I’m not entirely sure what you mean by cultural, but my new obsession of the moment: The Verve Remixed. That’s the record label, not the British band. It’s a collection of old Verve tracks remixed by modern dance DJs. Dinah Washington (my favorite track), some rockin’ Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, and a really haunting version of * Hare Krishna* by Tony Scott. Everyone I’ve played it for has immediately fallen in love with it.
And I’m sure you know of Ozomatli. But if not, run, don’t walk, to your record store. Any band that sucessfully mixes Marachi, hip-hop, funk and social conciousness is a big thumbs up in my book. Plus, they’re a trip to see live.
Ladysmith Black Mombazo are the guys that Paul Simon used on his Graceland album. But any music store worth their clout will have some of their solo stuff in the world music section. Traditionally, South African music is learned completely by ear, which makes their 12 part harmonies even more amazing. You might also want to check out Tuvan Throat singers. They can somehow make two tones in their throat at the same time. My mom really loves them, by I kinda think they just sound…like buzzing.
My favorite opera is Bizet’s Carmen. Gottta love a 19th century about a loose women. I am a big fan of Mozart’s German operas, Eine Kleine Nacht Muzik, Die Zauberflöte. I know, not terribly obscure, but they make me happy.
How old’s the recording? The few recent performances I’ve heard have been really sloppy. He has the talent; he just doesn’t seem to use it much these days.
On that note, I saw James Galway in concert a few years back. The Mozart concerto he started the concert with was full of flash and flutter and absolutely no musicality whatsoever – he has obviously played the piece a thousand times before and was sleepwalking through it. He then played a Lieberman concerto written for him, which was much more technically demanding; when forced to break a sweat, he raised his game enormously.
It’s the tendency of some performers to play (or sing) a few catchy pieces with flair but without any regard for the music itself that really bugs me. A bit of showing off is fine; making a career of it draws attention from those who can really play well.
Oh yes. Sir Simon is a true genius. I’ve actually had the honor of performing with (or for) him, and it is astonishing what he gets musicians to do.