# Recommend some classical music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819 "2005-12-09T03:17:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/1 "2005-12-09T03:17:34Z")
I’m looking for some heavy hitting classical music. Very dramatic, speaker rattling stuff. What can you suggest? ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/2 "2005-12-09T03:21:02Z")
The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps) by Stravinsky. The Telarc Atlanta SO/Yoel Levi CD as great bass drum hits. That’s probably the first answer most people would give, and it looks like I got here first. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/3 "2005-12-09T03:21:52Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I’m looking for some heavy hitting classical music. Very dramatic, speaker rattling stuff. > > What can you suggest? Wagner _Ride of the Valkyries_ Tchaikovsky _1812 Overture_ or _Marche Slav_ ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/4 "2005-12-09T03:35:55Z")
Also maybe Beethoven’s 5th symphony. Bach’s D-minor Toccata & Fugue (BWV 565) and the g-minor. The modern piece Kraanerg by Xenakis is pretty raucous. I have a double Philips CD of Tchaikovsky tone poems that are very dramatic. Fatum, Romeo and Juliet (that stereotypical rising love music comes from this) and Francesca de Rimini stand out. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/5 "2005-12-09T03:44:47Z")
Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain”. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/6 "2005-12-09T03:47:59Z")
Mars, the Bringer of War, from The Planets by Gustav Holst. O, Fortuna from Carmina Burana by Orff ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/7 "2005-12-09T03:49:55Z")
Mozart’s Requiem. Bring a tissue. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/8 "2005-12-09T03:54:01Z")
Mozart’s _Requiem_. Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s “The Great Gate of Kiev”. [This album](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000JQGJ/qid=1134100404/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-8951499-6012725?v=glance&s=music&n=507846) – best cd of 19th-century Russian choral music I’ve yet heard. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/9 "2005-12-09T04:00:56Z")
Another vote for Holsts’ “Planets,” Along with Mars, Jupiter and Nepture are big and brash. I can’t help but hear stuff that I know influenced John Williams when he was composing the music for “Star Wars.” ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/10 "2005-12-09T04:07:08Z")
There’s been a recent movement in the metal underground that is strongly influenced by classical music. If you don’t mind adding traditional rock instrumentation into the mix, you should check out Therion’s _Vovin_ and _Theli_, some Lacrimosa’s _Fassade_ or _Elodia_, and Solefald’s _In Harmonia Universali_. Unfortunately, really orchestral stuff is rare because of the high cost of production, so there are a lot more bands that have a symphonic feel without traditional instrumentation. I’d say the big influences on this type of music were Wagner, Orff, Stravinsky and Grieg to a lesser extent. For those who are fans of Stravinsky, a band called Golem did a fairly industrial arrangement of Sacre du Printemps that is very much worth tracking down if you’re open to that sort of experimentation. You should also check out [Classical](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=336834), [Contemporary Classical](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=345831) and [Opera/Choral](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=343551) from the Essential Music Library series. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/11 "2005-12-09T04:07:26Z")
Rossini overtures, but especially _William Tell_ and _The Barber of Seville_. 1812 Overture, but only if you have real cannons handy. No CD can do justice to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/12 "2005-12-09T04:11:16Z")
You might try [Badass Classical Music](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5081626) [“Angry” Classical Music](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=187311) That, and Beethoven’s 9th, 4th movement, “Ode to Joy,” will probably do the trick, at high volume. Starts out a bit quiet, sure, but then…_blam._ If that’s not heavy hitting enough for ya, I got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/13 "2005-12-09T04:14:11Z")
The fourth movement of Dvorak’s _New World Symphony_ is hard-hitting. DUM, dum, dum, DUM DUM-DUM…DUM, DUM-dum-dum-DUM! ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/14 "2005-12-09T04:29:48Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > For those who are fans of Stravinsky, a band called Golem did a fairly industrial arrangement of Sacre du Printemps that is very much worth tracking down if you’re open to that sort of experimentation. There’s also a trio CD done by one man here: [http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stravinsky](http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stravinsky) It sounds a bit like Primus at times. Apparently Matt Groenig likes it too. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/15 "2005-12-09T05:08:04Z")
I have a couple of CDs kicking around here somewhere from the beloved and critically acclaimed “Heavy Classix” series. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/16 "2005-12-09T05:51:09Z")
Wagner, _Ride of the Valkyries_, from _The Valkyrie_. Stravinsky, _Infernal Dance_, from _The Firebird_. Charbrier, _España_. Khachaturian, _Sabre Dance_ (the plate spinning music!). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/17 "2005-12-09T07:07:01Z")
> [@riker1384](#): > > The modern piece Kraanerg by Xenakis is pretty raucous. Oooh, yes! Also Gorecki - Second symphony Shostakovich - Fourth and eighth symphonies Stockhausen - Helicopter Quartet (it’s certainly speaker-rattling, anyway) And certainly a seconding of the first reply by **riker1384** is right, that the Rite of Spring is a must. Ignore: Rossini, Dvorak, Mozart 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/18 "2005-12-09T07:37:05Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Ignore: …Mozart 😉 Blasphemy! ::throws a rock:: ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/19 "2005-12-09T08:11:21Z")
The third movement of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth (Pathetique) Symphony – that really _will_ get your speakers rattling. ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Powell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Billy\_Powell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Powell)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/20 "2005-12-09T08:29:19Z")
Shostakovich’s 2nd Piano Concerto Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto Maybe a bit “soft” compared to Wagner’s Ring (oh, in addition to the flight of the Valkyries – the whole of “Siegfried.” Siegfried shouting madly about how the blood will run down his sword, while smashing steel against iron, after having brought home his chained pet bear home to an evil dwarf…something like that). Bartok’s Sonata For Two Pianos and Percussion. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819.md?page=2)