# 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:** 2
**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, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/21 "2005-12-09T08:50:28Z")
Oh yeah, and Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony (no 2) – Bruno Walter dir. preferably. Also, Messiaen’s “Des Canyons aux etoiles” and “Meditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité” (for organ) and Berg’s “Wozzeck.” Sorry for the 2x post – these just seemed really crucially boisterous pieces which I forgot initially. ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/22 "2005-12-09T10:00:57Z")
Although there are no hard drum hits or cannons, **Telarc’s Presto** from **Summer** of **Vivaldi’s Four Seasons** is pretty bad ass. it also serves as a great test for your speaker system as it is difficult to reproduce those stringed instruments ‘accurately’ via a voice coil. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/23 "2005-12-09T13:48:57Z")
Another vote for Beethoven’s 9th symphony. The **Ode to Joy** is absolutely _beautiful, wild, and ecstatic_. Can you imagine how radical it must have sounded to the listeners of the time? It still amazes me. I love the [1951 Furtwangler recording](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000GCA7/ref=pd_sim_m_2/102-0515338-3315346?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=5174), which was a highly emotional event for the conductor, the singers, the orchestra, and the audience. It marked the re-opening of the Bayreuth Festival after the disgrace of Germany due to WW II. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s singing is glorious. Furtwangler’s conducting is gutsy, passionate, and more. ---
**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, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/24 "2005-12-09T16:40:24Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Shostakovich - Fourth and eighth symphonies I meant to type fourth and _seventh_. But take no. 8 as well if you want ---
**Author:** ![Marathon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Marathon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marathon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/25 "2005-12-09T17:04:50Z")
> [@CBCD](#): > > I love the [1951 Furtwangler recording](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000GCA7/ref=pd_sim_m_2/102-0515338-3315346?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=5174), which was a highly emotional event for the conductor, the singers, the orchestra, and the audience. Indeed, I’ve never heard the final few pages of that symphony taken as _fast_ as Furtwängler took them on that recording - I feel like if the performance had not been on that singular occasion, it wouldn’t have worked. Truly a landmark, essential recording, for anyone familiar with that symphony. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/26 "2005-12-09T17:07:56Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Oooh, yes! Also > Stockhausen - Helicopter Quartet (it’s certainly speaker-rattling, anyway) Good luck finding that one. You have to buy Stockhausen recordings directly from Stockhausen - he won’t let them be distributed. ---
**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, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/27 "2005-12-09T17:21:42Z")
> [@Figaro](#): > > Good luck finding that one. You have to buy Stockhausen recordings directly from Stockhausen - he won’t let them be distributed. > **[Helikopter-Streichquartett - Amazon.co.uk](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Helikopter-Streichquartett-Stockhausen/dp/B0000DETD3)** > > I will ship by EMS or SAL items in stock in Japan. It is approximately 7-14days on delivery date. You wholeheartedly support customers as satisfactory. Thank you for you seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/28 "2005-12-09T17:28:58Z")
Modeste Moussorgski’s _Pictures at an Exhibition._ ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/29 "2005-12-09T18:34:21Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > [http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DETD3/qid%3D1134148892/203-1614769-5923120](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DETD3/qid%3D1134148892/203-1614769-5923120) Zounds! ---
**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:** [December 9, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/30 "2005-12-09T18:41:02Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > The third movement of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth (Pathetique) Symphony – that really _will_ get your speakers rattling. So will the opening of his Fourth. > [@Billy Powell](#): > > Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto Seconded. > [@CBCD](#): > > Another vote for Beethoven’s 9th symphony. The Ode to Joy is absolutely beautiful, wild, and ecstatic. Can you imagine how radical it must have sounded to the listeners of the time? It’s too bad Ludwig himself didn’t get to hear it. ---
**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 13, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/31 "2005-12-13T03:12:52Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions. Holst’s The Planets sounds intriguing. Now the fun part: which recording? ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/32 "2005-12-13T08:15:51Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Thanks for all the suggestions. Holst’s The Planets sounds intriguing. Now the fun part: which recording? If I wasn’t afraid of getting beaten, I’d say “Isao Tomita’s”, but since it’s all done with programmed machines and you asked about “classical” recordings, I won’t. \ ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/33 "2005-12-13T17:22:06Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Thanks for all the suggestions. Holst’s The Planets sounds intriguing. Now the fun part: which recording? Having been re-routed to this thread by some MPSIMS thread, I’m going to offer the following advice. The Planets really doesn’t seem to me like a piece that any sort of director could ruin. I have three versions, by Simon Rattle, John Eliot Gardiner, and Andrew Davis, and they are all pretty much the same. I’d prefer Gardiner, but it’s really a matter of trying them, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/34 "2005-12-13T18:26:27Z")
If, by ‘heavy hitting’ the OP means very emotional, then how about the Death March from Handel’s _Samson_? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/35 "2005-12-13T19:30:49Z")
It’s been awhile since I’ve listened to it (years, actually) but since I like it and almost all the classical music I like is of the big impressive bombastic variety, I’ll recommend the ‘Russian Easter Overture’ by Rimsky-Korsakov. Hmm…must go back and listen to that. > [@DfrntBreign](#): > > If I wasn’t afraid of getting beaten, I’d say “Isao Tomita’s”, but since it’s all done with programmed machines and you asked about “classical” recordings, I won’t. \ Wow, nostalgia trip! I have this on vinyl somewhere, after being introduced to it in a high-school music appreciation class back in the Dark Ages. I should go dig that out and listen to it too… ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/36 "2005-12-13T20:15:01Z")
Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/37 "2005-12-13T23:34:30Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. That’s about the third suggestion for this piece of trivial nonsense…anyone who thinks it’s “heavy hitting” needs to get out more 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/38 "2005-12-14T04:20:41Z")
Prokofiev’s _Montagues and the Capulets_ Rimsky-Korsakov’s _Sheherazade_. At some points it’s very soft and flowing, then it’s almost like the music is _leaping_. I can’t describe it, but I love it. Parts of _Swan Lake_ by Tchaikovsky can be very stirring-especially the ending. What about the _Rose Adagio_ from Tchaikovsky’s _Sleeping Beauty_? It’s dramatic, sure, but I don’t know about “heavy hitting.” But I’d just throw it out there. (In case you couldn’t tell, I LOVE the Russian composers. Very stirring, dramatic, emotional pieces). ---
**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 14, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/39 "2005-12-14T04:31:53Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > That’s about the third suggestion for this piece of trivial nonsense…anyone who thinks it’s “heavy hitting” needs to get out more 😛 I got out some more, and found out that Prokofiev’s fifth piano concerto is pretty hard-hitting, while the Third is weak, soft like a woman. I also discovered by speaking with other pianists that a man may only play the Eighth piano sonata if he has, erm, what is known in the trade as a “puss ass.” So avoid that one, definitely. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819/40 "2005-12-14T04:34:40Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > That’s about the third suggestion for this piece of trivial nonsense…anyone who thinks it’s “heavy hitting” needs to get out more 😛 Really? Who else in the thread suggested it? I can’t seem to find it. Thanks for the comment though. Perhaps next time you can leave the insults out of it? Or maybe you could just play and record it for us, since it’s so trivial. Oh, and :p, whatever that is supposed to mean. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-classical-music/334819.md?page=3)