# SDMB Guide to Classical Music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2015, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118 "2015-10-01T08:06:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/1 "2015-10-01T08:06:29Z")
Are symphony orchestras sexy? I love Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. After having listened to it countless times I wonder if there is not anything greater that isn’t Beethoven’s 9th. What music would you rather make love to? ---
**Author:** ![soonerblue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soonerblue/32/3302_2.png) [@soonerblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soonerblue)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/2 "2015-10-01T08:41:10Z")
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor Op. 23 …it literally moves something deep in my chest. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/3 "2015-10-01T08:53:59Z")
If you are in a hurry there’s always _The Sabre Dance_ from Aram Khachaturian’s _Gayane_ ballet. But in all seriousness, I’d go with the Balcony Scene from _Romeo and Juliet_ by Sergei Prokofiev ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/4 "2015-10-01T10:52:33Z")
_Scheherazade_ by Rimsky-Korsakov ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/5 "2015-10-01T11:09:31Z")
There’s a lot of classical music that was packaged as “music for lovers.” I’m pretty sure I was conceived to an LP with Bolero on on side, Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun on the other. There’s also Khatchaturian’s Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia, and Grieg’s Erotica ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/6 "2015-10-01T13:29:33Z")
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth for me. Love it, love it, love it: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2JBT0HC98I) Howard Shore’s _Lord of the Rings Symphony_ is also a favorite: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybZINoDv8I8) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/7 "2015-10-01T13:33:39Z")
Holst’s \*Planets \*suite. [Specifically](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I), _Mars, the Bringer of War_. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/8 "2015-10-01T13:39:31Z")
Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto. One kind of sex to the 2nd Movement, another kind to the main theme of the 3rd Movement. And then there’s Barber’s Adagio. OP: I can’t imagine making love to the Four Seasons. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/9 "2015-10-01T15:33:15Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Holst’s \*Planets \*suite. [Specifically](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I), _Mars, the Bringer of War_. Yeah, I can see that. As long as the woman agrees to dress up like the Kaiser. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/10 "2015-10-01T15:57:06Z")
Nobody’s mentioned the ultimate cliche - Ravel’s **Bolero**. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/11 "2015-10-01T16:06:25Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Holst’s \*Planets \*suite. [Specifically](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I), _Mars, the Bringer of War_. While I do enjoy Holst, I’m not sure I could make love to that. Might hurt something with all the rhythmic pounding, beating, etc. (Plus I would probably be trying to tap along) [_Fantasia on a Theme_](https://youtu.be/ihx5LCF1yJY)by Vaughan Williams. Much lighter and softer. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/12 "2015-10-01T16:21:37Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Nobody’s mentioned the ultimate cliche - Ravel’s **Bolero**. Well, nobody except **Slithy Tove**. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/13 "2015-10-01T16:42:46Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Nobody’s mentioned the ultimate cliche - Ravel’s **Bolero**. That’s the one I would have mentioned. And although it’s not “classical” as such, the one that’s always worked for us is [Pat Metheny - Are you going with me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY8z1w1JzMs) ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/14 "2015-10-01T21:12:16Z")
Oh. The music, not the 50-60 people sitting out there in their tuxes. Carry on. Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams does it for me, however. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/15 "2015-10-01T21:49:01Z")
Debussy’s [Clair de Lune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea2WoUtbzuw) - There was always something about it. Its starts with a shy expectation, like waiting, and builds like a gravitational pull into a raw want and need… almost to the point of anguish. I hadn’t listened to it for a very long time before this afternoon. * * * PS- I know its cheating, but its [for a good cause](http://schedule.wfmt.com/). ---
**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:** [October 2, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/16 "2015-10-02T05:20:08Z")
Frank Sinatra liked classy stuff, such as Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe” and Debussy’s “The Sunken Cathedral”. He says so in this clip from The Tonight Show. [Frank Sinatra Reveals His Favorite Music for Romancing, Johnny Carson's Show - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAjQ4s_lwHk) One of the very few ways I’m like Frank Sinatra! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/17 "2015-10-02T06:20:54Z")
If you like Vivaldi, try exploring Telemann. [Here’s a YouTube performance by Maurice Andre of the Trumpet Concerto in D.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufGl19HiAC0) ---
**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:** [October 2, 2015, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/18 "2015-10-02T08:07:42Z")
Not sexy, but I’m on a French Baroque kick at the moment: Lully, De Lalande, Fuxx, etc. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/19 "2015-10-02T14:31:09Z")
Have you tried Couperin yet? His keyboard stuff kicks ass. Doesn’t sound like any of the other Baroque composers, to me at least. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118/20 "2015-10-02T15:04:30Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Frank Sinatra liked classy stuff, such as Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe” and Debussy’s “The Sunken Cathedral”. He says so in this clip from The Tonight Show. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAjQ4s\_lwHk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAjQ4s_lwHk) Given that “Daphnis and Chloe” is _about_ sex, it’s not that surprising. The spouse and I are both classical musicians and frankly would find a classical soundtrack to lovemaking very distracting. We’d end up either critiquing the performance (the musicians, not ours) or analyzing the piece. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-guide-to-classical-music/733118.md?page=2)