I’m trying to learn a bit more about classical music. Unfortunately, I’m far too lazy and impatient to go about this in any kind of systemised way, so I figured I’d just get a bunch of recommendations and go from there. I know the question’s kind of broad, but I don’t really know enough about classical music yet to have much of a preference for any particular time period/style/powdered wig, so any and all recommendations are welcome.
Cheers all!
For well-known pieces, I’d go with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
For more obscure, there’s Darius Milhuad’s Le Boeuf sur le Toit
ETA: I forgot the Dvorak Piano Quintet in A Major.
Try the Classic FM Top 300, which is broadcast over the Easter weekend.
You should seek out a subset generally called “Light Classical.” You’ll find selections in that category to be shorter and more familiar.
Holberg Suite, by Edvard Grieg, last movement in particular. Can listen to it over and over.
Haendel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks.
Beethoven’s Symphonies, especially the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th.
J.S. Bach. Little Fugue in G, the infamous and overexposed Toccata and Fugue in D, lotsa other stuff
Sergei Prokofieff Scheherazade
Anton Dvorak New World Symphony and others
Gustav Holst The Planets Suite
Ottorino Respighi The Pines of Rome (and the other [whatevers] of Rome0
Great choice! I love piano quintets in general – the best ones just happen to have wonderful melodies, interesting progressions, and delightful contrasting sections.
My favorites would be Brahms’ F minor Piano Quintet, and Borodin’s under-appreciated C minor Piano Quintet. Check out the Borodin – it’s a treat. Gorgeous, galloping Russian folk melodies, with clever and satisfying expositions.
Schumann wrote a terrific piano quintet as well.
Beethoven’s Symphonies, especially the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th.
J.S. Bach. Little Fugue in G, the infamous and overexposed Toccata and Fugue in D, lotsa other stuff
Sergei Prokofieff Scheherazade
Anton Dvorak New World Symphony and others
Gustav Holst The Planets Suite
Ottorino Respighi The Pines of Rome (and the other [whatevers] of Rome0
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. In particular the 1st movement of Winter. In particular I love the Itzak Perlman version I have. I think it is about the best solo violin part ever written. I have heard it played in a very flashy mechanical manner. Perlman plays with a depth of feeling that others lack.
The William Tell Overture
Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, “The Pastoral.” (the one from Fantasia with the unicorns & such)
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis.”
Antonin Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.”
Not strictly “Classical”, because it’s Romantic, but I like Sibelius - give the Karelia Suite a listen.
Schubert’s Trout Quintet
with Handels Messiah bringing in a really close second.
Even after all these years, I still don’t know the names of classical music pieces very well. I am fond of Ravel’s ‘Bolero’, and I enjoy much of Beethoven and Vivaldi.
I used to have an LP ‘Hooked on Classics’ and that was the only way I found out some names of some pieces, even if they were only minute-long bits, like the French can-can music, the William Tell Overture, and so on.
Picking just one piece is impossible so I’ll customize 10 imaginary CDs from one composers each ranging from Baroque to Contemporary. Think of it as “10 imaginary desert island discs”. Almost as impossible but I’ll try.
Bach: St Matthew Passion. The full version lasts almost 3h but it’s some of the most moving music that Bach ever wrote. You can find several CDs that contain only the “highlights”. Just make sure that you have the opening and closing choruses (“Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen” and “Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder”) + the aria “Erbame dich”.
Beethoven: Piano sonatas n°14 (“Moonlight”) + 15 (“Pastoral”) + 26 (“Les adieux”) + 32.
Mozart: Highlights from Don Giovanni (must include “Madamina, il catalogo è questo”, “Là ci darem la mano” and first and foremost “Don Giovanni! A cenar teco m’invitasti”)
Schubert: Winterreise (Winter Journey)
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor op. 115 + Three Intermezzi for piano op. 117 + Six Pieces for piano op.118.
Tchaïkovsky Piano concerto n°1 + Violin concerto.
Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun + Syrinx for solo flute + Préludes Book 1 for piano + Images Book 2 for piano.
Stravinsky: The Firebird + The Rite of Spring
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (the highlights can fit on a single CD).
Ligeti: Musica Ricercata + Lux Aeterna + Lontano + Violin concerto
Hands down, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. Coming in second is anything JS Bach wrote for the pipe organ, and third is Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.
That’s what I came in to say.
Also, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are worth a listen.
And anything by Strauss. (The “Blue Danube” Strauss; I think there are several of those guys)
I first discovered the Dvorak when it was played by the instructors of a music camp near my home town – including Itzhak Perlman (the camp was the Perlman Music Program).
I’m also a fan of the Rossini overtures, especially The Barber of Seville, William Tell, La Gazza Ladra.
Since it sneaks into the classical repertoire, there’s also Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Second Rhapsody,* and An American in Paris.
*The best version I’ve ever heard was by Nachito Herrera and the Cuban Symphony Orchestra. Herrera did some amazing things with the piano part.
Ditto. I actually think the 5th is the best of the bunch. And while with the 7th Symphony, the second movement gets all the love, I’m a big fan of the first movement. I love the way he builds up the anticipation, and then, after the first, understated, statement of the main theme, he pulls the trigger, brings the whole orchestra in, and you’re off on this wild, wonderful ride.
Handel’s Water Music is a longtime favorite of mine. Ditto Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.
Anyone here listened to Beethoven’s Wig? A guy named Richard Perlmutter added lyrics to various classical pieces, and the results are a lot of fun. Here’s “Please Don’t Play Your Violin At Night” to the tune of Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” and “Please Keep Your Bull Outside the China Shop” to the Toreador Song from Bizet’s Carmen.