Classical Music

[Mogwai]

I've noticed that many of the members here are in their late teens or in their 20's.  What do you all think of classical music?  Do you listen to it?  

All my friends (mostly in their 20's) do not listen to classical music.  Fortunately, I love it and consider it the most important genre of music there is.  No other genre of music has artists that were as intelligent as Bach, Debussy, Beethoven, etc.  Now, I still listen to a lot of modern rock, new age instrumental stuff, hard rock, alternative, etc. but classical music seems to have the strongest lasting power.  Whenever I buy a Debussy CD, it never gets old - whenever I buy a Pearl Jam CD, I can get tired of it within a month.

So, for those of you who dive daily into the depths of classical music, what composers/pieces do you recommend?  Any hidden treasures?

Here's some of mine...

-Claude Debussy...my favorite composer, best pieces include Reverie, The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, La Mer, and Syrinx

-Arvo Part...my 2nd favorite composer, he's still making music today and is from Estonia, his best pieces include Tabula Rasa, Summa, Fratres, Symphony #3

-Since my dog is begging me to play with her, here are some other quick ones: Beethoven's Symphony #7, Vaughn Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Talis, Tchaikovsky's Symphony #5, Philip Glass' Symphony #3....

I also play the classical guitar (as well as the drums/keys) - any other musicians here?

[Worm]

- Paganini; esp. the Romanza and Caprice n°24. (check his bio out; interesting)
- Guitar version of Greensleeves.  Get it now.
- The Moonlight Sonate, from Bach.  Anything from Bach.
- Anything from Fransz Liszt.
- Beethoven's 'O Fortuna'; anything from Beethoven.
- I also like a nice medieval Gregorian chant from time to time.
- Schuman isn't that bad either.


Classical music can be nice.  Some pieces are very moving.. but i definitly like also other music.  Classical music usually don't have text .. and that reduces the amount of content a piece can have considerably.  And i like content.
I listen to the classical tracks that i honestly enjoy.  There are tracks of it that i think absolutely suck.  If i honestly like and enjoy it, i put it up .. else not.  What other people think i should listen to or not, or what the general rule of it is .. i don't care.  These ears are mine.


I'm a musician: I play flute, in case you didn't know already.  This kind:
http://www.zacharymusic.com/Zachary_Music/GFL2SPpics.htm
Check that baby out.  Looks almost like a weapon.
I also honestly immensely enjoy playing on this thing.  It's a fun hobby.

[Mogwai]

Ah yes, Greensleeves is awesome.  Vaughn Williams did an orchestral version of it that is incredibly good.  I have sheet music for Greensleeves and I'll be learning it pretty soon on my guitar, I think.

Just a note, Worm, but Moonlight Sonata is actually by Beethoven and not Bach.  Bach's Brandenburg concertos are sweet, aren't they?

One of the reasons why I like classical music (and mostly instrumental music) is that each piece can be interpreted as your own.  The meaning of the piece can be whatever you feel or think.  When lyrics are thrown in, this is taken away...

Worm, you should play 'Syrinx' by Debussy on the flute - it is phenomenal and I think was originally written for solo flute.  Also, nice flute man.  

Just a side note: I'm planning on doing some recording in the future and hope to start cranking out albums (either on a label or independently).  I plan on titling many of my songs after Dostoevsky characters or novels.  For example, one entire album may be devoted to The Brothers Karamazov.  I think some people call them 'rock operas' since they tell a story as the album goes.  When done right, they are very enjoyable...  

[Gir]

- "The Planets" by Gustav Holst.  Also a lot of other pieces by Holst.  This guy is, unfortunately, known almost entirely for his "Planets" suite but he has a lot of other little known jewels as well, such as "St. Paul's Suite."
- "Brahms' First Symphony, Fourth Movement," by Johannes Brahms, is in my opinion one of the most underrated pieces of music around.  No one seems to have heard of it but it's very powerful and runs the gamut of emotions... besides, you really have probably heard the main theme at some point in your life and you just don't know it... it was in Animaniacs once...  
-"Hungarian Rhapsody" by Franz Liszt-- you know, the crazy piano one-- obviously.
-Anything by Tchaikovsky-- I love his music, it's so... upbeat... and... memorable, or something like that.
-The Toreadors song from Carmen by Bizet... I love that song, it's so bouncy!!
-That O Fortuna song or whatever it's called.  It's on the new Pringles commercial.  Wow, this is sad, I don't even watch that much TV...  
-One more... not really classical, but still an instrumental... I have this sweet rock guitar remix of the Tetris theme song, and I'm obsessed with it.  No, honestly, it's cool.  Trust me.

[earth]

I listen to Mendelssohn.  I'm a really big fan.

Rachmaninov is really good too.

I apologize on the spelling of both as I'm sure they're wrong.

[Lev]

I love classical music... The only music that can give you goosebumps! It is very enduring and complex.... like Dostoyevsky compared to a newspaper article... or something like that!
About "content"... (lyrics in classical music) sometimes the words shape the music and the composer has the opportunity to bring them alive, as film does a script. I love oratorios, wihch are a good example... The St. Matthew Passion by Bach, Elijah by Mendelssohn (at his best, I think), Judas Maccabaeus by Handel, Creation by Haydn... stuff like that. The text adds so much to the music and the music gains its shape and tone from the text . A very agreeable partnership! Opera is another example, although they usually are meant for visual presentations whereas oratorios stand on their own. Then there are also "songs" for voice that are closer to the modern concept.

[Ivan]

I'm one of those people who really enjoys classical music but never knows what he's listening to.
Whenever I write or just hang out in front of my computer I listen to either Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms or Tchaikovsky...
Like I said, I don't know diddly about the music or even the titles of the pieces I'm listening to, but o well, it's allowed isn't it?  

[Mitya]

Wow. Ivan could have been talking about me. I find classical music exhilirating but have no clue who wrote any particular piece, performed the piece, or anything else. I merely listen to the classical radio station occasionally and wrap myself up in the moment.

[lerik]

My favorite composers are Mozart and Tchaykovsky.I personally like Mozart's Requiem.It just brings all sort of feelings in me and is so sad...I also love Pachelbel's Canon and i like Strauss and Schubert.And i really love Bellini's Casta Diva

[Dillon]

As of this moment, I'm listening to Liszt--I don't know the name of the piece and I don't care.

Liszt, Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Mozart (Love the Requiem as well, Lerik), Stravinsky, Debussy, and a smidgen of Chopin are the brunt of my interest in classical music. I have a small clay bust of Rachmaninov that I set on my amplifier (I play bass).

[Radio Saturday]

I'm with Ivan and Mitya -- I listen to classical music, especially on public radio, but I never know what I'm listening to (in part because NPR seems to be staffed entirely by people who either mumble or have unintelligible accents). I like Eric Satie a lot, but he's technically contemporary, isn't he?

In terms of being a musician, I play the piano, but I like to mess around with other instruments -- specifically the mandolin and the guitar. I've just found a cello in the attic, though, so I'm going to get that restrung. Anyone know of a good online or book source for learning the cello?  

[Zissou]

I would by no means call myself a fan of classical but one piece i do love is Schubert's March Militaire.

[lerik]

Pachelbel's Canon is one of those tunes that helps to calm me down.

[poor knight]

Pachabel's Canon is one of the most beautiful and peaceful works I know. I love to drive down a tree lined highway in the dappled sunshine, with my sunroof and windows wide open, listening to it.

I also like Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition very much.

And for those times when I don't want to calm down,   Ravel's Bolero just can't be topped.

[tzar]

J.S.Bach - he rules !!
Mozart and R.Wagner - they do really rock !!!