Classical Music

[Pike]

You know who is amazing? Tchaikovsky. The guy is a legend.

Also Gustav Holst.

[Quindiana Jones]

Alright, I'm a faggo-fanboy, but Nobuo Uematsu is a true god of music, classical included. But I could go on and on if only I actually knew the names of the tunes I laugh.

[nik0tine]

A legend indeed! I trained for a couple of years with a Russian master who was actually friends with Shostakovitch in his heyday and so Russian composers have a permanent place in my heart. However, I am particularly obsessed with Scriabin! If this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ2LIOYXmRY) doesn't move you you clearly have no soul. As far as I am concerned, that cadence at 2:33 is the best in all of music. Also fun fact, said teacher was also good friends with this rather legendary pianist (bragbragbrag)

For those of you who are more interested in symphonic music, this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuuy3NCzeTM) certainly won't disappoint. If you like this, listen to the whole thing from start to finish! It tells the most vivid story!

I've never been very fond of British composers and I don't know most of Gustav Hosts' music. I did happen to listen to this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfde1QG7CFs) for the first time today, though, and it was pretty awesome. Do you (or anyone for that matter) have any recommendations?

Also, fun fact I discovered years ago: The famous chorale from Holsts "Jupiter" sounds awesome in retrograde (played backwards). I used to listen to the chorale part over and over again in my car and you could hear the music played backwards, albeit very sped up, when you rewound it (do people still use the word 'rewind' these days?).

[krissy]

ugh there was this holst suite i really liked that i don't remember the name of. i'll get back to you. it was fun and fancy and jumpy. obviously i liked the planets but who doesn't.

can i post phillip phillip phillip phillip phillip phillip glass here

http://youtu.be/meGPgvLcpWk

or is it a bad idea


EDIT:

One of the best videos on youtube is this one of Stravinsky conducting a piece of the Firebird suite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzPsJ_ikpGE&feature=related

so good.

[Chris]

The one and only one Riccardo Drigo.

Also very, very, fond, of the Baroque Period and the bulk of the Romantic Era. Kinda picky on the latter, though. A lot of music from that period is simply too overbearing.

[Pike]

I've never been very fond of British composers and I don't know most of Gustav Hosts' music. I did happen to listen to this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfde1QG7CFs) for the first time today, though, and it was pretty awesome. Do you (or anyone for that matter) have any recommendations?

Start with The Planets. I'm also rather fond of St. Paul's Suite.

Also, allow me to get some Dvorak up in here:

4poPlPxzO9E

This song always reminds me of Civ IV :love:

[Kossage]

Sibelius is close to my heart as he managed to capture the Finnish essence very well in his music, particularly the incredibly moving <i>Finlandia</i> and <i>Swan of Tuonela</i>. Toivo Kuula and Oskar Merikanto are other great Finnish composers who really had a great thing going for my Ostrobothnian region. :)

[krissy]

koss! yeah man sibelius is a rocker.

and it was st. paul's suite i was thinking about re: holst.

[Yeargdribble]

ugh there was this holst suite i really liked that i don't remember the name of. i'll get back to you. it was fun and fancy and jumpy.

It's either a movement from the First Suite in Eb or Second Suite in F. I'm gonna take a stab in the dark based on your description and say it was the First Movement of the Second Suite.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfD3KA17jnE)


The Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mOA8pZ_I4M) is one of the most affecting pieces for me. It's not much out of context, but when you know the other lietmotifs that are mingling in it and realize that this is at the ending of an opera that has had absolutely no real resolution to any sort of tonic, it's incredible. I still just shudder into tears every time it finally lands on that I chord.

Also, as much of a douche as Wager was, his influence is absolutely unbelievable. His gesamtkunstwerk concept permeates everything in media around us today and when I'm overcome by the mix of watching something, identifying with a story, and being moved by the music, I can't help but think of the master of neck beards.


Percy Grainger is another character who I really began to loathe in college due to being forced to play so much of it (around an anniversary). However, learning more about the man and getting over the fact that I'd been over-saturated in him really made me begin to appreciate his music so much more. He was an amazingly strange person and he did an amazing service of curating a huge amount of folk music on foot. I can only imagine all that we'd've been robbed of without what he did.


I'm gonna stop there for now. I could easily get carried away in too many people, both obscure and famous that I have some great love for. Maybe I'll jump back in a little later

[MJN SEIFER]

There's various classical pieces I like, but because they have no lyrics I can't just Google them to see what they are, so I have to wait until I can ask someone what they're called. I've noticed that classical music gets played on TV, movies, adverts, and even videogames (at least one of the piano tunes in FFV is a classical piece that I know, but don't know what it is) so I think a lot of people like more classical songs than they realize.

The only one I can think of that I like that I know by name is Moonlight Sonata and I learned the name from the fact that at one point it got played in practically every videogame. It's a nice sounding tune, and somewhat relaxing to me. Interestingly the guy who made it is deaf so can some one please explain how he mannaged to make such good music that he couldn't hear?


You know who is amazing? Tchaikovsky. Oh yeah, can't believe I forgot - did he do that 18 out of 12 music? If so I like that one too.

[Yeargdribble]

Beethoven wasn't born deaf. He had progressive hearing loss over nearly 2 decades. Moonlight Sonata was written while he was still hearing quite well.

He did indeed continue composing after going completely deaf. While this is impressive, you have to understand that music is simply a language with rules (especially at the time he was writing, even though he was a rule-breaker). If you were to go deaf tomorrow would you no longer be able to write sentences? You know how grammar works and how sentences are formed. You even know how the words sound in your mind. Once someone knows the musical language as well as Beethoven, deafness, though a horrible thing which would prevent him from hearing the subtlety of actual music, would not stop him from writing it and even hearing what he was writing in his own mind.

[nik0tine]

A few days ago I discovered a new composer. Has anyone heard of this Anton Reika (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Reicha)? He seems really avant garde for his time period. I haven't listened to his entire requiem yet but the introduction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvMOeLz3zVE&feature=related) is absolutely incredible. An awesome fugue begins at 4:32!

[MJN SEIFER]

Beethoven wasn't born deaf. He had progressive hearing loss over nearly 2 decades. Moonlight Sonata was written while he was still hearing quite well.

He did indeed continue composing after going completely deaf. While this is impressive, you have to understand that music is simply a language with rules (especially at the time he was writing, even though he was a rule-breaker). If you were to go deaf tomorrow would you no longer be able to write sentences? You know how grammar works and how sentences are formed. You even know how the words sound in your mind. Once someone knows the musical language as well as Beethoven, deafness, though a horrible thing which would prevent him from hearing the subtlety of actual music, would not stop him from writing it and even hearing what he was writing in his own mind.
Ah, I see, Thanks for explaining it to me (in an articulate way, I might add :))

[Fynn]

Love me some Debussy... God, I just can't get enough of Syrinx (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz5ouH8D6Fw&feature=fvst). I don't really think the term "Classical" is good, though. When you say classical, I think Mozart, Beethoven, etc., whereas the music I like most comes from the late 19th and 20th century. Tchaikovsy is great indeed, I also love Igor Stravinsky. Gotta love the Russians when it comes to expressing emotions...
I'm also very proud of my fellow Poles when it comes to composing music. Of course, the biggest legend here is Chopin, but there's plenty of incredible 20th century music as well. Just take a listen to Górecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brotY-aMCBE), or Kilar's Orawa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkcosqj1CaY). Now, I know this is not music for everybody, but I find it mind-blowing. The use of traditional folk melodies only makes it deeper.
For even more weirdness, there's Oliver Messiaen, whom I greatly respect. The dude was a genius and revolutionized many aspects of harmony and rhythm. I cannot bring up any examples now, but I might post them later on. I encourage you to look him up, though his music might be quite difficult at times.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

A few days ago I discovered a new composer. Has anyone heard of this Anton Reika (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Reicha)? He seems really avant garde for his time period. I haven't listened to his entire requiem yet but the introduction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvMOeLz3zVE&feature=related) is absolutely incredible. An awesome fugue begins at 4:32!

I actually HAVE! (I'm not very up on classical music, but NPR played some of his work a few weeks ago. It was enjoyable.)

I don't know how good they are in the classical world, but I'm a fan of Vivaldi, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky.

[Fynn]

I don't know how good they are in the classical world, but I'm a fan of Vivaldi, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky.

Meh. They're only the most prominent representatives of their respective periods and styles, generally considered geniuses in all musicology ;)

[Hollycat]

Hail Bruckner!

Also Amadeus Mozart, as well as Tchaikovsky, I love some of his work.
I can't think of who composed it but I also like dance of the bees if that counts.
Anything soothing and quiet is appreciated.

[Pike]

Any fans of Brahms out there? He's got some stuff I like. First Symphony, Fourth Movement, for example.

[Fynn]

I just remembered.

I don't know if any of you guys ever heard about this, but listen to some of Beethoven's later works. If you hadn't known better, you'd think they were written in the 20th century, which just goes to show how ahead of his time Beethoven was.
My favorite example is from his piano sonatas. The craziness starts around the 7 minute mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9GYArGlM7g

[Hollycat]

I just remembered.

I don't know if any of you guys ever heard about this, but listen to some of Beethoven's later works. If you hadn't known better, you'd think they were written in the 20th century, which just goes to show how ahead of his time Beethoven was.
My favorite example is from his piano sonatas. The craziness starts around the 7 minute mark.
R9GYArGlM7g

I fixed your video for you.
It reminds me more of poorly executed saloon music.

[krissy]

Zbigniew Preisner - Lacrimosa
Zbigniew Preisner - Lacrimosa - YouTube (http://youtu.be/xacflWZig8c)

Tres colores: Azul - Song for the unification of Europe
Tres colores: Azul - Song for the unification of Europe - YouTube (http://youtu.be/R6ON3iA_boQ)

Apprently he did the soundtrack to the Tree of Life, which I kind of want to see now that I've listened to his stuff.





I'm also very proud of my fellow Poles when it comes to composing music. Of course, the biggest legend here is Chopin, but there's plenty of incredible 20th century music as well. Just take a listen to Górecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brotY-aMCBE), or Kilar's Orawa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkcosqj1CaY). Now, I know this is not music for everybody, but I find it mind-blowing. The use of traditional folk melodies only makes it deeper.

I was so sad to hear of Górecki's passing recently. I used to lie on the floor and listen to Górecki in high school. It's usually ethereal.

Kilar did a lot of movies too, didn't he? Didn't he do Bram Stokers Dracula?

[nik0tine]

I just found out that Boris Pasternak was a composer in his youth.

Pasternak - Piano Sonata in B minor (Part 1/2) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p889zT1SKsc&feature=related)


It reminds me more of poorly executed saloon music.Oh come on. You can troll better than that, can't you?

[krissy]

The Cinematic Orchestra - &#39;Manhatta&#39; - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KoEAyMPbMA)

Cinematic Orchestra did a bunch of pieces of music for short films, released this year will be a collection of this. The above is an amazing piece in my opinion. Works great with the film. I kind of stopped my day listening to this, you know?