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The Classical Music Discussion Thread
Well, what it says on the tin. Discuss classical music, in its broader sense, so including baroque, romanticism, etc.
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Holst: The Planets, 'Mars' - BBC Proms
I would recommend The Planets as a good place to start for anyone not familiar with classical music.
Carmen by Bizet and Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov are favorites of mine...
Bizet : "Carmen" Overture conducted by Myung-Whun Chung (bis)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade op.35 - Leif Segerstam - Sinfónica de Galicia
Stravinsky The Rite of Spring // London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle
This is also a phenomenal piece of music I often revisit.
16. Tosca Aria Performance (Quantum of Solace Expanded Score)
We are all familiar with this amazing piece of music, inspired musical choice for the film.
You really shouldn't apologize for anything! I am classicaly trained myself, but basically all of musician lingo is pointless. Only a snob would care about that.
Anyway I see from your list of favorite composers that you have a pretty sophisticated taste. You definitely seem to like the impressionistic style, rich harmonies and creative orchestration. Ravel and Rachmaninov are two of the greatest geniuses we have ever had as a far as I am concerned.
What's your opinion on Puccini? Based on your taste I think he should be right up your alley.
I also recommend checking out Chausson. Both Debussy and Ravel admired him and were inspired by his music.
@jobo
Thank you for the kind words. And you're right concerning my love for impressionism. I have a similar taste in paintings. I don't know enough about Puccini and Chausson, but I'll be sure to check them out.
... naturally, no list of great classical composers is complete without "Gavin Blod" :)
I'm a big Mozart fan. Will share some of his lyrical work (one of the reasons why I consider him superior to Beethoven and others), but here's one of his pieces, popularised by the play and movie Amadeus:
And the music described by Salieri in the play:
The movie is great though, has to be said. One of the best films of the 80s and one of the best examples of how to incorporate classical music into a film. It's impossible not to love Mozart's music having watched it.
Amadeus is a great film. I love it to death. I have often wondered how correct a representation of the historical facts it is. Someone much better informed than me told me once not to think of the film as a history lesson. That's all I know, however.
They got surprisingly a lot of things right: Mozart was kinda crude (albeit not in front of the Court!), he did have issues with the Italian composers in Vienna, he was a big spender, he also had at times a conflictual relationship with his father, he greatly disliked Archbishop Coloredo, Salieri did have a sweet tooth, even the "too many notes" was said by the Emperor.
If Mozart and Salieri respected each other IRL (they even collaborated on a piece), there's at least some evidence that Salieri did not like that Mozart started composing Italian operas (his turf) and it's possible that he tried to make it more difficult for Mozart to succeed in that area. That might be where the urban legend started.
But Salieri's greatest contribution to music was probably as a music teacher: he taught Beethoven and many others. He might have been the greatest music teacher who ever existed.
By the way, there's a very indirect connection between Handel and James Bond. Or, more specifically, a certain Bond villain.
By the way, should anyone wonder what turned me into Debussy fan, here's his best work in my opinion:
Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto at The Royal Albert Hall - Sto Lat Celebration Concert
Funny, you seem to go for the atmospheric influence of music, more than the melodies and emotions. For me, it needs umph and a bit of power. Hence my love for Handel, mozart, beethoven, Dvorjak, etc.
@Ludovico what a voice! wow!
@Fire_and_Ice_Returns I've never heard of him. Interesting to see that there's distinct Eastern European style to his music. It's definately interesting.
You are correct in your assessment! :-)
At the moment she's my favourite soprano. At least my favourite Mozartian soprano. Jeanine de Bique and Lisette Oropesa are amazing as well, but Golda Schultz is my favourite.
On a side note,,speaking of Mozart, Rory Kinnear has been cast as emperor Franz Joseph in the new Amadeus series: https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/joe-barton-mozart-cast-rory-kinnear-lucy-cohu-1236019506/amp/
Outstanding piece of music, great performance.
This is one of the earliest compositions I listened to, I had this originally on vinyl in quite an incredible classical boxset.
Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain - Radio Filharmonisch Orkest - Live concert HD
Wow, it will forever amaze me that someone can create music like this.
O Fortuna (Carmina Burana) - Carl Orff
John Boorman's Excalibur first introduced me to this masterpiece.
The rest of the Carmina Burana is great too. Every time I read Arthurian literature, it played in my head.
Agreed I had Carmina Burana on tape years ago, currently I only have O Fortuna on a few classical compilation CD's, i need to purchase it in its entirety again
Oh and I don't want to turn this into a Mozart thread, but, here's some nore:
F. Schubert: Trout quintet - 1.Allegro vivace (Part 1)
The other 2 cassttes are...
Piano Sonata in C minor and Symphonien 5 & 6. I have not listened to Schubert a great deal in the past.
I do that with Handel's Sarbande