Classical Music Love

[Zolia Lily]

awesomeness! I shall have to track her down!

Thanks muchly

[old bob]

Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony

 

 

I just brought this part (about a few minutes)

I am an ardent admirer of the whole 9th symphony, but it is too long (about one and an half hour) to bring it here .

 

BTW, I just checked the media above, you can enjoy here the whole symphony through look over the different parts (1 to 10) at the end of each part!

Edited March 4, 2011 by old bob

[West Coast Dude]

awesomeness! I shall have to track her down!

Thanks muchly

 

You're more than welcome, check out Sophie Anne Mutter also. Her brahms is breath taking.

 

[West Coast Dude]

Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony

 

 

I just brought this part (about a few minutes)

I am an ardent admirer of the whole 9th symphony, but it is too long (about one and an half hour) to bring it here .

 

Ah yes Masur does a fantastic job of works like that, he and mutter (the violinist I posted the brahms video off) collaborate a lot together, as does him and Chang. They've worked together when she was in her teens

[Zolia Lily]

Had to revive this topic as i have just discovered this piece of music and it is now my all time favourite! Have NOT been able to stop listening to it! SO addictively good! The tension and the foreboding... i LOVE this!!! (and the accompanying dancing and costumes are just a bonus. Ps- has anyone else ever wished for a gay ballet?)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB3sd2BAxys

[Merlin]

My favorite is probably...

 

 

Although I adore anything and everything by Bach.

[Zombie]

Ps- has anyone else ever wished for a gay ballet?)

 

Get the DVD of Michael Bourne's homoerotic all-male Swan Lake, and gape at Adam Cooper's magnificent, sweaty torso and fabulous hairy armpits.

 

 

My favourites? Here are a few in no particular order. Hope there are some you like:

 

Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg

Originally for piano, imho this later version for string orchestra sounds so much better with its gorgeously lush sound. The first movement (Prelude / Praeludium) is so uplifting and full of life. If you're feeling low, put this on and raise your spirits.

 

 

Wedding Day At Troldhaugen by Grieg

A distinctive performance of a joyous piece.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eMFuTpchns

 

 

Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach (originally Elves' Song in Les Fées du Rhin)

The vid proves that opera does not have to be sung by big ladies with wobbly bosoms. I'll be surprised if you don't know this music (used in lots of movies e.g. Life Is Beautiful), but if you haven't heard it before then lucky you - you're in for a real treat.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdc2zNgJIpY&feature=related

 

 

Baïlèro

Performed with a real sense of longing by the beautiful María Bayo, this is an old folk song in Occitan (an ancient French language) which Joseph Canteloube arranged and orchestrated along with other songs he collected which he called Chants d'Auvergne. It's about a hunky shepherd being lured across a stream by someone (another hunky shepherd?) so they can ... well, that's for you to imagine:

 

"Shepherd across the water, you are hardly having a good time,

sing bailero lero...

 

No, I'm not, and you, too, can sing bailero...

 

Shepherd, the meadows are in bloom, you should graze your flock on this side,

sing bailero lero...

The grass is greener in the meadows on this side, bailero...

 

Shepherd, the stream flows between us, and I can't cross it,

sing bailero lero...

 

Then I'll climb down and come to you,

bailero..."

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxspdNcRuWk

 

 

Britain Thou Now Art Great by Henry Purcell

Hey, I'm English so what's wrong with a bit of trumpet blowing? OK, there are no trumpets in this piece, but it is by England's (maybe) greatest composer. And with such an uncontentious title () the piece is restrained, subtle and ... well, just hauntingly beautiful.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnUETmG1edg

 

 

Ground by Henry Purcell

Written in the 1600s, this transcription for two guitars has a timeless quality. Jakob Schmidt is mesmerising too.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_McQKdi1fE

 

 

As Steals the Morn by Handel

Handel's music sublimely interweaves two voices to words adapted from John Milton:

 

As steals the morn upon the night,

And melts the shades away:

So truth does fancy's charm dissolve,

And melts the shades away:

The fumes that did the mind involve,

Restoring intellectual day.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOPNjNHdxeA

 

This commentary is also interesting:

http://homepage.mac....F/BestSong.html

 

 

Well Tempered Clavier by JS Bach

The harmonic twists and turns mean you've no idea where Bach's taking you until, magically, all is resolved. Some might feel this is played a little too fast but there are plenty of other interpretations out there if you don't like it.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LnRSgaDbV8

 

 

Goldberg Variations by JS Bach

Glen Gould's unique performance.

 

http://video.google....208089899995423

 

 

Fugue in D Major BWV532 by JS Bach

Busoni transcription played by Georges Cziffra, one of the great 20thC pianists (he also lived an incredible life). Purists may disapprove of meddling with Bach but I like it. So there!

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF1sFEr90ww

 

 

Piano Concerto by Robert Schumann

An old recording by the legendary Michelangeli. The final movement is stirring, surprising and very satisfying.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CExW3G9LHNM

 

 

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Vaughan Williams used to be regarded as a very "English" composer but he's much better known in other countries after this music was used in Master and Commander. I guess this piece will now forever be linked with the sea but, for me, it always evoked a sense of the English countryside. And the maker of this incredible HD vid clearly associates it strongly with landscape too (click on "Show more" to read how he made it).

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnD1Ev6kZlM&feature=related

 

 

Concerto for Double String Orchestra by Michael Tippett

You might find Tippet's dissonance, counterpoint and rhythms sound strange. But listen through to the end and you will want to hear it again. .

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekTqSv5oA3I

 

 

La Nuit Américaine by Georges Delerue

I saw Day for Night on TV in my early teens and the theme music has stayed in my head ever since. Maybe because I knew I should be attracted to Jacqueline Bisset (she never looked better) but was very distracted by a hot young guy playing an extra who kept appearing for brief but tantalising moments. That's probably why I remember it.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSqfhjt-Gg8

 

 

If you've read this far then here's a bonus for you:

 

 

Evgeny Kissin - The Gift of Music (1998)

Feature length documentary about the brilliant Russian pianist including part of his performance at the 1997 Proms concert.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvosX-JXD9A

 

 

Are these pieces classical, romantic, baroque or something else? To be honest, I don't care. Music is just there. To be enjoyed by everyone. Music plugs directly into my emotions (I read recently "Music is an emotional shortcut to the soul"). You may understand the terminology, forms, structures, phrasing and interpretation but it's what you feel that matters. Sure, the more you know about music the more you can find to appreciate and enjoy. But the key thing is the raw emotional response that great music can create in all of us however much or little we might know. Also important is state of mind because mood affects what you want to hear. If I'm on a high then I might want something challenging, but if I'm feeling depressed or melancholic then I need happy music to cheer me up.

 

P.S.

1. GA website won't let me post more than two "live" links - but all you need to do is copy and paste the "www.etcetc" into your browser address window and it should then open up to play.

2. The vids should play smoothly but if they don't then try downloading them (480p is a good compromise).

Edited February 14, 2012 by Zombie

[Bill W]

I'm surprixed no one's listed Dvoraks New World Symphony, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto # 1, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concertoes 1 - 3 or Rossini's Overture to the Barber of Seville.

[Zombie]

They just have been (heheheh). But that's what's so wonderful about about personal favourites when they're different. Would be so sad if we were all the same.

[Bill W]

I appreciate all of the others as well, but I was just stating a few I hadn't seen included.

[Zolia Lily]

I guess it depends a lot on what you're exposed to. I learned Piano growing up, so i feel like a lot of what i now is Piano concertos etc rather than operas / symphonies / string music....

Now where i work we sometimes play classic fm, but it's kind of like "a very selective best of famous classical pieces so no one feels dumb" - they play theme music from movies like Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Carribean!

 

Bizarrest classic fm ever.

[Mark92]

May surprise you lot but this is sheer my chill out music

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vQVeaIHWWck#t=0s

[Bill W]

Not strange at all, Mark. Beethoven is my favorite of all the composers.