What is your favorite piece of classical music?

"Anon" (tjsielsistneb) 01/31/2014 at 08:33 • Filed to: None

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Mine is probably Dvorak's New World Symphony, especially the second movement. Anyways I like to listen to classical as I read and I'm starting to get bored of my playlist. Anyways oppo what is your favorite classical music piece?

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > Anon 01/31/2014 at 08:36

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Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. (No, I am not a neo-Nazi.)

DConsorti > Anon 01/31/2014 at 08:37

1

Carl Orff - Carmina Burana, in special :

505Turbeaux > Anon 01/31/2014 at 08:39

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Firebird Suite by Stravinsky

Being an F horn player I loved how he used the unique tone throughout the piece

Jagvar > 505Turbeaux 01/31/2014 at 08:51

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I'm also a French horn player. I haven't picked one up in 8 years, but I'm sure I still know how.

Agrajag > Anon 01/31/2014 at 08:52

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Cello Concerto by Edgar Elgar. This is probably the most famous version, performed by Jacqueline du Pre.

Jagvar > Anon 01/31/2014 at 08:52

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Offenbach - Barcarolle

505Turbeaux > Jagvar 01/31/2014 at 08:53

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and a VW fan? Let me find out we were separated at birth. I pick it up once in a while to keep some sort of chops going on in case I have to fall back on my music education degree or something :)

Svend > Anon 01/31/2014 at 08:57

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I have quite a varied taste. My favourite has to be Elgar's Nimrod Enigma Variations number 9.

this one always makes me cry.

Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.

this being my favourite part.

Handel's Zadok the Priest.

Many pieces by Dvorak, Tchiakovsky and Chopin.

A few patriotic pieces also, of course God Save the Queen, Jerusalem, I Vow to Thee my country, etc...

CalzoneGolem > Anon 01/31/2014 at 08:58

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Water Music - Handel

Also anything by Bach on the harpsichord. That muthah fuckah could play the harpsichord bub!

Soloburrito > Anon 01/31/2014 at 09:00

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Couldn't choose just one, but Chopin is probably above the rest for me.

The Pianist film probably influenced me the most after seeing it in high school so I feel this video is appropriate.

It's not a symphony but I really enjoy it. I usually listen in the lonely early morning hours when it feels like the world is sleeping. Perfect times for reflection.

Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French > Anon 01/31/2014 at 09:02

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Que the "I don't listen to classical music very often, but when I do..." meme

Erik Satie's piano work is nice.



Cliché as it may be, Ravel's Bolero is nice as a quick interlude.

Another properly worn path is of course the Four Seasons. Vivaldi.

Samual Barber takes the cake however. Adagio for strings gets me every time I hear it. It's just magic.

Roundbadge > Anon 01/31/2014 at 09:04

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Big fan of Mussorgsky, love 'Pictures At An Exhibition' and 'Night on Bald Mountain'. As soon as I saw this question, I immediately heard the 'Hut on Chicken's Legs' movement of 'Pictures...' in my head.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Anon 01/31/2014 at 09:10

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I'm a big fan of Holst's Jupiter myself, although if cheating's allowed then a Fifth of Beethoven is brilliant :)

ttyymmnn > Anon 01/31/2014 at 09:18

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Richard Strauss, Four Last Songs. It's the last work Strauss completed before he died.

The last three songs deal with death and were written shortly before Strauss himself died. However, instead of the typical Romantic defiance, these Four Last Songs are suffused with a sense of calm, acceptance, and completeness.

The settings are for a solo soprano voice given remarkable soaring melodies against a full orchestra, and all four songs have prominent horn parts. The combination of a beautiful vocal line with supportive brass accompaniment references Strauss's own life: His wife Pauline de Ahna was a famous soprano and his father Franz Strauss a professional horn player. (Wikipedia)

I'm not sure how you feel about vocal music, but this is some of the most sublime music ever written. At the very end, if you know your Strauss themes, you can catch a quote from Death and Transfiguration , one of his earlier tone poems.

If I had to pick another, I would go with Mahler's Symphony No. 2: Resurrection. The end of the last movement is giving me chills just thinking about it.

ttyymmnn > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French 01/31/2014 at 09:22

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If you like Barber, give this a listen. Knoxville, Summer 1915. The text is by James Agee, and taken from his work A Death in the Family. Gorgeous, reflective music.

Chteelers > Anon 01/31/2014 at 09:55

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Bach Partita No. 2, played by Perlman. Particularly the final movement, known as the chaconne, which starts at 13:50.

Rach 3, played by Horowitz. Rach 2 is also incredible.

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, played by Heifetz

Your boy, BJR > Anon 01/31/2014 at 10:03

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Chteelers > Chteelers 01/31/2014 at 10:06

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And then I love listening to how a tune by Paganini inspired so many variations. Here is the original Caprice No. 24 played by Heifetz

Here is Liszt's version, which is actually very similar to the Brahams version, but I like this a bit better.

And finally, here is Rachmaninoff's version, played by Yuja Wang. There is a recording by the maestro himself, but the audio quality isn't as good. It's worth a listen though.

Chteelers > Chteelers 01/31/2014 at 10:07

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The same thing can be found with Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11, which concludes with a section called the Turkish March. Here is the original, which you probably recognize.

Then here is the Volodos variation, as played by Yuja Wang. Volodos himself plays it cleaner, but the clip on youtube has annoying applause dubbed over, and I like that you can watch Yuja's finger work here.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Anon 01/31/2014 at 10:19

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You guys have blown me away. I expected to be the only one posting in here. My favorite: Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland.

I work in an architect's office, he was probably around when most of this stuff was written and is not a fan of pretty much anything else. Its been a struggle to find good stuff to play, most of it puts me to sleep.

Chteelers > Chteelers 01/31/2014 at 10:21

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Volodos is a crazy person. In addition to his virtuoso style, he bends the melody through key changes, adds broken bits of the tune back in as counterpoint, and even folds sections of the melody back upon itself in a fugue-like manner. He does something similar with Rachmaninoff's Hungarian Rhapsody. Thats on youtube also, but I've already posted plenty of links.

BKRM3 > Anon 01/31/2014 at 10:33

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+1 - New world symphony for me as well. Could listen to it endlessly. 'MURICA

merkyg > Anon 01/31/2014 at 10:38

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Gorecki's 3rd...pretty recent (1976 I think) but its stunning. Also a big fan of Sibelius, Grieg & Liszt.

Chteelers > Chteelers 01/31/2014 at 10:50

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And if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, lookup the Dies Irae plainchant. That tune from the middle ages has woven it's way through countless compositions. You've probably heard it a hundred times and not even realized it. What's it in? Oh nothing, just Mozart's Requiem mass, Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsody (which I listed above), Saint-Saens Danse Macabre (which you know from your cartoon days no doubt), Danny Elfman used it in Nightmare Before Christmas and Sweeney Todd. It pops up just about anywhere there is a macabre mood.

pdthedeuce > Anon 01/31/2014 at 14:10

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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Flight of the Bumblebee

Squid > Anon 01/31/2014 at 14:44

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I am quite partial to Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. The whole back story and lore of this piece is pretty intense. This is actually the first time I've found a video of the whole piece in its entirety. Also this is the first piece to use the death bells in it which caused a riot where Berlioz had to be snuck out of the venue. . .

I am also quite partial to Gustav Holst The Planets. So much music was stemmed from this work, basically he set the foundation of a great majority of SciFi soundtracks with this piece of work.

And then there is Jean Sibelius which is pretty incredible to listen to.

There may be a common theme in quite a bit of the composers I enjoy to listen to but I dunno they are just powerful works.

Squid > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French 01/31/2014 at 14:49

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Some fantastic organists have transposed some of Satie's works into organ pieces, they are fantastic and work so well. Erik Satie is one of the few works that I can listen to that are full piano pieces, for some reason I kind of get bored with just piano music.

It makes me want to be laying in the sun out in a park drinking a beer. . .

Squid > Goshen, formerly Darkcode 01/31/2014 at 14:53

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I was listening to this one morning in my car before a final. . . It was quite loud and to make it even more majestical two Black Hawks flew overhead and a few girls were just laughing at me getting ready for my final. . . I thoroughly enjoy to opera version more so than just the instrumental version though.