Classical music anyone?

[meboeck]

Anyone here like classical music? (For this thread, remixes don't really count.) I am a big fan of Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, and Dvorak. Actually, has anyone here even heard of Dvorak? Do any of you play/sing classical stuff? I used to dance to classical music a lot because I took ballet. That's actually how I came to know Tchaikovsky's work. He composed The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. So who are you favorite composers, and how did you get started on classical music? And do you have any particular favorites? I love autumn and winter from The Four Seasons and the New World Symphony by Dvorak.

[Puritan]

Yes, I really like classical music. I used to play the string bass and I sang in choir (I was a bass there too), but I haven't done so since high school. I've always liked classical music, although my musical tastes have broadened to include other stuff since I came to college. My favorite composers would be Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Sir Arthur Sullivan. I love Gilbert and Sullivan, and in fact have "I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General" memorized and recordings of several of their operettas.

[Technomancer]

I'm definately a fan of classical music, and have a wide variety of CD's. I also listen to a much broader variety on CBC Radio 2. You can listen to them over the internet, and apparently, from the letters they receiver, they have a sizeable American following. It might be worth checking them out. Their schedule is at:
http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/schedule/dailySchedule.jsp?network=CBC%20Radio%20Two

and a streaming connection can be had at:
http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html#

If you have satellite radio, you can also get them at:
http://www.cbc.ca/frequency/satellite.html

[Rogie]

I've only recently gotten into classical music by checking out various composers on iTunes. I'm really enjoying Vivaldi, especially the Four Seasons. I also enjoy Handel's Messiah. Before that, I always liked Chopin as a child, but that was the extent of my classical music tastes before now.

I would love to find some Wagner, since a lot of his music is in the Looney Tunes, especially Chuck Jones' work.

Btw, iTunes has a variety of albums beginning with "The Best of..." They're 2-disc sets for about $12, so you get a good variety of music by famous composers for a low price.

[PigtailsJazz]

LOVE classical music.

I am a music major....main instrument is clarinet, though I've played piano for a very long time as well.

My favorite composers would have to be Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Shostakovich, Rimsky-Korsakov....

Obviously I like a lot of Russian music.... ^_^ But I LOVE French Impressionism as well..... And almost any clarinet music.

[meboeck]

OH! I just remembered another composer I love. Strauss. They call him the waltz king for a reason, and I really love waltzes.

[ShiroiHikari]

Oooh, I love classical. Tchaikovsky is excellent, and so is Wagner, and I like Vivaldi's Four Seasons as well.

I used to play the flute in 6th grade. :p I wish I could have played the clarinet or the trumpet, though. :\

[ssj2gohan61]

i listen to it from time to time, its pretty relaxing

[Joshua Christopher]

Yeah, well, in my opinion "Ode to Joy" is the greatest musical composition ever written.

[Maledicte]

I like a bunch.

Beethoven--so dramatic and passionate, and gives one a good reason to pound on the keyboard.

Bach--each note is perfect. You know when you've hit the wrong one. Also, once memorized (for me at least) I can always play it back. And his "Doubles" violin concerto is sheer brilliance.

Stravinsky--I fell in love with Rite of Spring from Fantasia and I've been hooked ever since.

Saint-Seans--Carnival of the Animals. Need I say more?

Tchaikovsky--I love the epic sweep of his music. Almost like a soundtrack. (Hey, his music is the soundtrack for Gankutsuou!)

Wagner--Classical's own Metallica.

Vivaldi--The Four Seasons of course, and also some of his other concertos.

Chopin--the master of the piano. He owns it by right of the Barcarolle.

[bigsleepj]

I love classical music. Words fail me...

[Scribs]

I am a Gilbert and Sullivan Fanatic. I posses recordings of all 13 of their opperettas, and have preformed in 7 of them. I enjoy them greatly.

[bigsleepj]

I am a Gilbert and Sullivan Fanatic. I posses recordings of all 13 of their opperettas, and have preformed in 7 of them. I enjoy them greatly.

Performed in Seven? I'm impressed! I'm a Gilbert & Sulivan Fan too. In which did you perform, and which role?

[Scribs]

The Sergeant in Pirates
Dick Deadeye in Pnafore
KoKo in the Mikado
The Foreman of the Jury in Trial by Jury
The Colonel in patience
Wilfred in Yeomen of the Guard
and Chorus in Iolanthe

[bigsleepj]

KoKo in the Mikado

Now, I would have paid good money to see THAT!!!

BEHOLD THE LORD HIGH EXECUTIONER

As someday it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list -- I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground
And who never would be missed -- who never would be missed!

You don't happen to have a photo handy?

[Scribs]

Not handy I dont believe, I will take a look around and see if I can dig one up...

[bigsleepj]

Not handy I dont believe, I will take a look around and see if I can dig one up...

I'm looking forward to seeing it.

While I'm here I better post my favourite pieces of Classical Music. (aside from Gilbert and Sullivan). I said "words fail me" but I don't think a list will.

• Ride of the Valkyries (Richard Wagner). With our without the sopranos this is excellent.
• Liebestod (Wagner again)
• Pilgrim's Chorus from Tannhauser by Wagner. Easily one the most stirring chorus' ever written.
• William Tell Overture Rossini
• Barber of Seville Overture by ROssini
• 9th "New World" Symphony by Antonin Dvorak. This is my favourite symphony of all time. Easily.
• First movement of Schubert's 8th "Unfinished" Symphony
• Zadok the Priest by GF Handel. I consider this one of the most heavenly choral pieces ever written
• Beethoven's 9th Symphony (aka Ode to Joy)
• Slavonic March by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
• Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens
• Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens
• Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms (one of my favourite Charles Chaplin sketces is set to this - he's in a Barber shop and 'works to the music')
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem
• Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves by Guieseppe Verdi. My favourite chorus from the first opera I ever attended - stirring, beautiful.
• Un bel dì Vedremo by Giacomo Puccini from Madame Butterfly. One of the saddest arias ever written.
• Nessum Dorma by Puccini from Turandot
• Die Moldau by Biedrich Smetana. A little known piece from a little known set of classical pieces (Má Vlast, aka My Country / Homeland) by a little known composer - absolutely beautiful however.
• Elgar's Chello Concerto. The one played by Jaqueline Du Pré is considered the definitve recording
• JS Bach's "Toccatta fugue in F-Minor" There are parts of this that just bring tears to my eyes for some reason. Absolutely beautiful.
• Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture. Best appreciate with real-life canon-fire in the last five-minutes - the recording conducted by the tenor Placido Domingo has not only canon-fire, but is the best recording I've heard. Mister Domingo is a man of many talents. Best enjoyed in you put it in a Sound system and turn it up REAL LOUD!

I have more, but I can't think of them right now. Most of Mozart's Opera "The Magic Flute" for one. And other assorted pieces. But I love my classics.

[meboeck]

Stravinsky--I fell in love with Rite of Spring from Fantasia and I've been hooked ever since.

The Rite of Spring was originally a "ballet." I put it in quotes because it was actually really modern. I had the displeasure of watching it, so I will never be able to truly appreciate the music.

• 9th "New World" Symphony by Antonin Dvorak. This is my favourite symphony of all time. Easily.

Yes! It's so dynamic! I want to choreograph a ballet to it, but who would let me stage a 40 minute ballet for 16 people?

Oh, and have any of you heard of Peter Schickele/PDQ Bach? He decided he wanted to make classical music more fun, so he writes some pretty silly stuff. My favorite of his works is the 1712 Overture, a parody of Tchaikovsky's famous work. It makes me laugh my my head off. One of the funninest pasts is when he replaces cannons with popping balloons.

[Puritan]

Peter Schickele is really funny, it sounds odd to say that he writes musical jokes, but he does. Ever heard his ode to Bach in which he talks about how amazingly interesting Bach was and then reads a bunch of passages from Bach's letters about mundane money matters? Bizarre, but quite funny.

I'm surprised there are other Gilbert and Sullivan fans here. I've loved their music for years and never run into anyone else who liked them. I managed to see the Mikado last year and really enjoyed it (the director actually did it in authentic Kabuki theater style, so that was fun).

[bigsleepj]

Yes! It's so dynamic! I want to choreograph a ballet to it, but who would let me stage a 40 minute ballet for 16 people?

Heh! I'm listening to it as I type this. I do believe however if they can stage Samuel Beckett's 35 second play Breath then they can stage your 40 minute version of the New World Symphony. I don't know how long a ballet should be (I prefer the music as opposed to the dance, sorry) but if its too long you could always throw in Die Maldou by Biedrich Smetana. Its a symphonic poem representing a river in Chezoslovakia, as it starts as a small trickle in the mountains to a large magnificent river. My first CD (a cruddy cheap recording) of the New World CD was bookended by this beautiful piece and I really do believe that the two compliment each other.

Oh, and have any of you heard of Peter Schickele/PDQ Bach? He decided he wanted to make classical music more fun, so he writes some pretty silly stuff. My favorite of his works is the 1712 Overture, a parody of Tchaikovsky's famous work. It makes me laugh my my head off. One of the funninest pasts is when he replaces cannons with popping balloons.

Never heard of it, but he sounds like my kind of fellow. I should look for his music. I take it PDQ Bach is a joke synonym?

[Puritan]

Peter Shickele pretends PDQ Bach was one of the forgotten younger sons of J. S. Bach, and the music sounds like PDQ was dropped on his head multiple times as a child. Operatic-style songs about rotting fish (a memorable line "And all around me, fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish were dying. And yet in death their stench did live on."), symphonies with the inexplicable addition of children's songs in the middle, and so on. You get the picture.

[Rogie]

Referring to my previous post about wanting to find some of the classical stuff in the Warner Bros. shorts, I did some research and found 7 great pieces from four Bugs Bunny shorts, four of my favorites.

From "Rabbit of Seville" (arguably my favorite Bugs short), there's the Barber of Seville Overture and Mendelssohn's Wedding March from Midsummer Night's Dream.

From "Long-Haired Hare" (the one with the opera singer vs. Bugs), there's Barber of Seville's Act 1 (Figaro). From Rhapsody Rabbit (one of the shorts featuring a solo piano concert by Bugs), there's Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2.

And, of course, from "What's Opera, Doc?" there's the overture of "The Flying Dutchman" ("Der Fliegende Hollander"), "The Ride of the Valkyries," and the overture of "Tannhauser."

It's nice to finally know where the music for this toons came from. I downloaded them on iTunes and put them in a playlist for just Looney Tunes classical pieces. Since most of us were first exposed to classical music through the Looney Tunes, I figured listing these pieces for others would be helpful. I recommend them as a good introduction to classical music, as the music will sound familiar while exposing beginners to the genre.

[Lynx]

i play piano so i do enjoy beethovan's piano stuff! I have a few classical cds, mostly with piano things. it's good stuff!

[Technomancer]

Beethoven is certainly a favourite, but I also greatly enjoy Mozart and most of all, Verdi. Some of my other favourite pieces include:
"Vespers" by Rachmaniov
"Vespero Della Beata Beata Vergine" by Claudio Monteverdi
almost anything by Gabrielli or Palestrina
Tocatta and Fughe in D Minor by J.S. Bach
"Concerto Grosso" (various) by Handel

As far as performers go, without a doubt my favourite has to be Ceclia Bartoli. At the moment though, I am listening to the soundtrack to 'Farinelli'

[shooraijin]

Bach, especially his Inventions and Sinfonias (Two-Part Invention 13 in A minor is my favourite, one I've played in recitals before).

Lately I've developed this interest in Erik Satie.

[EricTheFred]

I am a huge fan of Shostakovich, Barber, and Vaughan WIlliams. I'm also very big on some of the symphonic crossovers that have been done recently by people like Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer (both of who have written really fascinating Concertos.) The best of the older stuff for me still isn't all that old: Grieg, Schubert, and Dvorak in particular.

Another personal favorite for me is Peter Schickele, but I'm not referring to his PDQ Bach stuff. His serious work (especially his string quartets and piano quintet) is wonderful, and not played anywhere near often enough.

Thanks to all this musical grounding in my life, the quality of the soundtrack has a big impact on how well I enjoy the series.

[shooraijin]

But I *like* The Wurst of PDQ Bach!

"Every time we discover a new work, there is a hope, an anticipation, that this one can't possibly be as bad as the ones before. [dramatic pause] But so far ..."

[Steeltemplar]

I love the classical music, though I confess I've only started listening in earnest recently.

I like a variety of composers. My favorites: Bach (The Brandenberg Concertos are incredible), Vivaldi, Haydn (I love his string quartets), Tchaikovsky, Puccini (La Boheme), and Pachelbel (Canon).

However, one composer I find most moving: W.A. Mozart. The man's compositions are absolutely sublime. I love most especially his violin concertos and his choral works (Requiem in D and Mass in C). As I have mentioned before in another thread, as well, the religious nature of some of these works makes them even better to me.

[meboeck]

But I *like* The Wurst of PDQ Bach!

"Every time we discover a new work, there is a hope, an anticipation, that this one can't possibly be as bad as the ones before. [dramatic pause] But so far ..."

Yes! And I love how he even maked jokes with other things like opus numbers.
Op. 21.5
Op. 3/4 tsp.
Op. 3.14, easy as

[bigsleepj]

Peter Shickele pretends PDQ Bach was one of the forgotten younger sons of J. S. Bach, and the music sounds like PDQ was dropped on his head multiple times as a child. Operatic-style songs about rotting fish (a memorable line "And all around me, fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish were dying. And yet in death their stench did live on."), symphonies with the inexplicable addition of children's songs in the middle, and so on. You get the picture.

Heh! The more I hear of PDQ Bach the more I'm willing to look for him. I really should try some of his music. He sounds like my kind of artist.