Who listens to classical music?

artinski

@robgilmo ;
Ahhh, the Cello Suites.  I have a recording of them by a chap named Jan Vogler. I could not make up my mind as to whether to get one of the Casals recordings or a more 'modern' one, and eventually I opted for the latter. I am just beginning to dive into Bach. It is a universe. Tartini... I had to look him up in Wikipedia. Very interesting! Very productive composer. I will get myself a nice recording. Which one(s) do you like? Oh, and I am glad no harm was caused by that bang. 

Nitefly

I knew very little of classical music, so, around 15 years ago, I started buying a collection of cd's called "In Classical Mood".  The premise was that each month you'd get a cd, until you had all 48 in the set.

Each cd had a theme, e.g. "Reflections", "Springtime", etc., and had 10 or 12 tracks of whole pieces or single movements by assorted composers, all loosely linked to the month's theme.  They came with a hardback booklet/cd case, with a page or two about each piece, the composer, and odd notes for historical context.

I was surprised to see how many of the "tunes" I actually knew, without actually knowing what they were called or who they were by.  In truth, they didn't inspire me to go out and buy the full works, but I still listen to them from time to time.

robgilmo

Did you know ''Moonlight Sonata'' was originally titled ''Quasi una fantasia'' or ''Almost a fantasy''?

fretmeister

Yup.

quite often.

artinski

@Nitefly Yes, unless one is made familiar with classical music as a child, one has to find some kind of approach to it, I think. My mother passed on her fondness of classical music (Ravel's 'Bolero' was her favorite - and everything Maria Callas). But it was not until perhaps 10 years ago that I began to take real delight in classical music and to listen to it more often. Well, now I am 51 years of age... 

robgilmo

artinski said:

@robgilmo ;
Ahhh, the Cello Suites.  I have a recording of them by a chap named Jan Vogler. I could not make up my mind as to whether to get one of the Casals recordings or a more 'modern' one, and eventually I opted for the latter. I am just beginning to dive into Bach. It is a universe. Tartini... I had to look him up in Wikipedia. Very interesting! Very productive composer. I will get myself a nice recording. Which one(s) do you like? Oh, and I am glad no harm was caused by that bang. 

Tartini is quite well known for ''The Devils Trill'', I have a recording by The Palladian Ensemble which I quite enjoy, on Linn records  http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-the-devils-trill.aspx   SACD  https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/gh3/Devils-Trill-Sacd-CD-Hybrid-Palladians/B001CJYJWS ;

A very interesting story behind it too.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Sonata_in_G_minor_(Tartini)

''One night, in the year 1713 I dreamed I had made a pact with the devil for my soul. Everything went as I wished: my new servant anticipated my every desire. Among other things, I gave him my violin to see if he could play. How great was my astonishment on hearing a sonata so wonderful and so beautiful, played with such great art and intelligence, as I had never even conceived in my boldest flights of fantasy. I felt enraptured, transported, enchanted: my breath failed me, and I awoke. I immediately grasped my violin in order to retain, in part at least, the impression of my dream. In vain! The music which I at this time composed is indeed the best that I ever wrote, and I still call it the "Devil's Trill", but the difference between it and that which so moved me is so great that I would have destroyed my instrument and have said farewell to music forever if it had been possible for me to live without the enjoyment it affords me''

robgilmo

artinski

@robgilmo Thank you very much! That is great music. I will get me the Palladian Ensemble recording. 

Dominic

I used to hate Baroque music - too much like the piano lessons of my young years although I loved the Romantic composers -it's only in the last 20 years that I have come to really appreciate and love it and realise how it is music in it's purest form limited by the fact that a harpsichord and clavierpiano was a monophonic instrument at that time .
 I have also come to love much later and recent Classical music and am having a crush on Danse Macabre at the moment because I find it very inspiring.

robgilmo

Romantic period is something I'm listening to now too, Elgar , Rediscovered works for violin is some thing I play quite a bit.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Marat-Bisengaliev-Benjamin-Frith/dp/B003Y701BE   https://play.spotify.com/album/5YwBPgywGyo9jOfL8TRTpH?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open
Classical for me has to be Mozart, 

robgilmo

artinski said:

@robgilmo Thank you very much! That is great music. I will get me the Palladian Ensemble recording. 

You are welcome, its a lovely late at night glass of wine fire lit music..

Clarky

Wolfetone said:

If you have Spotify, look up 'epic trailer music' to open up a whole new musical visa. 

totally

Clarky

I adore Baroque; JS Bach.. organ works, Italian Concerto, Well Tempered Clav [I did one of the preludes with a student as a guitar duet].. Vivaldi..
Love Mozart, Beethoven, Rodrigo, Verdi, jeez.. too many to name..
studied their works too in great detail.. harmonisation, composition style, orchestration..
and all this came in really handy when I work on Epic Trailers..
also it's fun to play on guitar.. taking a Bach organ or clav piece and trying to rework it into a guitar piece..

robgilmo

Dominic said:

Emp_Fab said:

Ravenous said:

Emp_Fab said:

...Beet-oven's Moonlight Sonata is lovely too.

Populist and overdone. (I assume you mean the soppy first movement. The less-played final movement is pretty clever though.)

Listen to his "Tempest" sonata instead. (Listen to it carefully, at least twice as it takes a while to spot the interconnections.) It'll take your head off.

No offence, as I'm sure you mean well, but 'populist and overdone' may be your opinion, but it certainly isn't mine.  Music is entirely subjective.  Anyone telling you what is good or bad music or good or bad art is like telling someone that sardines are delicious or repulsive.

I love Moonlight Sonata, yes, the "soppy" first movement too.  I'm sure Mr Oven didn't think "Oh, I'll start my new work with a populist and soppy part" and I doubt his audiences at the time would have considered it so either.

Well,it took me 3 years to play a poor version of the 3rd movement .......In it's purest form it is the most sublime arpeggio excercise and a fantastic piece of drama .......it is the one extract that demonstrates Beethoven better than anything else although it is actually an homage to the Cminor prelude and Fugue of JS Bachs Well Tempered Clavier.For that reason alone it is a total masterpiece.

I read somewhere that he wrote this for a lady friend that he wished to court, when she heard to first movement she was blown away and overcome that someone could compose such a beautiful piece of music for her, then, when she heard the next parts she was repulsed and angered that he could write such an ugly piece of music for her and how it was a complete opposite to the piece that grew her so fond of him, she wasn't impressed and they never took things any further. How true that was I don't know, his private life or what we know about it is apparently pretty sketchy. I agree though, a fantastic and cleverly composed piece of music. 

Ravenous

Dominic said:

Emp_Fab said:

I love Moonlight Sonata, yes, the "soppy" first movement too.  I'm sure Mr Oven didn't think "Oh, I'll start my new work with a populist and soppy part" and I doubt his audiences at the time would have considered it so either.

Well,it took me 3 years to play a poor version of the 3rd movement .......In it's purest form it is the most sublime arpeggio excercise and a fantastic piece of drama .......

OK I was being a git dismissing the 1st bit of that sonata

A story I heard was Beethoven himself got sick of the popularity of it, because he'd written far better stuff. Typical clever writer who's frustrated when he finds a lot of the public like his simpler, easier tunes.

I also read somewhere he made sure the 3rd movement was relatively spicy to make up for this. He liked to show off his playing skills as well as his writing, and definitely wasn't going to write a sonata that was easy all the way through!

Another story is, even in his first published sonata, he wrote that in F minor. Apparently he chose this key to make sure it wouldn't be picked up by mere beginners (guys like me who plonk along in C Major). This was typical of Beethoven apparently...

Bucket

Yes, love it.

Debussy is my favourite. I tend to enjoy 19th and 20th-century stuff the most. I find it the most interesting and varied.

I love works for solo piano - this piece by Charles-Valentin Alkan is one of my favourites.

ICBM

If you want a much better mix of classical and rock than that Yngwie nonsense, there's always this…

Deep Purple - Concerto For Group And Orchestra

marantz1300

I love a bit of classical

like playing it too.

PolarityMan

beed84 said:

I'm a a big fan of classical music. Like @strtdv said, the genius of Beethoven and the like is unparalleled. Although there's a huge wealth of work to get through, that's kinda what makes it fun.  Get yourself a classical music guide, such as classic fm, and begin to sift through it. That's what I did as I didn't know where to begin. Here are a couple of my favourite pieces to get you going:

Beethoven's Egmont Overture - the opening sequence gets me every time, and the drama that ensues is epic!



Barber's Adagio for Strings - a mesmerising piece that washes over you with ease:



Enjoy

Doesnt djent

EricTheWeary

I never do. It's pretty much in the same category as jazz ( or Shakespeare plays or Mongolian throat singing*) for me which is I can enjoy it in the moment only. So, I've seen a couple of orchestral things and a few smaller groups like  string quartets ( I couldn't name who let alone what pieces) and I'm as in the moment as I can be when I'm there  and  focused on what's going on and I've enjoyed it but it's not my idea of driving or background music or fun listening. Which is probably fine, it's not really intended to be, but I've never felt motivated to explore it further.

I did see Yngwie live once, as he's been mentioned, and there is an enormous energy. In it's way more like punk than anything classical. Although I'm doubtful that he'd see it that way. 

* I did once go to a throat singing concert which was amazing, although if Radio 2 started playing it at drive time I'd probably turn over.