Yeah, the Funeral March is probably a better intro; more famous, more accessible, etc.

To be honest BD I found them a bit bland. I need tracks that are powerful, intense and dramatic. Do you know of any?

If power is what you want, try...

or

or if you're feeling particularly adventurous...


But really? The pathetique was bland to you? I've made babies cry playing that movement.

Even the Totentanz? That's usually one of my first rec's for that request, and especially when people are looking for a dramatic piece.

How about the third movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata?



Honestly, I think this was the first metal song ever written. It's not very "dark" but it is powerful and dramatic.

Sergei Prokofiev:


Joaquín Turina: Fantastic Dances III. Manuel de Falla: Ritual Fire Dance.



Isaac Albéniz: Asturias. Enrique Granados: Spanish Dance n. 5 (Andalusian).

My all-time favourite...

Michael Nyman: The Piano.

I just bought my first Karlheinz Stockhausen record - Mikrophonie 1/2. All I can say is WOW! I am also a fan of John Cage's Variations 4/5, which I find oddly soothing.

Are there other 'Modern Classical' recorded works in a similar found sound/musique concrete kind of vein that anyone might recommend? I find I am digging this stuff special.

Thanks.

Check out the American composer George Crumb. A lot of his works are in a similar vein, but they offer a completely different listening experience at the same time. If you like Mikrophonie, the first ideal Crumb piece to check out is Microkosmos (I think that's how it's spelled - you'll find it anyways). It's not electronic (unlike many of Stockhausen's works), instead it is for solo piano. There is a video on YouTube of a performance of this piece which might help you understand how all the different sounds are coming from the piano.

You can also pedal back a few years to an earlier decade in the 20th century and check out Arnold Schoenberg - basically regarded as the father of all avant-garde music in the classical genre.

I would also suggest John Cage, but his music is part of a sub genre called "chance music" and I find that it's more for the seasoned listener of avant-garde music. Save his music for last. I feel the same way about Harry Partch too.

When you get comfortable with music from guys like Stockhausen and Crumb, the next logical step is minimalist music. LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, and Henry Cowell should all be checked out at this stage.

Wow I rambled, but I hope that you can follow it and that my initial suggestion of George Crumb is sufficient. Wikipedia is also a great resource as you can easily find the names of all their contemporaries and successors, even ones who are not well known.

EDIT: oops just saw that you listen to some Cage already. So never mind what I said. I do think that all his pieces that feature non-instruments (he was famous for using radio static to create music) should be saved for last, for example the piece called "Water Walk". But that's just my opinion.

Yeah Cage's Variations 4/5 are the radio static stuff, and I really love that. Am already a huge Harry Partch fan also, especially when he sings or chants his tone poems.

I would say I am a seasoned noise and avant listener more from the rock world, making inroads into the modern classical area. I just can't believe how fresh and exciting some of this stuff sounds.

Thank you for the recommendations. I will check them out most definitely.

You're welcome! I wasn't sure what you had already listened to, so I just offered my suggestions for a beginner. "The Letter" is probably my favourite Partch piece.

You can also check out Philip Glass, and even the film Koyaanisqatsi, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and featuring music that was all composed by Glass.

I love Beethoven's music! It's always amazing no matter in what mood I am. So my recomendation would be the new disk with his compositions that I found at onyxclassics. Maxim Rysanov, Kristina Blaumane and Jacob Katsnelson perform it. Hope you'll like it as I do.

Heliotrope - The Romance of the Rose: Feminine Voices from Medieval France

Falalalan - YouTube

Choon

On a slightly more serious recommendation...
Not sure how well this is known in classical circles I don't know much about the genre but it's a great piano piece.



Ludovico Einaudi - Nuvole Bianche - YouTube

Anybody into 2CELLOS? I just found out they're releasing a new album in January and I'm really excited about it! Their cover of Highway to Hell has Steve Vai in it. CRAZY!

("...ah, at last a thread I really appreciate..." went the goblin, adding "...I'm listening to this one now...", as he then wrote the words because he couldn't as yet add the link directly)

Comptine d_Un Autre Été from Die fabelhafte Welt der Amélie Pian

This cover of Supermassive Black Hole with Naya Rivera is awesome!

What kind of classical music is this?
 

Hi ,
First of all I want to say that I don’t really listen to classical music.
I have nothing against it; it’s just not my cup of tea!
(Usually I listen to rock, hip hop or electronica)
However on the radio the other day I heard this:





And I was very intrigued.
The sounds, the arrangements and the inventiveness of this piece captured my full attention.
So I would like to ask you guys what particular sub branch of classic music is this and where could I find similar works.
Thanks!

It's a totally modern era chamber piece

ok thanks!

Could I get some violin-centric music, preferably from the Baroque Era?

Hmm... Anything a little less obvious? I already have like a ton of JSB compositions (including the first concerto you've posted).

As reference, the only other Baroque artist I already know of is Jean-Baptiste Lully.

Oh wow, then you have a lot to discover!

Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons



Domenico Scarlatti - Sonata K81 for Violin and Basso Continuo



Handel - Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major, op. 1-3



Bach - Chaconne in D Minor for solo violin, BWV 1004



That's only scratching the surface, really.

Well, you didn't say so, dude, Bach is my favorite baroque composer by a sizable margin :)

How's this

Also, Telemann's Viola Concerto
 

lol yeah, it's like a tertiary genre for me (like a once or twice a year thing) but now with Spring approaching I wanted to try to get into it a lot more.

Sorry about my previous post, I didn't mean to come off like that. I just kind of figured before that Bach was perceived as common knowledge within classical music (like with Beethoven and Mozart). I like Bach too, it's just that I wanted something different.

Thanks for these recommendations, I'll formally check on them tomorrow morning.

J.S. Bach- Partita No. 4 in Dm

Been practicing this piece on guitar. Paul Gilbert did an amazing electric guitar version of it. It's such an amazing piece! Bach was a genius. It's quite challenging, to say the least :)

George Benjamin
 

Where can I find the words to George Benjamin's song Offerings?

Thank you.

I want anything really dramatic and expressive.

Like, Mozart Lacrimosa dramatic. Well, not all like that. I'm just not a huge fan of stuff that sounds like it would be played in a foyer for arriving guests. I'm all for things that are considered "essential" too though. So maybe just a mix, with an emphasis on music that's expressive.

The double violin concerto by Henk Badings!

I gather that the composer was denigrated, and his career hurt for awhile, because of alleged Nazi sympathies.

But if you're looking for fast pace and intensity-- wow. I caught it on the radio in the 1960s, when I was in high school (performed by the Concertgebouw), and fortunately the tape recorder was running. Pity, that capture has not survived the years. Lotsa luck finding it now.

Three favorites come to mind:

Symphonic Dances, by Rachmaninoff. My favorite movement is the second. The image it suggests to me: imagine that someone you're madly in love with has recently died, and one night returns as a ghost to dance with you. The combination of voluptuousness and spookiness is unique.

Symphony "Ilya Mourometz", by Reinhold Gliere. Inspired by a Russian epic or legend, it's a showpiece of heart-on-sleeve emotion and orchestration. In places I'm reminded of Wagner's Liebestod. Of the two LP recordings I have, you might expect that the Philadelphia Orchestra would be unrivaled for this music, but the sweep of the Russian recording makes them sound like a toy by comparison.

Symphony no. 6, by Vaughan Williams. Oh, that gentle pastoral composer, you're probably thinking. But it was composed in the wake of World War II. After having given audiences a bit of a jolt with his fourth symphony, his fifth had been more back to normal. When the premiere of the sixth approached, people speculated whether it would be in his typical style like the fifth, or more violent like the fourth. Well, in short, at the conclusion of the performance even the latter group sat stunned. Deryck Cook in The Language of Music described the effect before devoting a chapter to a detailed analysis. Clearly this scholar/critic considered it a really important piece of music. I'll just have to promise you that the first three movements kick butt-- the second is downright terrifying-- while the last is an evocation of sheer bleakness in a pianissimo whisper, dying away to "niente" (nothing). It's war followed by nuclear winter, or so many people continue to believe even though the composer denied it. Can't fathom why this symphony isn't better known.

Thank you! :D I will definitely check all of these out.

well i will recommend you guy to listen to Roop Kumar Rathod the famous ghazal song and sufi singer

You should try Bach's second in E Major, my fav. :D

Still haven't delved into this genre yet. Something a little weird and dark. Hit me.

New to Classical and need Suggestions To broaden my Horizons
 

I am reading a book by Aaron Copeland called, "What to listen for in Music" and am also currently taking piano lessons on the side. I am finally finding classical music fascinating to me, and was wondering if anyone could help me "broaden my horizons" so to speak. I started listening to a couple of artists, but I am more into the cheerful and "adventurous side of classical" like "The Pastoral symphony 6" by Beethoven and other artists like "Adagio for Strings" by Leonard Bernstein and "Water Music - Air" By George Fredrick Handel. Can anyone throw me some more suggestions!? I really want to find music that soothes the soul and helps me understand music better! Thanks guys!

Well, you are reading Copland's book. Have you ever listened to his music?

Hoedown


Fanfare for the Common Man