^^I think Liszt is pretty famous for that kinda stuff

it's just that i'm not very familiar with him

The Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) is actually a hymn dating from the 13th century. The poem is a description of Judgment Day, where souls are summoned before God, with unsaved souls being eternally cast into Hell. It's actually used during the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, and you will hear it in musical settings of the Requiem Mass, especially in Mozart's arrangement. The images throughout the hymn are derived from several books in the New Testament, and I think those are Matthew, Revelations, 1 Thessalonians, Luke, and 2 Peter, if I'm not mistaken.

There is a good Wikipedia article on the Dies Irae hymn, and it also lists some musical settings as well as literary uses of the poem.

Dies Irae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm glad to have been of help to you in finding those pieces! I also love Totentanz, and the Rachmaninov. If you want the recording of the Rachmaninov, I suggest trying to find one done by Lang Lang. His live performances of the piece are amazing.

Very interesting!

And I'll try and track down that Lang Lang stuff. It feel like it's so hard to figure out what you're looking for with classical music. It's not like there are particular albums you can track down. :\

Lang Lang has some good recordings out. Also look for recordings by Glenn Gould or Vladimir Ashkenazy. You have to track down specific performers, I think, because each one puts a personal spin on a piece.

The Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould was the first bit of classical that ever really grabbed me so I'm definitely a fan of him. Hopefully I can track down some good recordings of Lang and Ashkenazy.

You might also find some as part of a compilation. So you really have to keep your eyes open and know what you're looking for.

I recently heard a fast-paced and sorta intense-sounding violin concerto and wondered where I should post about it...only to learn that MUSICBANTER HAS NO THREAD DEDICATED TO VIOLIN CONCERTOS!! ...except for the one cp_19 started before it got merged with the "recommendation" thread. And cp_19's thread wasn't even about concertos! It was about "concerto's." ;)

I offer up this violin concerto as an example of a fast-paced, intense-sounding one:

Khachaturian's Violin Concerto in D minor
Movement 3. Allegro vivace
David Oistrakh, violinist, and the Philharmonia Orchestra, 1954.

I like the occasional dissonances in this vivacious movement, which has been described as witty. The movement sometimes is too playful, frenetic, and repetitive for my tastes, but those dissonances in the orchestra and the violinist's virtuosity make me enjoy listening to it. The best parts, I feel, are when the music sounds as if it is lashing out. The movement combines light-heartedness with somber melancholia, turbulence and violence, an interesting combination.

I have been very taken so far by the works of Arvo Part and Henryk Gorecki. Any suggestions of where to go from here? Also besides composers are there any particular orchestras more consistent that others?

There are tons of composers who are similar to Part and Gorecki. I recommend:

• Alfred Schnittke
• Valentin Silvestrov
• Olivier Messiaen
• John Tavener
• Sofia Gubaidulina
• Morton Feldman
• Charles Ives

Cool, thanks. It is quite a daunting prospect exploring a genre that I have largely ignored until now.