High School Really
 

I had been playing music in school ensembles for a while but when I got to high school I joined a talented youth symphony and the moment I heard the symphony blast first note to the Phantom of the Opera theme I just melted at how great classical music could be, especially when we played March to the Scaffold which was definitely my favorite of the performance.

classical has never really got a hold on me, i have tried though,allbeit, through the classical albums of one of my favourite artists in Paul McCartney...but i still dont 'get it' at all...
maybe one day the penny will drop and i'll love classical music

One piece that truly made an impact on me was Bach's Matthew's Passion. I would post a link, but I can't yet.

I think it's fair to say this piece changed my life.

Wow.. This is an amazing creation in classical music. I love listening to this kind of music. Thanks for providing this stuff..

I was more-or-less raised around classical music, and started swimming with the stream only faster (as Quentin Crisp would put it). Dad was definitely not a musician (although his brother was). However, for a non-musician, his appreciation of classical music was above-average. The light classics, anyway. As a former G.I., he always had a vague aversion to German music after Beethoven. To listen to Wagner would be especially unpatriotic. Mom played the piano somewhat, like every self-respecting young lady in her time (especially an upper-mid-westerner of German background) and kept at it just for pleasure. I must have been about 14 before I was confident that I could play better than she did. Naturally, a good middle-class home would also have a piano, in her view, and all the children would take piano lessons for a couple years at least. As I recall, all of my grade-school teachers could play the piano, too; it was almost taken for granted. How the times have changed.

One piece playing on the phonograph often when I was a little kid was Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 by Enesco. It's very bright and cheerful and easy to listen to. That wouldn't be a bad start. At age 10, by then fascinated by the organ, I discovered Dad's old "78" of the Piece Heroique by Franck and nearly wore it out. It was the first piece of organ sheet music I ever bought, and I tried to learn it (quite a hopeless task at that stage). It so happened that he had heard the college organist play it when he was in college, asked him what it was, and bought a recording when he could. Some thirty years later, I would became an eager student of that same college organist: nice circle of good karma.

Beethoven's Fur Elise got me into classical stuff.

My parents were both classical fans and had (have) a very extensive collection. But I think what really did it for me was my first formal piano teacher (after my mom) was a big Chopin fan, so I started learning the easier pieces at a fairly early age. I still have a special love for them, especially the Nocturns.

The piece that made me want to delve into classical more was Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the Winter movement to be specific. That part is sick as f*ck. I also liked a lot of Chopin pieces that I was hearing.

( https://www.musicbanter.com/games-li...litz-game.html )

I've given classical music a chance once or twice in the past, but nothing has ever really stuck, so I'm bumping this without much to comment.

Having said that, I've just noticed two posts on this page:-

^ Anyone who refs Quentin Crisp gets a thumbs up from me because I am right now rereading QC's autobiog, The Naked Civil Servant.

^ I had no idea that McCartney had written any classical music. TBH, instead of getting me into the genre, this clip made me hit the pause button after 57 seconds. Is that long enough for me to claim that I've given it a try?

Well what classical works have you tried and what do you remember about them? Also, what kinds of music are you generally a fan of?

McCartney's forays into classical are best ignored.