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The Classical Music Discussion Thread

LudovicoLudovico
in General Discussion Posts: 14,868
Well, what it says on the tin. Discuss classical music, in its broader sense, so including baroque, romanticism, etc.

Comments

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,659
    I will start by apologizing for not having any sort of formal training in the matter. I'm not always sure how to phrase things in the proper terminology. I simply enjoy listening to classical music, with a profound admiration for DeBussy, Ravel, Rachmaninov, Ligeti, and Chopin.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,868
    I did recorder through my childhood, then oboe for six years. When I was accepted in a music school as a teenager, I felt like such a dumbass I quitted after three years. It put me off classical music for a little while. Then I learned classical singing privately, just for kicks. Loved it.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,884
    Good to see this thread being created. Hopefully we'll learn something about everyone's favourite pieces of classical music and favourite composers and symphonies. I'm a Mozart fan and this is one of my favourite pieces from him. I recall listening to it on an old record player in the 1990s:

  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited May 13 Posts: 23,673
    Gustav Holst - The Planets was my first introduction into classical music at an early age. I have a decent collection of various works now only on CD, I had a large collection on LP though discarded them over 20 years ago.

    Holst: The Planets, 'Mars' - BBC Proms

    I would recommend The Planets as a good place to start for anyone not familiar with classical music.

    Carmen by Bizet and Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov are favorites of mine...

    Bizet : "Carmen" Overture conducted by Myung-Whun Chung (bis)


    Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade op.35 - Leif Segerstam - Sinfónica de Galicia


    Stravinsky The Rite of Spring // London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle

    This is also a phenomenal piece of music I often revisit.

    16. Tosca Aria Performance (Quantum of Solace Expanded Score)

    We are all familiar with this amazing piece of music, inspired musical choice for the film.
  • jobojobo
    edited May 14 Posts: 7,506
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I will start by apologizing for not having any sort of formal training in the matter. I'm not always sure how to phrase things in the proper terminology. I simply enjoy listening to classical music, with a profound admiration for DeBussy, Ravel, Rachmaninov, Ligeti, and Chopin.

    You really shouldn't apologize for anything! I am classicaly trained myself, but basically all of musician lingo is pointless. Only a snob would care about that.

    Anyway I see from your list of favorite composers that you have a pretty sophisticated taste. You definitely seem to like the impressionistic style, rich harmonies and creative orchestration. Ravel and Rachmaninov are two of the greatest geniuses we have ever had as a far as I am concerned.

    What's your opinion on Puccini? Based on your taste I think he should be right up your alley.

    I also recommend checking out Chausson. Both Debussy and Ravel admired him and were inspired by his music.
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Posts: 4,467













  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,659
    jobo wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I will start by apologizing for not having any sort of formal training in the matter. I'm not always sure how to phrase things in the proper terminology. I simply enjoy listening to classical music, with a profound admiration for DeBussy, Ravel, Rachmaninov, Ligeti, and Chopin.

    You really shouldn't apologize for anything! I am classicaly trained myself, but basically all of musician lingo is pointless. Only a snob would care about that.

    Anyway I see from your list of favorite composers that you have a pretty sophisticated taste. You definitely seem to like the impressionistic style, rich harmonies and creative orchestration. Ravel and Rachmaninov are two of the greatest geniuses we have ever had as a far as I am concerned.

    What's your opinion on Puccini? Based on your taste I think he should be right up your alley.

    I also recommend checking out Chausson. Both Debussy and Ravel admired him and were inspired by his music.

    @jobo
    Thank you for the kind words. And you're right concerning my love for impressionism. I have a similar taste in paintings. I don't know enough about Puccini and Chausson, but I'll be sure to check them out.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    edited May 16 Posts: 2,649
    A great new thread. I hope to learn a lot from you guys and girls.

    ... naturally, no list of great classical composers is complete without "Gavin Blod" :)
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,868
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Good to see this thread being created. Hopefully we'll learn something about everyone's favourite pieces of classical music and favourite composers and symphonies. I'm a Mozart fan and this is one of my favourite pieces from him. I recall listening to it on an old record player in the 1990s:


    I'm a big Mozart fan. Will share some of his lyrical work (one of the reasons why I consider him superior to Beethoven and others), but here's one of his pieces, popularised by the play and movie Amadeus:


    And the music described by Salieri in the play:
  • jobojobo
    edited May 17 Posts: 7,506
    Regarding the Amadeus film, I have to say I feel bad for Salieri who is now popularly remembered as the guy who sabotaged Mozart's career or even killed him. We do know from a couple of letters Mozart wrote that, when in occationally bad mood, he would write that the "italians in the court" where "snobs that didn't understand music". There is no evidence whatsoever though of them working against him.

    The movie is great though, has to be said. One of the best films of the 80s and one of the best examples of how to incorporate classical music into a film. It's impossible not to love Mozart's music having watched it.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,659
    jobo wrote: »
    Regarding the Amadeus film, I have to say I feel bad for Salieri who is now popularly remembered as the guy who sabotaged Mozart's career or even killed him. We do know from a couple of letters Mozart wrote that, when in occationally bad mood, he would write that the "italians in the court" where "snobs that didn't understand music". There is no evidence whatsoever though of them working against him.

    The movie is great though, has to be said. One of the best films of the 80s and one of the best examples of how to incorporate classical music into a film. It's impossible not to love Mozart's music having watched it.

    Amadeus is a great film. I love it to death. I have often wondered how correct a representation of the historical facts it is. Someone much better informed than me told me once not to think of the film as a history lesson. That's all I know, however.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,868
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    Regarding the Amadeus film, I have to say I feel bad for Salieri who is now popularly remembered as the guy who sabotaged Mozart's career or even killed him. We do know from a couple of letters Mozart wrote that, when in occationally bad mood, he would write that the "italians in the court" where "snobs that didn't understand music". There is no evidence whatsoever though of them working against him.

    The movie is great though, has to be said. One of the best films of the 80s and one of the best examples of how to incorporate classical music into a film. It's impossible not to love Mozart's music having watched it.

    Amadeus is a great film. I love it to death. I have often wondered how correct a representation of the historical facts it is. Someone much better informed than me told me once not to think of the film as a history lesson. That's all I know, however.

    They got surprisingly a lot of things right: Mozart was kinda crude (albeit not in front of the Court!), he did have issues with the Italian composers in Vienna, he was a big spender, he also had at times a conflictual relationship with his father, he greatly disliked Archbishop Coloredo, Salieri did have a sweet tooth, even the "too many notes" was said by the Emperor.

    If Mozart and Salieri respected each other IRL (they even collaborated on a piece), there's at least some evidence that Salieri did not like that Mozart started composing Italian operas (his turf) and it's possible that he tried to make it more difficult for Mozart to succeed in that area. That might be where the urban legend started.

    But Salieri's greatest contribution to music was probably as a music teacher: he taught Beethoven and many others. He might have been the greatest music teacher who ever existed.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    edited May 18 Posts: 14,868
    Here's a bit of Handel, so this thread doesn't become all about Mozart:


    By the way, there's a very indirect connection between Handel and James Bond. Or, more specifically, a certain Bond villain.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,659
    Any fans of Ligeti? I got to know the man thanks to Kubrick, obviously. Been something of a fan ever since. His music is not for everyone, though.

    By the way, should anyone wonder what turned me into Debussy fan, here's his best work in my opinion:
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,673
    I bought several audio cassette tapes today and this masterpiece was amongst them, phenomenal piece of music.

    Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto at The Royal Albert Hall - Sto Lat Celebration Concert
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,868
    I got this cd from my birthday a month ago. Pure bliss.
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