Anyone into classical music?

i dont know nearly as much as i should about classical, but have been listening my whole life and Shostakovitch is who has always been there, remembering back to six or eight years old... haha ...when i do listen to him its 'quartets & quintets' or solo string-instruments almost always.

i love the abstractness(is one word) of his work, the melancholy that does fall into place after a few touch-&-goes along the way - his piano solo's i do collect, and they are the more minimal-omniscient "rainy-day/cold-night" stuff
;-)

after so many years of listening regularly, and then not for a few months the same songs do have new appeal as far layers that stand out more, or various changes and resonance between instruments i had never noticed.


a quick mention about Chopin is that his 'Nocturne for Violin and Piano' - is my favorite of any Nocturnes i have heard, easily - i can listen to that on repeat all day, and have most of the day several times.. .

Chopin - Nocturne for piano and violin
-^ listen for the exhale at 2:12
;-)
 
I haven't heard this, actually, so I need to listen. The most brilliant nocturne to me is op. 62 no. 2 in e major. Gentle, beautiful and celestial... the slow scales leading into the middle theme and again into the outro are beautiful and display the ambivalent melancholy of the night so perfectly. The raging middle theme is passionate and powerful - truly, truly beautiful.

when I'm not busy later I'll link to my favorite performance of ballade no. 4, my favorite piece of music written (not just classical).
 
I have barely anything constructive to add other than Chopin is so predictable, so flashy, so needlessly excessive in all the wrong places, so ... just ... so ... Chopin.

I went through a Chopin phase, then I found Rachmaninov, Mahler and Wagner, and realised I'd been wrong all along.

Of course this is all completely subjective and if you love Chopin more than I love Mahler, that's great, I'm pleased you can find the pleasure in it, but for me, in comparison it just seems so shallow and soulless. Even compared to early Renaissance choral music which has real emotive power, but no real depth of texture, I find Chopin predictable and ... just a bit insipid really.

Heh, I dunno. I don't like the overwhelming majority of what I've heard of what Mozart wrote either, so who knows, maybe I'm the odd one. (K626 being the exception if anyone's a Mozart buff and was interested).
 
HerrSchnaufer said:
I have barely anything constructive to add other than Chopin is so predictable, so flashy, so needlessly excessive in all the wrong places, so ... just ... so ... Chopin.

I went through a Chopin phase, then I found Rachmaninov, Mahler and Wagner, and realised I'd been wrong all along.

Of course this is all completely subjective and if you love Chopin more than I love Mahler, that's great, I'm pleased you can find the pleasure in it, but for me, in comparison it just seems so shallow and soulless. Even compared to early Renaissance choral music which has real emotive power, but no real depth of texture, I find Chopin predictable and ... just a bit insipid really.

Heh, I dunno. I don't like the overwhelming majority of what I've heard of what Mozart wrote either, so who knows, maybe I'm the odd one. (K626 being the exception if anyone's a Mozart buff and was interested).
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I despise mozart, however I really can't believe that the first time you listened to the last 3 ballades you found of them "predictable." That isn't to say that you don't like him, and maybe I just don't have the "musical intuition" to find these pieces predictable. i also think that people find chopin "predictable" because he made a lot of melodies that were almost prototypical of the stereotypical "romantic" music, which isn't exactly fair because if you lived in that age, they probably wouldn't so predictable.

whereas, i found rachmaninoff's 1st and 2nd piano concertos completely predictable, and his last two, as well as most of his preludes (aside from op 23 5, and op 32 12, which are beautiful) just plain odd, non-fluid and unpleasant sounding.

i do think that chopin is often unfairly criticized for "predictability" or convention when he 1) broke quite a few conventions in form and texture in some of his more complex pieces, and 2) used convention arpeggios in such a fluid and beautiful way to actually express emotion rather than going balls-to-the-walls with needless experimentalism.

but of course i respect other opinions... its not like i can't see the appeal of composers like rachmaninoff (although, i can't quite see how chopin is "needlessly flashy" and rachmaninoff isn't? if anything, i would say this maybe of liszt, whose climaxes are just absurd sometimes.. the only "flashy" or superficial parts of chopin that i concede are his overuse of trills in some nocturnes, but even that has a sort of fitting fluidity to it), i guess just i like predictable ol' chopin :P
 
I like Pachelbel's Canon. It is very touching on my heart... Some kinds i can reduce my stress after hearing that melody...
 
IamMe90 said:
I despise mozart, however I really can't believe that the first time you listened to the last 3 ballades you found of them "predictable." That isn't to say that you don't like him, and maybe I just don't have the "musical intuition" to find these pieces predictable. i also think that people find chopin "predictable" because he made a lot of melodies that were almost prototypical of the stereotypical "romantic" music, which isn't exactly fair because if you lived in that age, they probably wouldn't so predictable.

whereas, i found rachmaninoff's 1st and 2nd piano concertos completely predictable, and his last two, as well as most of his preludes (aside from op 23 5, and op 32 12, which are beautiful) just plain odd, non-fluid and unpleasant sounding.

i do think that chopin is often unfairly criticized for "predictability" or convention when he 1) broke quite a few conventions in form and texture in some of his more complex pieces, and 2) used convention arpeggios in such a fluid and beautiful way to actually express emotion rather than going balls-to-the-walls with needless experimentalism.

but of course i respect other opinions... its not like i can't see the appeal of composers like rachmaninoff (although, i can't quite see how chopin is "needlessly flashy" and rachmaninoff isn't? if anything, i would say this maybe of liszt, whose climaxes are just absurd sometimes.. the only "flashy" or superficial parts of chopin that i concede are his overuse of trills in some nocturnes, but even that has a sort of fitting fluidity to it), i guess just i like predictable ol' chopin :P
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Oh I think the thing is I started on the Ballades, so before I properly "listened" to them, I knew them. Perhaps that's where it all went wrong.

Rach 1 is a little dull, yes, but 2 I found unique and 3 I couldn't disagree more. It's Rach 3 for christ sake! :p

I'm intrigued that you find the preludes boring. Have you ever heard Hofmanns interpretation of the C# Minor Prelude (op. 3 no. 2)? It's completely different to Rachmaninovs and brings the piece to life in a way that a pianist has never connected with me before.

It's also the only video recording of him in existence (there are more audio, just no video).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj5cNBCNcPQ

I think perhaps it's over exposure to Chopin which has led to my apathy towards his music. Rach, or Mahler on the other hand ... I could never get bored of the Rach Vespers. Funeral music that shit is. When I die, I'm going to subject my mourners to all 15 movements, and Mahlers 5th Symphony and the first act of Tristan und Isolde in their entirety.

If you're not familiar with the Rach Vespers, see if you can find the recording with the Corydon Singers and Matthew Best at the helm. Best recording I've ever listened to, and a brilliant tenor in the 2nd mvt (Blagoslovi,n dushe moya).
 
HerrSchnaufer said:
I think perhaps it's over exposure to Chopin which has led to my apathy towards his music. Rach, or Mahler on the other hand ... I could never get bored of the Rach Vespers. Funeral music that shit is. When I die, I'm going to subject my mourners to all 15 movements, and Mahlers 5th Symphony and the first act of Tristan und Isolde in their entirety.
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lol
fantastic!


=D
... im not familiar with the selection, but i hope its a good 1.5hr sleeper.
hahaa
i thought of Ye Sacred Muses by William Byrd right away reading that
_________________________________________________________

and thats damn interesting, i had no idea that Rach wrote Vespers, or anyone really did for that matter...:-x
now i have something to do for the night..!

- - - - - - - - - - -
Edit:

hmmm --
it sure can be interesting to be ignorant...sometimes.

yeah, Rachmaninoff did write a few vespers - haha - annnd "perfect"
is a word i can try and use, i go to Schubert often for similar compositions.
 
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How had I never discovered Josef Hofmann before?! The benchmark for technique by which all other pianists fail.

So quick as well. At first I thought too quick, but now almost all other pianists just seem sluggish and over-indulgent.

I really haven't heard a better interpretation of Rachmaninov's Prelude in C# Minor (Op. 3 No. 2) than this one (incidentally, one of the only bits of video footage of Hofmann in existence)
 
^ Wow! :D Remarkable Indeed! I think there is a little Hoffman in my brain beating out a Rachmaninov tune ;)
 
Asclepius said:
^ Wow! :D Remarkable Indeed! I think there is a little Hoffman in my brain beating out a Rachmaninov tune ;)
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If that impressed you, try listening to this one. Chopin Ballade No. 1 in G Minor.

The speed he takes the Presto Con Fuoco section just defies belief. If you don't want to listen to all 8 minutes of it (a piece which most pianists usually take 10+ minutes to play), just listen from 6 minutes 50. He goes through two gear changes before he gets to the Presto Con Fuoco, one at 7.03 and the next just a few seconds later at 7.09.

Completely and utterly ridiculous. Well worth listening to that last minute and a half if nothing else.

panic in paradise said:
{Rachmaninoff - Now Let Thy Servant Depart }
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Ahh Nyne otpushchaeshi. I love the Vespers. Did you know that Rach had that one at his Funeral? (Funnily enough given the lyrical meaning I guess :p )

You should also look out for a version sung by the Corydon Singers. Not that the one you linked isn't perfectly pleasant and acceptable, but the Corydon Singers recording just does something extra for me.



Out of interest, does anyone know (and this is a real stab in the dark, I doubt anyone that hasn't sung Choral Evensong on a regular basis will have even the remotest idea what I'm on about, but I'll ask regardless ... ) a little psalm chant in B Flat Minor which was composed by Herbert Howells?

I can upload a version somewhere if no-one has, but it's so little known, it's not on youtube, not in the extensive Naxos Music Library, in fact I'm quite amazed there's a recording of it in existence at all.

Such a gorgeous little 16 bar piece of SATB composition with a dominant 13th which just makes it interesting every time it's repeated.

I'll dig it out and see about putting it on youtube or something.
 
I find my classical favourites more deeply moving and involving than I ever find "rock" music- my personal favourites are
Sibelius, Shostakovitch, Bartok, Hindemith-not necessarily in that order- the "swan calls" in Sibelius' 5th and the Engelsconzert from Mathis der Maler reduce me to tears every time.
 
JJ-180 said:
I find my classical favourites more deeply moving and involving than I ever find "rock" music- my personal favourites are
Sibelius, Shostakovitch, Bartok, Hindemith-not necessarily in that order- the "swan calls" in Sibelius' 5th and the Engelsconzert from Mathis der Maler reduce me to tears every time.
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FUCK YES.

Rattle conducts Berlin Phil (in HD).

Or if you want to listen uninterrupted ... Karajan conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra.

I was never a huge fan of Sibelius until a friend of mine introduced me to Bernstein conducting Sibelius 2.

Converted = check.
 
HerrSchnaufer, i wound up getting a David Hill BBC Singers version - and it doesnt sit right with me, something about it is off...any other other versions you might recommended ill try and check out; so the Corydon Singers it is.
;-)

i did not know that about Let Thy Servant Depart, but see the connection there !
ive had that in my head over the weekend actually.
(ohhh i see - i was listening, and heard "Herr..." so i went to read the lyrics -- im new to this and a crash land catch-22 you see, and so as i am, the unorthodox construction of myself wants to take charge, i suppose for re-construction...lol)
;-)


anyone like bells?
Utrecht Dom: Van Wou kerkklokken Hervormde kerk
around 12-13 minutes it starts to get fairly mesmerizing & the sound is outstanding.
 
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I had a low dose 2c-e (10/12mg) trip last week and was just drawn to classical music for its purity and beauty rather than modern music (not that I dislike modern music at all).

Some timeless classics I indulged in were:
Mozart - Eine Kleine Natchtmusik
Williams - Greensleeves
Bach - Air on a G string
Bach - Goldberg variations
Pachelbel - Canon
Debussy - Clair de Lune
Barber - Adagio for strings
 
^
nice, people have no idea what they are missing out on!
and im only referring to listening to "classical" on psychedelics.
now if you are a real fool, listening to a quartet while dipping into
speed-balls, or iv cocaine is un-comparable...maybe sex, maybe not!
maybe 15 years ago this was one of my favorite things to do...
heheuhg.
FFS - when those strings start resonating off the other instruments, and the cello starts its own WAHWAHWAH - everything just picks up that pristine crisp bell-tone, and expanding droning like glass stretching and bending - eh, nevermind haha


Black Tape For A Blue Girl - For You Will Burn Your Wings Upon The Sun
^"neo-classical" if you will, very good:-D, love it.
 
My girlfriend hates it when I confuse Baroque and Classical. She plays violin, and she played in a Baroque string quartet or something.

I like to get a rise out of her, so I'll start making up names. "Yeah, I'm a big fan of all things neo-classical Baroquian renaissance, early period, of course."

No, but seriously, I should start listening to more classical music. Any suggestions?
 
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