Classical Music!

[Clive Staples Sibelius]

Besides being a Narnia lover, my other big hobby in life is Classical Music. I got started listening to the Star Wars soundtracks, and fell in love with classical music as a result.

If there are any worries about me being a Classica snob, I assure I am not. Even if you consider movie scores to be Classical Music, I am willing to talk about it.

To start off, why not mention some composers? Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Tchaikovsky are no doubt familiar to us. I'll just throw it out there now that my personal favorite is a french composer named Hector Berlioz. His most famous piece is called "Symphonie fantastique," an orchestral work that depicts a story in music. If you see Disney's "The Aristocats," one of the little kittens is named after him.

So, let's have at it! Name any piece or composer that you like

[Shadowlander]

I hope the mods let this thread stay open. *crosses fingers*

I was raised on Classical myself (my parents forbid me from listening to rock music on the radio for a goodly portion of my formative years) and developed a deep love for it. I love all the composers you listed (Tchaikovsky gets probably a bit too much face time, but he had an unmatched sense of melody and was quite prolific to boot) and feel I should go ahead an toss in Felix Mendelssohn too. I can listen to Mendelssohn almost anytime and anyplace.

Most folks will recognize Symphony #4 "Italian" and his Violin Concerto in E. Great stuff! The latter always requires an amazing violinst to basically guide the whole piece through and is the centerpiece of the concerto from start to finish. The kid in the link is amazing!

[Clive Staples Sibelius]

Shadowlander,

I love Mendelssohn's music too! Especially the two works you mentioned. Do you know his oratorios "Elijah" and "St. Paul"? Grand works in the tradition of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" and Handel's "Messiah."

As for myself, my journey to Classical was somewhat in the opposite direction. My parents listened to a variety of things, and I slowly became the lone wolf, musically.

I do indeed hope the mods let this thread stay open!

[Shadowlander]

I'm not familiar with those two, but the piteous few CD's I have left (don't go there) have a few other favorites of mine on them. He did the "Wedding March" that folks play at their weddings too. This will sound a bit...weird...I'm sure but back in the day I used to listen to Classical exclusively when I would read the Classics. And so certain pieces I tend to associate with different books since they meshed well with what I was reading (by the by, does this happen to anyone else? Just curious).

Mendolssohn - Fingal's Cave Overture goes quite well with Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. Not surprising, eh?

I read the Bounty Trilogy and Treasure Island while I was TDY to St. Croix back in the very early 90's. On my off days I'd park my behind in a hammock in between two palm trees and listen to Holst's The Planets and the two went together fantastically (Actually reading a book in a setting similar to that which it takes place in adds tenfold to the enjoyment...maybe that's why I love Bounty so dearly). Probably because there's several melodies in the piece that fit nicely to. Interesting to note that Holst wasn't a soldier at all and had no practical knowledge of warfare, but comes out with a spectacular martial piece (I love brass ) when he laid out the melody for Mars - The Bringer of War. It really captures the essence of warfare perfectly. Saturn - The Bringer of Old Age is another of my favorites too with its somber melody.

On the flipside if you want to get some serious work done on the lawn, hop on the lawnmower and slide in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. A bit dark for casual listening, but I feel like Conan the Destroyer riding over grass that's gotten too tall for its own good.

[-eliza-]

Well, my parents listened to classical music. So I didn't hear anything but classical music until I was...11 or something. I do like classical music, especially Mozart, Bach and Händel (it's funny btw how English and American people (and also the French) pronounce those names But I'm sure I'll have an accent to when I'm talking about, say, Obama or something XD)
I listen to classical music every morning when I drive to school with my mum. Just a few days ago I heard about a 17 year old (girl) who played the violin. She was so good! I'd love to play that good, but I just stopped violin lessons.

[Adeona]

Thank you -eliza- for your vote of confidence in my pronunciation skills! So who would you say can correctly pronounce those names?

That's neat about the book-music pairings Shadowlander! I can't say that I've ever noticed the same thing, because I tend not to listen to anything while I'm reading. Not even my mom! Sounds like I should try your methods, though. Your Rite of Mowing reminds me of something in my own life, but I can't remember what at the moment.
Oh. I was listening to my collection of Eastern European Dances (Brahms, Dvorak, Smetana, Glinka) while mucking out the goat yard and fell to prancing around with the rake!

How about Modest Mussorgsky? My dad likes his work. I don't think he's one of the best, but he did write some fun pieces. In fact, several of his works remind me of the old BBC Narnia series (which I knew first).

[Clive Staples Sibelius]

Shadowlander,

The music-book connection is not at all weird. I have those experiences all the time. I associate Sibelius' Symphony No.7 with Voyage of the Dawn Treader (thus the choice of my forum name!)

eliza,

You'd have to hear me say them to be able to tell whether I pronounce them right, but I can at least tell you that...the Z in Mozart is hard, and so has a tz sound. Bach is tricky to explain, but the CH sound at the end is soft and sort of "floats" off. Handel should be Handle, except if you're German and keep the umlaut (not the same as omelette ), in which case it is pronounced Hendel (as in Grendel).

Adeona,

Mussorgsky is interesting, but alas he wrote so little. It's easy to forget about him just because his works are so few. I got tired of Night on Bald Mountain pretty fast. I like his piano works best.

[Shadowlander]

How about Modest Mussorgsky? My dad likes his work. I don't think he's one of the best, but he did write some fun pieces.

I've only listened to two of Mussorgsky's pieces; the aforementioned Night on Bald Mountain (which gained a lot of popularity thanks to Disney's Fantasia (1940)) and Pictures At An Exhibition. I like both and think if you enjoy Bald Mountain you'll probably go for Pictures too. Bonus: Smurf music included.

[Aslanisthebest]

Ooh, classical music!

Among my favourites are Bach, Chopin, Haydn, Franck, Grieg and some others.
It's really hard to pick which of Bach's pieces I like best. I've learnt Minuet, and the curriculum we follow for piano makes us play several Bach pieces. Andante, Thrid movement from Sonata in D minor, BWV 964 by him is a favourite, too. Prelude and Fugue from Book 2, No. 12 from The Well-Tempered Clavier is a gorgeous song. I really respect how Bach always signed his pieces with "INJ" (In the name of Jesus).
I really, really like Chopin's Nocturne Op. 72 No. 1. I can play about the first page on piano, but I quit 'cause I didn't really like playing the rest. Otherwise, a lot of Chopin's music is really lovely.

For Haydn, I really like listening to/playing Vivace assai, No. 11 from XII petites pieces.

Frank's piece, The Doll's Complaint, is really sweet.

And for Greig, I really like Norwegian Air, No. 6 from Lyric Pieces, Op. 12. (It's fun to play, but it's like...really fast.)

My sister's playing Giga, Fifth movement from Suite No. 4 in A minor composed by Richard Jones and it's such a beautiful piece!

Classical music is the best. =]

[sweeetlilgurlie]

Classical music, eh?

I love playing classical music on the piano. Though, technically, some of it is from the Romantic period and some is from the Baroque. I'll play the occassional contemporary piece, but I don't like those so well.

Right now I'm playing one of Mendelssohn's songs without words: Hunting Song. It's very vibrant and exciting, and I like it alot.

I'm also playing a bit of Haydn as well as some Bach. Haydn is my Classical Artist, Bach is Baroque. For Haydn, I'm learning one of his e flat minor Sonatas, and for Bach I'm playing the Scherzo from Partita No. 3.

Something neat that I learned about composers:

Many of them were employed at the courts of kings or other royalty. Their job was to compose musical pieces for balls, parties, or any old thing. Many of these composers received very little recognition while they were alive. Haydn was one of these; he was the court composer for Esterhazy.

A cool thing about Haydn is that when he couldn't think of anything to compose, he would get down on his knees and pray until he thought of something.

[220chrisTian]

Nice thread, Clive!

Favorite composers:
Rachmaninov [ff = yuck]: Piano concerto #2, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique--Witch's sabbath
Grieg: Wedding March, Peer Gynt stuff, Piano concerto #1
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an exhibition--The Great gate of Kiev
Brahms: shorter pieces
Dvorak: Hungarian dances

I'll be back after I've gone through my classical playlist on YouTube.

[TheGeneral]

Well from Europe I like a lot of stuff by Johann Strauss II (Die Fledermaus is a great operetta), and some Beethoven is good too.

I also like some Hindustani classical music (Ravi Shankar to name one is an amazing musician). But I stress the word 'some', a lot of it has too many microtones which don't sound good to my western ears.

[wild rose]

Bach!!!!! my favorite composer of all time. I can listen to him for hours and never get tired of his music. I also like Beethoven, Mozart, Handle and of course Tchaikovsky (it would be a crime in my family not to like him, I like a lot of his small unfamous works more than his famous one though)
I also like slow instrumentals in general (I play them a lot in my room as I heard it is good for plant growth )

[Clive Staples Sibelius]

I'm so happy to see all these posts! . I'll try to respond to all of you...


Aslanisthebest,

Classical Music really IS the best. At least, one can't help but feel that way while listening to it .

22chrisTian,

Berlioz is my favorite! I know the Symphonie fantastique inside and out. Since you're a YouTube kind of person, check out the Berlioz Requiem on there conducted by Leonard Bernstein. And yes---I agree that the double FF for Rachmanino- is not as good as the V.

Sweetlilgurlie,

Haydn wasn't obscured so much as he was isolated from the world. At least, his fame DID spread during his lifetime, and when his contract with the Esterhazy court was up, he traveled Europe writing on commission. In fact, this is what brought about his most famous works, the 'London' Symphonies and the oratorios 'The Creation' and 'The Seasons' .

TheGeneral,

Have you heard Shankar's two Sitar Concertos? A melding of Eastern and Western classical traditions. You would enjoy them, I think.

wild rose,

I love all those composers you mention . Mt favorite work of Bach's is The Art of Fugue. My favorite work by Handel is the Concerto a Due Cori #2.

[Shadowlander]

I have to admit to a fondness for Disney's Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Sterling Holloway (the voice of Winnie the Pooh). Great animation and great music. I also have to put forth that my favorite Disney cartoon is Fantasia, a film which put animation to well known Classical music pieces.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice, starring Mickey Mouse.

[Aravis Narnia]

I am a big classical music buff. I have watched several famous works performed on stage, including Beethoven's 9th Symphony. I have a lot of classical music on CD and MP3. I do enjoy it when they use classical music in cartoons- especially when it can be humorous.