I'm making a point of getting back into classical music, which I departed from regularly listening to after high school. Today it's been this
Mahler's Symphony #5
It's a beautiful piece, but I'm looking for something a bit more piano-centric, and I'm not sure where to begin. If anyone has some suggestions, including
Owl, do you have any classical suggestions for OftenBen given he's after something a bit more "piano-centric" than the Mahler he's currently listening to? OB, I'm a fan of Eric Satie due to Owl's introducing me to him. His most famous piece is a great start, I'm guessing you may already know it:
Oh hey there. I haven't been on in a while (mostly busy with real life stuff), but I'm always up to share some classical music I love to others. If piano pieces are what you want, OftenBen, here are a few pieces that I absolutely love: Ravel - Miroirs no. 3: Un barque sur l'ocean: This is a wonderful piece by ravel in a series of piano pieces, all of which are good, but this one is my favorite of the bunch. It's calm, melodic, meditative and very oceanic if I do say so myself. A wonderful piece by one of my favorite composers. Ravel - Piano Concerto for the Left Hand As a lefty, it is almost an obligation to post this wonderful piece by Ravel. Would you believe this piece was composed for famous Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's brother? Didn't even know he had a brother before discovering this piece! Paul Wittgenstein lost his hand in a war but still wanted to play piano, so he got Ravel to write this piece for him. Unfortunately Ravel was incredibly displeased at Paul when he performed it, because Paul decided to change a few things in the piece to make it more palatable to his musical tastes. This is a wonderful, heroic sounding piece, just like Paul. Alexander Scriabin - Piano Sonata no. 5 I've listened to a lot of versions of this piece, but Sultanov imo does it best. When I first listened to this I felt as if I was listening to some cosmic otherworldly music. Really amazing stuff here. Simeon Ten Holt - Canto Ostinato Got two hours? This piece is really something beautiful. Whenever I listen to this piece it's like my mind wanders through medieval labyrinths. It's a very minimal, meditative and almost transformative piece. My favorite part of the entire piece has to be section 88. A very dark and lonely sounding, but beautiful part. Unfortunately this isn't my favorite version, but it's the only one on youtube. The one I first listened to, and is my favorite, takes it much faster and spends more time repeating 88 quite a bit. Kasputin - Piano Sonata no. 8 This piece is very jazzy. Kasputin is a perfect blend of jazz and classical that is really worth a listen if you like either genre. Valentin Silvestrov - Last Love Silvestrov is a wonderful Ukrainian composer. His sixth symphony is one of my favorite symphonies of all time, but this isn't about symphonies, lol. This piece in particular is terrible. Yeah right; It's stunningly beautiful. As is this piece by him: He's well worth a listen to, but be forewarned, he is a modern composer. Other pieces by him might be a bit more inaccessible for those who dislike modern music, but if you give him a shot, I think you'll grow to like it. Try this piece: Walter Abendroth - Piano Concerto The stuff you find on youtube, I tell ya. I don't know much of anything about this guy, but I found this when randomly listening to obscure composers on youtube and really like it. Perhaps it's not Tchaikovsky, but I found it nice enough in any case. Granados - Valses Poeticos Very melodic and beautiful waltzes. Theodor Adorno - Piano Piece A very interesting dream-like piece. Debussy - Images I: Reflets dans l'eau Debussy is another favorite of mine, and this piece in particular is a favorite of mine. The first piece of his I ever listened to was his suite Bergamasque: Which is very beautiful and contains the famous Clair de Lune, which you've probably heard somewhere else before in a movie or game or maybe mentioned by someone in a book. A very beautiful piece. Steve Reich - Piano Counterpoint A beautiful minimalistic piece. Minimalism might not be for everyone, but this piece, among others by him, are really something great. Watching the work slowly alter, evolve and change is really something that's a treat to my ears. His Music for 18 Musiciansis also a minimalist masterpiece, albeit not entirely piano, though it plays an important part in the piece in any case: My favorite part has to be his section IIIA The piano is performed by Reich himself, btw. ...I think that's enough for now. I could go on, but I think that's enough piano tunes and places to search for more piano tunes... Well, actually, one more: Camille Saint Saens - The Swan The piano is mostly in the background compared to the violin that just tugs at your heartstrings, but I think it still belongs here. It's a very beautiful piece.
Added these to a youtube playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvAxUOx-L--n34XKwV2Sp7U1SBpoGnMK_
Since someone else mentioned him, Arvo Pärt - Spiegel Im Spiegel: Leonard Rose and Glenn Gould - Beethoven's Cello Sonata no. 3 Speaking of our good buddy Glenn - J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations (short interview, then complete performance)
I'm taking this as my prompt to start a new tag to follow for classical music. A few months ago I lazily didn't follow through with a suggestion to Owl to pick up something of a joint venture to bring back classical music here, but now I'm thinkin it'd be worth digging into.