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comment by jleopold
jleopold  ·  3107 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I need classical music recommendations

You should look up a brief history of 'classical' music, because what is colloquially termed 'classical' includes a broad range of eras and styles. Mozart is true classical music (later, as opposed to Bach who pretty much started classical music, as opposed to early and Renaissance music, although it is really more of gradual shift). Beethoven on the other hand, the latest of the big three, is a Romantic composer. I think the best way to describe the difference is that Romantic pieces are 'showier.' Romanticism developed into various styles and substyles, which has continued to today.

If you want a good guide to the technical aspects, Aaron Copeland wrote a book titled How to Listen to Music. Included is one of the best guides to the essential pieces.

Here's a list of my personal recommendations as they come to mind:

1. Aaron Copeland -Appalachian Spring

2. Aaron Copeland- Lincoln Portrait

3. Dvorak-Symphony From the New World

4. Leonard Bernstein-Candid (whole opera, hilarious. On a side note, watch him conduct it. He doesn't really conduct, he just stands on the podium and dances. He's a genius.)

5. Shostakovich-Leningrad Symphony

6. Stravinsky- Firebird

7. Stravinsky-Rite of Spring

8. Mussorgsky-Pictures at an Exhibition

9. Handel-Water Music

10. Holst-The Planets

11. Vivaldi-The Seasons

12. Mussorgsky-Night on Bald Mountain

13. Gershwin-Symphony in Blue

14. Beethoven-Moonlight Sonata

15. Ives-Variations on America

16. Grieg-Peer Gynt

17. Sibelius-Finlandia

18. Tchaikovsky-1812 Overture (preferably with cannons)

19. Tchaikovsky-Swan Lake

20. Tchaikovsky-Sleeping Beauty

21. Tchaikovsky-The Nutcracker

22. Tchaikovsky-Symphony No. 6

23. Wagner- Entire Ring Cycle

24. Wagner-Siegfried Idyll

25. Schubert-Unfinished Symphony

26. Handel-Messiah

27. Stravinsky-Mass

28. Mozart-Requiem

29. Haydn-Symphony No. 94 (not a typo, he wrote a ton)

30. Debussy-Syrinx

31. Debussy-Claire de Lund

32. Debussy-La Mer

33. William Schuman-New England Triptych

34. All of Sousa's marches

35. Dukas-The Sorcerer's Apprentice

36. Strauss-Waltz Danube

37. Strauss-Also Sprach Zarathustra

I run out of steam there. The problem with remembering the amazing pieces is that they may have number names, and then it's just not going to happen for me. Obviously, I have a bias. Syrinx is only on there because I play flute. Russians are e extremely over-represented. I don't love the Big Three, and I detest Chopin, so they're pretty absent. But, hopefully based on some of these, you can find what you like. Given more time, I could triple this list pretty easily, but it's late, and bed is calling. Enjoy!





someguyfromcanada  ·  3106 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Late to the game here but... everyone listens to and knows classical music to some extent even if they do not realize it.

Beethovens 5th and Also Sprach Zarathustra are prime examples.

I have noticed that newbies often find Baroque tunes most easily accessible. Go for Baroque!

BTW I find it interesting that you listed 2 Copland's but not Fanfare for the Commom Man.

jleopold  ·  3105 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That was an oversight on my part. It wasn't a comprehensive list by any means (I didn't even start on modern symphonic band pieces, which are what I know best). I'm a little biased against Fanfare because they played it the year before I joined the upper level band at my school, and so I missed it. I did get to play Lincoln Portrait though. Anyone of those three (plus Rodeo) really cement Copeland as one of the top American composers. I'd say Sousa and him are tied for first in my opinion.

someguyfromcanada  ·  3105 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I assumed so. Understandable. One of the embarrassing stories my Mother tells about me is about when she walked into the living room and I was lying on the floor with Tchaikovsky blaring when I was about 5. She turned it down and asked me what I was doing. I said I was listening to God. I still believe that.

Assume list. I certain did not mean to be critical.

War  ·  3106 days ago  ·  link  ·  

An impressive list of music that will definitely take my time to work through. There are definitely some names on that list that are familiar, so I'm not completely hopeless haha. Thanks again for the recommendations.

kingmudsy  ·  3106 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Are you making a playlist of this on a site where I would be able to follow it? If not, would anyone be interested in such a playlist?

War  ·  3106 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Well, Spotify had a lot of the music. I'm still currently assembling something on there. I'm not too great at assembling playlists outside of Spotify haha (So far I'm at about 39 hours of music, and that was pretty much just Coffee's list).

kingmudsy  ·  3104 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Nice! Would you be willing to post a link for me to follow?

War  ·  3104 days ago  ·  link  ·