I am making a cd with some of my favorite classical pieces but my appreciation for the titles is pretty much limited to that which I have seard in a movie or wedding. I know that I LOVE the stuff but I don't want to sift through all of the crap to find the good ones. Here is what's going on my CD: Canon in D (Pachelbel) Carmina Burana (Orff) 5th, 9th, Bumblebee, moonlight (Beethoven) Ride of the Valkyries (Wags) 1812 (Tchaikovsky) I know it seems like a top 40 version of Classical Music but I don't care. It's what I like. My question is this: What other Classical pieces are kick ass and why? I want more suggestions for my cd. Thanks!!!!!!!
Mendolhsson (sp) Violin Concerto in E minor Bruch Violin Concerto Pagannini's Rhapsody Barber's Adagio in A (I think) - the music to Platoon Mozart's Requiem Beethoven's Ninth (Ode to Joy) any of Bach's string quartets
Vivaldi's 4 seasons is an excellent piece of work. Saying you like classical music is like saying you like rock. There are so many different types.
Seeing as you haven't mentioned Rachmaninoff, I must assume you haven't seen the movie "Shine." You really should.
Some I like that have not been mentioned. Holst- THe PLanets Aaron Copland-- Fanfare for the common man, and Portrait of Lincoln Handel- Water Music Stravinsky- Firebird Suite BTW while looking up some exact titles for this thread I ran across the following Cd which will probably soon be in my collection. http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserve...-MUSIC+OF+THE+COSMOS+\+VARIOUS/itemid=1030087
Oh, jeez, what a question!! I'll try to answer this now but I may leave some out... Piano Concerto #1 in B-Flat Minor - Tchaikovsky Symphony #6 (Pathetique) - Tchaikovsky Marche Slave - Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture - Tchaikovsky Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun - Debussy La Mer - Debussy Symphony #9 ("New World") - Dvorak Peer Gynt Suites 1 and 2 - Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor - Grieg Pictures at an Exhibition - Mussorgsky (get the version that was orchestrated by Ravel) All 6 Brandenburg Concertos - Bach Cantata #140 (Featuring "Sleepers Wake") - Bach Excerpts from Mass in B Minor, especially the Dona Nobis Pacem (or just get the whole thing!) - Bach Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Phantom of the Opera music) - Bach Water Music Suite - Handel Excerpts from Messiah (or get the whole thing) - Handel Royal Fireworks Music - Handel Enigma Variations - Elgar Pomp & Circumstance Marches 1-5 (includes the graduation one which might be #1?) - Elgar William Tell Overture - Rossini The Four Seasons - Vivaldi 1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky Symphony #40 - Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) - Mozart Excerpts from Tannhauser - Wagner Excerpts from Requiem - Mozart "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana (or the whole thing) - Orff Violin Concerto in E Minor - Mendelssohn Fingal's Cave - Mendelssohn Italian Symphony - Mendelssohn Symphony #5 - Beethoven Symphony #6 ("Pastoral") - Beethoven Symphony #7 - Beethoven Symphony #9 ("Choral") - Beethoven Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven The Planets - Holst Um, that is all that I can think of off the top of my head. You want reasons?? Hmmm...how about because all of these composers (especially Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Beethoven) are great?
"Air, On the G String" - Bach I first heard this in the movie "Seven" and have loved it ever since. It was the piece that was played while Morgan Freeman was sitting in the library studying some books and the janitors(?) were playing cards and Freeman said they didn't have any culture(?) and one of the janitors slammed this in his stereo and played it. An extremely beautifuly piece...great for when you and your 'luvah' want to eat sizzling goat loins while basking in a great hot tub of water and partaking of long sessions of 'luv' making. Ahhhhh luvah.....
An interesting piece, chance, is Art of Fugue by J. S. Bach. It can get very repetitive, but trying to follow the line makes it cool to listen to. After all, it is a fugue.
Hungarian Rhapsody by Listz (I probably didn't spell his name correctly) is a great song. Also, Dvorak's 9th symphony is excellent. Prelude to Madness/In the Hall of the Mountain King by Savatage is an asskicker.
We have covered this before (not preaching, just you may want to check out the other thread to see other suggestions). http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29247 I stand by my 2 favorites: Hindemith & Respighi (you can't go wrong with any of their major works).
Bach, "Air on 'G'." Actually, most anything by JSB will do. I wish my downstairs neighbors would listen to classical rather than cRAP.
Ravel's Bolero ROXTXIA I can't message you - so I hope you see this I grew up going to Hawkeye FB and BB Hawks look good this year!
Peer Gint March to the Scaffold (Berliotz) -- just for the name. Seriously, pretty good. A bunch that have been named already.
Manny - Your list is far too weighted in Baroque and Classical. You leave much off. PS - Since Chance asked for Classical music, does that mean he only wants 18th Century? I know...I am stupid. Or you all are. One of them has to be right.
rimbaud-funny (or sad) thing is, I noticed that too. Tchaikovsky's middle symphonies are all great (4, 5, 6). I personally like 6 the best. Capriccio Espagnol is definitely a good pick. Some others that haven't been mentioned in this list (probably mostly Romantic era)- Wagner- Parsifal Strauss- Ein Heldenleben Mahler- 1, 3, 5, 9 Bizet- Carmen Rimsky-Korsokov- Scheherezade (sp?) Being a trumpet player, I can't go without acknowledging the Haydn trumpet concerto, or the Hummel. NY Phil, CSO, and several European orchestras (notably London) have excellent recordings. I think the recording you buy makes a big difference. Safe bets from American symphonies are Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia (esp. Ormandy conductor), and Los Angeles. The others are a crapshoot. London and Israel are incredible overseas orchestras, and if you're getting a Russian symphony (like Tchaikovsky), usually a Russian recording is really good.
