Comments on: If Someone Wanted To Develop An Appreciation For Classical Music, What Are Some Essential Pieces?

By: mephisto

mephisto — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:54:35 +0000

Having no idea whatsoever as to your own personal tastes,
this list heavily reflects my own preference for the more dramatic music of the Romantic period following Beethoven.
Also there is no opera listed as I don’t care for it.
I’m aware I’ve omitted out some real masterpieces here(only 1 entry for Mozart! with no mention of the late symphonies and concertos absolutely unforgivable I know)
and I’ve similarly passed over some composers altogether
(like Shostakovich who I admire greatly but who is possibly an acquired taste)
Damnit! there are just so many to choose from.
So in chronological order by name of composer here are some of my essential choices)
Tomaso Albinoni – Adagio in G minor
Gregorio Allegri – Missere
J.S Bach – Goldberg Variations (for solo piano)
Unaccompanied Cello Suites Nos.1-6
Violin Partita No.2
Samuel Barber – Adagio for Strings
Ludwig Van Beethoven – complete Symphonies 1-9
Overtures to Egmont,Coriollan & Leonore III
String Quartets Nos.7-9 &13-16
Piano Concerto Nos.4 & 5
“Kreutzer” violin and piano sonata No.9
“Archduke” piano trio No.7
Piano Sonatas 8,14,23,29-32
“Diabelli” variations (solo piano)
Johannes Brahms – Tragic Overture
Alto Rhapsody
Symphony Nos.3 & 4
Bela Bartok – Concerto for Orchestra
Frederic Chopin – Piano Sonata No.3 in B minor
Ballade Nos.1 & 4
Antonin Dvorak – Symphony Nos.7 & 9
Edward Elgar – Cello Concerto
Violin Concerto
Henryk Gorecki – Symphony No.3 “Of Sorrowful Songs”
Edvard Grieg – Piano Concerto
Peer Gynt Suite
Joseph Haydn – “7 Last Words of Christ” for String Quartet
Gustav Holst – The Planets (suite for orchestra)
Franz Liszt – Piano Sonata in B minor
Funérailles
Gustav Mahler – Symphonies No.2 “Resurrection”,6 “Tragic” & No.9
Felix Mendelssohn – Overture to Fingals Cave “Hebrides”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Requiem Mass in D minor
Modest Mussorgsky – Night On Bald Mountain
Pictures at an Exhibition
Sergei Prokofiev – Romeo & Juliet (suites I & II)
Sergei Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto Nos.2 & 3
Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini
Isle of the Dead (symphonic poem)
Maurice Ravel – “Jeux d’eau” (solo piano)
Rimsky Korsakov – Scheherazade (symphonic poem)
Franz Schubert – String Quartets No.14 & 15
Robert Schumann – Fantasiestucke & Kreisleriana (solo piano)
Aleander Scriabin – Piano Sonata No.9
Jean Sibelius – Violin Concerto
Symphonies Nos.2,4 & 5
Richard Strauss – Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings
Igor Stravinsky – Rite of Spring
The Firebird Suite
Karl Szymanowski – Stabat Mater
Pyotr Tchaikovsky – Symphonies 4-6
Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture
Swan Lake (final fourth act especially)
Ralph Vaughan-Williams – The Lark Ascending
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Symphony No.5
Giuseppe Verdi – Requiem Mass
Richard Wagner – Prelude & Liebestod from “Tristan und Isolde”

By: iansamad

iansamad — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:20:05 +0000

WQXR has a web site that plays classical 24 hours, there’s so much, you should see what you like, My essential list would have hundreds of pieces. Very condensed:
Beethoven’s Symphonies 3, 5, 6,7, & 9 Piano concertos 4, & 5, Violin concerto.
Mozart’s Symphonies 39,40, & 41
Schubert’ Symphonies # 8, & 9
Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Nights Dream” Italian Symphony, violin concerto
All Brahms’s symphonies (there are only 4) Piano concerto #2, Violin concerto.
Wagner’s overtures & preludes, Lohengrin act 1 & 2, Tannhauser, Meistersinger, Ride of the Valkyries, Wotan’s Farewell and Magic Fire Music, Forest murmurs. Sigfried’s Rhine Journey, Funeral music from Gotterdammerung, Tristan und Isolde; prelude-love death.
Grieg; Peer Gynt suites, Holberg suite
Camille Saint-Saens Symphony #3 (theme from Babe movie)
Gustav Holst; The Planets ( a stereo system tester)
Rimsky Korsakov; Scheherazade, Russian Easter Overture
Dvorak; Symphony #9, Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky: violin concerto, piano concerto #1, symphony #5, Swan Lake, (1812 overture is fun, Nutcracker is good at Christmas)
Mussorgsky; Pictures at an exhibition/Ravel orchestration
Debussy; Afternoon of a Fuan, La Mer, Nocturnes
Respighi; Pines of Rome , Fountains of Rome (Fritz Reiner version still best)
Sibelius: Symphonies #2 & 5
Johann Strauss Jr, waltzes. Emperor, Blue Danube, and others
Technically the following are Baroque but:
J S Bach; Brandenburg Concertos
G F Handel; Water Music, Royal Fireworks Music
These are more modern, you might need to get used to the harmonies.
Stravinky; Firebird, Rite of Spring
Gustav Mahler; synphonies #1 & 5
Prokofiev, Symphony #1, Lieutenant Kije (plagerized by Sting) Love for Three Oranges
Schostakovich; symphony # 5
If you really want to listen to the best music ever, Beethoven’s string Quartets, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, (which can always be found as a set) are the best music ever, but are quite challeging to the listener.

By: pressy_b

pressy_b — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:24:09 +0000

One of my all time favourites is Franz Liszt’s Les Preludes

By: basketca

basketca — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:45:58 +0000

Anything from Beethoven or Mozart.
My favorite would be Toccata and Fugue in d minor from bach.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:50:37 +0000

These are big, dramatic, and well known.. .fun place to start
Richard Wagner “Ride of The Valkyries”
Mussorgorsky “Pictures at an Exhibition”
Strauss “Also Sprach Zarastrutha”
Dukas “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”

By: Artoro Arosli

Artoro Arosli — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:35:08 +0000

If starting, U would like to have light & happy tune for easy appreciation, known as popular classic of East & West. The Reader Digest has some good old collection of classical pop pieces.
Start from Movie……the best to look is Fantasy from Disney …..Cartoon interpretation of pop classic by good orchestras. Next is Swan Lake, a ballet play and Madam Butterfly, story of Japan and the Butterfly Lovers from China plus Carmen from South American story.
Give a try….U will like them. I don’t study music but I like them & do my arrangement for my bands .
**1st time see your face……is it new?

By: Maia

Maia — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:06:03 +0000

Try:
Debussy’s Children’s Corner Suite
Chopin’s Nocturnes
Wagner may be a little intense to start of with but I love it.
Debussy’s Claire de Lune
Bach’s Brandenburg concertos
Beethoven’s Piano concerto no.3 (I love it and it’s quite an interesting piece)
Try some Palestrina as well
Not sure what your tastes are but I have included early and romantic things. The likes of Wagner, R. Strauss, Verdi and Puccini can be a little intense for people who are starting off listening. Hope that helps.

By: Alberich

Alberich — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:33:20 +0000

The below link will provide you with a good starting point. Would recommend you peruse it in its entirety. For specific composers and their compositions, refer to “Contents” box; scroll down to section (3) “time line of composers”, click and you’ll see a “time line” graph of all the great composers come on.
You can click on any, and in addition to a bio., there is also a lists of all their major compositions:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_m…
The following You Tube link(it’s a great FREE resource for listening to classical music)is such a composition, one I imagine you will readily recognize:http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=GSKL5E3zSj…
Alberich

By: mellotro

mellotro — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:35:50 +0000

BACH: Brandenburg Concertos
BEETHOVEN: Symphonies 3, 5 and 9; Piano Sonatas 8 (Pathetique), 19 (Moonlight), 23 (Appassionata); Violin Sonata 9 (Kreutzer)
BERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantastique
BRAHMS: German Requiem, Tragic Overture, all four symphonies
COPLAND: Appalachian Spring
DEBUSSY: La Mer, Suite bergamesque
DVORAK: Symphony 9 (New World)
FAURE: Requiem
MAHLER: Symphonies 2, 5 and 9
MOZART: Requiem, Symphonies 25, 40 and 41, Ave Verum Corpus
MENDELSSOHN: Songs Without Words
SCHUMANN: Symphony 1, Carnaval
STRAUSS, Richard: Also Sprach Zarathustra. Death and Transfiguration
STRAVINSKY: Rite of Spring
TCHAIKOVSKY: Romeo and Juliet, Symphonies 5 and 6
WAGNER: his opera overtures, especially The Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser
These pieces should be enjoyed by music lover, so I think it’s a good start for you. Enjoy!

By: pianoluv

pianoluv — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:15:13 +0000

go with the ‘classics’ i suppose.
clair de lune by claude debussy has ALWAYS been one of my favorites – it gives me the chills everytime
it depends on which style of ‘classical’ (a misnomer of sorts) music you’re into. there’s the romantic period that includes such greats as chopin and franz liszt and late beethoven – my personal favorite period of music.
then there’s the baroque period with bach and scarlatti for example. your typical ‘classical’ music i suppose. same with the actual classical period which yields such great composers as mozart, and most of beethoven.
so in all, look into the above mentioned composers. i wouldn’t be able to pick just one piece for you to listen to from them.
um. the 6 consolations by franz liszt are great.
oh. and try hungarian rhapsody no. 5 in e minor (?) by franz liszt as well. such a bold, virtuoso piece.