UKC

What classical music would you suggest for somebody who know's bugger all about classical music but likes to hear a bit now and then?

In reply to The Lemming:

Schubert, but it's a daft question.

In reply to The Lemming:
Depends on what classical music you already like. The difference between various styles and composers is absolutely massive. I wrote several replies before deleting them as it was like answering "recommend someone who has read a few books a book".

To help you - here's a few suggestions to narrow it down based on era roughly:
- Do you like Vivaldi's Four Seasons?
- Do you like anything from JS Bach?
- Do you like Beethoven's 5th Symphony?
- Do you like Debussy's Clair De Lune?
- Do you like Stravinsky's Firebird?
- Do you like anything from Rachmaninov?
- Do you like anything from Schoenberg? (good luck..)

The best thing I can recommend is to just listen to classical radio every now and again I used to do it when I drove to work a few years ago. Other radio stations brag about "no-repeat workdays" - well classical stations could probably brag about "no-repeat years".

In reply to The Lemming:

Don't start with Mahler.

Mahler sits however at the very pinnacle of the classical tradition and his 2nd symphony is as masterful an imagination of heaven as his 6th is a soul-wrenching exploration of hell. Serious stuff. Sip carefully.

The ideal accessible symphony? Beethoven's 7th. Melancholy and joy in perfect opposition.

In reply to The Lemming:


The Monkees.

In reply to abseil:


I understand that their contribution to classical music was tippexed out of the history books.

In reply to The Lemming:
The only two things you need to know are
a, have the time its not just one movement
and
b, sit, stand, shut your eyes and all externals out, and you will hear.

If I was going to try to reply, the first thing I need to know is what you / friend call Classical ?

In reply to The Lemming:

maybe spend a little time listening to Classic FM or BBC Radio 3?
I don't personally, but I imagine if you look at the schedules there may be a time when they play a version of 'greatest hits' or 'requests'

In reply to The Lemming:

My favorite all time peice is js bach cello suite no 1 prelude, you will love it

In reply to Glyno:



For Classic FM that's most of the time, for Radio 3 that's quite rarely.

In reply to The Lemming:
You could do far worse than going to YouTube and finding the BBC's 10 pieces playlist- I know this is aimed at kids but it is a really good choice of 10 completely different pieces which should at least give you an idea of what style you like. You could love Baroque (Handel's water music and Vivaldi's four seasons etc) or maybe you will love more 'recent' works, such as the excitement and chaos of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring or perhaps choral epics Such as Verdi's Requiem will be your thing.

I'm a professional musician and if I had to pick my desert island discs they would include Mahler's 2nd symphony (esp the last 10 mins), Elgar's first symphony, Mozart Dissonance Quartet and his Requiem, Mendelssohn's Octet, Arvo Part's Spiegel am Spiegel, the theme music from ET (all of John William's scores are masterpieces) and Bach's Chaconne. But my choices are from a player's point of view and might be completely different to yours! Oh-and when you find out what you like make sure to watch it live- it's 100 times better than through speakers

In reply to The Lemming:

Another vote for Classic FM. My partner is classically trained, I personally like The Stooges and MC5 but we both agree to listen to the "Classics" on the DAB without WW3 breaking out. The adverts will get on your tits though.

In reply to The Lemming:

What sort of non-classical music do you enjoy? And do you want to hear some classical music warbling softly in the background or to sit down and immerse yourself in it?

T.

In reply to The Lemming:

Get the brilliant film Amadeus off Ebay and watch it; it will give you an appreciation of the genius of Mozart and the lifestyle and financial pressures that make composers compose music. Once you've come to love Mozart you can start branching out in different directions and exploring different ages and composers. Listening to Radio 3 in the mornings is good but I find Classic FM irritating.

Also, if you can, read a book called Big Bangs by Howard Goodall (in my class at school) which explains music and the technology of the instruments that make the sound. Very readable and it will help you to appreciate that 90% of classical music was composed before electricity had been discovered.

In reply to The Lemming:

J.S. Bach is clearly the GOAT, but some of his music needs concentration and a little knowledge to fully enjoy (e.g., the Art of Fugue or the Mass in b minor).

Anyway, I can thoroughly recommend exploring classical music on youtube, the diversity of recordings on offer is fantastic. Quality may vary, of course, and don´t read the comments if you want to keep your sanity.
I often use it to compare various recordings of the same piece before buying (I still prefer my CD player over any compressed streaming format).

To give you a quick list covering some main periods:

I would start with some choir works by Monteverdi and Schütz, ,
then a bit of Purcell (e.g. excerpts form Dido and Aeneas),
loads of Bach (the allofbach website of the Netherlands Bach society is fantastic, listen to the completely overplayed Toccata and Fugue BWV 538 over your head phones, the aoB version is simply at another level of performance! They also have a great selection of vocal works),
Mozart mainly for his operas and symphonies,
Beethoven for his symphonies and chamber music,
Mendelsohn (symphonies and vc)
Schubert (songs and chamber music),
Brahms, Rachmanninov (symphonies again),
Sibelius (mainly the violin concerto),
Bruch (Kol Nidrei and again the violin concerto),
Shostakovich (symphonies and Jazz suites)
Gorecki (Symphony of Sorrowful songs)
Gershwin (Rhapsody in Blue)

If you listen to any of these on youtube chances are you will find lots of related stuff that you may like as well.
I like to think that I have a rather broad knowledge of classical music, but still regularly find fantastic stuff I had never before even heard about!

CB

In reply to Rigid Raider:


"too many notes. " seriously, its not for everyone. I love sweeping melodic stuff like sibelius and vaughan williams and tchaikovsky, but I find mozart way too tinkly and twiddly. its very genteel, urban music I think - I like music which makes me think of sweeping landscapes that I can listen to on the way back from a day in the hills, or at my desk when I want to pretend I'm somewhere nicer.

In reply to The Lemming:

I don't know much about classical music, but I've started to work out what's for me and what really isn't. I can't deal with huge, pompous bits of music, melodrama or the otherwise over-the-top. I tend to prefer chamber music (just a handful of instruments, not the whole orchestral shebang) and try to listen to how the individual parts fit together: in the case of Mozart (as suggested, try the "Dissonance" quartet) it's just so incredibly clever and beautiful, there's a kind of deep perfection of a fairly mathematical or "natural" nature.

I really like these animation things to help hear what's going on: I've found this channel very addictive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KNb44ScQDE&list=PL5D2AC63011922F95&...

Only trouble is you tend to only get single movements.

In reply to Willi Crater:



That may be... But I'm a believer.

In reply to Clinger:


Genius!







Thank you everybody. I shall check everything out over the coming weeks.

Cheers

In reply to The Lemming:

Rachmaninov's 2nd and 3rd piano concertos. 3rd is probably more for the "muso" types, both cover a massive range of emotions. Good versions by Hough and Ashkenazy, but the best, if you can find it (it's on youtube), is by the man himself.

In reply to The Lemming:

Try listening in the mornings to Radio 3 to find out what you like , as the breakfast time slot and the programme that follows from 9 am contain a mix of popular classical music and less well-known pieces. Unlike Classic FM you don't get ad-breaks and don't have so much immensely irritating guff from the presenters: at least the Radio 3 presenters know what they are talking about.

In reply to Clinger:


Oh my my.

In reply to The Lemming:

Mozart for the pure unadulterated joyousness of music and superb melodies

In reply to The Lemming:

this makes the hairs on my neck stand up
youtube.com/watch?v=GD3VsesSBsw&

but needs good speakers

In reply to The Lemming:

Try Sibelius 5th Symphony, last movement. Everybody I know who's heard it loves it. There's a clip on YouTube of the Berlin Philharmonic playing it under Simon Rattle, which is about as good as it gets.

In reply to Clinger:

They have just released a new album!

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

Good God! I wonder if they're going to make a new TV series too!

In reply to Willi Crater:

I see what you did there. Clever.

In reply to Strachan:

All good clean fun.

In reply to Hugh J:

Strangely I cannot stand Rachmaninov at any price, never been able to watch Brief Encounter. Bach and Mozart for me

In reply to Pedro50:

Completely opposite to you.
Am I All By Myself?

In reply to rallymania:

If you want hairs standing up etc then you need to go to Puccini. He might also reduce you to tears .
Strange that opera has had so few mentions. I have always regarded it as classical, at least.

In reply to The Lemming:

Lots of options, ideas and thoughts here. Personally I'm not a Mozart fan (bit plinky plonky and f****ng hard to play).

I'd support what someone else has sort of already suggested, don't restrict yourself to orchestral repertoire. My absolute favourite music is the solo and chamber works by Poulenc, Stravinsky, Milhaud, Debussy, Ibert and Malcolm Arnold. I would also recommend having a listen to Bax's piano works.

In reply to The Lemming:

Surely the answer must be English - Elgar of course, cello concerto, or Vaughan Williams.

In reply to The Lemming:

There's certainly been an interesting range of suggestions so far; it's all a very personal matter. Why not try a bit of everything and see what grabs you? Be adventurous and eclectic and try not to form sweeping opinions too soon - e.g. "I don't like opera" - as that's a sure-fire way to miss out on something you might really like. Maybe you are looking for something but won't know what it is until you hear it. Whatever it is, it's certainly out there. No one can really advise you; just listen to stuff with an open mind. But please avoid commercially motivated clowns like Andre Rieux - if this is your bag then it isn't music you are really interested in.

In reply to The Lemming:

Best way is to listen to Classical Radio (whatever channel), and when you hear a piece you like write down the composer/piece.
I soon found out that I love symphonies and concertos, and hated operas * and requiems (generally).
* although the overtures to operas I love. (No Singing).
Loved organ and harpsichord, but hated piano (generally).
Also found out I love the old stuff Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Haydn, but hate the newer stuff (generally).

Also it's interesting to research the composers and their works, eg Haydn wrote over 102 Symphonies, all available on You Tube.

We have two channels here, when one plays a *bad* piece, we just swop to the other. They also have a playlist on the www, so if you don't hear the composer correctly, eg when they mumble the name of a lesser known composer, then you can still find the composer and the piece.

As someone said above, some pieces are just so joyous it's wonderful.

In reply to The Lemming:

John Cage's 4'33" is da bomb. Turn it up loud, and bliss out:

youtube.com/watch?v=JTEFKFiXSx4&

In reply to Raymondo:


It's worth noting that sometimes you'll miss this part (i.e. they won't say afterwards what the piece was), or you won't hear it properly. If that happens, note the time you heard it - and check the schedule online and you can find it that way. This was my usual method (probably about 80-90% of the time) for getting the name of composer and piece.