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Grex > Classicalmusic > #45: Most Popular Classical Music - acquiring a basic LP collection | |
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| Author |
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| 25 new of 194 responses total. |
md
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response 15 of 194:
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Apr 13 12:24 UTC 1999 |
One odd thing about Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody is that
when you come to the 18th variation every woman in the room
falls into a swoon, usually with a little sigh or a murmured, "Oh!
I love this!" Works every time, on all ages, sexual orientations,
political points of view, whatever. And all it is is a variation of
Paganini's theme: an inversion of it, to be precise. Go figure.
I notice I didn't include any Prokofiev in my list. His "Classical"
Symphony is very popular. His 3rd piano concerto is a
knockout. And of course Peter and the Wolf.
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faile
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response 16 of 194:
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Apr 13 22:55 UTC 1999 |
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but The Creation is by Haydn, not
Handel.
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davel
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response 17 of 194:
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Apr 14 11:35 UTC 1999 |
I've always been very fond of Prokofiev's Lt. Kije suite.
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coyote
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response 18 of 194:
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Apr 18 04:45 UTC 1999 |
Re 15:
Don't forget Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Ballet music!
Re 16:
Good thing you caught me there. I wasn't quite sure about that...
This item is so broad that it's hard to choose what to mention... I'm
surprised that nobody's mentioned Shostakovich's 5th Symphony yet, which is
one of my favorite, if not the favorite, of any symphony that I've heard.
Sibelius symphonies are quite nice too (I'm most familiar with 2 and 5).
Let's see... I don't anybody's mentioned Rimsky-Korsakov yet. Scheherezade
is quite famous and a great piece, but I've never heard any Rimsky-Korsakov
that I haven't liked. Berstein's Candide is wonderful (the music school's
production that's been running this weekend is fantastic -- if you haven't
seen it yet, you'd better rush to catch tomorrow's matinee). There's so
much more to mention; I'll get to it later to avoid producing a very long
list.
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keesan
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response 19 of 194:
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Apr 18 16:05 UTC 1999 |
Did Mendelssohn write anything bad? I just acquired Scotch Symphony with
Hebrides Overture. I have not found Sibelius interesting, what should I be
listening for? In fact I have not found much written since 1900 interesting,
but I am obviously missing something and would like to learn.
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md
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response 20 of 194:
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Apr 18 17:49 UTC 1999 |
Sibelius's Finlandia is very popular. The Swan of
Tuonela and Valse Triste used to be popular. The
symphonies might be an acquired taste, except
possibly for #2, which has always been popular.
Don't worry if you like pre-1900 music better than
post-1900 music. Most people feel the same way
about it, and there's enough excellent pre-1900
music to keep an LP collector busy for years.
Mendelssohn was extremely consistent. His music
might not all be equally popular, but I don't think
you'll find anything truly bad on LP. He was so
consistent, in fact, that he could write the
overture to Midsummer Night's Dream as a teenager
and complete the rest of it in his thirties, and it
all sounds of a piece. He never really "evolved"
in that sense.
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davel
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response 21 of 194:
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Apr 19 00:47 UTC 1999 |
There's also a symphony by Sibelius that I've been hearing on the radio a lot,
and which I'm coming to like a lot. Not sure what exactly it is, though.
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md
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response 22 of 194:
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Apr 19 11:05 UTC 1999 |
What does it sound like?
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davel
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response 23 of 194:
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Apr 20 00:05 UTC 1999 |
heh. If I say it sounds rather like breakers crashing on a rocky shore, is
that any help to anyone except me.
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davel
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response 24 of 194:
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Apr 20 00:06 UTC 1999 |
(That was *supposed* to end with a question mark. <sigh>)
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md
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response 25 of 194:
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Apr 20 02:44 UTC 1999 |
2nd symphony, 4th movement
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davel
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response 26 of 194:
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Apr 20 10:51 UTC 1999 |
Hmm. I guess it *was* a helpful description. I'm not sure, but that sounds
vaguely right. (I admit that I don't relate well to non-musical descriptions
of music, and would have a *really* hard time identifying anything at all from
a description such as the one I gave.)
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kottos
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response 27 of 194:
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Apr 20 20:43 UTC 1999 |
The Polovstian Dances (I need to check that spelling!) from Borodin's
Prince Igor are a good listen - well worth checking out. Some of
Beethoven's Overtures are quite fun as well - especially the Egmont.
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md
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response 28 of 194:
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Apr 21 00:42 UTC 1999 |
Saint-Saens wrote some very popular pieces, including
Carnival of the Animals, Danse Macabre, his 3rd symphony
(the so-called "Organ Symphony") and the Introduction
and Rondo Capriccioso.
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faile
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response 29 of 194:
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Apr 22 02:50 UTC 1999 |
Sebelius 2 is fantastic... he's cool. Shostakovitch is great, I'm a huge fan
of his 5th symphony.
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davel
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response 30 of 194:
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Apr 22 10:52 UTC 1999 |
I've also been hearing on the radio occasionally, & **really** liking,
Dvorak's Bagatelles. To the best of my knowledge I'd never heard the things
before a year or two ago.
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kottos
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response 31 of 194:
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Apr 24 14:45 UTC 1999 |
Speaking of Dvorak, his Te Deum is an excellent piece - one which is quite
often overlooked (well, over here anyway!).
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davel
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response 32 of 194:
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Apr 29 17:22 UTC 1999 |
Re 22-26 (and, in passing, 29): I guess the description wasn't so helpful,
after all. I just heard the thing again, and it was the very end of
Sibelius's Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat. Sorry for all the confusion. There were
some earlier parts I wasn't so crazy about ...
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keesan
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response 33 of 194:
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May 4 19:46 UTC 1999 |
I just discovered I liked Borodin, at least his Quartet No. 2 in D major.
What else did he write besides of course No. 1? He was a physician and a
chemistry professor who wrote music on the side, says the jacket.
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md
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response 34 of 194:
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May 5 11:11 UTC 1999 |
His most famous pieces are the Polovtsian (sp?) Dances
and In the Steppes of Central Asia. Many of his best
tunes, including the famous melody from the 2nd
quartet, can be heard in the musical "Kismet," which
is based entirely on his music.
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coyote
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response 35 of 194:
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May 8 16:11 UTC 1999 |
The BBC Music Magazine had Borodin as their composer of the month not too long
ago, May 1998, I believe, if you want to learn more.
I love the last movement of Sibelius's 5th symphony... it's got a great horn
part.
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md
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response 36 of 194:
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May 8 18:28 UTC 1999 |
Ever notice that the series of bass notes that
accompany the horn part the first time it appears
is the horn part at one-third speed?
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coyote
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response 37 of 194:
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May 10 21:24 UTC 1999 |
No, I hadn't... but that does sound interesting. I'll take a listen. One
thing I had noticed about that horn part, however, is that the intervals
played there match the intervals played by the piano towards the end of
the second movement of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto when the piano
is accompanying that lush orchestral melody. I'm not suggesting that
there's a quotation, but it's interesting to notice that the same sequence
of intervals can sound so different musically, but they have the same
spine-tingling effect. On me, at least.
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md
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response 38 of 194:
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May 10 23:45 UTC 1999 |
You're right! I never noticed that. You know,
the first time I heard Sibelius' 5th, the horn
part in the 3rd movement reminded me of something,
and I've never figured out what it is. (In forty
years, no less.) I betcha that's it. The power
of that movement is in the combination of the
dense veil of strings, like a waterfall; the
majestic horn theme; the woodwind theme, which
the horns are actually only accompanying; and
that oddly clumsy-sounding series of notes in
the basses. It's breathtaking.
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coyote
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response 39 of 194:
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May 13 19:33 UTC 1999 |
I did listen to the last movement of the 5th symphony, and that bassline is
fascinating. I had honestly never noticed that before. I'm going to have
to start tuning my ear to the lower part of the orchestra more often :)
To add to this item's original topic, I'd like to suggest Roy Harris's 3rd
symphony. I hadn't heard it until very recently (on one of the LPs I picked
up from keesan in the auction), but since then I've discovered it popping up
all over, including on two other recordings that were already here at home!
On all of its liner notes, it's been called an "American classic".
Interesting. Anyways, I particularly like the Pastoral section and the
transition into that section. There are some incredible and unique woodwind
harmonies going on there, and later on some fascinating melody bits passed
around in the woodwind section. I'm calling them "bits" because they
never seem to fully complete a thought before stopping and letting another
instrument take over.
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