Classical Music

[disjardin]

I'll keep away from the standard cannon I think;

How about Steve Reich ("Different Trains"; "4 Organs"; "Drumming"; "Music for 18 musicians"; etc..)
John Cage
George Crumb--Particularly "Quartet for the End of Time"
Olivier Messiaen

and, I've never met anybody who didn't like Claude Debussy

[AleJohnMari]

If I had to give all my favourites I did not know what to choice (I could also make a top 40 on classical pieces), but names I didn't noticed are Eric Satie and Scott Joplin (more ragtime but his classical influenced stuff is great).
My personal favourite is Mozart. It's like someone is saying that life is great the whole time.
And my favourite planet is Earth.

[Charicature]

If you want more modern music in the classical genre, I've always been partial to the rather well-known compositions of John Williams.

In the true classics, you might find a rendition of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, which is another standard. A couple other common favorites are Swan Lake and The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky.

But, I admit to ignorance of actual albums. I'd look for Boston Pops as performers for Williams (with him conducting, naturally), but no idea what orchestras would be good for the others.
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<(: @ >

[disjardin]

[maxxy]

If you have the time and patience, go to a concert; it's quite nice. if you can't stand being quiet, listen at home, but you should at least try it.
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"I'm so ugly but that's OK cause so are you"

[RFNAPLES]

Check these out:

Bach: Goldberg Variations, Gould, Glenn
Bach: St. Matthew Passion, Gardiner, John Eliot
Bach: Suites For Unaccompanied Cello (6), Casals, Pablo
Barber: Music Of Samuel Barber (Knoxville, Adagio For Strings, Etc.), Levi, Yoel
Bartok: 6 String Quartets, Emerson String Quartet
Bartók: Concerto For Orchestra, Reiner, Fritz Cond. Chicago Symphony
Beethoven & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos, Menuhin, Yehudi
Beethoven, Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos, Mullova, Viktoria
Beethoven: 9 Symphonien, Karajan, Herbert Von
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis, Klemperer, Otto
Beethoven: Symphonien Nr. 5 & 7, Kleiber, Carlos
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ‘Choral’, Furtwängler, Wilhelm
Berg/Britten: Violin Concertos, Hope, Daniel [Violinist]
Berg/Rihm: Violinkonzert, Mutter, Anne-Sophie
Bernstein: Candide , Bernstein, Leonard, London Symphony Orchestra
Boulez Conducts Varèse, Boulez, Pierre
Boulez: Rituel/Eclat/Multiples, Boulez, Pierre
Brahms & Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos, Heifetz, Jascha
Brahms: Complete Symphonies, Muti, Riccardo
Brahms: Hungarian Dances Nos. 1-21, Bogar, Istvan
Brahms: Symphony No. 4, Kleiber, Carlos
Britten: The Turn Of The Screw, Britten, Benjamin
Chant, Benedictine Monks Of Santo Domingo De Silos, The
Chopin: Mazurkas (Complete), Rubinstein, Arthur
Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes, Rubinstein, Arthur
Chopin: Waltzes, Impromptus, Rubinstein, Arthur
Copland: Appalachian Spring, Copland, Aaron Cond. The Boston Symphony
Copper Idiophones Over The Drums, Wang, Yi-Dong
Debussy: La Mer – Nocturnes – Jeux U.A., Boulez, Pierre, Cleveland Orchestra
Elgar: Cello Concerto/Sea Pictures, Du Pre, Jacqueline & Dame Janet Baker
Field: 15 Nocturnes, O’Conor, John
Franck: Symphony In D Minor; Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, Almeida, Antonio De
Gershwin: Porgy & Bess, Rattle, Simon
Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue, Concerto In F, An American In Paris, Previn, Andre
Grieg & Sibelius Songs, Mattila, Karita
Handel & Scarlatti: Murray Perahia Plays Handel & Scarlatti, Perahia, Murray
Handel: Concerti Grossi 9op. 6, Manze, Andrew
Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1: Nos. 59-62, Jando, Jeno
Haydn: Six “London” Symphonies, Davis, Sir Colin
Haydn: String Quartets Op. 76 Nos. 1–3, Kodaly Quartet
Holst: The Planets, Dutoit, Charles
Ives: “Holidays” Symphony, Thomas, Michael Tilson
Ives: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4, Thomas, Michael Tilson
Ives: Symphony No 2 (& Three Short Works), Bernstein, Leonard, New York Philharmonic
Johann Strauss: Waltzes, Boskovsky, Willi
Liszt: Sonata In B Minor; 2 Études En Concert, Arrau, Claudio
Lou Harrison: Drums Along The Pacific, Various
Marin Marais: Pour La Violle Et Le Théorbe, Perl, Hille & Lee Santana
Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4, Abbado, Claudio
Mozart: Symphonien Nr. 35-41, Böhm, Karl
Percussion Music, Various
Pérotin: Pérotin, Hilliard Ensemble, The
Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Leutnant Kijé, Scythische Suite, Abbado, Claudio
Prokofiev: Complete Concertos, Various
Puccini: La Bohème, Beecham, Sir Thomas
Puccini: La Bohème, Karajan, Herbert Von
Puccini: Madama Butterfly, Karajan, Herbert Von
Puccini: Tosca, De Sabata, Victor Cond. Maria Callas
Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 3, Horowitz, Vladimir
Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs, Etc., Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth & George Szell
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Etc., Beecham, Sir Thomas
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht & Variations For Orchestra, Karajan, Herbert Von
Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8 “Unfinished”, Kleiber, Carlos
Schubert: Winterreise, Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich & Jorg Demus
Shostakovich: Complete Concertos, Various
Sibelius: Cantatas, Järvi, Paavo
Sibelius: Finlandia Op26/Tone Poems, Berglund, Paavo
Steve Reich: Drumming, Reich, Steve & Musicians
Straus: Die Fledermaus, Kleiber, Carlos
Stravinsky: Petrushka & Le Sacre Du Printemps, Boulez, Pierre
Stravinsky: Pulcinella, Ragtime, Renard, Octet, Salonen, Esa-Pekka
Switched-On Bach, Carlos, Walter
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture/Capriccio Italien, Dorati, Antal
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 23, Cliburn, Van, Pianist; Kiril Kondrashin Cond.
The Historic Return - Carnegie Hall 1965 – The 1966 Concerts, Horowitz, Vladimir
The Vivaldi Album, Bartoli, Cecilia
Verdi: Falstaff, Abbado, Claudio
Wagner: Tristan Und Isolde, Furtwängler, Wilhelm
Weber: Der Freischütz, Kleiber, Carlos
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[RFNAPLES]

What if we had a Best of Classical? It could include:

Albinoni- "Adagio in G minor (realised Giazotto)" (extract)
Allegri- "Miserere mei, Deus" (vv.1-4 & 17-20)
Bach- "Air" (on the G string)
Bach- "Branderburg Concerto No.3 in G BWV 1048- I: Allegro moderato"
Bach- "Goldberg Variations Aria"
Barber- "Adagio for Strings"
Beethoven- "Moonlight Sonata- II: Adagio sostenuto" (extract)
Beethoven- "Ode to Joy" (Choral Symphony)
Beethoven- "Symphony No.5 in C minor"
Bellini- "Casta Diva" (Norma, Act I)
Bizet- "Au fond du temple saint" (Temple Duet) (The Pearl Fisher, Act I)
Bizet- "L’amour est un oiseau rebelle" (Habanera) (Carmen, Act I)
Bizet- "Prelude" (Carmen)
Brahms- "Waltz No. 15 in A flat"
Chopin- "Mazurkas Op. 59: No 3 in F sharp minor"
Delibes- "Dome Epais" (Flower Duet) (Lakme, Act I)
Elgar- "Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85- I: Adagio- Moderato" (opening)
Faure- "Pavane"
Gershwin- "Rhapsody in Blue" (jazzband version - opening)
Gershwin- "Summertime" (Porgy and Bess)
Gounod- "Valse de Juliette" (Romeo & Juliette)
Grieg- "Piano Concerto Op. 16 A minor Op.16 I: Allegro molto moderato"
Handel- "Hallelujah Chorus"
Handel- "Lascia Chíoi Pianga" (Rinaldo)
Handel- "Zadok the Priest - Coronation Anthem"
Holst- "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" (conclusion) (The Planets)
Izzy- "Suo Gan"
Jenkins- "Agnus Dei" (The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace)
Mahler- "Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor- IV. Adagietto" (conclusion)
Mozart- "Canzonetta sull’aria" (Le Nozze di Figaro, Act III)
Mozart- "Eine kleine Nachtmusik- I: Allegro"
Mozart- "Lacrimosa" (Requiem in D minor K626)
Mozart- "Le nozze di Figaro' (Overture)
Nyman- "The Heart Asks Pleasure First"/"The Promise" (The Piano)
Ofenbach- "Belle Nuit, O Nuit D’Amour" (Barcarolle) (Les Contes D’Hoffmann, Act IV)
Orff- "O Fortuna" (Carmina Burana)
Pachelbel- "Canon In D"
Prokofiev- "Montagues and Capulets" (Romeo & Juliet)
Puccini- "Nessun Dorma" (Turando, Act III)
Puccini- "O mio babbino caro" (Gianni Schicchi)
Puccini- "Un bel di vedremo" (Madama Butterfly)
Rachmaninov- "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganani" (Op. 43 - Variation 18 )
Rachmaninow- "Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor- II: Adagio sostenuto" (opening)
Ravel- "Bolero" (conclusion)
Rimsky-Karsakov- "The Flight Of The Bumble- Bee"
Rossini- "Largo al factotum" (Il barbiere di Siviglia)
Satie- "Gymnopedie No.1"
Schubert- "Ave Maria"
Strauss II- "On The Beautiful Blue Danube- Waltz, Op.314" (extract)
Strauss, R - "Also sprach Zarathustra"
Tchaikovsky- "1812- Festival Overture Op. 49"
Tchaikovsky- "Allegro Moderato" (Swan Lake)
Tchaikovsky- "Swan Theme" (Swan Lake,Act II - No. 10 Scene)
Tchaikovsky- "Waltz of the Flowers" (The Nutcracker)
Tchaikovsky- Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor Op.23 I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso (opening)
Verdi- "La donna e mobile" (Rigoletto)
Verdi- "La forza del destino" (Overture)
Verdi- "Libiamo ne’lieti calici" (Brindisi) (La Traviata)
Verdi- "Va, pensiero" (Chorus of Hebrew Slaves) (Nabucco, Act III)
Vivaldi- "Concerto ”L’estate”, RV 315- III: Presto"
Vivaldi- "Concerto ”L’inverno", RV 297
Vivaldi- "Spring (The Four Seasons)- I: Allegro"
Vivaldi- "Winter (The Four Seasons)- II. Largo"
Wagner- "The Ride of the Valkyries" (Die Walkure)
Williams- "Schindler’s List Theme"

The problem here is there are often great differences in the various recordings of each of these selections.
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[Elston]

I love the idea, but I confess I'm not that well versed in Classical yet. I've only heard about 10 classical 'masterpieces'. When you say Ode to Joy, do you mean Beethoven's 9th or just that part?

[RFNAPLES]

Just that part.

The problem with classical music vs. popular music is that the second list I gave only gives the composer and selection, not the performer or conductor. In popular music we usually list the performer and song title. For example, in popular music you might see Kinks: You Really Got Me (You Really Got Me) or Van Halen: You Really Got Me (Van Halen), often without the parenthetical album shown. But you would probably not see it listed in the classical music format-Davies, R: You Really Got Me (The Kinks). The performer and performance are as important as the composer in both genres but we tend not to be as formal or complete with popular music.
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[RFNAPLES]

Here are some more classical favorites (excuse the redundant selections):

Albinoni, Tomaso Giovanni- Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 9, No. 2: II. Adagio
Bach, Johann Sebastian- Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: Jesu bleibet meine Freude (Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring)
Bach, Johann Sebastian- Keyboard Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056: II. Largo
Bach, Johann Sebastian- Overture (Suite) No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: VII. Badinerie
Bach, Johann Sebastian- Overture (Suite) No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: II. Air, "Air on a G String"
Bach, Johann Sebastian- Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565: Toccata
Barber, Samuel- Adagio for Strings, Op. 11
Beethoven, Ludwig van- Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59, "Fur Elise"
Beethoven, Ludwig van- Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, "Moonlight": I. Adagio sostenuto
Bizet, Georges- Carmen, Act II: Votre Toast, "Toreador Song"
Bizet, Georges- Les pecheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers), Act I: Au fond du temple saint
Bull, Ole- The Herd-Girl's Sunday
Elgar, Edward- Military March No. 1 in D major, Op. 39, "Pomp and Circumstance" (Land of Hope and Glory)
Gluck, Christoph Willibald- Orphee et Eurydice, Act II: Dance of the Blessed Spirits (arr. for flute and harp)
Grieg, Edvard- 2 Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34: No. 2. Varen (Spring)
Grieg, Edvard- Norwegian Dance No. 2, Op. 35
Grieg, Edvard- Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46
Halvorsen, Johan- Entry of the Boyars
Halvorsen, Johan- Maiden's Song
Handel, George Frideric- Serse (Xerxes), HWV 40, Act I: Ombra mai fu, "Largo" (arr. for oboe and orchestra)
Handel, George Frideric- Messiah, HWV 56: Part II: Hallelujah
Handel, George Frideric- Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351: IV. La rejouissance
Handel, George Frideric- Rinaldo, HWV 7, Act II: Lascia ch'io pianga
Handel, George Frideric- Water Music: Suite No. 2 in D major, HWV 349: II. Alla Hornpipe
Lehar, Franz- Das Land des Lachelns (The Land of Smiles), Act II: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz
Lehar, Franz- Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), Act III: Lippen schweigen
Leoncavallo, Ruggero- Pagliacci: Recitar! … Vesti la guibba
Mascagni, Pietro- Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo
Massenet, Jules- Thais, Act II: Meditation
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus- Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622: II. Adagio
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus- Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, "Elvira Madigan": II. Andante
Offenbach, Jacques- Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffman), Act II: Belle nuit, o nuit d'amour, "Barcarolle" (arr. for orchestra)
Offenbach, Jacques- Orphee aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld), Act II: Can-Can
Orff, Carl- Carmina Burana: O Fortuna
Pachelbel, Johann- Canon in D major
Puccini, Giacomo- Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
Puccini, Giacomo- La boheme, Act I: Che gelida manina
Puccini, Giacomo- Tosca, Act III: E lucevan le stelle
Rodrigo, Joaquin- Concierto de Aranjuez: II. Adagio
Satie, Erik- 3 Gymnopedies: No. 1. Lent et douloureux (orch. C. Debussy)
Sinding, Christian- 6 Pieces, Op. 32: No. 3. Rustle of Spring (arr. for orchestra)
Svendsen, Johan- Romance in G major, Op. 26
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il'yich- Swan Lake, Op. 20, Act II: The Swans Swim On The Lake
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il'yich- The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, Act I: Waltz
Verdi, Giuseppe- Aida, Act II: Trumphal March - Chorus: Gloria all'Egitto, ad Iside
Verdi, Giuseppe- Nabucco, Act III: Va pensiero, "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves"
Verdi, Giuseppe- Rigoletto, Act III: La donna e mobile
Vivaldi, Antonio- Flute Concerto in C major, RV 443: II. Largo
Vivaldi, Antonio- The 4 Seasons: Violin Concerto in E major, Op. 8, No. 1, RV 269, "La primavera" (Spring): I. Allegro
Wagner, Richard- Die Walkure, Act III: Ride of the Valkyries
Wagner, Richard- Tannhauser, Act III: Begluckt darf nun dich, "Pilgrims' Chorus"
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