As a child, I used to listen to a bit of classical music because my father enjoyed listening to it. I played instruments throughout my life, like the piano and the violin.

I just recently re-watched the movie Amadeus, an excellent movie for those who have not seen it, and have been craving classical music since.

Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, etc. How can anyone not like classical music!?

Right now I'm infatuated with Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 and Mozart's Requiem, just to name some off the top of my head.

Does anyone else like classical music? Favorite composers? Favorite piece?

 

My current favourite piece of classical music is Adagio for Strings.

My other favourites include Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A, The Planets by Gustav Holst and Beethoven's Piano Sonata No 14 in C# Minor.

One could not, of course, forget - L'apprenti sorcier by Dukas.

There are more classical composers to delve into like Bach, Vivaldi, Verdi and Mendelssohn.

Good luck.

 

I prefer Verdi's Requiem over Mozarts but both are pretty amazing.

Also really like the Three Tenors' Rome concert in 1990, which opera snobs hate cause it was 'pop opera' apparently. Amazing nonetheless.

And who can honestly say that listening to O Fortuana by Bach and indeed the whole of the Carmina Burana doesnt make you feel amazing?

Edit: Its often quite hard to find the titles and composer of certain Classical pieces that you might hear in a film/trailer or an advert. Perhaps it would be good to do a collection of recommended pieces sort of like this

Title: In the hall of the mountain king
Composer: Grieg
Popular reference: Alton Towers advert/x/y/z
Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrIYT-MrVaI

Thats just as an example, for anyone who likes classical music but finds it somewhat inaccessible.

 

I've always liked playing classical music more than listening to it... Funnily enough, I've played both se7en's Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 and Yggur's Beethoven's Piano Sonata No 14 in C# Minor (make sure you check all the 3 parts). From Mozart's Requiem, I especially like the Lacrimosa.

I recently played Liszt's Nocturne No. 3 in A flat Major, in my youth I favored Bach (mostly his French Suites) and at some point I enjoyed Debussy tremendously as well. Just naming a few composers that haven't been mentioned yet...

 

I can't believe none of you mentioned Wagner. Ride of the Valkyries? The Flying Dutchman?

 

I've never been able to play classical, but I've listened to it on and off throughout my life.
My favorite, currently, is probably Mozart by The Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

 

Same here. Whenever I transpose strings or piano to a clarinet, I just seem to get caught in the melody. Strings transposed to B-flat Clarinet still gives me shivers down my spine every time I play it.

Wagner was never much to my liking. Though that could just be because I prefer wood over brass.

 

Carmina Burana

Mozart Requiem

Dido and Aeneas

Faure Requiem

Elgar Cello Concerto

 

I quite like Dvorak's New World symphony but I can't say that I listen to classical music that often.

 

While not truly classical in the hard sense, C. Debussy's Deux Arabesques are, frankly, amazing. Same for his Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune.

For true classical, I'd go with just about anything from Beethoven, especially his later works. Schubert and Strauss are also very good (though Strauss is more from the romantic era than classical, I guess).

 

I'm a little surprised at the lack of Rachmaninov love here. His piano concerti are pretty much the only way I'll listen to classical piano. Another, perhaps lesser known 20th Century Russian composer is Sergei Prokofiev. I really like a lot of his Romeo and Juliet ballet movements, most especially the Dance of the Knights.

 

Or Strauss or, for that matter, Shostakovich.

 

There's just something about Beethoven and Mozart....I remember playing Marriage of Figaro in concert band. Sublime is the only word for it. I played percussion, so mainly I counted out a forty measure rest and then played a crescendo on the suspended cymbal, but still....Actually, that afforded me the opportunity to actually listen for the harmonies and feel the reverberations from the French horns....God, I love french horns!

 

I had 4 classical cassettes as a kid that i used to listen to every night. THey were not albums exactly, more more of story's. Once was called Tchaikovsky Discovers America, and the others i cannot remember exactly. There was another Tchaivosky one, Vivaldi, and Beethoven.

I don't listen to classical music anymore, but only because my taste has changed to metal. I do listen to a lot of power metal, and that includes a lot sampling of classical tunes. The band Warmen does a lot of it, including a few that are supposedly pieces by Salieri (I've never listen to the original works to compare.)

Dark moor also has quite a few. Swan Lake Mozart's March Vivaldi's Winter

Archeon- Hungarian Dance

There are many more examples but I am too lazy to link any more Yngwie Malmsteen is probably the biggest name in the genre.

 

Glad someone mentioned Faure's requiem, I heavily prefer it to Mozart's. Also a fan of Mahler 's Symphony No. 9 in D.

Not sure if it truly counts as classical music (it is, I suppose, contemporary), but Eric Whitacre's choral music is absolutely fantastic.

 

"Four Seasons" by Vivaldi all the way. Someone mentioned they like metal, the band "Nightwish" is a bit of a fusion of metal and classic/opera. An interesting modern band that kinda reminds me of classical music is Bond. It's a modern group that specializes in string instruments. They're pretty good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_(band)

 

Here is the summation of most of the piano repertoire you should listen to. Mostly from the Romantic era.

Rachmaninoff - the Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, concerti (the second and third), etudes-tableaux (Op. 33, No. 2, Op. 39, No.'s 5 and 9), certain preludes, the second sonata

Recommended performers: Vladimir Horowitz, Nicholai Lugansky, Ruth Laredo, Arcadi Volodos, Sergei Rachmaninoff (he recorded some of his own works)

Chopin - the concerti, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, scherzi, 1st and 4rth ballades. I don't really listen to the etudes, played them to death, but the famous ones are the Octave, Black Keys, Oceanic, Butterfly, Wrong Notes, Tristesse),

Recommend performers: Arthur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Alfred Cortot, Rafal Blechacz (I saw him in Warsaw in 2005 when he won the Chopin competition, he's wonderful), Dinu Lipatti, Moriz Rosenthal, Ignaz Friedman.

Debussy - the Arabesques and Claire de Lune are only the beginning. L'Isle Joyeuse, Toccata, Plus Lente, Ballade, Children's Corner.

Recommended performers: Arturo Michelangeli, Walter Gieseking, Horowitz, Nicholai Lugansky

Prokofiev - the Toccata, concerti (No.s 2 and 3, in the third he is not the chaotic composer he's typecast, listen to it and it will shatter any misconceptions)

Recommended performers: Martha Argerich, Vladimir Horowitz (the composer chose him to premiere his sonatas in the U.S., Evgeny Kissin

Godowsky - his studies on the Chopin etudes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scmcUj06giA

Alkan - little-known virtuoso that intimidated the rising Liszt. Concerto for Solo Piano

Recommended performers: Raymond Lewenthal, Marc-Andre Hamelin (I've seen him live a number of times, and the claim that he possesses the most perfect technique in all history is probably true)

Ravel - Sonatine, Concerto for Left Hand, Miroirs, Gaspard de la Nuit (Ondine is his best work in my opinion).

Recommended performers: Samson Francois, Martha Argerich, Valentina Lisitsa

Schumann - the Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17 (titanic, three-movement piece, one of the most remarkable compositions ever), the concerto, Kinderzenen (which has the famous Traumerei), Sonata No. 3, Carnaval

Recommend performers: Richter, Martha Argerich, Vladimir Horowitz,

Brahms - Paganini Variations, I never listened to Brahms very much, he's not very interesting a composer. Listen to a few of his Hungarian Danses, Ballades, Concerto. If it leaves you cold, he's going to be an acquired taste.

Recommended performers: Emil Gilels

Shostakovitch - I'm not very familiar with his works, but I like his sonata for piano and cello, very dark.- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMYBc6uTlvQ

Stravinsky - Petrushka (an epic virtuoso piece he wrote to entice Arthur Rubinstein into play his works)

Recommended performers: Maurizio Pollini, Emil Gilels. Horowitz recorded only a part of it. Sadly, Rubinstein did not record any Stravinsky.

Scriabin - 3rd, 5th, and 10th sonatas (the third and fifth are some of the most intense pieces, etudes (Op. 2, No. 1, Op. 8, No.s 11 & 12., Op. 45. No. 5), Vers La Flamme,

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ9n-bJpM_E&feature=related

Recommended performers: Vladimir Horowitz. People say Vladimir Sofronitsky and Sviatoslav Richter, but if you listen to Horowitz first, listening to them or anyone else is pretty excruciating. It's like eating gruel after dining at the restaurant du palais-royal. So better to listen to everyone else before H prevents you from appreciating them.

Liszt - Paganini Etudes (tNo. 3 is the famous La Campanella, also listen to No. 5, La Chasse), Transcendental Etudes (No.'s 5, 10, 12), are my personal favorites), Hungarian Rhapsodies (No. 6, No. 13, and Horowitz transcription of No. 2), Scherzo und Marsch (the 1950 performance by Horowitz at Queens college specifically), Concert Etudes (Un Sospiro is pretty, Gnomereignen, Waldesrauschen, some of the most recognizable pieces Liszt wrote are in this set), and from the Années de pèlerinage (Valee d'Obermann, Au Borde une Source - again, solely the Horowitz recordings - Gondoliera)

Recommend performers: Vladimir Horowitz, Georgy Cziffra, Boris Berezovsky, Arthur Rubinstein.

Many of Liszt's pupils lived long enough into the recording age. The only one whose technique hadn't really deteriorated and enjoyed the best recording technology was Emil von Sauer.

Balakirev - Islamey, the only piece people know and play of this composer

Recommended performers: Vladimir Horowitz, Ivo Pogorelich

Some of my favorite pieces I've ever played are:

Chopin: Scherzi, the First Concerto, the First and Fourth ballade, the Etudes, Polonaises (Heroique, Tragique, Military, Polonaise-Fantasie), Nocturne in Fminor, Nocturne Op. 62, No. 1, Maiden's Wish, Fantasia on Polish Airs

Scriabin: Most of the Op. 8 etudes, OP. 45, No. 4, Sonata No. 5

Mozart: Sonata K310

Mendelssohn: I played the the first concerto in G minor in its entirety when I was twelve, with the Mid-Columbia Sinfonietta in Oregon

Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsodies No. 6 and no. 13, Au Borde une Source, Vallee d'Obermann, Transcendental Etude No. 8, the Impromptu-Nocturne, Paganini Etudes No. 3 and No. 5 (Busoni editions)

Debussy - L'Isle Joyeuse (incredible piece, it becomes almost Wagnerian in its grandeur as it approaches the climax)

Rachmaninoff - second sonata (the second movement represents some of Rachmaninoff's best composing in his entire career), second concerto (never performed it with orchestra yet though). I learned 39/9 of his etudes-tableaux, but otherwise I never learned any of his miniatures.

Beethoven - Waldstein, Appassionata, Moonlight, Pathetique

Moszkowski - etudes no. 5 and 6 (Jozef Hofmann and Horowitz are the joint men for this composer)

A few must-listen recitals, which contain some of the most legendary playing in classical music history:
Horowitz: 1965 The Historic Return
Horowitz: 1968 Carnegie Hall television recital
Horowitz: 1986 Moscow Recital
Carnegie Hall: Concert of the Century - there are a few lesser events that stole the name, but the title for this one is quite apt, Tchaikovsky Piano Trio featuring Horowitz, Rostropovich, Stern, and supposedly ended with all of them singing quite badly to the audience.
Hofmann: Jubilee concert at the Met
Richter: Moscow - He played most of the entire set of the Transcendental Etudes in a single concert.

Violin - My father played the violin for two years, but he mastered the third Mozart violin and first Paganini concerti before attending college. Most of what I've listened to in the violin repertoire is from what he recommended to me.

The major violin concerti: the Saint-Saens No. 2, the Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn.

I'm also partial to the Vieuxtemps No. 5 and the Schumann violin concerto,

The Wieniawski Polonaise, Saint-Saens Havanaise, the Waxman Carmen Fantasy, the Paganini Caprices, and Tchaikovsky Serenade Melancholique are all worth hearing too.

Recommended performers: Jascha Heifetz, Leonidas Kavakos, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn. I'm not familiar with the older generation of violinists such as Menuhin, but the violinists of the contemporary generation I've named are excellent.

Opera - I'm somewhat ambivalent, and like the various piano transcriptions by Liszt and virtuoso-pianists like Horowitz more than the operatic originals. I've only listened to one opera in its entirety, Don Giovanni by Mozart out of curiosity since I was learning the corresponding Reminiscences de Don Juan transcription at the Met in 2008, the singer was Lorenzo Da Ponte.

I only like one Nessun Dorma, sung by Mario Lanza.

The greatest tenors are Jussi Bjorling and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The former's Pearl Fishers Duet is the only recording I listen to with any regularity, and Dieskau's Dichterliebe, accompanied by Horowitz of all people, marking the only occasion H played as a Lieder pianist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQaOa1Ja_h0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdb94HbyRko

. Andre Bocelli is really popular but everything he sings is done better by someone else. He does tend to sing the most famous arias, so he's a good stepping stone to recordings by superior tenors. Just avoid the 'krossover krap' singers and you should be good to go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdb94HbyRko

The most notable tenor of the moment is Rolando Villazón.

 

Apocalyptica is like this. It's basically a couple of dudes playing electric fucking chellos. They rehash some classics and do their own stuff as well. I love them.

 

Apocalyptica has been a favourite of mine for years. I'm not sure whether the drums combination could ever best the original four cello band, though.

I think Apocalyptica inspired my love for violins and their ilk originally. Any piece of music is inordinately better than it might be if it includes a violin in it.

 

I'm a small fan of Apocalyptica. I like all the cover's they do, but their only original piece i like is 'Path'. I think it's original but I could be wrong.

Oh, Sacred Power of Raging Winds by Rhapsody of Fire has BOTH vocals by Christopher Lee and an incredible flute solo.