Helping hand for a classical newb?

[heekma]

So, here's what I like so far:

"Claire De Lune," Debussy--Funny thing, I first heard it on "Top Gear." Yes, I know...:thmbsp:

"The Planets," Holst
"Scheherazade," Rimsky-Korsakov
"Rite of Spring," Igor Stravinsky
"Isle of the Dead," Rachmaninoff

I know "Rite of Spring" is much different than the others. I don't much like Bach, Mozart, "Chamber music?" in general. Maybe I'm a low-brow because of it, but I like...hard to describe...more flowing, epic, romantic? Maybe? types of classical music.

Any hope or help for a low-brow like me? Any would be appreciated. I've grown tired of a lot of contemporary music--but not bluegrass--and I'm looking for something more...stimulating, I guess.

If I had to pick the kind of classical music I enjoy most, it would be Holst and Rimsky-Korsakov, it that helps.

Hoping for guidance,

John

 

[vinyl1]

Well, you could get slight more classical and go in for highly melodic composers like Dvorak and Mendelssohn, who are generally considered to have wide appeal.

Or you could get even more stark and modern, and pick up on Prokofiev and Shostakovich.

And there' always Mahler, maybe you'd like that sort of thing. A bit sentimental, maybe, but certainly grand.

The most important thing is to listen to good performances, and don't buy the cheap CDs or random LPs.

 

[heekma]

Heya vinyl1,

I forgot about Dvorak, as an Iowa native I should've had him at the top of the list--and yes, Dvorak is a good example of what I enjoy.

I will definitely listen to the others you suggest, thank you.

I don't mean this to sound pompous, but I've spent nearly 15 years of my life playing in big band, orchestra, jazz trio/quartet/ensemble, so I have a deep understanding/appreciation for music--but darn it, the heart likes what it likes.:thmbsp:

I'll check 'em out vinyl, thanks for the suggestions.

Best,

John

 

[guiller]

Hi John,

You seem to enjoy music written for full orchestra after, say 1880 or so. Why don't you try other works of Stravinsky, like "The Firework" or "Petrouchka", or any of the great Richard Strauss' symphonic poems like "Also sprach Zarathustra", "Ein Heldenleben", "Don Quixote", "Don Juan", "Tod und Verklarung", "Sinfonia Domestica", "Alpine Symphony", "Don Juan". Also other works of Debussy, like "La Mer", "Nocturnes", "Kahmma", "Images". Also Ravel, like "Daphnis et Chloe", "Rahpsodie espagnole", "La Valse", the two piano concertos (I include concertos just in case, although in your list there ar none), etc. Also Bartok, like "Miraculous Mandarin", "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta" (not for full orchestra, but it's one hell of a masterpiece!), "Concerto for Orchestra",his 3 piano concertos. Prokofiev: Symphonies # 3,5,6 , "Romeo and Juliet", "Ivan The Terrible", Piano concerti 2 and 3, Violin concerti 1and 2. Sibelius: Symphonies (all 7 of them),"Tapiola" . Nielsen: Symphonies 4 and 5. Shostakovich: Symphonies 4,5,8,10,15 . Janacek: Sinfonietta , Taras Bulba, Glagolitic Mass . Scriabin: Poeme de L'extase , Prometheus , Le divin Poeme (symphony ·# 3) . Schoenberg: "Pelleas et Melisande" , "Gurrelieder". Holst: "The Perfect Fool", "Egdon Heath". Bax: "Tintagel" . Elgar: Symphony # 2, "Falstaff". Rimsky-Korsakoff: Antar. Regarding Mahler, I would recommend all of his works. The 9 symphonies fall roughly into 3 groups: 1-4 (this is the more "sentimental" group, meaning folk tunes, melange of serious and salon music, naiviete' ), 5-7 (realism, horrors come in, violence), 8 is a case apart (a sort of universalism present) and then Das Lied Von Der Erde-9 and the unfinished 10, dealing with a language in which tonality is many times at the point of breakdown, with textures that go from chamber-music like to violent (some of the most violent in history) blasts of the full orchestra, the range of expression becoming extended to all known limits, counterpoint at its height and harmony with a large amount of dissonance, including a cluster in the adagio of symphony # 10, all for the quest of further expressive tools. Personally, I think of symphony # 9 as one of the masterpieces of all music ( there is a list of my preferred versions here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=197 ). I would also suggest that you try symphonies # 8 and 9 by Bruckner.
Although a bit of your suggested preferred time frame, and out of the purely symphonic music category, you could try Wagner's music, as he was one of the major innovators of harmony and orchestral writing, e.g, try his absolute masterpieces Parsifal, Gotterdammerung and Tristan und Isolde. If you dislike singing, just look for the purely orchestral parts (and also choral ones, in particular the "Temple" scene of Act 1 in Parsifal or the "Hagen call to the vassals" in Act 3 of Gotterdammerung).


In case you would decide to try a few of these works and would like to hear some recommended recordings, I'd be happy to share my preferences with you. Sometimes, choosing the good recordings as a starter can make a world of difference!

PS: dissonance is like drugs!

 

[heekma]

Wow guiller--thank you!

I knew I was botching my description of similar composers--but you're right on the money. Full orchestra, emphasis on melody rather than almost mathematical/stiff structure, much more 19th than earlier.

I will definitely check out those you suggested. I had to go through a similar route for finding jazz I enjoy. Turns out pretty much anything on the Blue Note label is right up my alley.

Best,

John

 

[guiller]

Wow guiller--thank you!

I knew I was botching my description of similar composers--but you're right on the money. Full orchestra, emphasis on melody rather than almost mathematical/stiff structure, much more 19th than earlier.

I will definitely check out those you suggested. I had to go through a similar route for finding jazz I enjoy. Turns out pretty much anything on the Blue Note label is right up my alley.

Best,

John

Hi John,

Good luck!! I'm always happy to exchange ideas about music composers and performers. If you think that my suggestions on the latter (e.g, which particular recordings are the best in my opinion) could be useful, I'd be more than happy to list them. I'm also pretty much sure that fellow AKers will also add theirs, and you will have to face he embarrassment of choice!

 

[RichPA]

John, there are some easy ways to explore. Try typing the name of a composer you know you like into Pandora.com or Last.fm to hear similar stuff. Find a public radio station that plays "Classical Music Through The Night" and tune in - many stations will post the playlist and time that particular pieces are being played.

 

[2ofeach]

John, anytime I hear Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Capriccio Espanol' I stop whatever I'm doing. Also Borodin's 'In the Steppes of Central Asia' is very captivating. Dvorak's 'Slavonic Dances' was always my wife's favourite. If you're not keen on Boroque, a new performance of Nigel Kennedy's 'Vivaldi's the Four seasons' might just win you over.
regards, lou.

 

[Elberon]

Here's a copy of a document I give to my students who are interested in 20th Century Classical Music. It's not comprehensive but a good start. Good luck and I hope you find something you like. Might want to add Frank Zappa's Yellow Shark Ensemble Modern stuff to the list too!

Twentieth Century Composers and Pieces (a very short list)

Debussy

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
La Mer
Dances Sacre et Profane
Children's Corner, Preludes, Estampies,
Trois Nocturnes
Images for Piano and Images for Orchestra (different pieces).
Just about anything by Debussy is worth listening closely to and studying.

Ravel

Boléro, ballet for orchestra
Pavane pour une infante défunte
Miroirs, for piano (or orchestra)
Rhapsodie espagnole, for orchestra
Le tombeau de Couperin, for orchestra (for piano or orchestra) this is one of my personal favorites.
Ma mère l'oye, ballet for orchestra The Fairy Garden
Daphnis et Chloé, suite No. 2 for orchestra
String Quartet in F
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (D major)
Piano Concerto in G major
Menuet Antique

Stravinsky

Firebird
Petrushka
Le Sacre du Printemps
Pulcinella (instrumental suite)
Histoire du Soldat
The Fairy's Kiss
Dumbarton Oaks Concerto
Five Easy Pieces for Piano Duet
Three Easy Pieces for Piano Duet
Concerto for Two Pianos
Symphonies of Wind Instruments
Le Noces
Symphony in Three Movements
Symphony in C
Symphony of Psalms

Prokofiev

Symphony No. 1 (Classical), and Symphony No. 5
Lt. Kije
Alexander Nevsky (cantata)
Scythian Suite
The Trapeze (quintet)
Any of his piano concertos or sonatas




Erik Satie

Gymnopédies (3), for piano (also orchestrated by Debussy)
Les valses (3) distinguées du précieux dégoûté (3 distinguished waltzes of a disgusted dandy), for piano, Jack-in-the-Box, pantomime ballet for piano (orchestrated by Milhaud)
Embryons desséchés (3 dried-up embryos), for piano
Préludes flasques; pour un chien (Flabby preludes; for a dog), for piano
Aperçus désagréables (Unpleasant glimpses), pieces (3) for piano, 4 hands
Parade (ballet for orchestra) Also read The Banquet Years by Roger Shattuck.
Any piano pieces by Satie. They are all either beautiful, weird, or just funny!

Darius Milhaud

Le Creation du monde
Le Boeuf sur le toit
Saudades do Brasil

Copland

El Salon Mexico
Short Symphony
Quiet City
Three Latin American Sketches
Appalachian Spring
Billy the Kid
Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo
Symphony No. 3
Music for the Theatre
Four Piano Blues

Hindemith

Mathis der Maler, symphony
Trauermusik for viola (or violin or cello) & string orchestra
Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, for orchestra
Three Piano Sonatas (or any of his instrumental sonatas)
Ludus Tonalis
Symphony in E-flat

Bartok

Concerto for Orchestra
Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
Hungarian Sketches (Magyar képek), for orchestra
The Miraculous Mandarin
Mikrokosmos (for piano), any of his String Quartets

Kodaly,

Hary Janos Suite

Respighi

Pines of Rome
Fountains of Rome
Ancient Airs and Dances

Gershwin

Rhapsody in Blue
Porgy and Bess
Concerto in F
An American in Paris
Variations on I Got Rhythm

Messiaen

Quatuor pour la fin du temps, for violin, cello, clarinet & piano (Quartet for the End of Time)

Bernstein

Three Episodes from On the Town
Any of Bernsteins Ballets or Musicals

William Schumann

American Festival Overture, Symphony No. 3

Roy Harris

Symphony No. 3

Frederic Rzewski

The People United Will Never Be Defeated (El pueblo unido jamás será vencido), 36 Variations on a Chilean Song, for piano
Les Moutons de Panurge, for any number of instruments
Pocket Symphony, for ensemble


John Adams

Phrygian Gates, Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Also any number of other composers including but not limited to Shostakovich, Philip Glass, Steve Reich,
Arvo Part, Ligeti, Samuel Barber, Terry Riley and Michael Torke. Get a recent book on 20th century music and read it for recommendations. Good luck!

 

[wadeus]

Mahler's 5th, about 6:11 minutes (depending) into the first movement, and loud!

Just my personal favorite symphonic moment.