Classical Music

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I am not really a fan of Classical music, I just like to listen to it on the radio from time-to-time. I am asking you guys to share your opinions on Classical music, and possibly recommend pieces for me to listen to (and where to get them).
 
Well, my first recommendation is The Four Seasons.

EDIT: I just noticed I have exactly 100 more posts than Conor at the time of this post. Weird, non?
 
I hope people won't get back into the debate about what "classical" music is; SMX had a long statement about that some time back, and I hope that he will rest it with that.

Among my favourite composers are Dvorak, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Smetana. Some composers I can't stand are Bach, Schubert and Paganini (don't try to start a discussion on why I don't like them or why I should be open-minded towards them. I don't like the music they composed, and that's it). I am very indifferent towards people like Wagner. The music is not necessarily bad, sometimes even pretty good, but the ideology behind it is not my cup of tea (no, I am not confusing the nazi interpretations of Wagner's work with Wagner himself, I am talking about the ideology Wagner himself put into his music).

Among my favourite symphonies and comparable works are:

Symphony no 9: From The New World (Dvorak)
Symphony no 9 (Beethoven)
1812 (Tchaikovsyk)
Symphony no 6: Pathetique (Tchaikovsky)
The Moldova (Smetana)

There is a lot of other and less well-known stuff I really love, but this is pretty much a list of what I would recommend anyone to start with. They are easy to find and also really popular.
 
What do you mean by classical exactly?? Is it music from Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc... or music played by an orchestra???

If it's the later, I really enjoy orchestrated video game music., especially from The Legend Of Zelda serie.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Battlemaniacs+Nov 20 2005, 05:10 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Battlemaniacs @ Nov 20 2005, 05:10 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]What do you mean by classical exactly?? Is it music from Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc... or music played by an orchestra???

If it's the later, I really enjoy orchestrated video game music., especially from The Legend Of Zelda serie.
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Both types [!--emo&:p--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] I visited that website about video game music you had up a couple of days ago and some of the music is quite good.
I tries 4 seasons and some Beethoven (9th symphony) and it's quite good although a couple of guys called me gay for liking it. How pathetic. Anyway, seeing as the composers of these pieces are dead for quite a while, is it still ethically wrong to download and keep their music? I'm not sure as it's the composer's piece, but it will be an orchestra playing it. What are the guidlines about buying classical music?
 
The interpretation of a classical piece is a big part of what you're buying on a classical CD. In the case of orchestras, the interpretation is controlled by the conductor. If the piece is a concerto (orchestra with soloist) then the conductor and the soloist will usually work together on the interpretation. Smaller groups (e.g. string quartets) will usually discuss the interpretation together before recording.

There are some pieces where this doesn't matter very much. A good example is the first movement of Beethoven's 5th symphony. Every recording I've heard of this piece (and I've heard about 10 different versions) is virtually identical. Same tempo, same dynamics, same everything.

However, most pieces will have notable variations between performances. For example, I have 4 different recordings of Beethoven's "Apassionata" Piano Sonata. Each pianist plays it differently. Tempo and the interpretation of dynamics vary significantly. And the sound of the piano used is a major factor (the sublime sound of a Bosendorfer cannot be duplicated).

So while it is, as Conor said, "the composer's piece", the contributions of the performer are not to be dismissed.

Here are some pieces I recommend:
Beethoven: "Eroica" symphony #3, "Apassionata" piano sonata
Mendelssohn: "Italian" symphony
Bartok: Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste
Schoenberg: Transfigured Night

And get yourself a CD of Wagner's overtures. His music is magnificent in small, orchestra-only doses.
 
It all comes up to this: The Zelda music is awesome the same goes for the game (Zelda 3 is the best). I don't really enjoy classical music, but this kind of instrumental is really good.
 
I'm pretty shocked to see people rate a video game score equal or higher to Beethoven or Tchaikovky [!--emo&:blink:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/blink.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'blink.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
Well, it's not like there's a scientific scale proving so is there? If you have one, I would like to see it...
 
Umm... yes, I seem to blathering on about well... crap. Well, how high would Beethoveen be on a rate-o-meter and how high would a video game score be on a rate-o-meter in your opinion?
 
Trying to rate Beethoven in the same way as a video game score is an insult to culture.
 
No, mate, that is not my point. You are suggesting that the biggest cultural achievments of western history can be pulled equal with a piece of entertainment. The Zelda score may be nice to listen to, but it is simply not comparable. If I went with this kind of attitude, I could say Derek Riggs is a bigger artist than Rembrandt or the World Trade Center was a bigger piece of architecture than the Parthenon. Do you see what I mean?
 
I get your point Perun but I don't agree with it. It's not because something is older that it is better. I think that what some composers did with the NES is as good as what others did with an orchestra. Sure there are some shitty songs from NES games, but I'm sure there are as much shitty orchestrated songs. Anyway, it's all a matter of opinion and I'm sure as hell that I won't change yours as much as you won't change mine [!--emo&;)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/wink.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'wink.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
Well, Perun. This depends on the game. To me, it is mostly like comparing Maiden to Mozart. They're just so fundamentally different in the instruments used and the variations available that it's impossible. That being said, there are a select few pieces from modern day that I would rank up with the classics of compositions. The first would be any of the Star Wars soundtracks by John Williams. The man is amazing, and his music will be remembered for centuries due to its simple power. Even after the Star Wars movies are long since ignored, men will still remember The Imperial March.

While it won't be as long lasting, I suggest you listen to some of the themes from Chrono Cross. This is the only game I've ever heard with a full orchestral soundtrack, and it's superb. No Beethoven, but comparable on the same scale, if you understand what I mean.
 
Wait a second- you are trying to tell me that a video game score or a film soundtrack is supposed to be of equal cultural value as a symphony by Mozart or Beethoven- and that the latter are only more appreciated because they are older?!
 
I don't know what you considering "cultural value" Perun, but if we consider it as something similar to "the power of be remembered", what seems to be what LooseCannon said with the Star Wars soundtrack, then I would agree with him.

Another good example, for me at least, would be Howard Shore's Lord of The Rings soundtracks. For me its impossible to read some parts in the book and "stop listening the main epical theme" inside my mind while reading.

Back to the root of the thread: I'm not a bigger fan of classical music due to time problems. In a similar way to Metal, there are lots of artists and works out there, and almost each one of them has lots of differents interpretations... so you need time and patience to really get to known enough as to able to call yourself "a big fan of classical music" (for me at least).

That being said, I would recommend two composers

Strauss
Tchaikovsky

Try "Trisch Trasch Polka" from Strauss and "1812" (as Perun already mentioned) from Tchaikovsky and be prepared to reach new horizons into the universe of music.
 
Yes, I do think that some video game score and movie soundtrack have equal cultural value as Mozart's symphony. In the end, it's all really subjective and we are comparing two different things, sure it's music but it's still far from being used for the same thing. One is for..errrr... well.. something [!--emo&:p--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] and the other is to build an ambiance to fit that moment in the game/movie/whatever.

On a side note : in the NES game Battle of Olympus, there is a classical song played in the temples of the gods. I don't know it's name but it goes like that :
Tututu tututututu
tututu tututu
[!--emo&:rolleyes:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/rolleyes.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'rolleyes.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
That's not what I said at all, Perun. What I said was that the orchestration is on the same scale, and that one of the two examples I gave will, in the future, be remembered with a similar awe that we lend to what is to us classical composers.
 
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