# Anyone here like classical music?



## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

I just bought a Bose iPod radio for the living room and it's great for listening to some soft classical music in the background while doing whatever you're doing. I don't have that many songs though so I was wondering if anyone can recommend some good classical songs or albums that I should get.

I like mainly piano, and songs in major keys for that "happy" sound, although I wouldn't mind mixing in a few minors here and there. Any recommendations would be appreciated.


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

If you want happy try Bach or Mozart or Percy Grainger piano music.


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## Country Irish (Nov 10, 2005)

I would suggest internet radio at first to hear a variety and then you can write down the names and find them for your collection. My favorite is :
https://allclassical.org/

In the mean time you might pick of everything Bach has ever written and check out Johann Pachelbel. After that you can pick out your favorites from the others.


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## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

Thanks, I'm downloading a couple Bach CD's now. Any particular albums you like, that are mainly piano?


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## Flip Richards (Mar 31, 2011)

*Blue Öyster Cult*

Love Gerschwin and all that stuff but when I first saw this thread thought it was 'classic rock' you were talking about. I do love some of that too. One of the best bands of the 70's has to be, without question, Blue Öyster Cult. For those unfamiliar with the group's history, their origin goes back actually to the 60's, as it was a set of recordings beginning in 1967 that dates the beginning of what would eventually be considered the band. They signed with Elektra (but had also signed a contract with Columbia at a later time) and made various album-length recordings under various names for over four years. It was in 1971 that the band finally settled on the name which made them famous. Their manager, Sandy Pearlman, was also a poet. They took the phrase "Blue Öyster Cult" from a poem that he wrote. He was an experimentalist and the poem was part of a series called "Imaginos," which later Blue Öyster Cult (BÖC for short) used as the name of their album in one of their final years, at which point the band made use of much more of Pearlman's experimental poetic verse.

The song "Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll" was perhaps one of their earliest hits, but they did not achive commercial success until 1975, with the album _On Your Feet and On Your Knees_. Interestingly, this is a live album, recorded in disparate locations on the North American West and East coast: Seattle, Portland, Vancouver Phoenix, New Jersey and New York. The album consists of twelve songs and made it to the no. 22 slot on the _Billboard 200_. It remains the band's highest ranking album on record.

The band continued to release various full length albums (including the innovative _Mirrors_) throughout the late 70's and early 80's, and continued to have FM (AOR Rock) radio hits. "Godzilla" topped the charts in 1977, and "Burnin' For You" was the first (and biggest) hit off the _Fire of Unknown Origin_ album (1981). But perhaps the greatest, and most memorable, song of BÖC's classic years is "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," from the 1976 _Agents of Fortune_ album. It reached no. 12 on the _Billboard Top 40_ chart, and in 1978 climbed as high as no. 16 on the UK Pop Chart. The song is famously performed in the John Carpenter film _Halloween_ (1978) and has been featured in many other films and media since. To this day it remains a stable on classic rock radio.

By the mid 80's, the band began to hemorrhage original members, until by the late 80's only Eric Bloom and Donald Roeser were left. They hired additional musicians and continued to tour, focusing on previous radio hits as well as new experiments with material influenced by Pearlman's poetry. After a hiatus in the late 90's and early 00's, BÖC resumed touring with a various cast of rotating musicians. Just before Christmas 2008, BÖC management announced that Donald Roeser had taken a fall while performing routine maintenence in his Florida home. Due to a somewhat serious shoulder injury sustained in the fall, the band was forced to cancel several engagements through early 2009, but by the end of the year touring was resumed.

After 40 years, Blue Öyster Cult remains a vibrant, exciting and innovative rock band that continues to tour internationally, record material and remain relevant for new generations of listeners. All of the material has been digitally reissued and is available now on iTunes; on CD; XM radio; and other formats. Furthermore, one can scour garage sales and thrift shops to find the original LP's and 45 singles whose collectible appeal and full-size artwork make it exciting for music fans of all generations. BÖC will be remembered as truly one of the greatest musical acts of the 70's.


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## balder (Jan 23, 2008)

I have left instructions that "Don't fear the reaper" is to be played at my funeral!!


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## Gurdon (Feb 7, 2005)

*KUSC*

May I suggest you log on to KUSC on the web.

It has been a mainstay classical station for many years here in LA. They cover everything from early music to what is being composed now. Most programming is produced at the station and they have marvelous DJ's. It is like a music education class, only better and very accessible.

Based on your stated preferences, you might like Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, some/most of Mozart's chamber music, Bach solo Cello music, and, even though it has been played too much since becoming popular in the 1960's, Eric Satie's piano music, especially the recordings of Aldo Ciccolini that initially popularized Satie.

Although it is officially a Christmas season work, The Play of Daniel is a wonderful early music piece that has some minors but delightful melodies.

Devorak's American Quartet is somewhat rousing but very warm and bright.

Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranuez, although over played for the last 45 years is still wonderful to listen to.

Regards,
Gurdon


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

a!!!!1 said:


> I like mainly piano, and songs in major keys for that "happy" sound, although I wouldn't mind mixing in a few minors here and there. Any recommendations would be appreciated.


I suspect you would have a prediliction for what is known as the "Romantic" era of classical music. If you favor piano music, I would suggest listening to works by Johannes Brahms, Frederic Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Camille Saint-Saens, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and the like.


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

Haydn and Elgar (specifically The Enigma Variations)


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

Elgar wrote some nice music, but he can be a bit of an acquired taste. Haydn, on the other hand, is excellent.

For piano music, it's really hard to beat Chopin. He wrote a massive repertoire, almost exclusively of piano music. His complete works are available in several collections, although I think I have a work on a vinyl 78 that isn't in my complete set: and I've never been able to listen to it because I don't know anyone with a phonograph with a 78 setting! Some people might prefer Liszt, but I happen not to.

Classical music doesn't generally get spoken of in "albums" in the same way pop music does: an artist or ensemble will make a recording for a label, and that recording may show up in numerous instantiations over the years. Certain composers, especially composers of chamber music like Chopin, come to be associated with particular interpreters: in this case, a few pianists who perform and record the music repeatedly and become renowned for bringing out all the beauty (or sometimes a unique quality) in the composer's music. Operatic and symphonic works are of course different: it's harder to associate one artist with Verdi, because a performance's success requires many people working at once, and those people may never all make more than one recording together.

So for Chopin, you should look for recordings by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Artur Rubenstein, or Murray Perahia. If you want to go whole hog on Chopin, there is an excellent collection of his complete works (except maybe that mysterious piece I have on 78) with Sir Neville Mariner (and a host of widely and lesser known performers) available on amazon.


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

If you're using your Bose player as an iPod dock, I suggest signing up for Pandora. It's free and you can create custom radio stations based on an artist choice. So if you find a particular composer you like, you can create a station that will continuously play similar music by that and other composers or artists. 

For a specific contribution, one of my favorite Piano "albums" is Louis Moreau Gottschal: Piano Music Volume 3


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## valeria (Jun 15, 2011)

Racer said:


> I suspect you would have a prediliction for what is known as the "Romantic" era of classical music. If you favor piano music, I would suggest listening to works by Johannes Brahms, Frederic Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Camille Saint-Saens, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and the like.


Great idea to suggest just the main composers without mentioning any of their opus, I guess and I hope that as a classical music lover, he already knew all of them. By the way, you forgot Beethoven, which can be considered as a fundament of piano songs. I would recommend the sonata, 1st and 5th.


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## ZachGranstrom (Mar 11, 2010)

Racer said:


> I suspect you would have a prediliction for what is known as the "Romantic" era of classical music. If you favor piano music, I would suggest listening to works by Johannes Brahms, Frederic Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Camille Saint-Saens, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and the like.


+1. I would also mention Beethoven(romantic), Mozart(classical), Berlioz(romantic), and Smetana(romantic).

Also, another +1 for Chopin, "The poet of the piano."


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

Smetena is quite good. Beethoven and Mozart can be found anywhere, and even people who don't know classical music know them as master. Both wrote piano sonatas. Smetena is less well known, but deserves all the accolades he can get. Recordings of Ma Vlast---a series of beautiful tone poems---are easy to find (at least, some pieces from the series are easy to find: the whole thing is slightly more rare). But that's not piano music, it's an orchestral piece. I can't say I'm familiar with Smetena's _piano _music, oddly enough.


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

valeria said:


> Great idea to suggest just the main composers without mentioning any of their opus, I guess and I hope that as a classical music lover, he already knew all of them. By the way, you forgot Beethoven, which can be considered as a fundament of piano songs. I would recommend the sonata, 1st and 5th.


OP was asking for constructive input. If you think more information should be provided, why don't you just post it?


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## ZachGranstrom (Mar 11, 2010)

Titus_A said:


> Smetena is quite good. Beethoven and Mozart can be found anywhere, and even people who don't know classical music know them as master. Both wrote piano sonatas. Smetena is less well known, but deserves all the accolades he can get. Recordings of Ma Vlast---a series of beautiful tone poems---are easy to find (at least, some pieces from the series are easy to find: the whole thing is slightly more rare). *But that's not piano music, it's an orchestral piece. I can't say I'm familiar with Smetena's piano music, oddly enough.*


You're right, but I thought the OP would appreciate his work.


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

There are many ways to enter the very wide and varied world of classical music, and some good ones have been suggested here. For someone who has an album orientation, which as has been said is not the approach of most classical music aficionados, it should be noted that Billboard, the magazine known for its charts of popular music, has charts for classical music albums, a kind of classical hit parade if you will. Listed currently is a digital album titled The 99 Essential Adagios. Serious listeners may not go the route of such anthologies, but enough people have to make this a top seller. Adagios are the slow pieces in a symphony or concerto, classical chill in a way. You may try that.


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## Dr Kilroy (May 10, 2010)

I do not quite like Chopin (except Grande Valse Brillante, I must confess - listen to it!), thought I call myself a pianist sometimes.  

Some of my favourite piano pieces:
Schumann's Carnaval - mainly major, very light-hearted and brilliant - I love to listen to this. It also lasts about half an hour, so you do not have to change the CD frequently. 
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition - more minors and sometimes it is weird, but it has a Russian atmosphere about it and I think you might like it. The last part is really triumphant!
Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin - Ravel was a modern composer so his music is harder and you may not like it if you are not "advanced", if I could say so. This music is atonal so you really cannot tell if it is major or minor.  The overall character is rather reflective. I like it very much so you can try it, too.
Schumann's Scenes from Childhood - similiar to Carnaval, but I like it less. It contains the famous Traumerei piece. It is less energical and more delicate than Carnaval.
Debussy's Suite Bergamasque - known mainly thanks to Clair de Lune, but other parts are very nice, too (my favourite is the last, Passepied). It is a bit similar to Ravel, but more classic and less atonal.
Grieg's Piano Concerto in a-minor - it is actually for piano with orchestra. Although it is minor, the whole piece is rather cheerful than sad and the middle part is major.  When you listen to it, you can hear it is Scandinavian. 
Mozart's Piano Concerto in d-minor no. 20 KV 466 - I do not like Mozart very much, but this is one of his pieces that I enjoy. It is similar in character to Grieg's concerto, but it is Classical, so it is not romantic and cheerful, but rather lively and confident.

I also like organ music - I would recommend you of course Bach, Händel, Buxtehude and Saint-Saëns (especially Fantasies). 

Hope this helps. 

Best regards, Dr


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

Dr Kilroy said:


> I do not quite like Chopin (except Grande Valse Brillante, I must confess - listen to it!), thought I call myself a pianist sometimes.


I didn't know this was permitted in Poland. 




efdll said:


> For someone who has an album orientation, which as has been said is not the approach of most classical music aficionados, it should be noted that Billboard, the magazine known for its charts of popular music, has charts for classical music albums, a kind of classical hit parade if you will.


This is true, there are plenty of anthologies like that, and it might not be a bad way to get a broad exposure. My point about albums was merely that particular pieces or recordings tend not to be tied to a particular record: the album is not a fixed reference point for a given piece of music. Thus, a particular CD, published at a given time, of Ashkenazy playing Chopin may cease to be available and be replaced by a different CD containing the same pieces. "Sweet Home Alabama," by contrast, is always on _Second Helpings_, a fixed collection of Lynyrd Skynyrd songs that is (I suppose) more or less consistently available.



ZackGranstrom said:


> You're right, but I thought the OP would appreciate his work.


I'm sure he will. I just don't know anything about Smetena's piano works, or frankly if he even wrote any.


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## Dr Kilroy (May 10, 2010)

Titus_A said:


> I didn't know this was permitted in Poland.


I like his hair anyway (I have got similar  ).

Best regards, Dr


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## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I've downloaded a few Bach and Mozart albums and I like them a lot. The Bach is probably my favorite. Will look into all the other suggestions and let you know how I like them.


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## McKay (Jun 13, 2005)

a!!!!1 said:


> Thanks, I'm downloading a couple Bach CD's now. Any particular albums you like, that are mainly piano?


If you're still looking (I see that it's been a while since you asked!), Glenn Gould recorded a lot of Bach for the piano.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

I love any kind of guitar music, from Rolf Lislevand's Bach lute suites to Carlos Montoya's flamenco to Sharon Isben's contemporary classical Latin music to Van Halen to Brad Paisley. But if there are no guitars involved, I find myself mostly drawn to the earlier 20th century, like Fauré, Ravel, Elgar and Gershwin (but not Copeland, that overblown,pretentious, patronizing windbag! :icon_smile_wink.

If you're just starting a classical collection and are looking for MP3 downloads, check out Amazon's "The 99 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music", which is kind of a musical version of the old "Greatest Books of the Western World". It was 99¢ when I bought it, but even at its current $5.99 it's a lot of music for the money.


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## ZachGranstrom (Mar 11, 2010)

JerseyJohn said:


> I love any kind of guitar music, from Rolf Lislevand's Bach lute suites to Carlos Montoya's flamenco to Sharon Isben's contemporary classical Latin music to Van Halen to Brad Paisley. But if there are no guitars involved, I find myself mostly drawn to the earlier 20th century, like Fauré, Ravel, Elgar and Gershwin (*but not Copeland, that overblown,pretentious, patronizing windbag! :icon_smile_wink.*
> 
> If you're just starting a classical collection and are looking for MP3 downloads, check out Amazon's "The 99 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music", which is kind of a musical version of the old "Greatest Books of the Western World". It was 99¢ when I bought it, but even at its current $5.99 it's a lot of music for the money.


You, Sir, have offended me!


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## halldaniel21 (Jul 8, 2011)

One name Mozart. His works are phenomenal during his and today’s time. You will fall in love with his music, genre and his style. No one comes even close to Mozart in playing piano.


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## bblizzard (Nov 21, 2011)

I love Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, mysterious and haunting.


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