The Classical Music Recommendation Thread

[Frownland]

Nick Norton - Monet in Greyscale

[MicShazam]

I'm not really much into classical music. Like many plebs, I just like the odd soundtrack. A while ago I read this long article series that introduced various composers and offered up sound clips to show what their styles were and I found Berg to speak to me more than most. People have been shoving Mozart and other ancient, well worn composers in my face for years and I've felt very little. Then I hear this supposedly less relatable stuff by this Berg guy and I'm actually moved. Maybe some people just need to hear some more modern stuff to get into classical? My local record store has nothing with this composer, but it's the one thing that has captured me so far outside of film soundtracks.

I'm a total pea-brain when it comes to classical music, but this seems very high quality to me:

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by MicShazam

I'm not really much into classical music. Like many plebs, I just like the odd soundtrack. A while ago I read this long article series that introduced various composers and offered up sound clips to show what their styles were and I found Berg to speak to me more than most. People have been shoving Mozart and other ancient, well worn composers in my face for years and I've felt very little. Then I hear this supposedly less relatable stuff by this Berg guy and I'm actually moved. Maybe some people just need to hear some more modern stuff to get into classical? My local record store has nothing with this composer, but it's the one thing that has captured me so far outside of film soundtracks.

Mozart is a good composer, but what we hear today isn't what gave him notoriety. He was a master improviser and 999/1000 orchestras play his compositions without any improvisation at all, and often times that just makes it sound lifeless. I heard a pianist do variations on Turkish March and it was amazing. It kind of ruined hearing other people play Mozart as well.

What do you think of this?

[MicShazam]

Originally Posted by Frownland

Mozart is a good composer, but what we hear today isn't what gave him notoriety. He was a master improviser and 999/1000 orchestras play his compositions without any improvisation at all, and often times that just makes it sound lifeless. I heard a pianist do variations on Turkish March and it was amazing. It kind of ruined hearing other people play Mozart as well.

What do you think of this?

Now i've only listened to a few minutes so far, but I've got to say that this seems way more my kind of thing than what I'm usually getting. Very beautiful. I don't have the musical language to figure out what makes the difference between the classical styles I like, and the ones I don't. All I know is that, like Berg, this gets a big thumbs up.

[Agu]

Originally Posted by Frownland

and 999/1000 orchestras play his compositions without any improvisation at all, and often times that just makes it sound lifeless.

That's because orchestras play Mozart music. An improvisation of Mozart music ISN'T Mozart music, it's just an improvisation.

And his music loses all his original feeling when someone plays his compositions with improvisation.

Originally Posted by MicShazam

People have been shoving Mozart and other ancient, well worn composers in my face for years and I've felt very little.

Well worn composers?, does composers become worn?, do you get bored of the music you listen?.

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by Agu

That's because orchestras play Mozart music. An improvisation of Mozart music ISN'T Mozart music, it's just an improvisation.

Only if you take life too literally. I think it's more true to Mozart if you try to play it similarly to how he would, and that includes a lot of improvisation. I wish more orchestras could get their head around that and try something new (in the sense of not drudging along with the sheet music.

And his music loses all his original feeling when someone plays his compositions with improvisation.

"Original feel" as far as the plain, unornamented Mozart compositions is a bit dull if I'm being honest. Plus it's not necessarily a bad thing if the music doesn't remain stagnant, because it keeps the music alive. I guess whether that's a good thing depends on the person, but I say that it is.

[MicShazam]

Originally Posted by Agu

Well worn composers?, does composers become worn?, do you get bored of the music you listen?.

Oops, didn't notice your reply right away.
What I meant was simply that the big composers are heavily exposed to people through movies and other chance encounters. I've heard a lot of Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, etc. through the years, but never been captured by it enough to want to seek it out. It is only in recent years that I've realized that some of the less well known composers are more interesting.

Good music doesn't get worn out at all. I'm just saying what I mean poorly. I haven't worn Mozart and Company out, I've just been exposed to them indirectly to such a degree that it coloured my expectation of what classical music is.

[Frownland]

It's been too long since I listened to this one, absolutely floored by it

[lionelherschtel]

Hi, I just found that playlist with all the best violin concertos and sonatas recorded by Julia Fischer. Such a nice selection, I recommend it!

spotify:user:pentatoneclassics:playlist:1Mkz9RJfHQ 2V918cRaumNE

[BlackMalachite]

Olafur Arnalds is probably my favorite classical / neo-classical composer. His debut album Eulogy for Evolution and his follow up ...And They Escaped The Weight of Darkness are both fantastic albums with some of the most relaxing and varied piano compositions I've jammed in a while. (I don't like his newer stuff that much, he kinda dropped the ball after the first two)