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martyb writes:

I suppose I should not have been surprised.

I got home from work a few days ago just as a performance by the New York Philharmonic of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World" came onto the radio. I actually had a break in my busy schedule and was able to listen to it uninterrupted from start to finish. I especially enjoy the introduction of certain 'passages' that reappear later as well as the tension as the piece builds to a huge fanfare.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and remarked on this in our IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel. Not only did several people recognize it, there was a sudden discussion of people's favorite classical works and a suggestion that I should post a story to the main site.

Other favorites of mine include:

• 1812 Overture - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• The William Tell Overture - Gioachino Rossini ("The Lone Ranger" theme)
• The Barber of Seville - Gioachino Rossini
• Pictures at an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky
• Brandenburg Concertos - Johann Sebastian Bach.

In retrospect, a well-performed piece of classical music is like a well-written piece of software. Everything just flows together. Intricate passages combine into something much greater than its constituent parts.

So, fellow Soylentils, what are your favorite classical works? As performances vary in quality and there are many recordings out on the internet, it would be very much appreciated if you included a link to a free (libre) copy if you know of one that you think others would enjoy.

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