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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.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @05:05AM
Glad somebody mentioned Keith Emerson and the funky bunch.
It would be interesting to know how many folks got the Classical bug from listening to some rockers' take on The Masters.
Walter Carlos[1] did a cover of Brandenburg Concerto #2 on a Moog synthesizer in the 1960s that was pretty great.
(Like VLM, below, my memory had put this a few years later.)
[1] Now Wendy, after gender reassignment.
.
Since you already mentioned some stuff on my list, I'll add this here.
Fanfare for the Common Man; Appalachian Spring; Rodeo (A lot of folks immediately say "The soup commercial music" when they hear Hoedown)
Never heard anything I didn't like from Copland. [wikipedia.org]
Rhapsody in Blue; An American In Paris from another American genius [wikipedia.org]
Back when I watched TeeVee, the 1812 Overture performed in DC with an Army artillery unit was very stirring.
Brandenburg Concertos - Yup. If it ain't Baroque, play it till it is.
Toccata and Fugue in D minor (more Bach) - The other day, somebody mentioned "the organ music" in the Rollerball subthread.
If memory serves, it's used in The Phantom of the Opera too.
The Four Seasons - Vivaldi nailed it.
Carmen - ...though I don't tend to like opera
I think Clair de Lune makes everybody's list.
Something from The Nutcracker too I'd bet. The Russian Dance for me.
-- gewg_
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @12:43PM
Was Carlos the one who did Switched on Bach and others (though the others I'm remembering are probably me-too albums.
(Score: 2) by tadas on Thursday December 17 2015, @03:39PM
Was Carlos the one who did Switched on Bach and others (though the others I'm remembering are probably me-too albums.
He (at the time) did "Switched on Bach, and "The Well-Tempered Synthesizer". Loved both then, love them now