What is your favorite piece of classical music?

Classical music is for all ages and although in general most young people don't own up to to it, nearly everyone knows or loves some form of classical music.

So what is your favorite piece?

What style do you prefer?

Medieval and Renaissance (Gregorian chant, Palestrina)
Baroque (Bach, Händel, Monteverdi and Vivaldi...)
the Classical period (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven)
Romantic period (Wagner, Liszt, Chopin)
20th century (Stravinsky, Mahler, Alan Berg and Shostakovich etc)
Contemporary (John Williams, Philip Glass)

Do you prefer a big Symphony orchestra or chamber music or anything else?

Are you actively going to classical music performances or do you only listen at home?

Ode to Joy (one of the less pieces I can play myself) is one of my favourite and Eine kleine Nachtmusik too. There are more, but can't think of them at the moment. So rather classical.

I like orchestras, when it's not too pompous. But what is a big no-no are operas and such. Instrumental yes, but no singing.

Boy, how could you name just one piece of classical music as a favorite? I have so many that I love, I could never narrow it down to one. I like some pieces from pretty much every style of classical, from medieval to modern, and I like everything from big booming symphonics with a 100+ piece orchestra to delicate solo pieces (eg. harp concertos). I have a large CD collection of classical music and I am blessed to live in Northeast Ohio, so I can go to hear the divine Cleveland Orchestra ("best band in the land" and one of the top orchestras in the world) playing in Severance Hall, which is something like heaven. Some of my favorite pieces include:

Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Brandenburg Concertos, Tocatta and Fugue in D, Sheep May Safely Graze cantata, Violin sonatas & partitas, Cello suites
Vivaldi: 4 seasons (especially Winter), mandolin concerto
Mouret: Rondo (the Masterpiece Theater theme!)
Handel: Messiah, Water Music
Haydn: Surprise symphony
Beethoven: 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 9th symphonies, Moonlight Sonata, Leonore overture, Emperor Concerto, Violin Concerto
Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Marriage of Figaro, Piano Concerto #21, Great Mass in C, Sinfonia Concertante, Jupiter Symphony
Schubert: Ave Maria
Mendelssohn: Midsummer's Night Dream, Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake ballets, Symphonys 5 and 6, 1st and 2nd piano concertos, violin concerto, Capricio Italien, Francesca de Rimini
Brahms: Waltz in A, Symphony #1, 3, and 4
Chopin: Les Sylphidies (I don't think I spelled that right, but oh well...)
Puccini: Turandot, Tosca, Madam Butterfly
Offenbach: Tales of Hoffman, Orpheus in the Underworld
Johann Strauss: Blue Danube, Emperor, Roses from the South, Artist's Life, Tales from the Vienna Woods waltzes, Pizzicato Polka, Thunder and Lightning Polka
Webern: Invitation to the Dance
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies (especially #5--I prefer the Orchestral arrangement to the piano solo)
Rachmaninoff: 2nd Piano Concerto, 2nd symphony, Isle of the Dead, Vespers, Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini
Stravinsky: Firebird (best finale EVER!), Rite of Spring
Corigliano: Pied Piper Fantasy
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Alpine symphony
Respighi: PInes of Rome, Fountains of Rome
Satie: Gymnopedes
Debussy: Clair de Lune, La Mer
Ravel: Bolero, Piano Concerto for the left hand
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Night on Bald Mountain
Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherezade
Barber: Adagio for Strings
Copeland: Appalachian symphony, Rodeo

Geez, this list is getting long. Anyway, I really like classical music. ;)

Bach: Cello prelude (the really famous one associated with Yo-Yo Ma)
Vivaldi: Winter
Beethoven: 3rd symphony (the Eroica), and the ninth. I also love Moonlight Sonata
Mozart: 41st symphony
Tchaikovsky: his last symphony
Mahler: nineth symphony
Brahms: Hungarian Dances, Symphony #4
Rachmaninoff: Vocalise (on cello)
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite, Rite of Spring
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
Ravel: String Quartet in F Major
Debussy: Dances for Harp and Orchestra
Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis, First Movement

Boy, how could you name just one piece of classical music as a favorite? I have so many that I love, I could never narrow it down to one. I like some pieces from pretty much every style of classical, from medieval to modern, and I like everything from big booming symphonics with a 100+ piece orchestra to delicate solo pieces (eg. harp concertos). I have a large CD collection of classical music and I am blessed to live in Northeast Ohio, so I can go to hear the divine Cleveland Orchestra ("best band in the land" and one of the top orchestras in the world) playing in Severance Hall, which is something like heaven. Some of my favorite pieces include:

Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Brandenburg Concertos, Tocatta and Fugue in D, Sheep May Safely Graze cantata, Violin sonatas & partitas, Cello suites
Vivaldi: 4 seasons (especially Winter), mandolin concerto
Mouret: Rondo (the Masterpiece Theater theme!)
Handel: Messiah, Water Music
Haydn: Surprise symphony
Beethoven: 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 9th symphonies, Moonlight Sonata, Leonore overture, Emperor Concerto, Violin Concerto
Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Marriage of Figaro, Piano Concerto #21, Great Mass in C, Sinfonia Concertante, Jupiter Symphony
Schubert: Ave Maria
Mendelssohn: Midsummer's Night Dream, Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake ballets, Symphonys 5 and 6, 1st and 2nd piano concertos, violin concerto, Capricio Italien, Francesca de Rimini
Brahms: Waltz in A, Symphony #1, 3, and 4
Chopin: Les Sylphidies (I don't think I spelled that right, but oh well...)
Puccini: Turandot, Tosca, Madam Butterfly
Offenbach: Tales of Hoffman, Orpheus in the Underworld
Johann Strauss: Blue Danube, Emperor, Roses from the South, Artist's Life, Tales from the Vienna Woods waltzes, Pizzicato Polka, Thunder and Lightning Polka
Webern: Invitation to the Dance
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies (especially #5--I prefer the Orchestral arrangement to the piano solo)
Rachmaninoff: 2nd Piano Concerto, 2nd symphony, Isle of the Dead, Vespers, Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini
Stravinsky: Firebird (best finale EVER!), Rite of Spring
Corigliano: Pied Piper Fantasy
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Alpine symphony
Respighi: PInes of Rome, Fountains of Rome
Satie: Gymnopedes
Debussy: Clair de Lune, La Mer
Ravel: Bolero, Piano Concerto for the left hand
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Night on Bald Mountain
Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherezade
Barber: Adagio for Strings
Copeland: Appalachian symphony, Rodeo

Geez, this list is getting long. Anyway, I really like classical music. ;)

Haha, I think "like" is an understatement.

You named a lot of my favourites, actually - most notably the Brandenburg Concertos by Bach, the Hungarian Rhapsodies by Liszt, and the 2nd Piano Concerto by Rachmaninoff.

I'm a huuuuge fan of Bach. He was simply a genius and far ahead of his time, in my opinion. The well-tempered clavier is just mind-blowing. His Inventions are as well. As a piano player, I find his music a real treasure. And as a flute player, I especially love the Brandenburg Concertos (I used to play them with my sister, who plays violin) - those pieces still send shivers down my spine. The complexity and beauty of his music is still so incredibly inspiring.

That said, I think it's obvious I really loved the Baroque era. I also love the Classical and Romantic periods.


Hah, this reminds me of a joke my orechestra teacher one told us: "Bach was a genius at composing amazing pieces... now he's quite spectacular at DEcomposing." This is where I went *facepalm*.

I myself like the Romantic, Impressionistic, and Contemporary eras, if you look at my list.

Boy, how could you name just one piece of classical music as a favorite? I have so many that I love, I could never narrow it down to one.

:lol: me neither. However that was just a starter question!

I have too many favorites to name too. I can love everything, including Opera music. It really depends on my mood, I can spend days listening to Requiems (without being depressed) or suddenly prefer something like Chopin which is more happy.

I really love classical music that accompanies Chinese movies and Japanese anime. They make use of classical music in a way that is refreshing.

I totally agree with your last sentence. It really is refreshing.

I really like Camille Saint-Saens, especially his piece "Le Cygne" from "Le Carnival D'Animaux." It's a piece for cello and piano that's incredibly beautiful. I also really like Aram Kachaturian's Violin Concerto. I really like the more soulful pieces rather than things like Tchaikovsky that are just a ton of things happening (although the 1812 overture is a fun piece).

I really like Camille Saint-Saens, especially his piece "Le Cygne" from "Le Carnival D'Animaux." It's a piece for cello and piano that's incredibly beautiful. I also really like Aram Kachaturian's Violin Concerto. I really like the more soulful pieces rather than things like Tchaikovsky that are just a ton of things happening (although the 1812 overture is a fun piece).

"Le Cygne" is arguably one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. I also love "Aquarium" from "le Carnival D'Animaux"--it's so mystical and exotic. On the same idea as "Le Cygne", I also like Jules Massenet's "Meditation from Thais" (also arguably one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written) and Ralph Vaughn Williams' "The Lark Ascending." Other pieces in this vein would be Mendelssohn's "On Wings of Song," Debussy's "Clair de Lune," and of course, Pachelbel's "Canon." There''s also a Pavane by Gabriel Faure that's hauntingly beautiful. BTW, Tchaikovsky can do soulful--the Swan theme in Swan Lake, when played by just a few instruments, is heartbreakingly lovely.

I love Cannon in D. I love playing it, hearing it, singing arrangements of it. Love it. Don't know what it is about it. I also just enjoy cannons in general. That probably has something to do with it. But I do love it. Such a great piece.

I love Carmina Bureana (Orff) in performance, I'm also love Chopin's piano pieces too. They're very elegant.

Hah, this reminds me of a joke my orechestra teacher one told us: "Bach was a genius at composing amazing pieces... now he's quite spectacular at DEcomposing." This is where I went *facepalm*.

Haha, my music teacher at school told us that too!

Anyway, I like all kinds of classical music, I could never choose a single piece or composer as a favourite. (For those of you in Canada, I have my alarm clock on CBC Radio Two in the morning!) I tend to go through phases where I'll listen to a specific composer for a while and then switch to another. Like right now I've been listening to Gisueppe Verdi's "La Traviata" and have been on an opera kick lately (see my opera thread under "theatre").

oooh too many to name a favourite, but at the moment I like -

Aaron Copeland - Appalachian Spring
Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man (well I think it's classical :))
Carl Orff - Carmina Burana
Gorecki - Symphony of Sorrowfull Songs
Samuel Coleridge Taylor (I think?) - Hiawatha
Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Paul Dukas - The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Almost anything by Rachmaninov
Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet
Prokofiev - The Classical Symphony
Prokofiev - Cinderella
and my favourite at the moment Brahms - The German Requiem

I was lucky enough at one stage in my life, ages ago, to be a member of a choir, and we sung the German Requiem in the Albert Hall in London. I was on such a high that night! It's a stunning all-enveloping piece of drama. I am so not religious - but this requiem is odd. Just read the words.

Classical music gets in your blood - even more so than more modern pieces. A great tune by one of today's youngsters has staying power for a while, and indeed, some will be with us for many years to come, and give a huge amount of enjoyment to all - but just listen to Rachmaninov - a piano concerto - I won't even choose which one. Timeless!

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart, my favorite:)

Classical music is for all ages and although in general most young people don't own up to to it, nearly everyone knows or loves some form of classical music.

So what is your favorite piece?

What style do you prefer?

Medieval and Renaissance (Gregorian chant, Palestrina)
Baroque (Bach, Händel, Monteverdi and Vivaldi...)
the Classical period (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven)
Romantic period (Wagner, Liszt, Chopin)
20th century (Stravinsky, Mahler, Alan Berg and Shostakovich etc)
Contemporary (John Williams, Philip Glass)

Do you prefer a big Symphony orchestra or chamber music or anything else?

Are you actively going to classical music performances or do you only listen at home?

Wow, impossible for me to name just one favorite piece. Nearly anything by Mozart, genius that he was.

I also like Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Dvorzak, Stravinsky.

Also think John Williams & Philip Glass are great contemporary composers.

Living near Chicago, I went to live symphony a lot when Georg Solti was conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

I'm really excited because I'm going to my province's symphony tonight! It's all Russian music and there is even a piano soloist (my favourite instrument!). My music teacher at school also happens to be in it playing 2nd clarinet.

I'm really excited because I'm going to my province's symphony tonight! It's all Russian music and there is even a piano soloist (my favourite instrument!). My music teacher at school also happens to be in it playing 2nd clarinet.

Nice! What kind of pieces will they play?

Ooooooh! Yay, classical! I am a violinist, and I tend to really enjoy pieces that I have played. Some favorites are:

Clint Mansell: Contemporary, composed soundtracks for The Fountain, and Requiem for a Dream
Bizet: Carmen
Shostakovich: Festive Overture
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 (New World)
Mozart: Don Giovanni, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, The Magic Flute, Symphony No. 40, The Marriage of Figaro basically anything
Saint-Seans: Danse Macabre
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake
Beethoven: 5th Symphony
Bach: Double Violin Concerto

=D Love anything, really. Opera is love! <3

I am a freelance classical musician in Los Angeles and there simply is WAY too many pieces for me to list as a favorite. Seriously, it would take ages to load my single post! Anyway, I like certain pieces because of the mood or idea that they invoke upon me. Like Shostakovich, for example. When I want to hear something dark and angry, I listen to his symphonies. Or, when I want to hear something beautiful, I listen to Debussy or Ravel like La Mer and Claire de Lune or Miroirs, respectively. I'm a brass player though, so a lot of the music that I love naturally has some great brass parts as well. I'm a little biased, perhaps. But that doesn't mean that I don't love Beethoven Violin Sonatas any less than I do Wagner's Lohengrin!!

Firebird Suite..Stravinsky
Variations on a theme of Paganini..Rachmaninov
Pastoral (6th)..Beethoven

*Looks at username* The kind of music I'm generally "all4" would be classical. Just a quick and dirty list of a few all time faves:
Rimsky-Korsakov - Sheherazade
Debussy -Clair de Lune
Ravel - Bolero and Rapsodie Espagnole
Elgar - Cello Concerto
Nielsen - Clarinet Concerto (I play clarinet though...It dosen't always appeal to others)
Johan De Meij - Lord of the Rings Symphony (not to be confused with any of the soundtracks)
Respighi - Pines of Rome
I guess my tastes run toward romantic, though I find myself liking more and more contemporary music all the time, despite the fact that I complained about having it shoved down my throat while studying music in college.
Lately I can't seem to get enough of Zoe Keating (http://www.myspace.com/zoecello) especially her piece Tetrishead. Its just sooo addictive to listen to.

Lately I can't seem to get enough of Zoe Keating (http://www.myspace.com/zoecello) especially her piece Tetrishead. Its just sooo addictive to listen to.

I can understand what you mean, really beautiful music!

I like many classical piece's but my all time favorite is.....

Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings

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I usually don't listen to classical music a lot but I really love playing it in my youth symphony (I play viola). I couldn't really pick one favorite piece or composer, since there are so many great ones out there, but my favorite that my orchestra did is Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche by Richard Strauss (not sure about the spelling, it's German). it is like the coolest piece ever, and it has a huge viola section solo ;)

I really like classical music, some of my favourite pieces are:

Adiemus
Horn Concerto No.4- Mozart
Jupiter: The Bringer of Jolity- Holst
Slavonic Dance
Clarinet Concerto- Mozart
Exsulate Jubilate- Mozart
The Marriage of Figaro- Mozart
Pomp and Circumstance- Elgar
Romeo and Juliet- Prokofiev
Requiem: Aeternam- Mozart
Requiem: Hostias- Mozart
Sinfonia Concertante: 1st Movement- Mozart
Violin Concerto in D Major

Some of them I don't know who the composer is because my MP3 player isn't showing me the names but I'll have a look on my windows media player a bit later on.

Gosh... thats a hard one. Mine changes as I find a new piece. At the moment its a contest between the Moldau (Excerpt) by Smetana The Wasps Overture by Raplh William Vaughns, Georgiana by Dario Marianelli or Song of the Volga Boatmen - traditional Russian.

It changes with my mood.

I would have to say my all-time favorite piece is "Sheep May Safely Graze" by Bach. It was the first song I learned on euphonium.

Another favorite is "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1" by Edward Elgar. The only time I get to play it is when the band has to play for graduation. This year is my last year to play it. (I'm graduating next year)

I mostly listen to music by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Wagner, Haydn, Mozart and Tchaikovski

i usually hate classical stuff, and you would too if your parents forced you to practice piano stuff all the time, but my favorite piece is nocturne in e-flat major, opus 9, no 2 by Chopin.

On a side note, i completed level 6 nyssma (this music test thing) by playing waltz in c-sharp minor, opus64 no. 2. in only one month. As a result, i hate the song because i got so tired of it.

i usually hate classical stuff, and you would too if your parents forced you to practice piano stuff all the time, but my favorite piece is nocturne in e-flat major, opus 9, no 2 by Chopin.

On a side note, i completed level 6 nyssma (this music test thing) by playing waltz in c-sharp minor, opus64 no. 2. in only one month. As a result, i hate the song because i got so tired of it.

How sad...it's a shame when people get turned off to great things because they're forced into it instead of being able to develop an appreciation naturally. So many people go through similar forcing, and they have the same reaction. I hope your parents back off and give you more freedom to find your own way. Maybe then, you can come back to classical when you choose to, and then you can find its beauty for yourself.

Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man (well I think it's classical )

Hey, I put Karl Jenkins in the classical section of my CD collection--I've got his "Diamond Music" CD which is really cool, even if the "Palladio" is overused in the "Diamonds are Forever" ad campaign from DeBeers.

The second act of Jupiter by Holst is the most beautiful piece of music ever written.

I also really like Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor by Rachmaninoff. My classical music listening has been very limited but I've been trying to get into it a bit more.

How sad...it's a shame when people get turned off to great things because they're forced into it instead of being able to develop an appreciation naturally. So many people go through similar forcing, and they have the same reaction. I hope your parents back off and give you more freedom to find your own way. Maybe then, you can come back to classical when you choose to, and then you can find its beauty for yourself.



Hey, I put Karl Jenkins in the classical section of my CD collection--I've got his "Diamond Music" CD which is really cool, even if the "Palladio" is overused in the "Diamonds are Forever" ad campaign from DeBeers.

I like classical, but only if i'm not the one playing it (though i think violin classical is really really pretty), my parents have backed off, but it'll take a while for me to really like it again and want to play it too. the kind of music i like is a huge contrast. I like things like rock, that are really fast paced, but i also like things that are kind of calmer and slower. I like the faster kinds of classic though for piano (when i got mad, i used to play really really fast paced loud pieces, it worked well though). I really like the really calm stuff for violin

Meditation from Thais by Jules Massenet is a favorite of mine, along with all the others that everyone picks, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Moonlight Sonata, Four Seasons,etc

oh yeah, i forgot about moonlight sonata

i hope this doesnt slow down the page much, but

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At the moment I am addicted to Offenbach's Gaite Parisienne at the moment. It's absolutely beautiful, and really gets me going.

Vid of young Shostakovich here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYOpnq6h_Ms

I love love love the Russian composers: Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov(I'm playing one of his piano pieces now), Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khatchaturian...

I went through a Russian phase last christmas, cos when I was buying a chrissie pressie I bought a CD collection of Russian Music for myself (lol) its a brilliant CD, with many songs on it which are now my faves. The suite to Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije is awesome - Romance is my ultimate chill song, and an inspiration for writing!

it depends on my mood,but i do love the nutcracker and most of tscaikowsky´s

Mozart's Concerta No. 3 in Eb Major for Horn and Orchestra

Ah, I don't think I can choose one favorite! Some of my favorites, though, are:

The music from Swan Lake, by Tchaikovsky
The music from Carmen, by Bizet.
Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight" by Beethoven
Piano Sonata no. 8 "Pathetique" by Beethoven
Canon, by Pachelbel
Bach's Minuet

Those are only a few. I cannot think too well at the moment, and I can never get the titles right...

Nice thread! I love choral music. I used to sing in a church choir and I had my own vocal group for about four years. Now I am taking vocal technique lessons. I listen to a lot of vocal and choral music. Here are my favourites (they have changed as I grow old?

English madrigals, Bennet, Morley, Famer, Tallis...Tomás Luis de Victoria, specially his motet "O magnum mysterium" and his "Officium Defunctorum *** six vocibus". Spanish renaissance: cancionero de palacio and Encina.
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Hear my prayer, Music for a while, Fairest Isle.
Bach: Magnificat
Vivaldi: Gloria for chorus. Stabat mater for alto solo. Bajazet: Sposa son disprezzata.
Handel: Messiah. Serse: Ombra mai fu.
Mozart: Requiem and Coronation Mass. Exultate jubilate.
John Rutter: Magnificat, Requiem, Gloria and practically everything he has written.
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet: I love the Montagues and Capulets movement.
Grieg: Peer Gynt.
Argentine folklore music: Misa Criolla

Visit my channel at youtube for score animations of classical pieces:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=margotlorena

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet: I love the Montagues and Capulets movement.


That's probably my favorite part of Romeo and Juliet too, it's so easily recognizable.

Since it hasn't been mentioned I really love Gluck's Orfeo et Eurydice. You can download a free MP3 here. (http://www.classicistranieri.com/public/post/christoph-willibald-gluck-orfeo-ed-euridice-7802.asp) I especially enjoy the aria Che faro senza (track 19)

Since it hasn't been mentioned I really love Gluck's Orfeo et Eurydice. You can download a free MP3 here. (http://www.classicistranieri.com/public/post/christoph-willibald-gluck-orfeo-ed-euridice-7802.asp) I especially enjoy the aria Che faro senza (track 19)
I have listened to it by Teresa Berganza.
I also love Gluck's PAride and Elena: O del mio dolce ardor...
If you have never listened to it, you can check out my channel on youtube, I posted several recordings of it....
I am studying singing now.. I hope I can sing that aria some day...

I have listened to it by Teresa Berganza.
I am studying singing now.. I hope I can sing that aria some day...
If you can get hold of it listen to the concert version sung by Kathleen Ferrier - it's very old (1945 or 46) but her voice is quite astonishing.

Originally of course it was to be sung by a man.

If you can get hold of it listen to the concert version sung by Kathleen Ferrier - it's very old (1945 or 46) but her voice is quite astonishing.

Originally of course it was to be sung by a man.

Thanks. I'll try to get it. I posted kathleen ferrier singing ombra mai fu. I love that aria.


http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8BCC76D649CDB8C0

now i am working on a new project: Voi che sapete, by different singers.

I love Jan A.P Kaczmarek (he composed the music in the film Finding Neverland). My favourite piece is Piano variation in blue (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xFoP8QKal_g).

Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven
Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky
The Sacrifice by Michael Nyman
La Valse D'Amelie (piano version) from Amelie by Yann Tiersen Click (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_DyXbODdfHU)

I like the Planets - Jupiter and Mars <-- those happen to be my favorite by Gustav Holst

I also like todays music John Williams, Klaus Badelt ect.

I especially appreciate russian musicians as Tchaïkovsky , Prokoviev , Chostakovitch...My fav' style is romantic and "20th century" , I like Chopin's pieces too (I won't say he's romantic...He's done very classical works...But I don't know about his works very well. Nocturnes are very romantic, but rather Chopin I would say Schubert or Schumann an' of course Beethoven...But there're all goods examples ^^) .Aah...Debussy , Strauss...lol

Lady' , who's gonna learn russian next year (normally...)

Baroque, I love that era. Handel and Bach are my favorites. Handel's water music is simple lovely.

I love music of any sort(classical and light or pop music) and I simply love, love our classical music which is called *Carnatic music*. It belongs to South India; my all time favorite singer is one lady called M.S.Subbulakshmi, who died a few years ago. There are a few composers in our music and I love almost all of their compositions.

Loving my classical music, I was curious about western classical and I downloaded some tunes after looking into the wikipedia on famous composers.

I did know of Bach, Beethovan, Motzart and Chopin. I looked through wikipedia for others, curious about the music styles, especially classical ones of the west. POP I knew; classical I had no clue.

I soon found out that I simply adore a few musical pieces and I can listen to them time and again. I have imported a few of them into my ipod and listen to them along with my own classical stuff while I'm doing my cooking, cleaning or basically any work apart from reading.

1. Vivaldi's four seasons; I love all four of them
2. Chopin's Nocturne
3. Fur Elise
4. The 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Symphonys
5. Nutcraker Suite
6. Swan LAke
7. Romanian Folk Dances by Bartok
8. Allegro
9. The Barber of Seville

I also love listening to James Galway, Enya and Loreena McKennit, but mainly James Galway, along with the classical music from my own country.

My friend has gotten me into Michael Nyman, her music class is studying him and saw him a couple of months ago. I really like 'The Heart Asks Pleasure First', and 'Molly'.

The Hebrides Overture (aka Fingal's Cave Overture) by Mendelssohn

Inspired by the crashing of waves in Fingal's Cave. It's not super super famous, so I found a youtube recording (http://youtube.com/watch?v=M3_Px2yXVbw) if anyone is interested in hearing it.

I love Musetta's Waltz from La Boheme and the Nutcracker Suite and the Russian Dance (Trepak) from the Nutcracker.

The Hebrides Overture (aka Fingal's Cave Overture) by Mendelssohn

Inspired by the crashing of waves in Fingal's Cave. It's not super super famous, so I found a youtube recording (http://youtube.com/watch?v=M3_Px2yXVbw) if anyone is interested in hearing it.

Oooh I have heard this before and I really like it, especially the bit between 5 12 and 5 19. I don't know why, that bit is just super awesome, and so is the opening.

I love Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (third movement), though he's sort of in between classical and romantic. Most Beethoven I hear I like. I also love to play it.

Chopin's more romantic, but I have to mention him as well. I love love love his pieces. They're so full of emotion and just beautiful... Sooo much fun to play. I particularly like Fantasie Impromptu and Nocturne in C minor.

So what is your favorite piece? I love so many but I would have to say Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings and Dimitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony.

What style do you prefer?
I love to listen to Rennaisance dances. Michael Praetorius is a favorite composer from this era. I also love to listen to and attend baroque opera, especially Monteverdi. I am a Lutheran church organist and J.S. Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude are the ultimate highs on a pipe organ. I also like to play Paul Hindemith organ sonatas.

20th century composers that I like are Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, William Walton, Michael Tippet and other English composers, Stravinsky, Bartok, Ottorino Resphigi.

Philip Glass has done some great movie soundtracks. Koyaanisquatsi and Kundun, for example.
John Tavener, Alan Hovhaness, John Rutter and Eric Whitacre for their choral music.

Do you prefer a big Symphony orchestra or chamber music or anything else? I love both. I play violin, viola and harpsichord in a chamber ensemble but I would love to play something 'big' like the New World Symphonyby Dvorak..

Are you actively going to classical music performances or do you only listen at home? Oddly enough, perhaps because I perform often, I rarely listen to music at home. I am mostly making it. I do listen to the classical music radio station here while driving and sometimes I will have an absolute craving for a certain piece so then I will have to put the music on the stereo and play it.

When my second daughter married we had a grand wedding with organ, brass choir and timpani. The processional was by Sir William Walton - Crown Imperial. A baritone sang two songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Call and I Got Me Flowers. The recessional was Rigadoun by André I-forget-who (senior moment) but it was organ and brass, etc. The hymns were glorious and elaborate. One guest, who was a minister and had officiated at least a thousand weddings told me it was the most beautiful and grand wedding ever. Well, maybe not on the scale of a Royal Wedding but with torch bearers, crucifers, banner bearers, clergy in the procession, etc. it was solemn and beautiful. All in all it was a musician's wedding and I was fortunate to know all the right people to come play the music for us. Just before the opening bombast of the Crown Imperial March, the first trumpet of the brass choir and the organ played The Prayer of St. Gregory by Alan Hovhaness. That piece is so lovely and mystical and then to seque into the magnificence of Crown Imperial was electrifying.

Golly, I just love being a musician.:lol:

Tchaikovsky 1812 overtune

I love Paco Bell Cannon.....I hope I spelled it right. Overture to the Barber of seville.

I love so many pieces of classical music that it would be too long to enumerate them. But my heart melts when I hear Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, because my mother used to play it.
My favorites are from various periods: pell mell, I like Tchaikovsky (suits like Nutcracker, Swan lake, Sleeping beauty), Vivaldi's four seasons, Ravel's Boléro, Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini (Rachmaninoff), die Moldau (Smetana), Pachelbel canon, Adagio (Albinoni)... This list isn't thorough, thses are the first to come in mind ;)
I love music, so I hate not being able to play, or even reading a part.

I love Paco Bell Cannon.....I hope I spelled it right. Overture to the Barber of seville.

Pachelbel

On that note, has anyone here seen the Pachelbel's Rant video on Youtube?

Favourite piece of Classical....I have no idea. The on I listen to the most often is a choral version of Pachelbel's Canon in D, but I think I hear it too often to make it my favourite. :S

edit: Now that I've had time to think about it, Stabat Mater, Pergolesi. Dancing Day, John Rutter. Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker and Swan Lake. *loves on his ballets*

There are so many pieces of classical music; it's really hard to pick just one. I really like Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique in C Minor. But, honestly, every kind of classical music is great.

I love Paco Bell Cannon.....I hope I spelled it right. Overture to the Barber of seville.

I saw "Taco Bell" instead of "Paco Bell" and would be the first in line to see the Taco Bell Canon. :lol: To be fair, though, Pachelbel's "Kanon und Gigue in D-Dur" is one of my most favorite classical pieces of all time too. But it has to share that spot with "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Chorale" by Ludwig van Beethoven and "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens. Despite the fact that most of the favorites I have listed are either Classical or Romantic compositions, I am nuts about listening to and playing baroque music.

Has anyone heard Skinner's The Cradle Song? I love it, it's so beautiful...

I really like some of the contemporary classical pieces by Eric Whitacre and John Mackey and Paul Hindemith, but Shostakovich, Wagner, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky are amazing.

La Dance Macabre. It always reminds me of the Efteling in the Netherlands.

I have a few, but I can't choose just one. It depends on the mood I'm in, for one thing.

Beethoven:
I love Moonlight Sonata.
I love his Ode to Joy as well.

Then there's Bach: "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" rocks, as does "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor".
There would've been no Beethoven if it weren't for Bach, but it's hard for me to say which of those two is my favorite composer.
Off the top of my head, those four works are my faves, though I'm quite sure I'm missing a few.

I was never really a huge Mozart fan, I don't see his music as all that deeply emotional, it's too.. analytical or mechanical for me.

I'm not hugely into classical music, but I do love:

Faure's Requiem
Handel's Messiah
Haydn's Creation
Carl Orff's Carmina Burana
Holst's Planet Suite
Quite a lot of Britten.

Since I last posted here I have become a member of the York River Symphony Orchestra. Pieces that I love to listen to are a real bee-atch to play! I am so glad I am playing viola as the conductor rarely gets after us. The violins are all over the place, their fingers a blur. The principal clarinet is hilarious. She often asks the conductor just which notes he would like her to play as she cannot play all of them at the tempi he prefers. When you hear that British accent call out you get ready for a good laugh.

I now have callouses on my fingertips from all the practicing. Since I have chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia to play a complete symphony that lasts an hour can be a real trial for me. I just keep going, taking a pain pill during intermission and drinking an energy drink.

So while you are listening to your favorite pieces, think of all the hard work that goes into producing the glorious sounds you hear. It takes a lot of time and effort. The results are worth it. Now when I listen to a piece I might recommend to the selection committee I listen to the parts and see if it is something I might play or if it would be just too much for me. I love being in the orchestra and I rejoice in the day I was accepted into it.

Some more favorites of mine:

Adaigo
The Planets: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jolity
Symphony No.5


:rockon:

I loved playing Sonata Pian'e Forte by Gabrieli during high school. One of my favorite pieces of all time.

Some of my favorites right now :)
Romeo and Juliet- Tchaikovsky
Moonlight Sonata- Beethoven
Planet Suite- Holst (especially Jupiter!)
Symphonie Fantastique- Berlioz

Für Elise is my all time favourite. It still give me the chills, of the good kind ;)
Ride of the Valkyries is also awesome. It's such a powerful piece, it makes me feel strong.

Carter Pann's new composition (a flute concerto) is certainly worth a listen. There's a complete, high-quality performance on youtube, too. Pieces like this give me hope for new music--it's modern, but listenable, unlike a lot of twentieth and twenty-first century music.

Here's movement 1:

O9sYrOXT5Is

I recently proposed to the program selection committee of the orchestra that we play Building the Barn from the film Witness by Maurice Jarre. I am currently rehearsing a couple of pieces with violinists for a memorial program for our late conductor and since they were not familiar with this piece I played it for them and now they are hooked also. Check it out on U-Tube. M. Jarre said (before he recently died) that creating the synthesizer version of Building the Barn was more difficult than writing the orchestration originally.

I just heard the greatest recording of Russian Sailor's Dance by Gliere - that's my new favorite! :p

Hey! The symphony I play viola with is doing the Gliere on Sunday at a Memorial service for our late conductor. It was one of his favorite pieces to program.

So what is your favorite piece?

This is a tough one, but I'll go with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.
Runner up would be Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

What style do you prefer?

Romantic, all the way.

Do you prefer a big Symphony orchestra or chamber music or anything else?

Big freaking orchestras! I love Mahler, of course... and chamber music isn't bad, I just love the power and intensity of massive orchestras.

Are you actively going to classical music performances or do you only listen at home?

I would go see tons if there were better ones put on around here... the only stuff people play around here is this terrible modern stuff from South Carolina up and coming artists. Well, there is The Nutcracker at Thanksgiving. Always excellent.

I don't have a skilled ear for classical music. At the moment, though, I'm nursing a soft spot for the Goldberg Variations played by Glenn Gould. A bit of a cliché, perhaps, but pretty anyway.

"Gabriel's Oboe" by Ennio Morricone

Medieval and Renaissance - Praetorius all the way! My favorite of his is the Volte.
Baroque (Bach, Händel, Monteverdi and Vivaldi...)- I can think of amazing pieces from each one of those. I love Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (the Magnificat isn't too shabby either), Handel's Water Music and Messiah, Vespro della Beata Vergine (Monteverdi) and of course, the Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
the Classical period (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven)- For Mozart, it has to be The Magic Flute or Die Zauberflote. For Beethoven I'll have to say the 5th Piano Concerto.

Does anyone else get an adrenaline rush listening to Beethoven?

Romantic period (Wagner, Liszt, Chopin)- Wagner's Tannhauser overture and of course Verdi's operas.

20th century (Stravinsky, Mahler, Alan Berg and Shostakovich etc)- Symphony Number 1, Mahler, aka the Titan. The fourth movement is absolutely breathtaking.

Contemporary (John Williams, Philip Glass) - Eh, I'm not really into contemporary. John Williams is pretty good.

I recently discovered Vivaldi's Dixit Dominus RV 594 directed by Rinaldo Alessandrini with Sara Mingardo. Lovely piece of work. Apparenlty some guys went to the National Library in Torino, Italy and found out a lot of Vivaldi scores, some autographs, and Naive decided to record all of those scores.
I have listened to many recordings of that collection, and I must say they are incredible. The sound is fresh, cheerful, the music is energetic, the voices are lovely, I think they really captured the esence of Vivaldi's music. True baroque performances.

I really don't like that typr of music, but I find Mozart's and Beethoven's music really interesting. :agree:

Currently it's Arvo Pärt's Magnificat

Some others ...
St. Paul's Suite for Strings
It Was Always You, Helen Philip Glass
A World Below Philip Glass
Waltz for piano number 5 in A flat major Frederick Chopin
Fanny och Alexander Theme Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor Robert Schumann
Swan Lake Ballet Suite Opus. 20 Tchaikovsky

Currently it's Arvo Pärt's Magnificat



it's awesome. Love the dissonances
I recently discoverd Barbara Strozzi, an italian baroque composer.
Here's the youtube link to Lagrime mie, a lamenti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2lBnocuMC0&fmt=18

I absolutely love "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin. Classic!

My absolute favourite is "Rondeau du mariage forcé' by Jean-Baptiste Lully, who is my favourite composer. Others I love: 'Danse macabre' by Saint-Saëns, 'Pavane' by Fauré, 'Uranus' by Holst, 'Winter: allegro, lento, allegro' by Vivaldi, 'Sarabande' by Händel, 'Danse du calumet de la paix' by Rameau, 'Tambourin' by Rameau, 'Kyrie' by Mozart.

I got obssessed with this ever since I listened to it for the first time:

Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet - Montagues and Capulets (http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/c7hW61ijfOQ)

I wish I could insert the youtube video instead of the link but I can't do it :@

Borodin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AynXDnFuOE


No further words necessary

I am so excited! Tomorrow rehearsals beigin for our symphony and the October concert has a theme of water. We are going to be playing among other pieces, Smentan's The Moldau and Victory at Sea! The Moldau is one of my first musical loves dating to early childhood and I used to watch Victory at Sea every week on our black and white TV set back in the 1950's.

I am so excited! Tomorrow rehearsals beigin for our symphony and the October concert has a theme of water. We are going to be playing among other pieces, Smentan's The Moldau and Victory at Sea! The Moldau is one of my first musical loves dating to early childhood and I used to watch Victory at Sea every week on our black and white TV set back in the 1950's.

I love "The Moldau" too! I first heard it in my early teens when my older sister bought the record.
I also love Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite", especially, "The Waltz of the Flowers" and "Morning Mood" from "Peer Gynt" by Grieg .

As Beethoven is my favourite classical composer, mine has to be Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It is just so epic.

Youtube Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-mvutiDRvQ)

Although a close second belongs to O Fortuna for Epic-ness.

Arrrrg! The two pieces that I was most looking forward to playing - The Moldau and Victory at sea - have viola parts that are nothing but notes, notes, notes! I have apologized to the section players because it was my idea to play them and the program committee chose them. This next concert has a water theme.

While the violins are playing the lovely melodies the violas are the "rushing streams of water." Ditto with Victory at Sea. I will now imagine the US Navy steaming along over waves of viola notes. You can imagine. I am going to callouses on top of my callouses with these only because I have never played them before... just enjoyed listening to them.

My favourite short piece is Brahm's Waltz. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJcoaIeH3GI)

As for whole works, I think Dvorak's 9th in symphony E minor from the new world.

The Moldau (Smetana) could very well be the most beautiful piece of music ever written, IMO, if played just right.

Air from suite no. 3 (Bach) is another pretty good candidate, and was my self-proclaimed theme in college.

Holst's entire suite The Planets is good, though I like Mars somewhat less than the rest. I played Jupiter in high school and have some affinity for it and Saturn. The way he ended it on Neptune, though... good god, Neptune stands out so far from the rest there's no comparison. I get freakin' chills listening to it.

The Four Seasons (particularly Winter), the Schindler's List theme, the main theme of Final Fantasy 7, and two Nutcracker pieces (Pas de Deux and Waltz of the Flowers) would probably round out my very favorite orchestrals, which taken together are my very favorite type of music.

The London Symphony and London Philharmonic have also done some pretty great covers of rock songs. Stairway to Heaven, Eternal Flame, Comfortably Numb, and Layla got the best treatments, IMO. Metallica's One has also been pretty well treated by the likes of the San Francisco Symphony, and I can't wait to hear what the Dream Theater symphonic suite sounds like.

My top favorite would be Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 as mentioned in another thread. ;)
Others (not in order):

Frederic Chopin Nocturne in D-Flat Major Op. 27 No. 2. (or generally his nocturnes)
Felix Mendelssohn Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14.
Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia for Cello and Violin.
Frederic Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1.
Franz Liszt Liebestraum (especially in the piano and cello duet version...).
Gabriel Faure Barcarolle No. 2.
Claude Debussy Jardins sous la Pluie, from Estampes.

...And that's all of my favorite pieces that I can say from the top of my head now. ;)

In no particular order:

"Little" Fugue in G Minor by Bach
Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven
Fur Elise by Beethoven

Beethoven/Mendelssohn/Tchaikovsky violin concertos
Beethoven Symphony no 7
Elgar cello concerto

Mine would be all the songs of The Phantom of the Opera. :)

I am quite enamoured of anything by John Tavener or Alan Hovhaness. And I love the new choral pieces that have a huge choir singing in every interval there is all at the same time. It gives me chills!

I've always loved Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, ever since I studied it in school. I've listened to it so many times I can replay the entire first movement note-for-note in my head.

I also love Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, especially the fourth movement. There's something about deafening brass and percussion that always gets my blood pumping.

I like ''The Planets'' from Gustav Holst, especially:

Jupiter, the bringer of jolity
Neptune, the mystic
Uranus, the magicien

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir, "Lux Arumque"

Vangelis, "Heaven and Hell Part 1"

Ravel, "Bolero"

Vivaldi, "Mandolin Concerto in C major"

Last week I saw "Romeo and Juliet and it was wunderful. So now my favorite classical piece is the music from Romeo and Juliet from Prokofiev.

Good choice, indeed.

Borodin

As in the first mate in The Hunt for Red October? :lol: (Sorry, I just read that book - and watched the movie...)

Here are some of my favs:

The Summer: Allegro non molto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3qO2V1AXY) by Vivaldi - I just love this, it sounds like a summer storm.
The third movement of Oboe Concerto in D Minor: Presto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5AHHKxCK64) by Vivaldi [starts at minute 4:00 in this video clip] - for a time I played the oboe and for that time I had aspirations of learning this song.
Clair de Lune (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQru-FMGdug) (the orchestral version) by Debussy - because the clarinets get a lot of featured time in this song (compared to most other songs) and I played clarinet for years and we always got the shaft from the flutes or violins who get all the melodies while we clarinets were stuck with harmonies...
Hungardian Rhapsody No. 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H99FM6S8rU)by Liszt (I think...) - This song is so mood but so funny at the same time. Plus, I love this guy's performance of it, it's so obvious that he's having fun!
The Pastoral Symphonie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daGvOZ50YAo&feature=related) (I think it's called) by Beetoven, but mostly because of Disney's Fantasia animation which is so adorable, I love the little black pegasus baby!!
For that matter, let's throw in The Carnival of the Animals (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtlfZrPDGNs) for the same reasons as the Pastoral Symphonie


Ones that might be stretching the definition of "Classical" - they are certainly instrumental...

Under the Stars (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qerA_WrPrNM) by Hans Zimmer from The Lion King <-- AMAZINGLY powerful! I get chills every time I listen to it. This song defines the turning from the second act to the third act in every story ever for me.
Up is Down (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJFgwHmOMW8) from Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End by Hans Zimmer - Just fun to listen to; I love how the tempo feels like it changes from 1:00 to 1:25 but it actually doesn't, it's all done with instruments and ever so slight variations in rhythms. Fun.
I dreamed there Was No War (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV4B8K0jTg4)by The Eagles - okay this is really stretching "classical" to the limits but I love this song. (This whole album is fantastic, BTW)
And many, many soundtracks

And one to top them all:
But you have to follow the link to find out what it is... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI9Nbt7oJG0)

With the holidays soon upon us I would encourage you all to listen to Victor Hely-Hutchison's Carol Symphony (4 parts). One movement of this was used as the theme music for the BBC production of The Box of Delights. He also wrote many other variations on Christmas music.