# Favourite Classical Music, Opera And Instrumental



## motorway (25 December 2010)

> Gioachino Rossini --"Wagner has wonderful moments, and dreadful quarters of an hour"




Yes but those moments  

TannhÃ¤user (full title TannhÃ¤user und der SÃ¤ngerkrieg auf Wartburg / TannhÃ¤user and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg) is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of TannhÃ¤user and the song contest at Wartburg. The story centres on the struggle between sacred and profane love, and redemption through love.

Motorway


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## Julia (25 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Ah, the overture which I used to play over and over, was the cause of my most expensive speeding ticket many years ago.

I was driving home on a Sunday from Dunedin to Christchurch, lunchtime, roads almost empty through a small Otago town.  Tannhauser blasting forth loudly.  Very familiar with the road, didn't notice speed creeping up.

Eventually noticed in rear vision mirror flashing red and blue lights behind me.  Pulled over and turned down the sound.

Cop was apopleptic with rage, said he had had the siren going while following me for nearly 10 kms!  Explained about the music.  He was entirely unsympathetic.  Apparently I was doing 160kms and he considered this through undulating road to be dangerous driving and booked me accordingly.

Escaped loss of licence but it was very expensive.

I always remember this when I hear this wonderful music.


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## motorway (25 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Your suggestion 
gave me the idea for this  thread ( and lets not forget Ballet too )

Yes you feel like you could do anything
after listening to this

Invade Russia for instance 

Merry Christmas Julia
I am finally off to The Family Get Together :xmaswave

Motorway


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## pixel (25 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Welcome, Julia, to the "Club of Wagner-Victims" 

My dear old German Lit teacher used to ply us bunch of post-war teenagers with the lyrics of the Master Singers, underpinning what he considered exquisite mastery of momentous mysticism, by hammering away on the Steinway - at a time when we were discovering Elvis (and girls, but that's a different story.)
Not surprisingly, it took me several decades to overcome my "induced coma" and allergy to anything Wagnerian. Meanwhile, there are some pieces - mainly instrumental - that I can listen to, even enjoy, e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGU1P6lBW6Q

If only he had written like Verdi! "La Traviata" even made me take on Italian, so I could understand what the excitement was all about. In Germany, foreign-language operas are usually performed in - usually dreadful - German translations, inflicted upon the unsuspecting public by "lyricists" that would today write prose for Mills & Boon.
(I shouldn't have bothered: the original La Traviata lyrics is just about as soppy and pathetic, it only sounds better when sung in Italian. But then, almost anything does )

Two of my favourites opera pieces are from La Traviata:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEpDDG-ybCY and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4cSVnqGmOc&feature=related

But if I have to nominate my absolute favourite Instrumental opus, it has to be Beethoven's opus 61.


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## wayneL (25 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

I've posted this before in the other thread:

From I Capuleti e i Montecchi - Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca



...and speaking of La Traviata


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## Julia (25 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



motorway said:


> Your suggestion
> gave me the idea for this  thread ( and lets not forget Ballet too )
> 
> Yes you feel like you could do anything
> after listening to this



This raises the question of why we listen to classical music, what it offers us?
For me, it's a bit like reading books, in that I choose the music according to mood.
If I'm anxious and stressed, the pure orderliness of Mozart is perfect, but if I want to complement a sense of storminess, you just can't beat the Russians for passion, pure emotion and sadness intertwined with joy, e.g. Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos II and III.

I know very little about opera, dislike La Traviata for probably not very good reasons.  The standout for me is the duet from "The Pearl Fishers".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdb94HbyRko



> But if I have to nominate my absolute favourite Instrumental opus, it has to be Beethoven's opus 61.



 I'm listening to this now.   It's interesting.  Doesn't touch me, despite being impressive.

I'd be interested to hear from others about why you choose the music you do and what it represents to you.  Does it complement mood, or allay it?


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## Garpal Gumnut (25 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

I particularly like Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's 9th and Stairway to Heaven. 

gg


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## Vicki (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Julia said:


> This raises the question of why we listen to classical music, what it offers us?
> For me, it's a bit like reading books, in that I choose the music according to mood.
> If I'm anxious and stressed, the pure orderliness of Mozart is perfect, but if I want to complement a sense of storminess, you just can't beat the Russians for passion, pure emotion and sadness intertwined with joy, e.g. Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos II and III.
> 
> ...




That was a very knowledgable post Julia.

I like beethovens 5th symphony...or [score music to Stanley Cubrics' 2001 a space odessy].

Forgive my ignorance, If I've named the wrong composer.

Vicki


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## motorway (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Must have Melody
Must have Poignancy
Something ineffable 

Full of Emotion
I must be moved


Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana - Intermezzo





Motorway


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## chrislp (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Early classical are my favourite. Bach, Mozart, etc.

I enjoy the music from that period but the Romantic period onwards bar a few is dull as ditch water to me. 

Don't understand the hype with Beethoven & Mahler specifically,

No offence to anybody but I don't get it.

Personal favourite  Love winds & the whole piece is great.


Opera 




Never heard anything more beautiful


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## chrislp (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Julia said:


> I'd be interested to hear from others about why you choose the music you do and what it represents to you.  Does it complement mood, or allay it?




Enjoy your posts Julia; hope you enjoy my take.

Was a fan of metal as a teen & I've never been into classical until the last couple of years. I'm 28 & fed up with popular music. It only seems to get worse IMO.

Unfortunately good metal died in the 90's & nothing has taken my interest since a family member joined a major Orchestra & I watched the movie Amadeus.

Have loved the classical era since.


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## pixel (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Julia said:


> This raises the question of why we listen to classical music, what it offers us?
> 
> I'd be interested to hear from others about why you choose the music you do and what it represents to you.  Does it complement mood, or allay it?



 Good question, Julia;

To me, it's a little bit of both: When I'm in a mellow mood, Massenet's Meditation, Mascagni (nice choice, motorway) can complement it; or I can revel in Mendelssohn's slow movement of the e minor concerto. When I'm feeling blue, I may not need to get any "bluer", so I may pick the Eroica or Mars from Holst's Planets to pull me out of it; or "Libiamo" - to simply remind me there's more to life than feeling blue.
In addition, the older I get, the more memories come back when I hear a particular piece. Most are from very early in my life, when I discovered a new piece either by attempting to play it or listening to one in particularly interesting company.

Leaves the question: Why op.61?
The first LP I owned was this live recording of Yehudi Menuhin and the Berlin Philharmonic; I still have it, but it's been played so often that the scratches have scratches on them. Glad I discovered the very recording on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dT87LHqfwA
... years later, I attempted to play it myself ... still have the sheet music
which automatically led me to compare it to all the violin concertos that had been created before; it's almost as if Beethoven had singlehandedly "invented" a new genre of violin music. Similar to one d-minor double concerto (by whom else but JSB) almost a century before, it retains the basic form of a concerto, but transcends the "template" in so many ways that IMHO no other piece of music has innovated since.
His successors did recognise this achievement - as many of them created their own versions of a D major violin concerto: Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Sibelius are the better known ones. While they're certainly considered "great", they lack the innovation that op 61 possesses in abundance.


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## Julia (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Vicki said:


> I like beethovens 5th symphony...or [score music to Stanley Cubrics' 2001 a space odessy].
> 
> Forgive my ignorance, If I've named the wrong composer.
> 
> Vicki



Not ignorance, Vicki, just a mix up about what music went with which film.
2001 (which I've never seen actually: hate sci fi) used Strauss.

The Beethoven you're probably thinking of was from the 9th symphony and featured in "A Clockwork Orange"
This was the brilliance of Kubrick, i.e. his capacity to highlight what he was saying by the extreme juxtaposition of the music with e.g. the hideous violence on the screen.

That's how I see it, but I might be wrong.  Perhaps he was rather offering the suggestion that Alex was, in his obscene violence, experiencing 'joy' and he's epitomising this with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy"?





motorway said:


> Must have Melody
> Must have Poignancy
> Something ineffable
> 
> ...



I'd agree here for most of the time, but not if I'm seeking to quell emotions.
As I mentioned before, that's when Mozart, (see chrisl's Concerto K29) below restores a sense of proportion and calmness.

I remember some time ago having this discussion with someone who strongly disagreed about this, and felt Mozart was one of the more passionate composers.
I suppose we all hear music differently.



> Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana - Intermezzo



Ah, this is something which for me comes into that very long list of music which is familiar but which I couldn't identify.
So lovely.  Will seek it out.



chrislp said:


> Early classical are my favourite. Bach, Mozart, etc.
> 
> I enjoy the music from that period but the Romantic period onwards bar a few is dull as ditch water to me.
> 
> Don't understand the hype with Beethoven & Mahler specifically,



I've always avoided Mahler but recently have thought my ignorance about it might be precluding an additional source of enjoyment.  
If anyone has a recommendation for a good starting point, I'd appreciate it.

Beethoven:  probably many people's introduction to classical music, especially the 5th symphony.  I like it occasionally.



> Never heard anything more beautiful




Yes, exquisitely beautiful.  Another which is familiar but to which I couldn't have put a title.



chrislp said:


> Enjoy your posts Julia; hope you enjoy my take.



Can't go the Don Giovanni, chris, but love the Mozart.



> Was a fan of metal as a teen & I've never been into classical until the last couple of years. I'm 28 & fed up with popular music. It only seems to get worse IMO.
> 
> Unfortunately good metal died in the 90's & nothing has taken my interest since a family member joined a major Orchestra & I watched the movie Amadeus.



Interesting.  It was on ASF a few years ago that Duckman (where is Duckman these days?) suggested I needed to get to know a bit about metal and suggested Metallica's Black album.  Perhaps to his surprise, I did buy it, and it has been played more times than he probably imagined, i.e. very often.

This goes to my earlier contention that music either supports or allays mood.

I don't want to divert the thread from the classical theme, but another CD I've just about worn out is the theme from "Taxi Driver".  It's intensely moody, sensual and so conjures up every time the mood of the movie.


Pixel, I so envy your capacity to create music rather than just listen to it.  I could once play the piano reasonably well but have quite lost the skill now.


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## Buckfont (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Hi Julia, just came across this thread and reading your post Mahler isnt a fav of yours. Hope that`s not Paul Keatings influence.

Symphonie Nr 1has been a favourite of mine since my early twenties even though I`m fundamentally a rocker it soothes my heart when I listen to it. No intellectualisation of music here, just what one likes. If you have yet to hear it, here is the first `movement.` on the record cover its in German. It says:- Satz: Langsam schleppend - Im Anfang sehr gemachlich. A translation from someone would be nice.

Hope you enjoy this.

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


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## motorway (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

A lot of Classical Music is used in Films

 so many recognize the music
and appreciate it but maybe not realize it's origin.

regarding Clock Work Orange this featured too


Henry Purcell.  Music for the funeral of Queen Mary



motorway


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## motorway (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Tchaikovsky-The Nutcracker Suite for piano solo arranged by Pletnev




Sofiya Uryvayeva plays part 7 as an  Encore 



PART 7.Andante maestoso

motorway


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## pixel (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Buckfont said:


> It says:- Satz: Langsam schleppend - Im Anfang sehr gemachlich. *A translation from someone would be nice.
> *
> Hope you enjoy this.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWASaebFhUA



 Satz = sentence, in music: movement
langsam = slow[ly]
schleppend = dragging [along]
im Anfang = in the beginnig
sehr gemaechlich = very sluggish/ at a very leisurely pace; from "Gemach", which is the sleeping/ lounging quarters of your home, where you put your feet up and don't hurry

good choice, Buckfont.

PS: The theme he's working through has also been turned into a "folksy" song that describes the beauty of M's world in the (Alpine) region of Austria


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## Julia (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Buckfont said:


> Hi Julia, just came across this thread and reading your post Mahler isnt a fav of yours. Hope that`s not Paul Keatings influence.
> 
> Symphonie Nr 1has been a favourite of mine since my early twenties even though I`m fundamentally a rocker it soothes my heart when I listen to it. No intellectualisation of music here, just what one likes. If you have yet to hear it, here is the first `movement.` on the record cover its in German. It says:- Satz: Langsam schleppend - Im Anfang sehr gemachlich. A translation from someone would be nice.
> 
> ...



Hi Buckfont,
Thank you.  I've listened to the youtube above, and to be honest it doesn't get to me at all.  Perhaps I need to be more familiar with it.

A few weeks ago I heard on the radio an excerpt from  a Mahler symphony which was incredibly beautiful.  It was in the middle of the night and I can't now remember which symphony.  It was very gentle, sad and intensely emotional.  I wish I'd noted what it was.  Any idea what it may have been?


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## Julia (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Buckfont said:


> Hi Julia, just came across this thread and reading your post Mahler isnt a fav of yours. Hope that`s not Paul Keatings influence.



If anything, his passion for Mahler sparked my interest.
I'm actually an admirer of Mr Keating, especially when compared with the lacklustre Labor leaders these days.


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## pixel (26 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Julia said:


> Hi Buckfont,
> Thank you.  I've listened to the youtube above, and to be honest it doesn't get to me at all.  Perhaps I need to be more familiar with it.
> 
> A few weeks ago I heard on the radio an excerpt from  a Mahler symphony which was incredibly beautiful.  It was in the middle of the night and I can't now remember which symphony.  It was very gentle, sad and intensely emotional.  I wish I'd noted what it was.  Any idea what it may have been?



 Try #2, the _Resurrection Symphony_ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6idPaGqvV8

The early parts are somewhat pompous, but in the middle section, it has "its moments"


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## pixel (27 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

... and when I want to get goosebumps and marvel what some kids can coax out of a violin, I watch episodes like these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARPdE7E9mcY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj5h_i87DSk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKFVW4cwLEk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRhVTzT4Bkw

Paganini, eat your heart out


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## motorway (27 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

"Ombra mai fu" (Paula Rasmussen, "Serse")




Find this very moving

Ombra mai fu as a stand alone is sung by just about everybody ( All Voices , Male & Female )

Originally Written for a Castrato




Motorway


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## Calliope (27 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Callas not only sounds enchanting...she looks enchanting.


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## $20shoes (27 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

I'm not overly into choral pieces, but I love the story of Roy Goodman who performed the solo in Allegri's Miserere in 1963. He was just a young kid into sports, and he had just finished playing a rugby match an hour before the recording and had to rush to the Chapel with muddy knees. The choir was already well into rehearsals, but he was luckily picked for the solo part that day. His performance was so stellar, the recording stands today as perhaps the greatest recording of the Miserere.


One of the other highlights for me is Mahler's Symphony Number 8 conducted by Solti. The Symphony *used 1000 performers ( mostly choristers)*. The music in parts is breathtaking. A nice pair of speakers with a good sense of stereo and soundstage will help with the expansive nature of the work, but a nice pair of headphones will work well too. "Grand" understates what was captured on this recording.


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## Buckfont (27 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



pixel said:


> Satz = sentence, in music: movement
> langsam = slow[ly]
> schleppend = dragging [along]
> im Anfang = in the beginnig
> ...




Thanks for the translation pixel. Glad you liked it.

Sorry Julia, can`t help you with that piece that you were trying to recall. My classical music knowledge is very limited. It`s interesting how we each as individuals like or don`t like certain styles as in the case that opera does little for me short of racing to the volume slider


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## motorway (27 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Calliope said:


> Callas not only sounds enchanting...she looks enchanting.





Yes . She was really something ..

MARIA CALLAS at Covent Garden -- Tosca 






As was Giacomo Puccini



> interesting how we each as individuals like or don`t like certain styles




Different life experiences , different needs
some need uppers some need to downers

Music is like a  drug that enters through the ears
and changes Biology...

A leaned response something of memory but also anticipation
A hint of a great secret about to be revealed
It also can make us feel connected..

it is the call to WAR
It is the mating call
But cool reflection...What people call Spirit 

So some of us need SOUL music
Some need to make the BODY move
Some need a more intellectual aesthetic 

That goes for all music not just Classical...





Motorway


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## DocK (28 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



My current fav.


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## chrislp (30 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



motorway said:


> "Ombra mai fu" (Paula Rasmussen, "Serse")
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Very nice. Love the classical piano amongst the music.


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## chrislp (30 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Julia said:


> Can't go the Don Giovanni, chris, but love the Mozart.




Don Giovanni was created by Mozart though. Personally think his greatest works are his operas.




Julia said:


> Interesting.  It was on ASF a few years ago that Duckman (where is Duckman these days?) suggested I needed to get to know a bit about metal and suggested Metallica's Black album.  Perhaps to his surprise, I did buy it, and it has been played more times than he probably imagined, i.e. very often.




Love Metallica but I'd recommend "Justice For All". Another one to listen to if you have the time


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## chrislp (30 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



motorway said:


> Music is like a  drug that enters through the ears
> and changes Biology...
> 
> A leaned response something of memory but also anticipation
> ...





This thread proves it, so true.

Thanks Motorway for making this thread & great post in the "HB Ludwig Von" thread. Didn't know how to respond to it.

Your posts look like lyrics though; bit difficult to read.


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## chrislp (30 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Julia said:


> Yes, exquisitely beautiful. Another which is familiar but to which I couldn't have put a title.




K 299- Concerto for flute and harp in c major


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## motorway (30 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



chrislp said:


> This thread proves it, so true.
> 
> Thanks Motorway for making this thread & great post in the "HB Ludwig Von" thread. Didn't know how to respond to it.
> 
> Your posts look like lyrics though; bit difficult to read.




Music was very important to me from a very early age.. My Father loved Opera and esp Mozart.. ( He trained as a Baritone at the Conservatorium in Sydney ).

I was blown away by the music of the 1960's esp the BEATLES..
Classical Music was always there and as I became older the appreciation grew and grew..

We have all I guess heard of the Mozart effect. I think it is more like a Music Effect ( maybe not all Music though )... Each note takes on it's nature by the context and effect of all the other notes that lead to and from it.. So Music is about  patterns and anticipation of patterns and then the _Thrill _ of hearing the resolution  to that anticipation.

The World is a World of patterns.....

Good music , One enjoys more the more times it is  listened to. The balance between familiar enough to anticipate and be prepared for the Thrill. But still get the Thrill..



> Your posts look like lyrics though; bit difficult to read




Maybe so... The influence of Music 


Something Dark and Ominous..Something of Great Power and Grandeur  hinted at..But of also of irretrievable  loss..   



Motorway


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## Julia (30 December 2010)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



chrislp said:


> Don Giovanni was created by Mozart though. Personally think his greatest works are his operas.



I was in my comment there referring to the Concerto for, I think, harp and flute when I said I love the Mozart which you also included in the same post.

But I didn't know who wrote Don Giovanni.  Somehow I'm just not much attracted to opera.


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## chrislp (2 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Thanks for the insight Motorway. Didn't think I'd like the Wagner but it sounded exactly as you described it. 

Classical has a lot of hidden gems. While one specific movement may bore someone the next may enlighten them.

Here's an example of something I didn't think I'd like. Only part of it though


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## chrislp (2 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

IMO another hidden gem but within opera.


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## Logique (2 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Anything by Handel. Baroque and chamber music is my preference.


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## motorway (2 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



chrislp said:


> IMO another hidden gem but within opera.




Gem indeed



> Anything by Handel. Baroque and chamber music is my preference.




Yes I like Handel


here is a little Gem from Elgar

Elgar. Nimrod.  from the  Enigma Variations



Motorway


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## Calliope (2 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

I love choruses. Slaves' Chorus from Nabucco is one of my favorites.


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## bellenuit (4 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Fantastic thread this and a wonderful resource to return to in the future when we want to soothe our troubles with the things in life that matter.

This is my first contribution of many and is the source of my moniker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd3_8AfOFFg

I meant to include the video directly, but using embed under youtube didn't do as I expected.


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## bellenuit (4 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

One of the artists from the previous duet, mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, doing the Mozart Aria to perfection:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_O_85-fYYQ


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## white_crane (4 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Many pieces of classical music have been used in ads, movies etc that many people will recognise but don't actually know the name of.  To name but a few:

Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture - used by the army in their ads some years ago
Carl Orff, O Fortuna - used in a Carlton beer ad in recent times

Being in my high school band, I actually got to play some of the classic pieces (or parts thereof).


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## Logique (21 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Flip side of the coin, the dullest classical music.

For mine it's Vivaldi, or Sibelius' meandering pieces, which leave you thinking...just get to the point. As the unfortunate are ferried across the River Styx by ferryman Phlegyas, into Dante's fifth circle, the strains of Vivaldi and Sibelius are heard, faintly at first. 

Emma Ayres (ABC FM Classical Breakfast) would never entertain such music.


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## Market Depth (21 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

I've always had a soft spot for Elly Ameling, but being Dutch, she is not your typical 'Go To' as far as the 'Italian Purists' are concerned, but I don't care. A wonderful Voice


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## wayneL (21 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Market Depth said:


> I've always had a soft spot for Elly Ameling, but being Dutch, she is not your typical 'Go To' as far as the 'Italian Purists' are concerned, but I don't care. A wonderful Voice




Indeed. I enjoyed that very much.



bellenuit said:


> One of the artists from the previous duet, mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, doing the Mozart Aria to perfection:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_O_85-fYYQ




I've also posted this before in the other thread, but this is my favourite Ave Maria (Gomez), on the strength of the performance from Ms Garanca.



This is a pretty stunning Mascagni version from her too.


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## Market Depth (21 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



wayneL said:


> Indeed. I enjoyed that very much.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Garpal Gumnut (21 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Beethoven: String Quartet #7 In F, Op. 59/1, "Razumovsky #1" - 1. Allegro	9:30	Alban Berg Quartet	Best Beethoven 100 [Disc 5]	Classical	

My favourite of all time. 

Available JB with 99 other gems quite cheaply.

gg


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## Market Depth (21 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Garpal Gumnut said:


> Beethoven: String Quartet #7 In F, Op. 59/1, "Razumovsky #1" - 1. Allegro	9:30	Alban Berg Quartet	Best Beethoven 100 [Disc 5]	Classical
> 
> My favourite of all time.
> 
> ...





GREAT SUGGESTION GG!! I pretty much start my day with this, along with the AFR and a strong black, gets me going For those not familar here it is.


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## Garpal Gumnut (21 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



Market Depth said:


> GREAT SUGGESTION GG!! I pretty much start my day with this, along with the AFR and a strong black, gets me going For those not familar here it is.





Thanks MD mate, tried to post a youtube , but still in learning phase.

It is a sweet piece.

gg


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## Logique (27 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Happy Birthday Mozart, 254 today. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Requiem mass.

Over 600 works in his 35 years, including 41 symphonies, and 27 piano concertos. The guy could speak 15 different languages. Prodigious.

Mozart died of kidney failure at the age of 35. He was in debt, and was buried in a poor man's grave.


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## motorway (27 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Mozart - Flute Concerto No.2 In D Major, K 314 Allegro





Motorway


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## DocK (27 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*


Symphony 25 in G - Allegro Con Brio


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## Whiskers (27 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



white_crane said:


> Many pieces of classical music have been used in ads, movies etc that many people will recognise but don't actually know the name of.  To name but a few:
> 
> Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture - used by the army in their ads some years ago
> Carl Orff, O Fortuna - used in a Carlton beer ad in recent times
> ...





Quite like that white_crane... not a great classic follower, but that is one of the 'happier' or calming background/meditation ones for me. 

But, probably the most moving and sadest pieces of music for me is Lara's Theme from Doctor Zhivago, particularly the crescendo. Gees I still get teary eyed all these years after the film.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yd2PzoF1y8


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## GumbyLearner (28 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Here's my favourite. I know, I know maybe I don't qualify as a non-Queenslander. But from a "Mexican" perspective this is just bliss to the ears.

La Donna Ãˆ Mobile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ_5LWexpN4&feature=player_embedded

But I must say the best version ever was by Mario Lanza.


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## GumbyLearner (28 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

And here it is


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## wayneL (29 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

"Pur ti miro" Enjoy


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## Market Depth (29 January 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Listening to something a little closer to home tonight. Peter Sculthorpe one of Australias finest composers IMHO of course For all you 'Classical Music Nuts' like myself  well worth discovering.

Enjoy


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## pixel (21 December 2011)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

Normally, I don't give much for Andre Rieu and his showmanship.
In this recording however, he stays in the background and leaves all the attention and simplicity to a 13-yo girl. And does she ever deserve it:

http://www.flixxy.com/trumpet-solo-melissa-venema.htm


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## pixel (10 December 2012)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

high class flash mob for the highbrows amongst us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=GBaHPND2QJg&feature=youtu.be

ENJOY


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## pixel (10 December 2012)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*

... and those, who prefer it a little larger and grander, try this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paH0V6JLxSI

*a choir of 10,000*; 
and even though it's a foreign language to them, their pronunciation is still perfect.

makes you wonder: 
as the sound travels at 330m per second, do the singers sitting 100m back sing their parts 1/3rd of a second earlier?


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## bellenuit (10 December 2012)

*Re: Favorite Classical Music Opera And Instrumental*



pixel said:


> as the sound travels at 330m per second, do the singers sitting 100m back sing their parts 1/3rd of a second earlier?




I would suspect that with a choir that size, they have 30 or 40 microphones placed strategically throughout the choir, each only picking up sounds within a short range (5-8 M say) of the microphone. That way, the more distant sounds that are lagging timewise are not picked up. Pure speculation on my behalf.


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## bellenuit (10 December 2012)

One of my current favourites......


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## DocK (11 December 2012)

I'll take your talented young woman and match you with a talented young man..  I've always loved this piece.



Loved the flashmob Pixel


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## DocK (11 December 2012)

Another perennial fave of mine, particularly "presto" from around the 7min mark


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## ghotib (11 December 2012)

DocK said:


> Loved the flashmob Pixel




I love the flashmob too, especially the junior conductors.

On the subject of enormous choirs and synchronising the sound, does anyone remember the opening of the Nagano Olympics? I'll post a YouTube link when I figure out how


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## DocK (11 December 2012)

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/music/a/violinist_metro.htm

Forwarded email describes what happened when acclaimed classical violinist Joshua Bell appeared incognito on a subway platform in Washington, D.C. one cold winter morning and played his heart out for tips. A Violinist in the Metro: 

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: 

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?


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## pixel (11 December 2012)

I'll see your two violinists and raise you one heavenly voice - literally:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5cF5GGqVWo


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## pixel (11 December 2012)

ghotib said:


> I love the flashmob too, especially the junior conductors.
> 
> On the subject of enormous choirs and synchronising the sound, does anyone remember the opening of the Nagano Olympics? I'll post a YouTube link when I figure out how




1. search for "Nagano Olympics Opening" and locate the links to the (2-part) Beethoven #9
2. click on the reference and start the clip - to make sure you've got the right one.
3. Highhlight the www... address, copy and paste it into your ASF post.

I've done it below for you:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhg-Aw_zMW4

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcCqGfVNKh8


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## Tink (18 November 2015)

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Second Waltz


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## McLovin (18 November 2015)

Tink said:


> Dmitri Shostakovich - The Second Waltz





I've always enjoyed his stuff, Tink. It's a bit lighter than the usual classical stuff I like, Wagner etc.

To keep it light, Ennio Morricone is probably one of the best Hollywood composers of his generation and I think his theme from The Mission is still up there as one of the all time great bits of movie music. Good movie too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oag1Dfa1e_E


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## Tink (21 November 2015)

Beautiful, McLovin, thanks.
As the others on this thread too.

I was listening to waltzes, as well as others, just thought I would share that one.


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## KnowThePast (21 November 2015)

One of my favourite opera performances:


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## trainspotter (21 November 2015)

About 6.34 it get's dark.


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## pixel (21 November 2015)

Tink said:


> Beautiful, McLovin, thanks.
> As the others on this thread too.
> 
> I was listening to waltzes, as well as others, just thought I would share that one.




I like your taste in music, Tink.

Maybe you also appreciate these choral works I've rediscovered; Happy listening.



Joan Baez has recently turned it into a solo piece; it bears listening, if for no other reason than her clearly understood rendition of the English translation.

From even closer to home (for me) comes this mighty choral work:


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## Tink (23 November 2015)

Very nice, thanks, Pixel.
I like your taste in music too.

This was a homeland song, that is being translated in English?
_
After the success of the full-length symphonic poem (most of which consists of rousing and turbulent passages, evoking the national struggle of the Finnish people), Sibelius published a stand-alone version of the hymn as the last of twelve numbers in his Masonic Ritual Music, Op. 113, with a text by opera singer WÃ¤inÃ¶ Sola. The version usually heard today has lyrics written by Veikko Antero Koskenniemi and was first performed in 1941. Sibelius himself arranged the hymn for choral performances._

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandia_Hymn


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## basilio (23 November 2015)

Sibelius Finlandia was such a powerful song that a number of other hymns were recorded on the score.

Have you seen "Be still my sou"l ?


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## CanOz (23 November 2015)

I like allot of classical music but i was always drawn to the more dramatic scores. I'm don't even know the right terms for a ll of this, but in the end i settled on Epic Sound Tracks, they have the big moving music i like so much...

Here is an example, but i use Spotify for this mostly...



This is what i listen to when i work, analyzing and trading.


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## Tink (7 December 2015)

A song I like that I am sharing..


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## Tisme (7 December 2015)

For the Philistines: 

Doesn't sound too bad on my 4800 watt system. The five footer front speakers like the bass notes. Even the venerable whinger down the street didn't mind me rattling his windows. 






then there's always Macca:



http://www.classicfm.com/composers/...ey-classical-works-guide/#K2wtiM5QEhU5iiQ0.97


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## Tisme (6 December 2016)




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## rederob (3 September 2021)




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