Classical composers you dig?

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:32 am

Here is a brief list of some of my favorite classical composers and specific works:

Dvorak: 7th, 8th, and 9th Symphony
Vivaldi: Concerto in C major Per La Solenita di San Lorenzo , The Four Seasons
Bruckner: 3rd, 4th, and 7th Symphonies
Mahler: 5th Symphony
Mendelssohn: 3rd and 4th Symphonies
Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Handel: Water Music
Holst: The Planets
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Piano Trio in A minor
Rossini: William Tell Overture
Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries, Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin (which appeared in Help)

malcolm · Post by **malcolm** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 6:55 am

while i prefer 20th century composers & music,i really want to check out dvorak & mahler.both these cats apparently had it all covered & were ahead of their contempories...like they were 20th century composers.

i've heard that dvorak's cello concerto may be the best of all,and that all mahler's symphony's
are very creative.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:48 pm

I have Dvorak's Cello Concerto on a CBS Masterworks CD, Yo-Yo Ma on cello with Lorin Maazel directing the Berliner Philharmoniker orchestra. Very very nice!

I can't remember which of Mahler's symphonies I heard first, but I really liked it because it was so interesting in its structure and execution.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 6:39 am

I have also always though the piano solo in "In My Life" was Bachian (new word?). In fact I unconciously think it's a harpsicord until I really listen. Anything baroque sounds like Bach to me.
I can also hear it in "Bus Stop" and in "And Your band can sing in George's guitar parts to a lessor degree although I never thought about it until I read your post Peter.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 12:42 pm

I think the piano solo in In My Life sounds slightly harpsicordish because it's been sped up, if I remember my Beatle history.

malcolm · Post by **malcolm** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 5:11 pm

the more i check these cats out...the more i'm impressed with the russians. particularily stravinsky,shostakovich & prokofiev. plus mussorgsky & rimsky-korsakov, who were major influences on the 3 20th century cats mentioned above.

stravinsky is well known for his 3 ballet pieces. but check out his lesser known pieces, like "orpheus", "symphony in 3 movements", "symphony in c", "symphony of psalms"...all fantastic & contemporary,even today.

shostakovich, while under great political duress a good part of his life, created 15 symphonies (count em 15), 15 string quartets & a number of concertos & ballets...all high quality pieces.

prokofiev...ballets like "romeo & juliet", symphonies ("scythian suite"),plus many concertos & operas. he too, was watched by the communist government, much like shostakovich.

life wasn't easy, but they made their point thru their brilliant "musical & timeless" compositions.