Hey I know there are some classical aficionados here at TL so I thought I'd ask y'all for some help.
I am really into peaceful and pretty classical music but I am at a loss as to where to start. I know that I dislike big orchestra pieces (mostly because of violins and some pieces I've heard that were very abrasive and stressful) but prefer pieces done exclusively on piano. Though I also enjoy songs with sweet vocals or woodwind type stuff.
I like debussy, beethoven, and some rachmoniov. I also really loved the type of music from 'the pianist' where he plays for the german. I feel my scope is too narrow and I want to get my hands on much more artists and composers that have very skilled and enjoyable music. I'm missing out on all kinds of modern stuff.
I want to really get into this music as I think it will help me during my studies and also to relieve stress when I go back to school in september.
I'm hoping this thread gives me a push in the right direction. Thanks.
ps I also love lounge blues with warm tube amp guitars leads, stripped down drums, and muted bass. Weird request I know but I always enjoy this stuff when I hear it on the radio.
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but Fazil Say is pretty ridiculously good. He's a Turkish pianist I've been listening to recently. Does a lot of jazz interpretations and otherwise "not normal" versions of classical music, but give him a shot.
what's wrong with violins T___T Not wanting a violin means that you're going to miss out on like 60% of classical pieces :O
I am really into peaceful and pretty classical music but I am at a loss as to where to start. I know that I dislike big orchestra pieces (mostly because of violins and some pieces I've heard that were very abrasive and stressful) but prefer pieces done exclusively on piano. Though I also enjoy songs with sweet vocals or woodwind type stuff.
Chopin. Start with the Ballades, and go from there (piano concertos, waltzes, etc). Chopin's Ballade was the one featured on the Pianist . I'm sure you'd like Beethoven's piano sonatas/concertos as well (in fact that's what I'm going to assume you mean)
Other than that.... well if you're looking for peaceful and pretty piano pieces, you can always listen to new age stuff since it seems to be what you're looking for (David Lanz and Yiruma comes to mind). But most peaceful pieces I know involve the Violin somehow (but I guess that's because of my personal bias)
im fairly sure some famous japanese composer wrote this..but im not quite sure who i used to have an mp3 of it but i dont anymore >.< however i do love the music
The piano music in The Pianist was all by the Polish Romanitc composer Chopin, who is widely regarded as one of the best composers for piano in all history.
A lot of the 20th/21st century classical music tends not to be peaceful or pretty, lol. Of course there are exceptions, but given your tastes you might be better off in the realm of 20th/21st century music with Impressionists like Debussy and Ravel or some of the French composers like Poulenc.
There's a decent amount of woodwind chamber music out there, particularly for woodwind quintet. However, more composers wrote for solo piano, other solo instruments with orchestra or piano, string quartet. etc. so the quality and quantity might not quite be as high here. I think a lot of the modern brass chamber music is of high quality, as that instrumentation has attracted many talented and adventurous composers of late, but they tend to be more abrasive and stressful than any other classical music.
Bach's Goldberg variations, as played by Glenn Gould, is probably my favourite suite for piano.
Further, The Well-tempered clavier is definitely worth listening to.
Many of his organ works are exceptional, from the endlessly overused Toccata and Fugue in D minor to many less known works such as the Toccata and Fugue in F major, and... Well, almost anything written by Johann Sebastian Bach for the organ is just marvelous, really.
Chopin is also a classic, although a bit too sweet for my taste. Mozart has written quite a few piano pieces as well.
Apart from Bach, one of the best composers in my opinion, is Dvorak, especially his 9th symphony. Big-orchestra stuff, obviously, but very, very enjoyable.
I confess that I love the pipe organ - it's the biggest, baddest musical instrument on the planet. I also confess that I love Bach - the wildest, most mathematically genius stuff there ever was. Here's Tom Kroopman slaying Fugue in G Minor on the pipe organ - and YES, he's playing ALL of the contrasting voices, tapping out the bass notes with his FEET - yes, he's harmonizing with his fucking FEET. Baroque APM overload.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I love hearing cellos abused in dark, emotive pieces. Bach is usually played with a strict rhythm and hard staccato but Maisky here puts such feeling into it that you'd hardly think it was Bach. Some would tut-tut him for it, but I think his interpretations are gold.
You didn't seem to post a strong aversion to violins, but you stated that you weren't a fan. Your time periods were pretty specific, and you can narrow your search down to the late classical, romantic, and impressionistic periods. Modernist music is really weird and you probably won't like it at first. It isn't "peaceful". Try a work by Richard (not Johann) Strauss, and see how you like it. That's the tip of the iceberg.
Bach and Vivaldi are both very old (1600s), and may be too archaic a style for you. I'd look into romantic period chamber music. Chamber music is specifically small groups, intended to be played in someone's home or a small meeting. Brahms is an excellent (and canonical) example of this. Pachelbel, Holst, Mahler, Wagner, Grieg, Debussy, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov are all good places to start.
On July 03 2010 06:22 jgad wrote: I confess that I love the pipe organ - it's the biggest, baddest musical instrument on the planet. I also confess that I love Bach - the wildest, most mathematically genius stuff there ever was. Here's Tom Kroopman slaying Fugue in G Minor on the pipe organ - and YES, he's playing ALL of the contrasting voices, tapping out the bass notes with his FEET - yes, he's harmonizing with his fucking FEET. Baroque APM overload.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I love hearing cellos abused in dark, emotive pieces. Bach is usually played with a strict rhythm and hard staccato but Maisky here puts such feeling into it that you'd hardly think it was Bach. Some would tut-tut him for it, but I think his interpretations are gold.
On July 03 2010 06:31 samuwen wrote: You didn't seem to post a strong aversion to violins, but you stated that you weren't a fan. Your time periods were pretty specific, and you can narrow your search down to the late classical, romantic, and impressionistic periods. Modernist music is really weird and you probably won't like it at first. It isn't "peaceful". Try a work by Richard (not Johann) Strauss, and see how you like it. That's the tip of the iceberg.
Bach and Vivaldi are both very old (1600s), and may be too archaic a style for you. I'd look into romantic period chamber music. Chamber music is specifically small groups, intended to be played in someone's home or a small meeting. Brahms is an excellent (and canonical) example of this. Pachelbel, Holst, Mahler, Wagner, Grieg, Debussy, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov are all good places to start.
If you know any chamber music by Wagner, you should call your national newspaper because you are gonna be famous. Same for Mahler although there is a single movement for an unfinished piano quartet. :/
I would advise OP some chamber music too. Schubert is a good start: piano trios and string quartets.
EPT
what's wrong with violins T___T Not wanting a violin means that you're going to miss out on like 60% of classical pieces :O
