Classical Music

Here's a list of some classical music that I really enjoy, and I hope that you can find something you like among them. My interests tend to run more in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which isn't everyone's cup of tea, but here you are.

ELEVEN CLASSICAL WORKS I ENJOY
(presented alphabetically by composer)

1. Concerto for Orchestra (Bela Bartok) - When I was in college, I had to write a paper on the Concerto for Orchestra. It was a critical analysis of all five movements, and I think the paper was assigned to me because of a part in the fourth movement that has a trombone glissando that is impossible on a trombone with only one attachment, precipitating the need for a trombone with another attachment, which evolved into the modern bass trombone. The movements are all stylistically different, with a slow opening movement, a quicker second movement featuring pairs of instruments, a very slow third movement, a scherzo for the fourth movement that parodied Shostakovich's seventh symphony, and a fast and triumphant final movement. It's a great piece of music.
2. Sonata No. 8 in C Minor: Pathetique (Ludwig van Beethoven) - Beethoven is obviously one of the most well known composers in history, and considered by many to be one of the greatest. The Pathetique Sonata (not pathetic - the word pathetique refers more to passion and emotion) is one of his greatest works for piano, in my humble opinion. It begins in a very slow and tragic manner, but turns fast by the end. The second movement is one of the most beautiful pieces in all of music, while the third movement brings the work to a close with a fast finale. I really love this piece.
3. Symphony No. 9: From the New World (Antonin Dvorak) - Dvorak's ninth symphony is subtitled "From the New World" because it was composed while Dvorak was visiting the United States. The piece was composed in 1893, and was influenced by native American music and African-American spirituals. The first movement is a slow-fast movement, followed by a lovely second movement was the inspiration for the spiritual song "Goin' Home." The third movement is a scherzo, and the fourth movement is a fast and exciting movement to close the work. It's an extremely popular symphony, and rightfully so. I absolutely love the second movement, and I have fond memories of playing the fourth movement in high school orchestra.
4. Rhapsody In Blue (George Gershwin) - Rhapsody In Blue was originally written for piano and jazz band in 1924, but it is its orchestral form that it is most often heard today. Gershwin did not actually orchestrate the piece, it was arranged by Ferde Grofé. Until this piece, Gershwin was mostly known as a jazz and popular composer, but Rhapsody In Blue established him in the classical genre. It has been recorded numerous times, appeared in Disney's Fantasia 2000, and even has an a capella with piano arrangement by The Bobs called Rhapsody In Bob (which I highly encourage everyone to listen to as well).
5. The Planets (Gustav Holst) - This piece came out in 1918, right on the heels of the first world war. Its seven movements are supposed to represent the qualities of the planets, though they seem to be more attuned to the qualities of the Roman gods the planets were named after. "Mars, the Bringer of War" is one of the most menacing pieces of music ever created. "Venus, the Bringer of Love" is a beautiful, romantic tune, while "Mercury, the Winged Messenger" is light and bouncy. "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" is a celebration, with a beautiful hymn in the middle. "Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age" is very slow and ponderous, while "Uranus the Magician" is very powerful. "Neptune the Mystic" closes the work with very ethereal, floaty music, and a female chorus sings the work into the outer reaches of the galaxy. The work was written before Pluto was discovered, but now that Pluto is no longer a planet, "The Planets" is complete again. This has got to be one of my all-time favorite works, though Holst resented its popularity.
6. The Unanswered Question (Charles Ives) - The Unanswered Question is a short work by American composer Charles Ives that was composed in 1906. It's a very contemplative work, with ethereal strings serving as the backdrop for The Question, which is asked seven times by a solo trumpet. After each question, a group of woodwinds attempt to answer, but their answers become increasingly hostile and desperate as the piece proceeds. Finally, as the trumpet asks The Question one last time, there is no answer. The woodwinds have abandoned their attempts to answer, and The Question remains Unanswered. I really respect Charles Ives as one of the pioneers of modern music, and this is one of my favorites by him.
7. Night on Bald Mountain (Modest Mussorgsky) - If you've watched Fantasia, you've heard this one. It's the terrifying finale of the movie, paired with Schubert's Ave Maria. The piece itself is a study in contrasts, with a violent and scary beginning section and a tender, peaceful resolution. Mussorgsky originally composed the work entitled St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain, which was later reworked into A Night on the Bare Mountain by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It is Rimsky-Korsakov's version that is most performed today, though it is more commonly referred to as Night on Bald Mountain. It's a frightening piece, but I love it.
8. Carmina Burana (Carl Orff) - The opening and closing sections of Carmina Burana are the same. "O Fortuna", a song lamenting fortune's ever spinning wheel, is also the most recognizable part of Carmina Burana. You may not realize you've heard it, but every time you see a movie or game trailer that features some sort of apocalyptic battle between good and evil, there it is. It's very powerful, but there's so much good stuff in the whole work. It was conceived as a scenic cantata, and is made up of secular songs in Latin that range from the profound to the profane. There is some beautiful love music, drinking music, celebratory music, and music that is full of sorrow. If I was ranking music in order of my preference, I would have it in the top two with The Planets, though I tend to go back and forth on which one I like more.
9. Pines of Rome (Ottorino Respighi) - Pini di Roma is a four movement work by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi that premiered in 1924. The movements all flow into one another, and each is based on pine trees in different locations. The fourth movement in particular is very powerful, as it builds to a dramatic climax. It's a very cool piece, and very enjoyable even if it isn't extremely well known. Like Rhapsody In Blue, which premiered the same year, Pines of Rome (minus the second movement) appeared in Fantasia 2000.
10. Symphony No. 5 (Dmitri Shostakovich) - The 1934 opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtensk District" by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich was initially a great success. Then Josef Stalin heard it. And hated it. Shostakovich withdrew his fourth symphony during rehearsals because the government was now breathing down his neck to produce something properly Russian. In 1937, his fifth symphoyn premiered to great acclaim. The same critics of Lady Macbeth called it "a Soviet artist's response to just criticism." In his memoirs, published posthumously, Shostakovich said that the fourth movement represented a forced celebration. It's as if, he said, someone was beating you over the head with a stick, saying "Your business is rejoicing! Your business is rejoicing!" until you stagger away, muttering "Our business is rejoicing! Our business is rejoicing!" This is disputed, but the piece remains one of the most powerful and popular pieces Shostakovich wrote.
11. Rite of Spring (Igor Stravinsky) - The 1913 premiere of the Igor Stravinsky ballet Rite of Spring was eventful to say the least. Some people loved it. Some people hated it. Before too long, a riot broke out. The ballet had seven performances, but only the first one was disrupted like that. This story fascinates me, and I think if I could go observe a few moemnts in history, this would be one of them. The piece is very primitive, dissonant, and rhythmic. Stravinsky broke every single rule of music to produce the piece, and it is truly one of, if not THE greatest works of the twentieth century. I realize I keep referring to Fantasia, but you can find this one in the original film. This connection was entirely unintentional.

Of course, there are many more pieces out there that I love, but I only have eleven spots. Enjoy.