A Beginner's Guide to Classical Music
Often people unfamiliar with Classical music will ask advice on how to approach it. Where do you start?
:tiphat:
Frankly, many already are familiar with a lot of classical music.
Cartoons from the 1940s and 1950s are loaded with it.
And anyone who's a fan of theatrical films will have heard a great deal of it, even though they may not have realized it: For instance,
2001: A Space Odyssey used a great many classical pieces for its score. From the impressive opening of
Richard Strauss' Also Spracht Zarasthustra, to
Johann Strauss'
The Blue Danube, the use of already composed works helped give the film the impact that made it so very successful.
Stanley Kubrick's
A Clockwork Orange used Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
Apocalypse Now used Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries from his massive operatic suite Die Walk?re.
Even
Ferris Bueller's Day Off used music from Boccerini's String Quintet in E.
So . . . I compiled a collection of some of the most compelling and accessible classical works for novice listeners.
Originally it was to be a
Top Ten, which quickly grew into a
Top 20, then a
Top 25, and so on.
One of the problems with getting folks to come over to "the classical side" will be familiar to Prog Rock lovers . . . the
length and complexity tends to just chase folks away.
CAUTION: This list is NOT really a "ranking", although works I feel are better are more likely to appear in a higher position. The list is more of an "ordering" to introduce the uninitiated to Classical Music, in a sequence that in my opinion is more likely to entice one "into the fold".
But the 1st piece is
The Planets
Gustav Holst, an 8 movement symphonic work that clocks in at well over a half hour.
1916
This piece is #2 on the Parker Symphony Orchestra's List of
10 BADASS PIECES OF CLASSICAL MUSIC. Here's
THAT full list.
Orff - Carmina Burana / "O Fortuna" (#18)
Holst - The Planets, Mars (#1)
Verdi - Requiem "Dies Irae" (#79)
Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries (#31)
Vivaldi - The Four Seasons: Summer Mvt. 3 Presto (#6)
Bizet - Carmen Overture / Les Toreadors (#62)
Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain (#19)
Verdi - Il Trovatore / "Anvil Chorus"
Khachaturian - Sabre Dance
Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra, Prelude (#24)
. . . and their
"Honorable Mentions":
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture (#5)
Shostakovich - Symphony No 5, Mvt 4 (#153)
Bruckner - Symphony No 1, Mvt 3
Grieg - In The Hall Of The Mountain King (#11)
Dvorak - Symphony No 9, Mvt 4 (#2)
Mozart - Requiem in D minor, Dies Irae (#35)
Bizet - L'Arlésienne Suite No 2, Mvt 4 (Farandole)
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No 3, Mvt 3 and 4 (#408)
Beethoven - Symphony No 9, Mvt 4 (#39)
Glinka - Overture from Ruslan and Ludmilla (#231)
Holst - The Planets, Jupiter (#1)
Mozart - Symphony No 25, Mvt 1
Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor (#90)
Smyth - The Wreckers (Overture)
Ah, but
The Planets is a great look at orchestration and variety. And several film composers have used Holst's techniques to great success. John Williams has paid great tribute with his scores to Star Wars and others (he's pretty damned prolific).
Of course, the best way to experience Classical music is in a live setting. Unlike rock music, which sometimes suffers in concert, Classical music is exacting . . . it's important to the players and conductor that it be perfect. You won't find fall-down drunk singers or guitarists on acid here.
Here's a great and spirited live version by the
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
This version also has a new movement, to include
Pluto, discovered after the suite was written.
Mars, the Bringer of War 0:00
Venus, the Bringer of Peace 7:15
Mercury, the Winged Messenger 15:09
Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity 18:58
Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age 26:42
Uranus, the Magician 35:32
Neptune, the Mystic 41:20
Pluto, the Renewer 49:17
Proms 2016 - Gustav Holst - The Planets
.
This extensive work has popped up in popular music as well, especially the
1st movement.
Sinfonia, a large group of electric guitarists covered it, as did
King Crimson (retitled
"The Devil's Triangle"), and eventually,
Emerson, Lake and Powell.
Jimmy Page adapted part of
'Mars' in the song
'Friends' on
Led Zeppelin III.
Yes quoted a few sections of
Jupiter in the song
"The Prophet" from their 1970 album "Time and a Word".
Isao Tomita did an electronic version many years ago, and
Jeff Wayne and Rick Wakeman teamed up as well in 2005 with an album
Beyond the Planets.
Many artists, such as
Frank Zappa, have "quoted" licks from the suite in instrumental sections of songs.
John Williams used the melodies and instrumentation of
Mars as the inspiration for his soundtrack for the Star Wars films (specifically
"The Imperial March")
Hans Zimmer closely used the melodies, instrumentation and orchestration of Mars as the inspiration for his soundtrack for the movie
Gladiator to the extent that a lawsuit for copyright infringement was filed by the Holst foundation.