[pianozach]

Venus
Uranus
Neptune
The Planets
Holst

 

[KenL]

Help me find more beauty?

I first got into classical music as a teenager back in the 1980s. In those thrilling days of LP recordings I was the classical music version of your typical teenage boy: I wanted the music to be fast and loud. Give me the 1812 Overture, the William Tell Overture, Ride of the Valkyries, and later I found Richard Strauss' Zarathustra and Stravinsky's Rite to blow the roof off the house. But I remember the first time a slow movement really struck me. It was a recording of Sibelius' Swan of Tounela and in my mind I could just picture the swan slowly gliding over the water and through the marsh. And I thought it was beautiful.

I know that you've already been bombarded with enough suggestions that it has become overwhelming but to my ears here are the most beautiful and lyrical favorites of mine:

Beethoven's Symphony #6 "Pastorale" (It shows that when Beethoven wasn't out there shaking his fist at fate; he could also be very mellow. The Symphony #6 "Pastorale" is a happy nature hike, and utterly joyful, even if it has a brief thunder storm in it.)

Wagner's Siegfried Idyll (As a teenager, I thought is was the height of boredom until years later when I revisited it, I was moved by it's gentle and yet powerful undercurrent.)

Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (It is so well-crafted; seemingly seamless; as if the music composes itself, also relaxing and meditative without being ambient).

If you are new to classical music, you may have yet to learn how to enjoy vocalists in classical music. it's an acquired taste. What, at first, may sound like very loud moaning and groaning, will later sound like such heaven. Whether you are already there, or are on your way; then I might suggest Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings; both exquisite.

...and then there is always The Swan of Tounela.

Some familar favorites and some new things in there for me to listen to, so many thanks. I love vocalists - I am a life long choir singer and now a board member of Choral Arts Philadelphia, an early music choir. Some of the most beautiful stuff ever written IMO is choir music - and that led to me branching out into vocal music and opera over the years, too. Appreciate your perspective and the recommendations!

 

[KenL]

Hamilton Harty Piano Concerto, 2nd Movement

You'd probably like exploring the tradition of English music for strings in general; here's

Vaughan Williams' Tallis Fantasia ; The Lark Ascending could be next.

Hamilton Harty In Ireland

Glazunov's 4th Symphony /Rozhdestvensky, USSR Ministry Culture SO. His most catchy symphony-piece, IMO

Thank you so much. I am definitely more behind on English composers than I am some other regions, so many thanks. I’ll be eagerly digging into all of these! Appreciate you.

 

[KenL]

Venus
Uranus
Neptune
The Planets
Holst

Thank you! Among some of my favorites!

 

[Coach G]

Some familar favorites and some new things in there for me to listen to, so many thanks. I love vocalists - I am a life long choir singer and now a board member of Choral Arts Philadelphia, an early music choir. Some of the most beautiful stuff ever written IMO is choir music - and that led to me branching out into vocal music and opera over the years, too. Appreciate your perspective and the recommendations!

Do you like Rachmaninoff's Vespers/All Night Vigil? The Bless The Lord O My Soul is beautiful.

 

[REP]

A few more:

• Prelude to Act I of Pfitzner's Palestrina
• Slow movement of Barber's Violin Concerto
• Slow movement of Brincken's Symphony No. 4
• Respighi's Concerto Gregoriano
• Pierrot's Tanzlied from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt (the version below omits the female chorus, but it's hard to find a good version that isn't part of a complete performance)

 

[KenL]

Do you like Rachmaninoff's Vespers/All Night Vigil? The Bless The Lord O My Soul is beautiful.

Yes! Absolutely love it. I actually like his Liturgy of St John Chrysostom even better - check that out if you haven’t. Recommend VI O Lord, Save - Holy God, VII Cherubic Hymn, and especially XI We Hymn Thee. Angelic, moving stuff.

 

[KenL]

A few more:

• Prelude to Act I of Pfitzner's Palestrina
• Slow movement of Barber's Violin Concerto
• Slow movement of Brincken's Symphony No. 4
• Respighi's Concerto Gregoriano
• Pierrot's Tanzlied from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt (the version below omits the female chorus, but it's hard to find a good version that isn't part of a complete performance)

Thanks so much! Definitely some new ones that I’ll check out in that list. Appreciate you.

 

[robertcostagliola10]

All of Agustin Barrios's guitar music along with Villa-Lobos Guitar Etudes and String Quartets and Antonio Lauro's guitar music.

 

[Kjetil Heggelund]

Didn't anyone mention Dvorak's piano concerto? Also, Mozart is my definition of beauty. Try K540 or Sinfonia Concertante.

 

[SanAntone]

John Cage - Four2

KURTAG / KAFKA FRAGMENTS

IVES - UNANSWERED QUESTION

James Tenney - in a large open space (1994)

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Mantra (1970) für 2 Pianisten

 

[Alfacharger]

'"'""'''Lento movement from the Sinfonia Del Mare of Gosta Nystreom.

nystreom sinfonia del mare 3 movement - Google Search

Maurice Jacobson's reworking of Vaughan Williams opera "Hugh the Drover" into a cantata "A Cotswold Romance" section "Love at First Sight".

.

And the Trio from Strauss' opera "Der Rosenkavalier"

Ok the Hummel second movement from the Piano Concerto #3.

hummel piano concerto 3 movement 2 - Google Search

 

[John O]

Some quartet movements that might fit the bill :
The second movements of Dvorak American Quartet
The second movement of Ravel's Quartet
The third movement of Beethoven Quartet op 132

 

[hammeredklavier]

I’m also a life long choir singer and fan, so I’m always on the lookout for harmonic brilliance in choral music.

The offertory at 8:55 is not the right work though, since there's no recording for it out there, it's substituted with another work, from a different recording. The original name for this mass is Missa pro Quadragesima. (With the added gradual "Tenuisti manum" [2:08] and offertory, it goes by a different name, it seems.)

 

[KenL]

All of Agustin Barrios's guitar music along with Villa-Lobos Guitar Etudes and String Quartets and Antonio Lauro's guitar music.

Thanks, will check out Barrio and Lauro...familiar with the Villa-Lobos stuff - gorgeous for sure. Appreciate it!

 

[KenL]

'"'""'''Lento movement from the Sinfonia Del Mare of Gosta Nystreom.

nystreom sinfonia del mare 3 movement - Google Search

Maurice Jacobson's reworking of Vaughan Williams opera "Hugh the Drover" into a cantata "A Cotswold Romance" section "Love at First Sight".

.

And the Trio from Strauss' opera "Der Rosenkavalier"

Ok the Hummel second movement from the Piano Concerto #3.

hummel piano concerto 3 movement 2 - Google Search

Thank you, definitely some new stuff for me - will put it all on the list. Appreciate you.

 

[KenL]

Some quartet movements that might fit the bill :
The second movements of Dvorak American Quartet
The second movement of Ravel's Quartet
The third movement of Beethoven Quartet op 132

Will check out Dvorak's American Quartet for sure - I love his trios/quartets in general. LOVE the Ravel quartet - might be my favorite of them all, and the Beethoven is gorgeous, too. Thank you!

 

[KenL]

The offertory at 8:55 is not the right work though, since there's no recording for it out there, it's substituted with another work, from a different recording. The original name for this mass is Missa pro Quadragesima. (With the added gradual "Tenuisti manum" [2:08] and offertory, it goes by a different name, it seems.)

Gorgeous, thank you. Interesting tidbit about the offertory being substituted because of lack of recordings...upsets me when such gorgeous music is going to vanish because it's not being performed/recorded. Thank you for this, really beautiful stuff.

 

[KenL]

Didn't anyone mention Dvorak's piano concerto? Also, Mozart is my definition of beauty. Try K540 or Sinfonia Concertante.

All of the above are gorgeous works, and Dvorak's piano concerto is one of my favorites!

 

[KenL]

John Cage - Four2

KURTAG / KAFKA FRAGMENTS

IVES - UNANSWERED QUESTION

James Tenney - in a large open space (1994)

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Mantra (1970) für 2 Pianisten

Thank you, all new stuff for me - will listen to all of it today. Appreciate you!