Any classical music fans?

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i listen to just about everything and happen to love a lot of classical music.
i have to say that one of my favorite pieces is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata Op. 27 No. 2; i'm trying to teach myself to play it, but it's not going so well

I REALLY wouldn't say metal and classical music are opposites.
My most favorite songs are metal and classical music.
But this kind of metal is often more a melodic kind of metal and not just the AAAHHH BANG BANG kind (which I dislike).
I also dislike quite some classical music, though. Music generally just has to touch me.

Classical music (and modern classical) I absolutely love:
- Philip Glass - Tearing Herself Away
- Johann Sebastian Bach - Erbarme Dich
- Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff - Prelude in C sharp minor

There's a "progressive death metal" band named Opeth which I love.
It might seem horrible and all when you first hear it because of the screaming.
I hated it the first time I heard, and at the start only filtered their more "calm" pieces of music out.
I got used to the screaming parts and came to appreciate the, well, compositions.
They're actually really melodic, quite complex, and just... beautiful.
It actually reminds me of classical music quite a lot, but I can't explain why.
I'd love to hear Opeth's music being played by an big orchestra.

LOOK OUT, IT'S METAL!
(Wouldn't want to make anyone puke...)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzR8TAhxJWg[/youtube]

Then don't listen to the really famous works, which (I agree) are indeed overplayed. Vivaldi, for instance, wrote over 750 concerti (not only for the violin, but for all sorts of instruments), most of which are rather obscure, yet often are very beautiful and intensely lyrical. In fact, I consider "The Four Seasons" definitely to be among his weaker works. Listen to this for example, to get my meaning:

Yes. This is a lovely piece. Thanks for putting it up. I like Vivaldi too, but mostly only his works for chamber music. I like Mozart string quartets to. And my passion for classical guitar, which you will no doubt hear more about in future posts. I like the pure, acoustic sounds. I'm not much into the vocal classicals, only instrumentals. The modern stuff is often too unusual for me, though it is starting to grow on me. I'm getting into Leo Brouwer and Radames Gnattali, they're modernish, so there's hope for me yet. I think there should be at least a bit of music in every day of our lives.

You might want to look into recordings by the Academy of Ancient Music.

Academy of Ancient Music

I have their recording of Beethoven's 9th and it sounds distinctly different from a recording done with modern instruments.

My taste in music runs to mostly folk and blues. In Instrumental and Classical, these are some of my favorites:

Beethoven: The ninth Symphony and a lot of sonatas for piano and cello
Ralph Vaughn Williams: Mostly the instrumental work. The vocal pieces seem overwrought
Bedřich Smetana: Very calming
Bach: The more I hear, the more I like.

I love classical music, especially the Russian composers - Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Rachmaninov would be on top of my list.

I also like Philip Glass a lot - Symphony No. 3 is my favourite and his collaborations with Kronos Quartet are brilliant.

I also like Scarlotti's keyboard work a great deal. he's one of my favourite composers.

i looked at the Argerich vid - her technique is unbelievable, esp. the tremolo notes & staccato technique. WOW. Unfortunately, i think every time Scarlotti is played on a piano, a kitten is stamped on somewhere. harpsichord man, harpsichord.

as an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otobo9D6RGg trevor pinnock playing K460 on a original-period harpsichord. i like his technique.

-Luke.

that question you have is a BIG topic in Early Music / Baroque Music circles, has been since the 70's at least. A huge volume of research has been done on the design and construction and sound qualities of period instruments, and how music was played originally.

So... if you're concerned about such things, search out recordings that feature Original Instruments, and ensembles that specialise in the performance practice of the period of their repertoire. you'd be surprised how much is out there.

I second the mention of the Academy of Ancient Music... I really enjoy the works they did under Sir Neville Mariner.

-Luke