classical music recommendations

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Maybe we should gather forces and put on a Monteverdi opera. THat would be cool. We could do it in an outside venue somewhere during the summer. OR we could do a series, THE OTHER OPERAS.

I finally found a pretty good speaker. Can use it with an alarm on my iPod so I can wake up to classical music. Weirdly, I couldn't get the CM station on my old alarm clock. I love other kinds of music too, but waking up to some stuff is too overwhelming for me. This is really nice.


Edit, I forgot to mention - his voice really was startling. I liked it though. Can a guy sing like that without "physical intervention"? THat was my first thought! Probably they can.

I love how when the video ends YouTube pops up all those recommendations because one of them was him singing. It's eerie, takes getting used to. He's funny though, seems like a nice pretty modest guy.

This is really pretty.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaiAFl9u9Uk[/youtube]

Here is a bit of something I rather like. Hope it isn't a dupe...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsvpFU7KY7E[/youtube]

I wish Lurch, butler of the Addam's Family, would compose and perform a harpsichord symphony for me.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKFKf07lIDw[/youtube]

KB8CWB, welcome to the thread! I will call you "KB" for short. : )

I know there are many lurkers who visit this thread because there's a high amount of views compared to posts. I wonder what they think about all the waltzes, operas, symphony movements and other music we've shared. Hopefully some new people will join in and share music. Don't be concerned about whether something has already been posted, or if what you're sharing is "classical," just post anything you like.

Listening to multiple versions of a composition isn't a bad thing, either. I've heard a great many different recordings of "Clair de Lune," and no matter how many times I hear it, it will always be one of my favorite compositions of all time. I love hearing new interpretations. Each performance is a unique expression of creative freedom. The personalities of the musicians shine through in their performances. An iconic example of a musician with a unique style is Glenn Gould. He's known to play piano pieces ridiculously fast, and has an odd habit of humming. Despite this, he's one of the greatest Bach interpreters of all time. It's the personality traits, quirks, styles and inventiveness that breathe new life into old compositions and entertain the audiences. "The Piano Guys" are a great example of modern musicians who've garnered a lot of attention with their crowd-pleasing style and enthusiasm for improvising on classic works.

I am going back and listening to everything that has ever been posted in this thread. I will (slowly) add some of my favorites to a youtube playlist. If you'd like to access that playlist, please find the link in my WP profile.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG-oyi5KfWk[/youtube]

Here's an amusing story about Mozart and one of his friends, the horn player Joseph Leutgeb. : )

"Mozart had a curious joking relationship with Leutgeb, seen for instance in the mocking comments he placed in Leutgeb's horn parts. K. 417 bears the mock dedication: "Wolfgang Amadé Mozart takes pity on Leutgeb, ass, ox, and simpleton, at Vienna, March 27, 1783". In one place he marks the orchestra part "Allegro" and the solo part "Adagio", perhaps mocking the tendency of horn notes to come in late, dragging the tempo. For another possible instance, see K. 412. The multicolored inks in K. 495 are often taken to be a kind of joke.

Letters from the end of Mozart's life suggest that Leutgeb didn't mind the teasing and that the two had a good friendship. A letter by Mozart of 6 June 1791 indicates that, while his wife Constanze was away, he stayed for several nights at Leutgeb's, "because I had discharged [the maid] Leonore and I would have been all alone at home, which would not have been pleasant." Later the same year, after the highly successful premiere of his opera The Magic Flute, Mozart repeatedly took friends and relatives to performances, and wrote in a letter (8?9 October) "Leutgeb begged me to take him a second time and I did so."

Leutgeb was most likely Mozart's favorite horn player, as a number of the composer's works were written for him. These include the Horn Concertos K. 417, K. 495 and K. 412/386b (514) and "probably" (New Grove) the Horn Quintet K. 407/386c."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhewhPaJX08[/youtube]