classical music recommendations

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I was reading The Understory by Pamela Erens.



Amadeus? Haha, yeah they're highly fictionalized caricatures of Salieri and Mozart, imagined by dramatists Pushkin and Shaffer. Crazy characters often make for an entertaining story.

Music historians (for example, Hermann Abert) have written extensively about Mozart. Some of his letters have been preserved. There is no shortage of biographical information if your curiosity tempts you. Still, texts are not enough. Nobody alive today really knows the man behind the compositions.

Through his music, I get the impression that he was affectionate, passionate, and had a good sense of humor.



I loved hearing Otto Tolonen play the first Gnossienne on the guitar. There's a rich tone color and ambience with tendrils of Satie dreamscape swirling through the presence and absence of sound. Some of the notes had a softer touch than I'm accustomed to, and the rhythm/ timing felt a bit strange at some points. Guitar, harp, and various strings and woodwinds have breathed new life into Satie's piano works.

Here's an orchestral arrangement of Satie's Gnossienne No. 3 by Francis Poulenc.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Shg-_EJ20[/youtube]

Here's Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante performed by The New England Conservatory Chamber Orchestra.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAv48Ne5axA[/youtube]

I like Satie a lot.

Speaking of Mozart, I just ordered the CD of The Marriage of Figaro that I posted a few pages back. Can't wait to get it!


How do you guys define classical music? Is this in your opinion under the category?
Is it like year or style you go by?
I think this is really nice, btw, but it seems more modern to me.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_dlL739SIM[/youtube]

Pfft, I'm gone for a few days and this thread doesn't see any action!

Revitalization post!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vdgZAJVnes&feature=kp[/youtube]

Ha, I figured we would just be going at a slower pace from now on. I've still been listening to a lot of new stuff. This thread has really changed my life. Welcome back!

One of my new favs - it's kind of weird~

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

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m52MJ6hJx3I[/youtube]

I've never heard of this woman, but I love her voice.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhcfUrG5fzY[/youtube]

I know we've had some Handel, but I don't think anyone posted this one.

I did , one of my favorites!

Who's in the mood for some Baroque?


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SikvYdV1XQ4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zjsTAPcxH0[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpqIEi7K6pw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYjwPMs3j4M[/youtube]

Last edited by mezzanotte on 07 Jul 2014, 9:27 am, edited 2 times in total.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hp-vWZSpEM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXIrl5mWJew[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAxZ2LQIV9Q[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XiChd__kcs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCfZ6fmkzT8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Nm--GL1F4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeSe1DDITcE[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWwfZL2VlPw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2pQeV7JWBQ[/youtube]

That's it! I'm making a chart~

Was it with the same woman?

So excited, new music!

Nope, it was probably this one (my absolute favorite performance of the opera!):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clqM5ZjvD0M[/youtube]

I guess I'll post another of my favorite arias from the opera as well:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMvtz_Z1iRU[/youtube]