Favorite Classical Song.

[Erigion]

Just what the title says.

And classical as in Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and all them old folk.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Smetana's Ma Vlast (Ma Patria) series, Ravel's Bolero, and anything Mozart.

[Dirty Harry]

Ode to Joy is my most favorite classical song ever.

I learned to perform and did a recital and everything.

I sucked hard. :>

But at least my version > that Ludwig van Beethoven-dude's version. >_>

[loner]

My personal favorites are Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mozart. I love Beethoven's Romance for Violin and Orchestra, to the point that for a while I can't sleep without listening to it. Mozart's A Little Night Music always calms me down when I feel the urge to kill people in this forum (j/k), and Tcahikovsky's Romeo and Juliet always touches me.

I also think starting your morning with Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt-Suite is always a good idea.

[Tyrdium]

Sadly, I don't know much classical music. Got any suggestions for an introduction to it?

[sohryu]

La Donna é Mobile ^_^

Been singing it all week... I can't get it out of my head. >.<

Enrico Caruso's version is supposedly the best one, but I prefer mah Andrea Bocelli. :/

Other than that, Beethoven's 5th is guud. =D

[etane]

By song you mean opera and aria?

Or, you want concertos, symphonies too?

[sohryu]

I'm pretty sure Eri just wants some recommendations for any classical pieces.

[Dennis]

Adagio in G Minor - Tomaso Albinini

[soundchazer]

Just for the record, song would mean someone is actually singing. If you are talking about calssical music, it would be a "piece".

As for my favorites:

Arabesque #1 - Claude Debussy
Claire de Lune - Claude Debussy
9th symphony - Beethoven
Carnival of Animals (Introduction et Marche Royale du Lion, Aquarium and finale in particular) - Camille Saint-Saens
Carmina Burana - Carl Orff
Etude in c, Op.25 No.12 - Frédéric Chopin
Waltz in D flat, Op.64 No.1 - Frédéric Chopin
Fantaisie-Impromptu in c#, Op.66 - Frédéric Chopin
Polonase in A flat, Op.53 - Frédéric Chopin
Concierto de Aranjuez - Joaquin Rodrigo
Solomon, HWV 67 - Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba - Handel
Liebstraum #3 - Liszt
Pictures in an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky
1812 Overture - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor 1st Movement - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Mandoline Concerto in C, RV 425 - Vivaldi
Lohengrin, Prelude To Act 3 - Wagner
Ride of the Valkyries - Wagner
Violin Concerto #3 In G, K 216 - Mozart
Piano Sonata K545 - Mozart
Adagio in G Minor - Albioni
Die Fledermaus Overture - Strauss
Radetzky March - Strauss
Orpheus in the Underworld - Jacques Offenbach
Spanish Dance - De Falla
Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 - Edward Elgar

[shizukuchan]

"Ach, ich fuehl's, es ist verschwunden" from Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute. It's not nearly as popular as the the Queen of the Night's "Der Hoelle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen", but for such a slow song, it's surprisingly difficult to pull off without flagging on the emotion. I've only heard one or two singers (Ruth Ziesak being one) who I thought gave the song the kind of expression it deserved. Maybe one of the things that makes it difficult is the fact that the song isn't just about a particular sorrowful mood, but it's actually necessary in the song for the singer to move back and forth between present sorrow and the flashes of past happiness that pop in unexpectedly in the middle of the mood. The final few notes of descent into deep despair are also pretty difficult to sing with unbroken conviction.

The other song from The Magic Flute which makes me wish I had a good operatic voice (so I can sing it, of course :p) is the duet turned quartet "Tamino mein! O welch ein Glueck!" It's the song for the big romantic moment in the opera where they couple reunites in proper after being separated by many trials. They stand at the threshold of their final test of walking through the mystic fire, not knowing whether it will mean their death or apotheosis. The line in the song that always gets me giddy is (although it sounds so much better in German) "Now, come and play the flute. It leads us on this perilous path." It's just a great moment in classical music. The destined lovers are completely stripped bare of any knowledge of what awaits them. The only thing they have left to guide them is the song they've been playing for each other from the beginning of their love. In spite of all that happened in the past, and also what the future may hold, the melody of the flute was the only thing that was real for them.

Mozart was such a pure soul to be able to write music which perfectly matches such a scene. There were a number of moments in the music where the feeling of a romantic adventure was particularly strong, as if the flute and smooth voices of the strings blew each of the lovers' sighs, filling their sails and transporting them together on their journey.

[Phate]

Off the top of my head:

Symphony No. 9 - Ludwig van Beethoven
The Rite of Spring - Igor Stravinsky
Carmina Burana - Carl Orff
Für Elise - Ludwig van Beethoven
St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain - Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

[ShinoMatrix]

I quite love a lot of Tchaikovsky's work since it's so boastful... so full of impact, and you'd have to have so much passion and strength to pull off having canons firing in your piece (ie. 1812 Overture)...

Nessun Dorma from Turandot by Puccini is one awe inspiring piece which I don't want to overly listen to just because I don't want the novelty to run out. I want to mildly forget some of it before I get around to hearing it again...

But ultimate favourite, well, it's a tie between Beethoven's 9th Symphony and Saint-Saens' Finale: Symphony for Organ no 3

[etane]

Some personal faves, all piano concertos-

Claire De Lune-Debussy
La Mer-Debussy
Gymnopedie-Satie
Liebistraum-Listz

[Kaikyaku]

Pachabel's Canon in D

And NOT because it was in EVA. I already liked before then.

[A-R@D]

The Right of Sping - Igor Stravinsky
Turangalila symphonie - Olivier Messiaen

[Major Tom]

My current favourite piece is:

Magyarol Rhapsodiac Masodikszam, for piano, by Franz Liszt. That piece owns.

I've got a number of other favourites, including the Liebestraum and the Canon in D, but I'll combine them later.

[shizukuchan]

What is it about Canon in D? Sure, a lot of music has been influenced by it, but the piece itself is rather dull. I have NEVER understood why it is so popular.

[Kuzu Ryu Sen]

Well, it is in anime. That gives it 184283494298 cool points obviously.

Really though, I have no clue.

[Niner]

I echo the love for Beethoven's 9th and Orff's Carmina Burana (especially the O Fortuna overture). I can also recommend Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Schubert's Symphony No. 7 and Brahms' Tragic Overture.

^^

[Major Tom]

What is it about Canon in D? Sure, a lot of music has been influenced by it, but the piece itself is rather dull. I have NEVER understood why it is so popular.

Personally, I find it to be a smooth and calming piece, though I can see how it can be dull to some. It does run at a slow tempo, and uses alot of legato. If it was for piano, it would probably use alot of pedal as well.

It depends on which arrangement that is heard. I personally I love the string quartet version (which, incidentally, is the version in Evangelion I believe. That's not the reason I like it though), I can hear each of the parts and the intricacies of them, whereas in the chamber version, it becomes a bit muddy, and I can't really hear the technique.

[ShinoMatrix]

Eh, I suppose at one point I did like Canon too, and yeah I agree about the string arrangement being better than if it was played on a pianno... nonetheless, it wore off for me fairly quickly, particularly when my friend tried over and over again to learn it in the pianno and I just heard one too many times.

[Pachinko]

Ehh, I'm pretty familiar with classical pieces... I like "Come Sweet Death" by Bach, and all the other anonymous pieces would be "Abhrams Pursuit", "Candid", and the fabolous "Prelude, Siliando, Rondo".

[Kei]

Dvorak - New World Symphony (Symphony No.9, Opus 95, From the New World, whatever the hell you want to call it today).

~Kei

[etane]

Pachabel's Canon in D

And NOT because it was in EVA. I already liked before then.

The Cello Suites in EVA is quite good too.

[aeroshadow]

Canon ownz. It's just one of those songs I can never get tired of; it's such a peaceful yet energetic piece.

That being said, I don't really know anything about classical music. I'm just comparing Canon to ever single song I've heard throughout my life, which is mostly nonsense that is definitely not classical.

[KidKolt]

I am partial to the Kyrie from Mozart's Requiem.
I also happen to like Nocturne No. 21 in C minor, Op.posth. by Chopin.
Lasso's Matona Mia Cara is amusing.

[Perfect_Cheezit]

Blue Danube waltz - Strauss

[Jagan eye]

Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony in E minor
Beethoven's 9th Symphony in D minor
Holst's The Planets Suite
Rimsky-Korsakov's Mlada
Bernstein's Candide
Beethoven's 7th Symphony in A major
Beethoven's 8th Symphony in F major
Beethoven's 6th Symphony in F major
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos
Shostakovich's 11th Symphony in G minor

[Knives]

pavorati :: nessum dorma

when he hits that high C {or whatever it is} i get shivers, wish i could see the classic 3 tenors in concert still

[C0MPL3X]

So many symphonies.

I'll list my all time favourite Beethoven sonatas because,

1. Nice change from composite music.
2. Beethoven > all
3. I can connect to them better through the act of playing, hence my favs, thus why they own.

Pathetique Sonata
Moonlight Sonata
Appassionato Sonata <---my personal fav

Of course, without a doubt, 3rd movements are the most intense for each by far.

[Tank]

Symphony No.25 In G Minor K 183 - Mozart

[silan]

Beware! Zombie thread!!

Let's talk classical music again.

I'll just limit myself to my all-time favorites, because otherwise I could be here all night. To make this thread more interactive, I've even included links to youtube for each song, so those of you who've never heard a piece can at least get a glimpse of what it's like.

Rachmaninov - Etudes-Tableaux op.39 no.5 in e-flat minor. This is my all-time absolute favorite piano piece. It has such a gorgeous and truly moving melody, while underneath runs a powerful and tempestuous chaos. The pianist Howard Shelley has the best interpretation of this piece of music that I've heard. But no.5 is a difficult piece and good performances of it are hard to find, so I've been forced to link to some student who makes a handful of noticeable errors. Don't shoot me. Link. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxsC1V8hhNI)

Chopin - Prelude op.28 no.15 in D-flat major. This is my second favorite piano piece. The melody is so bittersweet and soft, and so gentle right up until the powerful crescendo. I absolutely love the interpretation in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7RqeF6BsAk). The brilliance of the performance more than makes up for the kind of freaky facial expressions.

Rachmaninov - Elegie op.3 no.1. This elegie is just so beautiful and touching to hear when it's played well. It's brilliant to hear recordings of this piece played by Rachmaninov himself. But youtube doesn't have that, so this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX4OGxfOH88) will have to suffice.

Mozart - Requiem: Lacrimosa. I'm not a huge fan of choral work, but Mozart's Requiem is something that shouldn't be missed. This is my favorite piece from that work. This mournful piece is truly worthy of being part of a requiem. Oddly enough, I fell in love with this piece after hearing it on the Violinist of Hameln. Link. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pkOKWgu-m8)

[Dark Lord]

Since my brother plays the violin, my appreciation for the classical increased from my opinion of it in the past... But I'll limit my list to the ones I know the name of...

Moonlight Sonata
Ooooh... It just sounds both mysterious and peaceful...

Concerto for 2 Violins
A very entertaining piece to listen to... Not at all boring and slow, if that's what some people are expecting...

Fur Elise
A beautiful piece... The very piece that made me appreciate classical music in the first place...

[Milkymagic]

All three movements of "Nocturne" from Claude Debussy would be tops for myself.

[PassiveObserver]

Moonlight sonata has got to be my favorite, as depressing as it is. That song has the power to take any scene and somehow make it sad. I still don't get how people like pachabels cannon. I though it was absolutely boring.

[silan]

I like Canon in D because of the gradually intertwining harmonies and counter-melodies. I suppose the main melody itself could be considered boring, since all it does is repeat itself.

I've never really understood how Fur Elise is so popular. Perhaps just because it's a standard song for everyone to learn when they start studying piano? There are a lot more beautiful pieces out there. Such as:

Chopin - Nocturne No.13 (Op.48 no.1) in c minor. Love this one too. Chopin's music is just so damn poetic. Link. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRuD1L9FPZA)

[silan]

Alright. My all-time number one favorite has been, if not supplanted, then at least matched by a piece I've already mentioned before.

Rachmaninoff - Cinq Morceaux de fantaisie, op.3, no.1 Elegie in E flat minor

Seriously. This piece is beautiful, from the passionate beginning right to the discordant ending. There's a reason that Rachmaninoff is my favorite composer, and it can be clearly seen in Elegie, and in Etude-tableau op.39 no.5.

And also in the first movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto no.2 in C minor, which was featured so beautifully in Nodame Cantabile. It's a brilliant piece of music.

[ZZalapski]

I have a soft spot for Franz Lizst's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Rhapsody_No._2), mainly because I remember fondly Tom and Jerry performing it in The Cat Concerto.

Last month I went to a concert at the Minnesota Orchestra that had this piece, as well as Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. I was expecting it to be played as a piano solo, but they actually performed a fully orchestrated arrangement of No. 2. It was f***ing awesome. I'm so glad I recorded the radio re-broadcast into an mp3.

[Akito]

Even if I had the worst experience playing it on the cello back in grade 10 (soooo repetitive @_@), I still like Pachelbel's Canon in D.

[laborpilot86]

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring........human sacrifice rules!!!!!!!!!

Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Military March #1................god save the British Empire!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tchikovsky's 1812 Overture.................you gotta hear this one with full cannons, church bell and choir, its the closest classical comes to heavy metal

Moussorsky's St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain and Pictures at an Exposition......just plain cool:smoker:

[silan]

Tchikovsky's 1812 Overture.................you gotta hear this one with full cannons, church bell and choir, its the closest classical comes to heavy metal
Oh yeah. A long slow buildup to an explosion of sound that sends chills up my spine everytime.

Absolutely love it.

[Major Tom]

I have a soft spot for Franz Lizst's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Rhapsody_No._2), mainly because I remember fondly Tom and Jerry performing it in The Cat Concerto.

Ah, another Rhapsody fan. I remember it from cartoons as well, it's just such a fantastically manic song. I do hope to be able to hear it live one day.

Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Military March #1................god save the British Empire!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Despite being an aussie and having our habir of wanting to stick it to the poms, whenever I hear this song I just feel like wrapping myself in the Union Jack and bursting into song........

Land of Hope and Glory,
Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee,
Who are born of thee?........

Anyways, of late I've been developing a love for Erik Satie's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Satie) Trois Gymnopedies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnopedies) and one of his Gnossiennes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnossiennes), but I'm not quite sure which one.

I've also been listening to the 3rd movement of Debussy's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debussy) Suite Bergamasque (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suite_bergamasque), the Clair de Lune. All lovely pieces.

[hayama22]

Orchestrated works:

New World (9th) Symphony - Dvorak
Symphony #4 - Brahms
Symphony #2 - Sibelius
Concierto de Aranjuez - Joaquin Rodrigo (a 20th century piece, but fits in fine with classical songs)
Smetana - Die Moldau

Choral/Opera:

Va Pensiero (from Nabucco) - Verdi
Overture (from Die Meistersinger Von Nuernberg) - Wagner
Un Bel di Vedremo (from Madame Butterfly) - Puccini
Requiem: Lacrymosa - Mozart
Song of the Moon - Dvorak

[silan]

Requiem: Lacrimosa is without a doubt my favorite piece of choral work. But then, I don't really listen to much choral music.

And Madame Butterfly really is a beautiful opera.

[Akira169]

I realize half of the people in here are going to kill me for this one, but my favorite classical song would have to be:

Ravel - Bolero.

*me ducks.*

[IceDemon]

Beetovhan's 5th and 7th sympthony.

[Sanda]

Well, I love Mozart's Requiem. It's an amazingly creative piece and the soft pianissimos just make my head float. Great piece of music!

I still remember the first time I listened to it. I was watching a performance from a choir I had just joined. They sang it beautifully. I got chills when the bass singers first started singing Requiem!

[Akuhei]

Anything by Bach (Bach > alllllllll other classical folk ;D). Also quite fond of Rachmaninov and Beethoven.

[Sanda]

I love Bach and Mozart.

But my all time piece is Mozart's requiem... that is just beautiful!

[ProfessorWashu]

Aire on the G-String is music straight out of heaven itself. Also, there is Beethoven's 9th symphony, Tosca (a beautiful opera, I suggest you see it!), and of course anything by Chopin.

[Zelkiiro]

Pachelbel's Canon in D.

[Sae]

Greensleeves

[genki sakura]

In no particular order:

Pachebel's Canon in D
Claire de Lune- Debussy
Carmen Fantasy- Sarasate
Fantasie Impromtu- Chopin
Nessun Dorma (from Turandot)- Puccini
Winter (from the Four Seasons)- Vivaldi
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor op. 18- Rachmaninoff
Rhapsody in Blue- Gershwin
Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major
Swan Lake (ballet)- Tchaikovsky
Montagues and the Capulets- Prokofiev
Beethoven's 5th
Nocturne in E flat major- Chopin
Hungarian Rhapsody no.1- Liszt

[Akuhei]

Pachelbel's Canon in D.

AT LEAST PICK SOMETHING WITH DEPTH. I never really got the whole Canon in D thing, it has to be the most bland piece of music ever written.

[Sae]

AT LEAST PICK SOMETHING WITH DEPTH. I never really got the whole Canon in D thing, it has to be the most bland piece of music ever written.

To each their own, dude. No use freakin out if it's no big deal. ^-^

[ProfessorWashu]

AT LEAST PICK SOMETHING WITH DEPTH. I never really got the whole Canon in D thing, it has to be the most bland piece of music ever written.

RAWWWWRRRR!!!! Akuhei hate Canon in D!!!!!! Akuhei SMASH Canon in D!!!!!!! Akuhei SMASH PACHELBEL!!!! :kain:

Anyway, back to being serious. I've honestly got to say that Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (formally known as Piano Sonata No. 14) is a haunting yet addictive tune. It always makes me think of vampires, personally.

[Akuhei]

To each their own, dude. No use freakin out if it's no big deal. ^-^

I don't care I just like using capslock.

Also as far as classical music goes I'm kind of a jazz nerd so NOTHING will ever top take 2 of Alice In Wonderland from Sunday at the Village Vanguard. Bill Evans and co. just can't be beat :P

[Zelkiiro]

AT LEAST PICK SOMETHING WITH DEPTH. I never really got the whole Canon in D thing, it has to be the most bland piece of music ever written.
It's all about the key it's in, son.

I don't care about depth or whatnot, gimme 3 sharps or 4 flats and I'm in heaven.

[A-R@D]

I'll add to my list some piano pieces I have been listening to.

Rachmaninoff - Concerto No 2
Rachmaninoff - Concerto No 3
Chopin - Concerto #1
Chopin - Polonaise in Aflat
Chopin Ballade no 1
Debussy - L'isle joyeuse
Debussy 10 images
Chopen Etudes
Liszt - Trancendental Etude
Mozart - Sonata No 8 Glen Gould's fast interpretation
Beethoven - Sonata no 8

[laborpilot86]

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Prokviev's Alexander Nevsky Suite. I have a weakness in general for bad-s Russian composers.

[Major Tom]

AT LEAST PICK SOMETHING WITH DEPTH. I never really got the whole Canon in D thing, it has to be the most bland piece of music ever written.

For me the success or failure of Pachabel's Canon depends on the version. I quite enjoy the string quartet version (what played in Evangelion, of all places). It's smooth and you can hear all the parts quite clearly. When you get up to the chamber orchestra sized version it gets a bit muddy to my ears, the various parts start to run into each other and sounds rather samey. Then there's the version with an organ, and that's just downright depressing.

[Le Bread]

"The Aquarium" movement of Camille Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals.

[ProfessorWashu]

For me the success or failure of Pachabel's Canon depends on the version. I quite enjoy the string quartet version (what played in Evangelion, of all places). It's smooth and you can hear all the parts quite clearly. When you get up to the chamber orchestra sized version it gets a bit muddy to my ears, the various parts start to run into each other and sounds rather samey. Then there's the version with an organ, and that's just downright depressing.

Ew, the organ version. It sounds so....downbeat. I've only seen it performed at weddings. The string quartet version is best, I totally agree. It's uplifting and smooth, and can always bring me back to center.

[soundchazer]

"The Aquarium" movement of Camille Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals.

Amen to that. In general the Carnival of Animals is quite good, but the Aquarium is the best of them.

[silan]

It's all about the key it's in, son.

I don't care about depth or whatnot, gimme 3 sharps or 4 flats and I'm in heaven.
Uhhh... the key of D only has two sharps. :cute

Well, since I wrote my last few replies, I've come to discover Alkan... and fall in love with it. It's not just insanely fast stuff that would challenge any virtuoso. It's really some pretty unique music, and startlingly beautiful at times.

In particular, I really love his Concerto for Solo Piano from 12 Etudes Op.39 (nos. 8 - 10). The second movement is gorgeous, and the third movement is wickedly awesome.

And his Nocturne for Piano No. 1, Op. 22, is very beautiful.

[Zelkiiro]

Uhhh... the key of D only has two sharps. :cute
I said 3 sharps was heaven.

2 sharps is merely orgasmic.