The Classical Music Thread

[Futwick]

Portsmouth Sinfonia. It just doesn't get any better than this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpJ6anurfuw

 

[Hamlet]

This thread is gonna take a while to go through...

Jacqueline Du Pre - Elgar Concerto - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J-Iwtzzge8

 

[MarkJohn]

Portsmouth Sinfonia. It just doesn't get any better than this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpJ6anurfuw

Great stuff though the novelty quickly wears off.

My favourite living composer... and possibly his finest work [Tabula Rasa by Arvo Pärt].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0uYpYHOYB8

 

[olive bleu]

My husband and I are both lovers of Classical music. I was raised a country girl, who would sneak my parents radio into bed at night to listen to classical music on CBC radio. How sad is that ? we were convinced that we could turn our kids into classical music lovers as well, and we used to take them to the symphony as young children, but that came to an abrupt end once they figured out that wasn't "cool".

A lot of great music has already been listed here, but I don't see much mention of Mahler. I am a huge fan, Especially, his 1st.


Oh, and I have to mention Bach's Cantata 140 ( wachet Auf). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sj-NKqR0tw

My husband introduced me to this piece just a couple days after we met and I knew I had found my kindred spirit

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

My husband and I are both lovers of Classical music. I was raised a country girl, who would sneak my parents radio into bed at night to listen to classical music on CBC radio. How sad is that ? we were convinced that we could turn our kids into classical music lovers as well, and we used to take them to the symphony as young children, but that came to an abrupt end once they figured out that wasn't "cool".

Based on my own childhood experiences I've found that the best way to inculcate a love for classical music (or any kind of music) is to simply play it in the house all the time when they're very young. I would say that I inheirited much of my musical tastes from my parents through osmosis as the music they enjoyed was what I always heard at home. Though they never really made any conscious efforts to impart their tastes in me in that they never took me to concerts and it was something I didn't really pay much attention to back then, I found I was totally immune to most so-called "cool" music by the time I was old enough to be exposed to it.

 

[olive bleu]

Based on my own childhood experiences I've found that the best way to inculcate a love for classical music (or any kind of music) is to simply play it in the house all the time when they're very young. I would say that I inheirited much of my musical tastes from my parents through osmosis as the music they enjoyed was what I always heard at home. Though they never really made any conscious efforts to impart their tastes in me in that they never took me to concerts and it was something I didn't really pay much attention to back then, I found I was totally immune to most so-called "cool" music by the time I was old enough to be exposed to it.

I have friends who listen to 60's & 70's folk music almost exclusively and their kids who are teenagers now eat it up as well. For some reason, in our case, it never stuck. our kids are 17 & 18 and hate every piece of music we listen to, lol.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I have friends who listen to 60's & 70's folk music almost exclusively and their kids who are teenagers now eat it up as well. For some reason, in our case, it never stuck. our kids are 17 & 18 and hate every piece of music we listen to, lol.

Yes, sad to say, water seeks its own level. [huh]

 

[Futwick]

You can only hope they'll grow out of it. Back in the 90s, I was playing a lot classical bass violin stuff in the studio and one day I was just finishing up a session and these two rap guys came in and you could tell at a glance they were rap guys. They start bsing with the engineer. I came into the control room and starting packing up to leave and one of them asked me what my favorite music was. Well, I primarily play jazz but at this time I was playing exclusively classical stuff and rather enjoying it. Besides, the just heard me playing some so I said, "Classical." And they start making fun of classical music, blatantly just started mocking it. I thought, "Gee, guys, I really can't stand rap but I didn't start ripping on it in front of you."

When they left, the engineer was ticked off about it. "That was bullshit!" he said. "They had no right to do that!" But it just goes to show you how people can be. That was like 20 years ago and those guys are probably digging on classical music now. Well, no, I guess not.

 

[Hamlet]

That was like 20 years ago and those guys are probably digging on classical music now. Well, no, I guess not.

They made fun of classical while the Beastie Boys sampled classical. Gee, wonder who sold more concert tickets and albums....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLFlW3UaQuU

 

[Futwick]

Classical music is the basis of all Western music. And when you get to the East, they have their classical music as well. I have classical musics from various cultures--Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, African, Indian, Persian, Turkish as well as early baroque, medieval and liturgical music from all over Europe. This is glorious stuff. Right now, I'm listening to Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. Most of us jazz musicians are classically trained. All the ones I know are. My bass lineage is rooted in the classical tradition. My instructor was taught by Robert Gladstone, principle bassist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for 36 years. He came from New York where he had been trained by the great pedagogue, Fred Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman also taught great jazz bassists as Henry Grimes and Eddie Gomez. Mr. Gladstone also played jazz bass in Leonard Bernstein's trio even though he considered himself an ensemble player.

Mr. Zimmerman was taught by Hermann Reinshagen who was also the teacher of Charles Mingus. Mr. Reinshagen played in the New York and LA Philharmonics. Mr. Reinshagen was taught by Ludwig Manoly who had studied in Vienna under Franz Simandl, considered one of the greatest bassists that ever lived. Some thought him superior to Bottesini, his contemporary. Mr. Simandl studied in Prague under Joseph Hrabe and Mr. Hrabe had studied at the same conservatory under Wenzaslas Hause (aka Wenzel Hause). Mr. Hause was the first bass teacher ever appointed at the Prague Conservatory which was in 1811.

That's as far back as I can trace it. It was Mr. Manoly who came to the US at the insistence of Antonin Dvorak who was head of the National Conservatory in New York. He got Mr. Manoly a slot in the Boston Symphony and then transferred him over the New York Philharmonic. Later, he played in the New York Metropolitan. Mr. Manoly taught at The National as a Dvorak appointee and then at Julliard. I earned my degree in music theory and bass studies at Wayne State University in Detroit. My instructor is now a close friend and we sometimes collaborate and share gigs.

One of my favorite bassists, Mr. Paul Chambers, who played with all the big jazz names in bop also came from Detroit and played in various symphonies in this area and was trained on bass by a man in the Detroit Symphony. It was several years before he started playing jazz with Miles Davis on his immortal "Kind of Blue" album. I didn't know Mr. Chambers, of course. But it shows how important classical music is to the jazz musicians and jazz likewise became very important to the classical musicians and composers such as Stravinsky, Debussy, Prokofiev and Mr. Dvorak.

I'm very proud of this bass heritage. I am pleased to carry it on. I always try to do it the greatest of justice whether I am bowing a chamber piece, plucking out a hot jazz number or slapping out some rockabilly. It's classical training that gave me these chops as well as listening to the music since I was a boy of 4 trying to play "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" on my toy glockenspiel or alone in my room acting out all the roles as Peter & the Wolf (which I received for Christmas when I was 8) played on my turntable. Classical music is what I owe my chops to and to it all my love and respect.

And if you want to read a fun book, pick up John Hersey's "Antonietta."

 

[Hamlet]

Classical music is the basis of all Western music. And when you get to the East, they have their classical music as well. I have classical musics from various cultures--Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, African, Indian, Persian, Turkish as well as early baroque, medieval and liturgical music from all over Europe. This is glorious stuff.

Glorious times too. We can go backwards and sideways in time and music. It is never ending. Always evolving. Thanks for the post. Not sure about the rest here but it's gonna take me a while to absorb.

Some more of the same... Bach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oIE95Ro9Ms

 

[Dr Kilroy]

[video=youtube_share;7EzQIUFnwyg]http://youtu.be/7EzQIUFnwyg[/video]

Something from my country.

Best regards, Dr

 

[Smithy]

I've been getting more and more into classical music recently. Having a little one we were playing it mostly in the evening to calm her before bedtime. But I found I was enjoying it more and more and have been expanding our collection and enjoying the journey of finding new composers and pieces.

Current favourites are:

Mahler's Adagietto in C Sharp Minor from his 5th Symphony
Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor
Debussy's La fille aux cheveaux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)
Franck's Pastorale

 

[Futwick]

A beautiful electronic version of "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" by Tomita Isao.

[video=youtube;v4YlPVg_mBI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4YlPVg_mBI[/video]

 

[Smithy]

Thanks for posting that Futwick. Not bad at all, although I prefer the "original"

 

[JazzyDame]

This is worth a thoughtful listen…the intro is a bit slow, but be patient with it—you’ll be met with pure beauty at about 1:10:

[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=vORBLyGEozo[/video]

…and should you care to sing along…

Va', pensiero, sull'ali dorate.
Va', ti posa sui clivi, sui colli,
ove olezzano tepide e molli
l'aure dolci del suolo natal!
Del Giordano le rive saluta,
di Sionne le torri atterrate.
O mia Patria, sì bella e perduta!
O remembranza sì cara e fatal!
Arpa d'or dei fatidici vati,
perché muta dal salice pendi?
Le memorie del petto riaccendi,
ci favella del tempo che fu!
O simile di Solima ai fati,
traggi un suono di crudo lamento;
o t'ispiri il Signore un concento
che ne infonda al patire virtù

If your grasp of the Italian language is a bit rusty, here’s the English translation:

Fly, thoughts, on wings of gold;
go settle upon the slopes and the hills,
where, soft and mild,
the sweet air of our native land smells fragrant!
Greet the banks of the Jordan
and Zion's toppled towers.
Oh, my country so lovely and lost!
Oh, memory so dear and despairing!
Golden harp of the prophetic seers,
why do you hang mute upon the willow?
Rekindle our heart's memories and speak of times gone by!
Mindful of the fate of Jerusalem,
either sound a song of sad lamentation,
or else let the Lord give us the strength to bear our sufferings!

This stirring chorus is from Nabucco, Giuseppe Verdi's first successful opera, written in 1842. Nabucco (or Nebuchadnezzar), is the Biblical story of the captivity of the Hebrews in Babylon in 6th century B.C. The chorus, "Va, pensiero" is taken from Psalm 137, paraphrased, and is also known as “The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”. It is sung by the exiles on the banks of the Euphrates, lamenting the loss of their native land.

“Va, pensiero” was, and still is, a popular anthem for the Italian people, initially serving as an expression of their longing for political freedom from Austria—a “revolutionary anthem” of sorts during the Second Italian War of Independence. The chorus was also used as a World Cup Soccer Anthem (as was Puccini’s Nessun dorma and Verdi’s Libiamo ne'lieti calici)…and why not? Italy has been blessed with brilliant classical composers; it’s good to know they’re making the most of it. :eusa_clap

“O mia Patria, sì bella e perduta!”…Oh, my country, so lovely and lost…

Arrivederla!
~Cate

 

[MarkJohn]

Henryk Gorecki Symphony No. 3 - performed by the London Sinfonietta conducted by David Zinman with solo vocal by Dawn Upshaw.

Powerful and mesmeric music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDNfQ4ok8EY

 

[Dr Kilroy]

His Symphony no. 2 is also great, though different in character.

Best regards, Dr

 

[JazzyDame]

The Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Yo-Yo Ma...

[video=youtube;MFi7fgPINkc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFi7fgPINkc[/video]