Very famous western classical music

[ajay124]

@soulforged
The Blue Danube Waltz is an incredibly beautiful piece of music.Why not listen to it on professional recordings by classical musicians and conductors.Pop musicians like phil collins, brian eno, alvin lee, gary moore, manfred mann will destroy its sanctity and turn it into mere noise.These guys may be famous on the pop circuit but frankly when they try to dabble in music far beyond their capabilities the results would be disastrous!

 

[ajinkya]

Or I am getting old :lol:

Edit : I will do one thing in few days will make all my favourites in one list and in one post. Other thing is searching through google one gets many variations of same piece of classical music by different conductors and orchestras.

Hiten,

That is a very good idea. And thanks for starting this thread..and also to all those who contributed. I have been listening and rediscovering quite a few beautiful pieces of music. I would never have heard or known these without all of you. Thanks again to all! (Listening to Blue Danube as I type this ...)

 

[suri]

Milos Foreman's Amadeus in the late 80's.

yeah - ajay124 - that AMADEUS was one of the creative compositions that altered my life -

and when Salieri - drops those sheets of music - when he realizes that - God has been unfair?! - that was one of the defining scenes of the movie for me.

and the other was where - Salieri is wheeled through the asylum in a wheelchair and-

absolves the inmates - of their mediocrity! (liberation for me)

 

[hifimusic]

Love is blue - Paul mauriat
One silver dollar - Also used in the movie Inglorious bastards
(not classical but then a good one)

YouTube - One Silver Dolar - Un Dollaro Bucato

 

[zervinb]

Anyone remember the Titan ad music? Its a violin concerto by Mozart. Mostly No.25 if I'm not too mistaken.

 

[murali_n]

When this ad was featured in TV my friend claimed that it was composed by AR Rahman.:lol:

N.Murali

 

[soulforged]

@soulforged
The Blue Danube Waltz is an incredibly beautiful piece of music.Why not listen to it on professional recordings by classical musicians and conductors.Pop musicians like phil collins, brian eno, alvin lee, gary moore, manfred mann will destroy its sanctity and turn it into mere noise.These guys may be famous on the pop circuit but frankly when they try to dabble in music far beyond their capabilities the results would be disastrous!

Ajay, there were actually two points in my post...perhaps I should have been more clear in my post...

#1 Blue Danube being one of the very famous western classical pieces...made accessible to the general public through alarm clocks (in fact, IIRC, orpat's ad had this as their theme music) and door bells

#2 Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf was interpreted in prog rock vein by Jack Lancaster and Robin Lumely with contributions from the afore mentioned artistes. It is a very mature recording that does not go overboard with the rock theme. You may want to listen to it once and review your opinion...

meanwhile here are a few more classic classicals (apologies if they've been already mentioned)

Tchaikovsky - 1812 overture
Beethoven - Ode to Joy
Beethoven - Moonlight SOnata
Brahms - Symphony No. 3

 

[Hiten]

@ajinkya
Will do so when there are no more recommendations.
@hifimusic
Thanks
@zervinb
Yes it is mozart's no. 25, but I think a little bit modified in the Ad.
@souldforged
Tchaikovsky - 1812 overture - yes this is very famous
Beethoven - Ode to Joy - already in
Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata - again very famous
Brahms - Symphony No. 3 - Good

 

[ajay124]

@suri
'mediocrites of the world i absolve you'-salieri,insane asylum,last scene.what a blessed beautiful moment.i felt all my frustrations and failures wash away and for a brief moment was left feeling pure and happy.perhaps god sent mozart into the world to remind us of our essential insignificance.everytime we pump ourselves up with some vainglorious notions it is time to listen to mozart....
and i join salieri in saying to all the politicians,filmstars,celebrities,billionaires,bankers,stock market heroes,rock stars,sport icons and anyone important enough to be featured in newspapers or television -MEDIOCRITIES OF THE WORLD I ABSOLVE YOU!

 

[moktan]

and mozart is portrayed as your quintessential rock star..a goofball who loved to party, drink, gamble and of course womanize
apparently the man was quite a character and composed stuff with titles like "Leck mich im Arsch" (Lick My Ass)...

interestingly a review had this to say about the title of the flick..
One might easily ask why the movie was called Amadeus, instead of Mozart or even Salieri. The reason goes to the translation of the composer's middle name. "Amadeus" means "Beloved of God," and this fits in perfectly with Salieri's view that Mozart has been chosen by the Almighty over Salieri. This lies at the root of his destructive envy.

 

[ajay124]

I felt that the goofiness of Mozart in the movie was a typical Hollywood exaggeration.Hollywood trivialises everything to reach a broader audience.They like to bring everyone down to their own 'tiny' level...
What kept me hooked to the film was F.Murray's great performance and 'the best music in the brief history of Hollywood' and of course the ending.A few years back I tried to watch the movie again.Switched it off after half an hour and put on Mozart's Clarinet Concerto cd(my favorite Mozart).

 

[Hiten]

Thanks everyone who contributed. Here is the list. This is by no means adequate list as there are hundreds and hundred compositions to explore. First thirty are which I like and are famous in my opinion. They will lure anyone interested in classical music immediately. Sorry if I repeated any particular piece or missed anything. Also point out if there are any mistakes.

1. Richard Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra
2. Johannes Brahms - Lullaby
3. Carl Orff - Carmina Burana-O Fortuna
4. Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Spring Allegro
5. Johann Sebastian Bach - Toccata and Fugue
6. Gioachino Rossini - William Tell Overture
7. Aram Khachaturian - Sabre Dance
8. Modest Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain
9. Maurice Ravel - Bolero
10. Ludwig van Beethoven - Fr Elise
11. Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 in C minor
12. Antonn Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"
13. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony No. 40
14. Sir Edward Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance
15. Franz Von Suppe - Light Cavalry Overture
16. Henryk Grecki - Symphony No. 3 - Sorrowful songs
17. Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
18. Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9
19. Richard Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries
20. Robert Schumann - Trumerei
21. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - rondo alla turca
22. Johannes Brahms - Hungarian dance No. 5
23. Johann Strauss - The blue danube
24. Gustav Mahler - Symphony No 2.
25. Georges Bizet - Les Toreadors
26. Juventino Rosas - Over the waves
27. Ludwig van Beethoven - Minuet in G
28. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cello Suit No. 1
29. Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
30. Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg concertos

31. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - nutcracker suite
32. Johann Pachelbel - canon in D major
33. Remo Giazotto - Adagio in G minor
34. Johann Sebastian Bach - air on G string
35. Franz Peter Schubert - Ave Maria
36. Niccol Paganini' - Caprice No. 24 in A minor
37. George Frideric Handel - sarabande
38. Ludwig van Beethoven - ode to joy
39. Carlos Gardel - Por una cabeza
40. Hector Berlioz's - Symphonie Fantastique
41. Gioachino Rossini - The Barber of Seville
42. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - 1812
43. Georges Bizet - carmen harbanera
44. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - eine kleine nachtmusik
45. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - piano concerto 21
46. Franz Peter Schubert - serenade
47. Felix Mendelssohn's - wedding march
48. Frdric Chopin - fantasie impromptu
49. Jacques Offenbach - orpheus in the underworld
50. Mason Williams - Classical Gas

 

[moktan]

thanks for that comprehensive list...
though i just made a cursory glance through the list i felt one noteworthy omission was Joseph Haydn whom many consider to be the father of the symphony..
also Handel's Water Music,(which featured in the mushy Dead Poets Society) i thought could have been featured along with his wonderful 'Hallelujah' which no matter what your religious affiliation, is sublime , rapturous and spiritually uplifting...
closer to the present i would have also included the musically adventurous (at least for their times) Bartok quartets by the Hungarian Bella Bartok...

 

[ajay124]

famous works of johann sebastian bach
brandenburg concertos
goldberg variations
well tempered clavier
harpsichord concertos
french & english suites
cello suites 1 & 2
violin sonatas & partitas
toccata & fugue
cantatas
magnificat in d minor
jesu joy of man's desiring
st.matthews passion
mass in b minor

 

[doors666]

Doors666, I think you have been a bit too harsh on my favourite actor - Amir Khan. He has been one of the few guys who acts because he likes acting and takes movies that are really good. Take Sarfarosh, Lagaan, Taare Zamin Par, Fanaa, 3 Idiots, and Gajini. Do you know he studiously avoids awards functions and never accepts any awards?

Irrespective of what the Tamil producer did with reference to Memento, Amir actually co-produced Gajini with the Tamil producer, and I think the same Director. They also shared the returns from the runaway success. So these guys cannot complain.

Cheers

Hi venkat,

i have not said anything about amir khan the actor, he's great, probably the best among the current crop... its the producer/director amir khan that made a copy of memento without ever acknowledging that its a copy of memento... (and acknowledging a stolen copy of memento), i havent even spared led zep for copying without giving credits to the original creator. This could become a very easy route to piracy. you cant pay the original creator because its expensive, so you pay the guy who stole it and then own the copyrights??? Isnt this similar to when a person cant buy a dvd from planet M coz its 500/-, so he goes to the roadside, and buy for 50/- from the guy who stole it. Isnt the very same amir khan on the record being dead against it.

another episode that left a sour taste in the mouth was the fight for 3 idiots with the writer. amir khan is on the record saying probably 3% of the book is there in the movie. my wife has seen the movie and read the book and says its a lie (I havent seen the movie, so dont know). on top of that, putting the book author's name after the movie is over and in the fag end of the credits, even after the extras... that was lame and amir khan is again on the record defending the move... and this is when its a very new author with just 4-5 books published, each of them costing less than 100/-, much less than the cost of a movie ticket.

Amir khan also got involved in politics against the modi govt, with the NBA and some other issues. then why does he crib when politicians gets pissed off and ban his movie in the state. Again, I am not supporting the politicians or the ban, but why is he messing around in the politics.

dont care about awards including oscars/grammys/filmfares etc. they are all usually crap and many times given due to non-performance reasons (ok, you can flame me on this on too)

From the past few posts what i have seen is that people need to separate the issues. amir khan or led zep being great in their fields or their products being great is not under dispute, its their acts (or the origins of the products) that are. led zep has probably given a new meaning to a lot of songs they did, and i am all ok with that. the issue comes when they say that the music or the lyrics is theirs, and its their copyright. lots of people over a period of time have done cover versions of other people's songs (including greats like bob dylan, jimi hendrix), but they state that clearly who's the original author. led zep didnt. amir khan didnt.. thats where the problem is.

 

[Hiten]

thanks for that comprehensive list...
though i just made a cursory glance through the list i felt one noteworthy omission was Joseph Haydn whom many consider to be the father of the symphony..
also Handel's Water Music,(which featured in the mushy Dead Poets Society) i thought could have been featured along with his wonderful 'Hallelujah' which no matter what your religious affiliation, is sublime , rapturous and spiritually uplifting...
closer to the present i would have also included the musically adventurous (at least for their times) Bartok quartets by the Hungarian Bella Bartok...

Hi moktan thanks. As I said the list was just to help newbies (including me) introduction to classical music. Feel free to post some more. Will make another compilation list. Vol. 2

famous works of johann sebastian bach
brandenburg concertos
goldberg variations
well tempered clavier
harpsichord concertos
french & english suites
cello suites 1 & 2
violin sonatas & partitas
toccata & fugue
cantatas
magnificat in d minor
jesu joy of man's desiring
st.matthews passion
mass in b minor

Thanks Ajay. Cello Suit 1 and Toccata and fugue is already in the list. Will make another list if more are posted.
Cheers

 

[gobble]

Apart from the names of the pieces, there are also performances. Which one is good? Which one has superlative audiophile quality recording? Composer, Label, Year etc will help. Else one will land up with either compressed or truncated "Best of Bach" Or "Greatest hits of Mozart" or "Top ten Hayden" type of CDs (I have the bach one )

Cheers

 

[ajay124]

@gobble
never buy the best of mozart,bach kind of collections.some fine compositions you can start with if you don't already have them.they are the basic collection one can begin with.
mozart
clarinet concerto in a minor(heartbreakingly beautiful)
symphony 25,40,41
piano concerto 20,21
piano sonatas 7-16
bach
brandenburg concertos(probably the finest music ever written.personally i rate bach far above any other composer or rather any human being.even mozart and beethoven cannot reach such perfection)
goldberg variations
well tempered clavier
beethoven
symphony 3,5,6,9
piano sonatas-moonlight,pathetique,waldstein,appassionata(stunning!)
schubert
symphony 8(my favorite symphony)
death and the maiden
trout quintet
strinq quintet c major
moments musicaux
handel
music for the royal fireworks
water music
messiah
johann strauss jr.
blue danube,vienna woods and other waltzes
mendelssohn
violin concerto e minor(a must have)
chopin
preludes
nocturnes
haydn
trumpet concerto e major
symphony 45,48,49,94,100,101,104
vivaldi
4 seasons(easy listening at its best)
mahler
symphony 1,2,4,5(play these to check up if your hi-fi setup is any good!i use them for auditions.so far no amp/speaker has measured up to these glorious symphony's))
schumann
carnaval
symphony 4
dvorak
symphony 9
bizet
carmen
debussy
suite bergamasque
la mer
nocturnes

recently I bought a lot of cd's from Rhythm House Bombay.totally satisfied.huge collection.great service.look for good labels,recent releases,substantial running time,price per cd in the range of rs.300/- or less.avoid indian labels.

*Rhythm House

 

[Hiten]

Apart from the names of the pieces, there are also performances. Which one is good? Which one has superlative audiophile quality recording? Composer, Label, Year etc will help. Else one will land up with either compressed or truncated "Best of Bach" Or "Greatest hits of Mozart" or "Top ten Hayden" type of CDs (I have the bach one )

Cheers

gobble, this is very good suggestion.
And Ajay thanks for the list.

 

[grubyhalo]

Apart from the names of the pieces, there are also performances. Which one is good? Which one has superlative audiophile quality recording? Composer, Label, Year etc will help. Else one will land up with either compressed or truncated "Best of Bach" Or "Greatest hits of Mozart" or "Top ten Hayden" type of CDs (I have the bach one )

Cheers

I'm pretty sure this won't be very helpful but here's something you can do if you have a lot of time and a penchant for scouring forums for information. Search for the keyword 'classical' by the user 'JohnK' in the Axiom Boards and you would come across very good information on classical recordings. Atleast it worked well for me.

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