Classical music

[supergran71]

Thought I would launch a new thread to find out a little more about my bcf friends.

1. Do any of you play a musical instrument (yes I know you do Ice Cream) and if so how good are you and how often do you play; do you play classical, jazz, rock or pop or let's not forget brass band, or any other type of music

2. Do you like classical music? If so what do you like; do you have a favourite composer; a favourite piece of music, favourite soloist, favourite instrument.

Me? I love classical music, I would listen to Classic FM all day if I could. I have lots of favourite pieces and composers. Elgar, Vaughn Williams, Saint Saens, Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Brahms etc etc.

I love the Organ Symphony by Saints Saen, also Elgar's Cello Concerto. I love most violin concertos, particularly Barber's.

I also love opera, my favourite operas are La Boheme and Madama Butterfly, but I also like Tosca.

I could go on and on, but let's hear from the rest of you, or if necessary I will shut up

[prospero]

I used to play the violin, trombone and French horn but gradually let them go. Oh, and the recorder of course! :lol:

I'd love to take up the violin again and/or learn the piano.

I share a birthday with Tchaikovsky and Brahms. :D

And, to disprove your theory that young 'uns know nowt nowadays, supergran...! ;)

I grew up watching Bette Davis fillums and fell in love with a Tchaikovsky piece which played all the way through Mr Skeffington, I think it was. His first piano concerto.

I much prefer the Russian composers. Bliddy mental they were. And passionate.

Did you know Tchaikovsky conducted in the way he did (hand up to his temple) because he believed his head would fall off otherwise? And he committed suicide by deliberately drinking choleraic water.

Mentalist.

(That's why I like him...)

[Janet]

I don't listen to much classical music but I have an absolute passion for Gilbert and Sullivan! :D

[Angel]

I used to play the piano, violin for a while, the recorder, was in the school choir and school madrigals. I studied music to O level. Therefore I have always been the one to help the children!

I can happily listen to classical music. I like Vivaldi, Rachmaninov, Grieg, Debussy and JS Bach. I also enjoy listening to Concerto de Aranjuez. Similarly artists like Jean Michele Jarre and Mike Oldfield have written some very good contemporary music

For me, I can combine it with pop music and have many types of genre on my MP3 so that when I have it on shuffle I am never bored

[supergran71]

I used to play the violin, trombone and French horn but gradually let them go. Oh, and the recorder of course! :lol:

I'd love to take up the violin again and/or learn the piano.

I share a birthday with Tchaikovsky and Brahms. :D

And, to disprove your theory that young 'uns know nowt nowadays, supergran...! ;)

I grew up watching Bette Davis fillums and fell in love with a Tchaikovsky piece which played all the way through Mr Skeffington, I think it was. His first piano concerto.

I much prefer the Russian composers. Bliddy mental they were. And passionate.

Did you know Tchaikovsky conducted in the way he did (hand up to his temple) because he believed his head would fall off otherwise? And he committed suicide by deliberately drinking choleraic water.

Mentalist.

(That's why I like him...)
And, to disprove your theory that young 'uns know nowt nowadays, supergran...! ;) (I didnt really say that did I?)

This was the reason I started this thread, to give you all a chance to tell me what you know and like.

My first favourite composer was Tchaikovsky too and I loved the Piano Concerto and also his Romeo and Juliet Fantasy. I am swept away by romantic, full bodied music. Classic FM definitely widened my knowledge of music, I knew "the tunes", but not the titles, but I do now thanks to them.

I learned to play the piano when I was very young and used to bang out The Blue Danube regularly, I still love it today and go dancing around the room when I hear it. Strangely, I have completely forgotten how to play the piano now, I dont know why.

[Kell]

I used to play violin and a little piano years ago, but it all fell by the wayside. I wanted totake up clarinet but, for some bizarre reason, I wasn't allowed to because I coldn't get a flute towork (despite the fact that they work in a completely different way!).

I love Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi and Rachmaninov. Like Angel, I also love Oldfield and Jarre, who I consider to be modern composers of a similar nature in their innovative approach to music.

[Severnlad]

Kell I too like J M Jarre and Mike Oldfield my OH is prepared to listen to the former but not keen on Oldfield except his "Tubular Bells". I also listen to classical one of my favourite composers being Edward Elgar.

[Echo]

I used to play the flute and the piano, but I haven't been able to in recent years because of living in apartments. As soon as my boyfriend and I are able to rent a house, my parents are giving my my grandmother's piano, which she bought used in the 1930's. It's the piano my brothers and I grew up playing, so it's very special. I also want to take up the flute again, as they're very inexpensive to rent.

I LOVE classical music! I love anything by Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn (the Emperor's Quartet is my favorite), and Schubert. My family is very musical, and my parents never listened to modern music (they stopped after about 1950), so this is what we always had playing at home. I'm not a huge fan of opera, but I love watching ballet.

[shelbel]

I don't play a musical instrument myself, but my partner and daughter both play the classical guitar.

Recently I have been enjoying listening to Australian classical guitarist Karin Schaupp, she does a lovely rendition of Mascagni Intermezzo for Cavalleria Rusticana.

[Kylie]

I don't play any instruments, although I have a keyboard at home (which doesn't get much use right now unfortunately!)

I quite like classical music but I'm not good with names. I have a couple of those 'best ever classical music' albums, and I certainly have some favourites but I couldn't tell you names or composers :blush: I guess they're just the 'usual' ones that everyone knows.

I do have an absolute favourite piece of classical music, however, and that is Air on the G String by Yehudi Menuhin (even with that one, I had to look up the composer's name! :roll:). It's quite possibly the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard.

[Echo]

I believe that Air on a G String was originally composed by Bach sometime in the mid-eighteenth century. It's one of my favorites also, and is often played at weddings here. :)

[Kylie]

Right you are Echo :mrgreen: I wonder why I have it in iTunes under the name of the violinist and not the composer? I've just looked at the rest of that album and it's very inconsistent - I'll have to fix it. That would explain why Bach was at the back of my mind when I was thinking of the song and I was surprised to see a name I didn't really recognise :lol:

[kb.marsh]

I do love classical music. I can sit and listen to it for hours, however, I also love film soundtracks - not sure if that is classed as "classical" or just "instrumental"? I can play the flute and saxophone, but the sax is never out these days as the breathing technique causes me to have panic attacks :irked: Strange I know

[FishAndChips]

Yes I do enjoy classical music now and again. I love strings and right now I am really into Vivaldi's four seasons.

I like Mozarts piano concertos, although I haven't listened to them for a long time.

I think my all time favourite piece of music is The Dance of the Knights (Act 13) from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet

[supergran71]

I don't play any instruments, although I have a keyboard at home (which doesn't get much use right now unfortunately!)

I quite like classical music but I'm not good with names. I have a couple of those 'best ever classical music' albums, and I certainly have some favourites but I couldn't tell you names or composers :blush: I guess they're just the 'usual' ones that everyone knows.

I do have an absolute favourite piece of classical music, however, and that is Air on the G String by Yehudi Menuhin (even with that one, I had to look up the composer's name! :roll:). It's quite possibly the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard.

I think you can get Classic FM on line Kylie, that's how I learnt all the names of my favourite pieces.

I forgot to say that I love ballet music, particularly Swan Lake and every now and again I have to go and see it again. I have lost count now how many times I have seen it.

[Kylie]

I would love to see The Nutcracker. When I was in Kindergarten we put on The Nutcracker for the old people in the nursing home that was down the road from us. I remember dressing up as a fairy :mrgreen: I have a soft spot for that ballet.

[prospero]

I would love to see The Nutcracker...

Here I a-

Oh.

Never mind.

[kb.marsh]

I would love to see The Nutcracker.

I saw The Nutcracker performed in Moscow, it was amazing. I've taken Mum to see Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake too, but they were in Brighton. All three were breathtaking though. The costumes in The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty were beautiful. I was gripped the whole way through. Made me wish I hadn't given up ballet all those years ago...

[Severnlad]

Not a great fan of ballet myself but I took the OH to see Romeo & Juliet as a surprise and must confess I enjoyed it. Costumes were fantastic and so is the music. ;)

[kb.marsh]

Ooo I've not seen Romeo and Juliet, I must look out for it

[Echo]

I've seen The Nutcracker a few times as the Pacific Northwest Ballet performs it every year, and it's beautiful! I would also love to see Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet.

[slywaka1]

I really want to see the Beatrix Potter ballet. I've seen the film version but I'd love to see it live- the costumes are amazing.

I saw Swan Lake when I was about 7 or 8 and really didn't appreciate it. I think my mum only took me and my sister because she couldn't get a babysitter.....

[supergran71]

I too would like to see the Royal Ballet's production of Beatrix Potter. I have seen Romeo and Juliet and still have an old recording of the Royal Ballet doing it. Its wonderful.

Try and see Swan Lake Slywaka, you will never regret it. Make sure it is a world ranking ballet company performance that you see though.

[Icecream]

Wow, I got a mention. Do I go on too much?

In no particular order, I play piano, keyboard, recorder, drums, guitar (acoustic and a little bass), organ, and cornet, but since becoming a mummy the only one that gets played is my cornet, and as a lot of you know I am in a brass band, where I play repiano cornet (though just in this week I have played rep, 2nd and flugel parts!). I occasionally get time to get my guitar out or the keyboard for piano practise (we haven't made room for a real piano yet). Up until the girls came along my cornet was my baby. It is my pride and joy.

I absoutely love classical music. Me and the girls have Classic FM on as much as possible. Actually, I have it on right now. It is much better than television. I put it on when I was in hospital having Millie and my Mum, who can't stand it, had the cheek to switch over (and I can't stand pop music). My list of favourites would be too long to type. At the moment I am up for anything that calms me down so that I don't shout at the children. The healing power of music ahhh....:D Katie adores classical music too. She seems to like Gabriel's Oboe and Concerto de Aranjuez. She sings along! One of my favourites os definitely Stravinsky's Firebird.

I have a BTEC National Diploma in popular music (where my passionate dislike of the genre was born), and a degree in music (mostly classical with some pop and lot's of other bits)

I love love love opera, though I don't have the time or money to see them nowadays, and only got to see a few full ones during my degree. I would love to see Fidelio, because even though I was a student of music Beethoven is still my favourite composer and it was the only opera he wrote.

[supergran71]

I dont think you can ever go on enough about classical music, the pop stuff gets too much airing I think.

One of the best film musical soundtrack was "The Ladies in Lavender", which I can watch and listen to over and over. Whenever I feel a bit wound up I play the CD of the soundtrack and it calms me down immediately. It also includes "Meditation" from the operate Thais which is one of my absolute favourite pieces.

[kb.marsh]

I think the Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks are lovely to listen too when I'm reading

[jonathandt2]

I used to play piano, which was a long time ago.

Now for classic music, I could listen to it all day long but my wife and little girl can’t stand it. I love the maestro of classic like Vivaldi, Albinoni, Verdi, Bach, Mozart, Barber etc…

I will not read my collection of classic books like Gulliver’s Travels, The Red Inn, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Robinson Crusoe without listening to classic music.

Jonathan

[scottishbookworm]

I like andrea bocelli his music is just excellent!:D

[Bronwen]

I like listening to Chopin.

[Babe*With*Brains]

that's great =) it's hard to find many people who appreciate classical music...especially when you're my age. Younger people always seem to view it as 'sad' but alot of it has heaps more talent and meaning than rap, pop etc

[kb.marsh]

that's great =) it's hard to find many people who appreciate classical music...especially when you're my age. Younger people always seem to view it as 'sad' but alot of it has heaps more talent and meaning than rap, pop etc

I completely agree. I'm 21 and I appreciate classical music much more than rap/pop/R'n'B etc. I would always chose classical music over that!

[sib]

I like classical music, too. Classic Fm´s great to put on to relax. I like other kinds of music, too. I play the piano a bit, and the guitar. I like Beethoven´s piano sonatas but I can´t really play them. I like the appassionata because it´s so wild. I also like Satie´s Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes, and these aren´t as difficult so I can play them. I´d reccomend these to anyone who´s got a basic piano ability. They´re playable but still attractive.

[Icecream]

You are right about your piano playing advice Sib. The Gymnopedies are beautiful and not too taxing. I also love Beethoven's piano sonatas. I am particularly fond of the Waldstein.

[kb.marsh]

Can anyone recommend any good composers? I like soundtracks but want to broaden my classical music taste!

[supergran71]

Well there are the "usual" composers like Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, some later composers are Barber, Karl Jenkins

It depends on your personality really Kate. I am fond of piano, violin and the oboe and clarinet. I also like opera and ballet.

The best thing to do is listen to Classic FM as an intro to classical music, then you can decide what you like and listen for the name of the composer and artiste/s performing them.

[Echo]

I always listen to classical radio, and I can get it online, too! I would suggest a good range of composers, like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Debussy, Stravinsky, Musorgsky, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and others like that. Just get a couple of classical CD collections, like Greatest Hits or something. Those always have a good selection! :smile2:

[Inver]

1. Do any of you play a musical instrument
No instrument but my Andy (son) plays trumpet

2. Do you like classical music? If so what do you like; do you have a favourite composer; a favourite piece of music, favourite soloist, favourite instrument.

Haven't listened to a lot of opera, mum was a fan though and La Boheme and Madama Butterfly, were ones she used to talk about, and on occasions have heard them.

As for pieces of classical, I love The Four Seasons. There a probably loads more, but like mentioned by others I can never remember the names of them:D

One question....why does a lot of classical make you want to cry??:blush:

[Icecream]

It depends what you listen to whether it makes you cry Inver, and your aesthetic ability (right word?) too I think.

I love flute solos. They are very pretty. I could lose myself in one any day.

[supergran71]

1.
One question....why does a lot of classical make you want to cry??:blush:
Because it takes hold of your heart and squeezes it. Try listening to the 2nd movement of Barber's violin concerto, or the second movement of Saint-Saens Organ concerto, or Meditation by Thais.

But there is other stuff that makes you want to dance around the room - like Strauss's Blue Danube. I darent drive if that comes on. If I am at home I am whizzing around the room, its fantastic.

Classic Fm - tune in!!

[Icecream]

I listened to some great things on Classic FM today!

I am always dancing around the room and singing along etc. Katie must think I am crazy (but then she sings to it too!):mrgreen:

[Icecream]

Today at lunch, Katie was swaying and jigging to, wait for it, The Benedictus! Then she did the same thing to Pachel Bell's Canon!

[Kylie]

Wow, you have a cultured little girl there, Icecream! :mrgreen:

[Icecream]

Definitely. She will be well educated before she starts school:mrgreen:.

[Icecream]

Who will be watching the Proms? I caught some of the first night last night. I am not sure how much I will get to watch with having the girls, but I always love it.

[kb.marsh]

Shockingly enough, I have never watched the Proms, yet I love classical music :blush:

[Icecream]

Give it a go Kate. There are different ones to suit your tastes. Take a look on the proms sections of the BBC website to see what is on offer.

My band is doing a prom in the park next week. Last year we did it in September as a last night of the proms thing, playing all the good stuff. We are still doing the sea songs, fanfares and pomp and circumstance etc but since we got rained off last year (we were on a bandstand but the weather was so bad we were still getting wet), it has been brought forward. I have loads of new and difficult music to practise in time.

[GraGra]

Apologies if this has already been covered, but I would like a recommendation. :)

I am after a compilation of pieces of music that features the piano either solo or as the main event, so to speak. I am after melancholic and/or powerful music which is all about what is imo the most beautiful musical instrument of them all.

Thanks in advance. :)

[supergran71]

Classic FM do a lot of compilation albums and also for specific instruments ones as well. If you go on their site I am sure you will find something suitable. You could find what you want and then look elsewhere (amazon) to buy it if its cheaper. Good hunting.

[GraGra]

^ Excellent! I shall give that a try. :)

[Raven]

1. Do any of you play a musical instrument (yes I know you do Ice Cream) and if so how good are you and how often do you play; do you play classical, jazz, rock or pop or let's not forget brass band, or any other type of music

The only thing I play is CDs.

2. Do you like classical music?

Yes!

If so what do you like;

Lots! (sorry, it's late, I'll come back to this again another day!).

do you have a favourite composer

I don't really have one, there is too much to like!

a favourite piece of music

Beethoven's Symphony No.3 "Eroica", a brilliant piece of music, especially the first movement. The best recording I have heard is the 1963 recording by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.

favourite soloist, favourite instrument

I've got several of Hilary Hahn's albums (she is a violin player, in case you've not heard the name), but I'm not sure I would class her as my favourite soloist – but then again, I'm not sure who would be!

My favourite instrument would have to be the Piano.

[SaraPepparkaka]

I played violin from I was 7 until I was 18. Then I stopped, I don't really recall why. I have barely touched my violin since, and it's an unforgiving instrument, so if I was to start playing again I would have to start from the beginning.

I liked to play Debussy, Grieg and Bach. Grieg's Solveigs sang is my absolute favourite, both to play and to listen to. If I listen to classical music (it happens, but not that often) I prefer music for strings.

I have a feeling I would like opera, but I have never been to one. That will change maybe in the future.

[donatello]

I play the guitar.

I played it as a teenager, and had not touched one for years.

Then some friends came over with their young son and he asked me if I had a guitar... I did, and promptly retrieved it from the attic.

I thought it was great!
So I went out and bought a nylon-strung classical guitar and began playing again... but this time, no more rock & roll or Led Zeppelin... just classical, baroque and Spanish guitar.

I would show you my videos on Youtube but am not allowed to post links.

I am currently perfecting Isaac Albeniz's "Asturias (Leyenda)". Look it up on Youtube.

I am also working on the more difficult (for me) "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" by the great Francisco Tarrega.

I just picked up a neat and very simple classical piece by the "Brazilian Bach", Heitor Villa Lobos. He wrote it (Etude No. 1) for Andres Segovia as a kind of classical "study", but it sounds really cool and is quite simple to master.

I also play electric bass, used to play Italian mandolin and of course a bit of violin. I attended a music college as a teenager and so was also compelled to learn the piano. The furthest I ever got with the piano was Mozarts "Rondo Alla Turco" (Turkish March). I probably couldn't play it today if I had to.

[Child.of.God.1989]

1. Do you play any instruments?
Singing - If you count your voice as an instrument, I was a soprano in a small choir from fourth grade to high school, a couple of years off. I only have a decent tone when I practice consistently for a long time, and it has been a while since high school; I would love to join a church choir or play in a light opera musical!:)
Piano - It's a very intermediate level, but I am still privileged to play the keyboard chords on the worship team for youth group (extra church service for teens on Wednesday nights).
I like playing some simple classical music, like Beethoven's Romanza. I also like playing songs that are well-known to certain people, like video game songs and movie songs. People always laugh to hear an upbeat version of Super Mario Bros.!
So, I really would need to practice more to be noteworthy, but I can scrape by playing background music at events...

2. Do you like classical music?
Indeed I do! Here are the ones I listen to, in order from most frequent to least:
* Mozart - always cheerful or contemplative!
* Debussy - especially "Clair de Lune"
* Instrumental Arrangements - I highly recommend the Vitamin String Quartet. You can find them on iTunes and eMusic. They do wonderful covers of everyone from Casting Crowns to Led Zeppelin. Who knew "Stairway to Heaven" could be beautiful in the much more "timeless" sense?:)
* Beethoven - especially Moonlight Sonata and Fur Elise
* Tchaikovsky - Echo, I love thinking maybe we have been to the same Nutcracker ballet without knowing it! My grandma is an usher at the Seattle Center, so she has taken me and various other family members to the Nutcracker twice. Ah, Tchaikovsky's music has a funny balance of getting you in the mood for Christmas, and yet being enjoyable to listen to year-round.

[SueK]

I too am also a great fan of Classical music and have Classic FM on quite a lot.

I would say my favourites are Rachmaninov, Vaughan Williams, Delius and Debussy and I would put Gershwin in that group as well as be crossed over to the Classical tracks with his concertos, and Porgy and Bess which is classed as a classical opera. In fact, Gershwin is my all type favourite composer.

I play the piano and did reasonably well but haven't played for quite a while now. I don't have any room for piano in my house:blush: