What should I listen to?

[cosplusisin]

I have been living most of my life listening to modern music.. pop, rock sort of stuff, and only within the last year I have started getting into "classical" music. So far the stuff I like the best is Beethoven... I must admit that I still know only the really well known stuff, like Moonlight Sonata (which first got me listening to Beethoven - and I love the third movement!!), 7th Symphony (2nd movement in particular), 5th Symphony (3rd movement is amazing), Pathetique sonata. I've listened to some stuff by other major composers of the past, but it seems that the peopleon this board are people who pretty much exclusively listen to "classical" music, so I am wondering, hearing it from people like you, what is considered the best out there?

It's really great, this new world I've discovered... I catch myself thinking "how can anyone write such good music?" It seems impossible... Like that main theme in the third movement in the 5th symphony, where the one note stays the same (at first), and the bass parts go C D D# B - what a great chord progression!!

Sorry if I'm ranting... But please... I would like some suggestions..

[Rutradelusasa]

First of all, welcome to this site, you'll be quite pleased with this forum.
Second of all, try to read some of the old messages and threads by other guys in your situation, which is introducing yourself and asking for recomendations. There are some threads that already covered the "where should I begin" basis, and reading them would be quite enlightening.
Third of all, are you sure you meant the 3rd movement of the 5th? I think you actually heard the 1st, because the 3rd is a (marvelous, by the way) Scherzo which doesn't end, it goes right on the 4th movement. And, also, what you told us of those notes (C-D-D#-B-E, you forgot the E too, which is the point of the previous notes, first played by the Cellos) goes in the 1st movement.

Finishing it, we are always glad new people discover the fascinating world of classical music and this forum, try reading it for much of your questions are already answered out there (here, ).

[Ahmad]

Welcome cosplusisin! I'm sure you'll enjoy this forum discussions about
Beethoven and classical music in general...

Well,my story with classical music is somewhat similar to yours,as I
began with new age music before I could understand Beethoven ,Chopin
and others...

Regarding your question about the "greatest" composers ,well,there're
many greats ,but not necissarily they would become your favourites....
when you read some of this forum topics you will conclude that every
member has his own favourites,one prefer Wagner,the other is fond of
Chopin ,although we all share our love for Beethoven's music!

My suggestion for you would be to begin with pieces in your
favourite genre (piano solo,violin concerto,symphony,etc..) by
a variety of composers ,later you would be able to make your own
direction in listning...

Again,Welcome!

[cosplusisin]

hi, and thanks for your response.. I will dig into old posts with that sort of information.

I am sure I am talking about the third movement. I have the whole symphony on cd, and I've listened to it about 30 times at least (really!). I know that the first movement is the famous "fate part", which is also really awesome - especially the last 2 minutes or so (and I actually don't know where the CDD#BE part is in that first movement), but I was particularly talking about the third movement, when it starts out with just the basses and cellos, and then suddenly, a horn or something starts with:

g g g g - -
g g g g - -
g g g g - -
a# g# g f - -

c c c c - -
c c c c - -
etc...

and at the same time at the beginning, the bass part is:
--- C--
D-- D#--
B--

and some more stuff afterwards, but it's not an E... I haven't listened to the bass notes closely enough to figure out which notes it goes to next.. I think the very next one after the B is another C, but then after that I really don't know.

and then when it goes to the CCC C-- part (rather than the GGG G-- part), the bass notes start as F G G# E, which has the same effect.. it's the B and the E for the two parts, respectively, that make it so good to me.

I am sorry if this notation is weird.. I don't quite read music yet (altough even if I did, I don't know how I would write it here)... I have had 10 years of guitar playing, which really helped my ear, but I never learned to read music.. a year ago I got a casio keyboard for my birthday, and I started learning stuff by ear (rock stuff - the doors and radiohead), and then this last december or so, I decided to learn "moonlight sonata" - the first movement, and it proved too complicated (hard to hear which octaves are being played on the left hand for one thing) to learn by ear, so only now have I started to learn how to read music... I plan on continuing, and hopefully someday becoming very good.. at this point, though, I'm not very good... I've learned the first 40 or 50 (out of 69) bars now of moonlight sonata... but that, I know, is a relatively easy piece as far as piano music goes (just compare it to the third movement!).

[cosplusisin]

Originally posted by Ahmad:
Welcome cosplusisin! I'm sure you'll enjoy this forum discussions about
Beethoven and classical music in general...

Well,my story with classical music is somewhat similar to yours,as I
began with new age music before I could understand Beethoven ,Chopin
and others...

Regarding your question about the "greatest" composers ,well,there're
many greats ,but not necissarily they would become your favourites....
when you read some of this forum topics you will conclude that every
member has his own favourites,one prefer Wagner,the other is fond of
Chopin ,although we all share our love for Beethoven's music!

My suggestion for you would be to begin with pieces in your
favourite genre (piano solo,violin concerto,symphony,etc..) by
a variety of composers ,later you would be able to make your own
direction in listning...

Again,Welcome!

hi... thanks. that also sounds like a good idea! to listen in one genre to different composers.

[Pastorali]

hello cosplusisin!

I came on a pretty similar way to CM. Before I got terribly bored by music, I prefered screaming guitars out of the 60' & 70' Not to say, I don't like it anymore, but I have no need to listen to...

On this site you will find so many excellent opinions about classical music, you have to care about your money bag

nice to meet you, regards

[Opus131]

Originally posted by cosplusisin:
but that, I know, is a relatively easy piece as far as piano music goes (just compare it to the third movement!).

That a certain peice is rather facile doesn't necessarely mean it's easy. Intepretation can be a b*tch, particularly with Beethoven.

Being technically able isn't as hard as being musically proficient, you'll see that pretty soon.

As for suggestions, well, my absolute favored genre in classical music are String Quartets.

The extremely witty interplay beetween the 4 instruments makes this one of the most intellectually stimulating mediums, one that was very close to the composer and was generally used for more personal expressiveness.

Beethoven is a towering giant in the form, so you might want to start with him.

Haydn (the creator of the genre) also wrote some 70 quartets of which at least half of those are great masterpeices.

Mozart also wrote 10 mature quartets plus 5 string quintets (a string quartet with an added viola) which are among the best ever written.

After that, Shostakovich and Bartok are also a must

[Peter]

Originally posted by cosplusisin:
I have been living most of my life listening to modern music.. pop, rock sort of stuff, and only within the last year I have started getting into "classical" music. So far the stuff I like the best is Beethoven... I must admit that I still know only the really well known stuff, like Moonlight Sonata (which first got me listening to Beethoven - and I love the third movement!!), 7th Symphony (2nd movement in particular), 5th Symphony (3rd movement is amazing), Pathetique sonata. I've listened to some stuff by other major composers of the past, but it seems that the peopleon this board are people who pretty much exclusively listen to "classical" music, so I am wondering, hearing it from people like you, what is considered the best out there?

It's really great, this new world I've discovered... I catch myself thinking "how can anyone write such good music?" It seems impossible... Like that main theme in the third movement in the 5th symphony, where the one note stays the same (at first), and the bass parts go C D D# B - what a great chord progression!!

Sorry if I'm ranting... But please... I would like some suggestions..

Welcome - Try these for starters - should wet your appetite for more!

Piano concerto no.5 (Emperor)
4th Piano Concerto
3rd Symphony
7th Symphony
9th Symphony
Overture - Egmont
Overture - Consecration of the house
Waldstein piano sonata
Appassionata piano sonata
Archduke piano trio




------------------
'Man know thyself'

[Rutradelusasa]

Originally posted by Peter:
Welcome - Try these for starters - should wet your appetite for more!

Piano concerto no.5 (Emperor)
4th Piano Concerto
3rd Symphony
7th Symphony
9th Symphony
Overture - Egmont
Overture - Consecration of the house
Waldstein piano sonata
Appassionata piano sonata
Archduke piano trio

And after all this, explore for yourself, for no one of us can tell you what you like.
I suggest you go to www.hnh.com , register yourself there and start exploring, go to your cd dealer and listen to some stuff, don't be afraid to try.

[cosplusisin]

Originally posted by Peter:
Welcome - Try these for starters - should wet your appetite for more!

Piano concerto no.5 (Emperor)
4th Piano Concerto
3rd Symphony
7th Symphony
9th Symphony
Overture - Egmont
Overture - Consecration of the house
Waldstein piano sonata
Appassionata piano sonata
Archduke piano trio

By coincidence, I am going to be seeing the piano concerto no. 4 performed live tomorrow night! It's my university's symphony orchestra who will be performing it. Since I found out that I will be hearing that, I gave it a listen on naxos.com or hnh.com, and thought it was really good. I have listened to it only once, though.

So far I have only been to one classical concert in my life... well, two, since after the first time, I liked it so much that I went the next night - and that was for Beethoven's 7th symphony... that part in the second movement, after the first time it changes from the main theme to that happier part, and then it goes back to the main theme (roughly), and then everything gets very quiet and it's just violins and violas or maybe violins and other violins, and then it builds up and the whole orchestra is playing the main theme very loudly (ff?), while the wind instruments are playing something like what the violins were playing in the quiet part, and there is this E that gets repeated for the whole 8 (i think) bars, I think on the french horn, with the same rhythym as the bassline.... that is powerful... that part alone was worth the admission price both nights. and of course the rest of that symphony, I also have grown to love.

[v russo]

Originally posted by cosplusisin:

By coincidence, I am going to be seeing the piano concerto no. 4 performed live tomorrow night! It's my university's symphony orchestra who will be performing it. Since I found out that I will be hearing that, I gave it a listen on naxos.com or hnh.com, and thought it was really good. I have listened to it only once, though.

So far I have only been to one classical concert in my life... well, two, since after the first time, I liked it so much that I went the next night - and that was for Beethoven's 7th symphony... that part in the second movement, after the first time it changes from the main theme to that happier part, and then it goes back to the main theme (roughly), and then everything gets very quiet and it's just violins and violas or maybe violins and other violins, and then it builds up and the whole orchestra is playing the main theme very loudly (ff?), while the wind instruments are playing something like what the violins were playing in the quiet part, and there is this E that gets repeated for the whole 8 (i think) bars, I think on the french horn, with the same rhythym as the bassline.... that is powerful... that part alone was worth the admission price both nights. and of course the rest of that symphony, I also have grown to love.

welcome to the forum:

I have come to classical music (some years ago) via Rock and Roll just like yourself. I think B's music has the power and drive of modern Rock and Roll and that many who come to classical music this way see the corelation between the two. I have heard and spoken with many a musician who feel the same way. The thunder in Beethoven is akin to the thunder in Led Zeppelin, in a sense.

So, ROCK ON and enjoy your new discoveries. There is a whole new world of music out there for you. I envy you in a way. The days of new discovery are always the most fruitful.

enjoy,


------------------
v russo