Classical music overview for n00bs
This is a follow-up to a Facebook conversation with Jamie: here are the pieces that I feel people just getting into Classical music (somewhat loosely defined) should know. Some of them may be considered boring these days, but if you're going to show off at a cocktail party and opine on how, for example, you tried Vivaldi but you prefer to stick with Rachmaninoff, it's best to know what what you're talking about first.
I won't say this is the most interesting list, and I included the (sometimes approximate) year of writing / publication as a reference -- the older works are tamer by our standards (OK, my standards), although they are relaxing, if you need something to calm your mind. Also, a lot of these are going to be works that are familiar from popular culture; Fantasia and Bugs Bunny cartoons are great for sampling classical music. But it's good to attach names and titles to these familiar memories, no?
Another thing: before you listen to these, it might be good to familiarize yourself with what's going on with The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten. It'll help you understand the makeup of a classical orchestra and how it all comes together.
Composer Title Year
Pachelbel Canon in D major 1694
Bach, JS* Toccata and Fugue in D minor 1707
Handel Water Music 1717
Bach, JS Brandenburg Concertos 1721
Vivaldi The Four Seasons 1723
Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1787
Mozart Symphony No. 40 1788
Schubert* Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished Symphony) 1822
Chopin* Fantasie-Impromptu 1834
Schumann Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) 1838
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody 1847
Strauss Jr. The Blue Danube 1866
Strauss Jr. Tales from the Vienna Woods 1868
Tchaikovsky** Piano Concerto No. 1 1875
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture 1882
Brahms Symphony No. 4 1885
Debussy Clair de lune 1890
Dvorak Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) 1893
Gershwin Concerto in F 1925
Rachmaninoff Variations on a Theme by Paganini 1934
Copland Appalachian Spring 1944
*These composers are all notable for a myriad of smaller, bite-sized works, from which I couldn't select a good representative example. Bach is notable for his many fugues and cantatas, Schubert is known for his songs (commonly referred to as lieder - that's the plural by the way), and Chopin is known for his many virtuosic piano works, known by their different formats (nocturne, polonaise, mazurka, valz, etc. You know what -- start with the nocturnes). I don't think you can go wrong if you look for a collection of any of these composer-format combinations.
**I didn't list Tchaikovsky's ballets here, because I feel that there's a visual component that ought to be enjoyed as well, and I presumed you were going to just download it from iTunes or buy the CD (do people still do that?). Similarly, I didn't include any of the major ballets by Igor Stravinsky, even though they are some of the most influential works of the turn of the century.
As I said, I would save Beethoven until after you've had a sampling of the others. Here are the most notable compositions:
Moonlight Sonata 1801
Symphony No. 5 1808
Symphony No. 6 1808
Symphony No. 9 1824
Other notable works and personal favorites:
Bach, JS The Well-Tempered Clavier 1722
Bach, JS The Goldberg Variations 1741
Schubert Ave Maria 1825
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique 1830
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition 1874
Tchaikovsky Marche Slave (Slavic March) 1876
Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet 1880
Mahler Symphony No. 1 1888
Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# Minor 1892
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 1901
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 1909
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue 1924
Gershwin An American in Paris 1928
And since you also mentioned opera, here are some beginner's picks. I'm not really that into opera myself, but this should be enough to get you started.
Mozart The Marriage of Figaro 1786
Mozart Don Giovanni 1787
Mozart The Magic Flute 1791
Verdi Rigoletto 1851
Verdi Aida 1871
Bizet Carmen 1875
Puccini La Boheme 1896
Puccini Madama Butterfly 1904
Puccini Turandot 1926
And of course, there's Wagner's Ring Cycle, but I'm not going to tell anyone that they have to carve out four days out of their busy schedules to sit down and watch all of it.
P.S. Jamie, if you're reading this: are you doing this for Kermie? Everybody knows that a decent supervillain has an encyclopedic knowledge of classical music.
P.P.S. I'm amused that Livejournal's own Spell Check mechanism doesn't recognize either "lj" nor "Livejournal" as a correct spelling.
I won't say this is the most interesting list, and I included the (sometimes approximate) year of writing / publication as a reference -- the older works are tamer by our standards (OK, my standards), although they are relaxing, if you need something to calm your mind. Also, a lot of these are going to be works that are familiar from popular culture; Fantasia and Bugs Bunny cartoons are great for sampling classical music. But it's good to attach names and titles to these familiar memories, no?
Another thing: before you listen to these, it might be good to familiarize yourself with what's going on with The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten. It'll help you understand the makeup of a classical orchestra and how it all comes together.
Composer Title Year
Pachelbel Canon in D major 1694
Bach, JS* Toccata and Fugue in D minor 1707
Handel Water Music 1717
Bach, JS Brandenburg Concertos 1721
Vivaldi The Four Seasons 1723
Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1787
Mozart Symphony No. 40 1788
Schubert* Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished Symphony) 1822
Chopin* Fantasie-Impromptu 1834
Schumann Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) 1838
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody 1847
Strauss Jr. The Blue Danube 1866
Strauss Jr. Tales from the Vienna Woods 1868
Tchaikovsky** Piano Concerto No. 1 1875
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture 1882
Brahms Symphony No. 4 1885
Debussy Clair de lune 1890
Dvorak Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) 1893
Gershwin Concerto in F 1925
Rachmaninoff Variations on a Theme by Paganini 1934
Copland Appalachian Spring 1944
*These composers are all notable for a myriad of smaller, bite-sized works, from which I couldn't select a good representative example. Bach is notable for his many fugues and cantatas, Schubert is known for his songs (commonly referred to as lieder - that's the plural by the way), and Chopin is known for his many virtuosic piano works, known by their different formats (nocturne, polonaise, mazurka, valz, etc. You know what -- start with the nocturnes). I don't think you can go wrong if you look for a collection of any of these composer-format combinations.
**I didn't list Tchaikovsky's ballets here, because I feel that there's a visual component that ought to be enjoyed as well, and I presumed you were going to just download it from iTunes or buy the CD (do people still do that?). Similarly, I didn't include any of the major ballets by Igor Stravinsky, even though they are some of the most influential works of the turn of the century.
As I said, I would save Beethoven until after you've had a sampling of the others. Here are the most notable compositions:
Moonlight Sonata 1801
Symphony No. 5 1808
Symphony No. 6 1808
Symphony No. 9 1824
Other notable works and personal favorites:
Bach, JS The Well-Tempered Clavier 1722
Bach, JS The Goldberg Variations 1741
Schubert Ave Maria 1825
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique 1830
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition 1874
Tchaikovsky Marche Slave (Slavic March) 1876
Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet 1880
Mahler Symphony No. 1 1888
Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# Minor 1892
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 1901
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 1909
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue 1924
Gershwin An American in Paris 1928
And since you also mentioned opera, here are some beginner's picks. I'm not really that into opera myself, but this should be enough to get you started.
Mozart The Marriage of Figaro 1786
Mozart Don Giovanni 1787
Mozart The Magic Flute 1791
Verdi Rigoletto 1851
Verdi Aida 1871
Bizet Carmen 1875
Puccini La Boheme 1896
Puccini Madama Butterfly 1904
Puccini Turandot 1926
And of course, there's Wagner's Ring Cycle, but I'm not going to tell anyone that they have to carve out four days out of their busy schedules to sit down and watch all of it.
P.S. Jamie, if you're reading this: are you doing this for Kermie? Everybody knows that a decent supervillain has an encyclopedic knowledge of classical music.
P.P.S. I'm amused that Livejournal's own Spell Check mechanism doesn't recognize either "lj" nor "Livejournal" as a correct spelling.