What is your favorite CLASSICAL music?
 

Ok, I know some of you listen to just more than the latest rock/pop/grunge/(insert next term here) music.

Any classical music lovers here?

Some of my favs:

-Debussy, especially Clair de Lune

-Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue

-Mozert, especially his Requiem

-Faurey (sp?) Requiem

-Durefle's requiem.

(If you like choral works and Mozart's requiem, I especially recommend the last two.)

-Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's desiring (possibly my all time fav)

-Widor's Symphony #5, finale - my all time fav organ piece.
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Ok, metalheads, grungers and ravers, what say you?

Basically, my tastes don't run to particular eras of classical music; I often listen to the "Baroque" composers; Haendel, Bach, Sgarlatti, Albenoni, Vivaldi, Telemann et al, but the next thing on my CD-player might be Prokofiev, Stravinsky or other 20th century composers like Aaron Copeland (I love the" Appalachin Spring" suite; hell, I even have some of the posthumous serious stuff that Frank Zappa wrote (the guy was a genius; he'll be remembered). Music is so subjective that asking someone to say what their Favorite ANYTHING is will only give you an answer that's good until that person hears something else they like. You have to decide for yourself what you like; it isn't hard, and it's certianly fun.

I'm not all that into Baroque but you can't have a fondness for good classical music and get away with not listening to Handel, Teleman, Handel, etc..

Faure's Requiem is a nice choral piece and one of my favorites as well.

You might also check out John Rutter's "Magnificat", Jonathan Elias's "The Prayer Cycle", and H Gorekei's Symphony #3 if you liked the Requiem.

If anything give the Prayer Cycle a listen it's really something else.

There's so many great composers out there and too many to list. I will hunt for a recording of that Widor's Symphony #5 and give it a listen.

i spent a lot of time in hs in the choir room, so a lot of my favorites stem from choir music. bach is a personal favorite, as is mozart.

i also spent a lot of time as a kid dancing, so i love ballets. stravinsky's petrouchka and firebird suite are two i adore, as well as tchaikovsky's nutcracker suite and swan lake.

as far as more modern composers go, i really enjoy gershwin. if you get a chance, check out the musical "crazy for you." very interesting.

i also enjoy eric whitacre a lot, also stemming from love of choral music. check out his arrangement of lux aurumque for brass as well as water night.

just recently started listening to lots of classical musical and opera(mostly because it's the one station that doesn't have commercials), so appreciate any suggestions anyone has on composers.

OK, bar none, my favorite piece of classical music is Zappa's <i>G-Spot Tornado</i>. <i>The Yellow Shark</i> did win a classical grammy. (Of course, Jethro Tull won a metal Grammy, so we know what grammy's are worth.)

Othr than that, I'm pretty prosaic - Beethoven's 9th, Handel's Watermusic, and Gerschwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

Having been a Zappa fan since the late '60's, I'm gratified to see him getting recognition. It's too bad that he's not here to enjoy it; I think that Franks reputation as a serious musician will continue to grow. Of course, anyone who could write lyrics like "Watch out where the Huskies go, don't you eat that yellow snow..." kinda makes him someone I would admire anyway.;)

I love Russian composers. Rimsky-Korsakov is great. Tchaikovsky too, who doesn't like the 1812 Overture? Wagner's operas may be long, but contain some of the most stirring music ever composed. I also like Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven.

Geeze, I love it all. Mozart and Beethoven were obviously genius at a level beyond anyone else, but what appeals to me most has always been Bach.
* The Goldberg Variations (best ever)
* The French Suites
* Keyboard Concertos Esp. BWV 1052
* Orchestral Suites
* Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
* Cello suites
* Brandenburg Concertos
Yeah, Bach is just awesome.

I had Glenn Goulds early version of the Goldberg variations on vinyl, unfortuneatly, I never got that recording on CD, but I suggest either of Goulds recordings of those pieces.

anything by bach or debussy works with me. mozart is good too

my absolute favorite is vivaldi's four seasons. i tend to like tchaikovsky and vivaldi more than then anything. more of what i grew up on.

Glad to see someone else mentioned Rutter.

I've sung the Magnificat and several other Rutter pieces. I love Rutter and the Cambridge singers.

I'm also glad to see as many responses as I have :)

There are a few pieces mentioned that have perked my ears up!

I listen to "String Quintet in C Major" by Shubert while driving around sometimes. It's a pretty badass song.

Strictly Chopin, I guess because I just love piano. My grandfather always had some Chopin playing at his house when I was little.

i dont really know any of there names, but i really just like what i hear, just something to make you settle down and pay attention.


but does Herb Albert count?

St. Paul's Suite by... well, not really sure who it's by, but it's really good.

Also, the Barber of Seville by... actually, I'm not sure about who composed that either.

Those two are about the only classical songs I can listen to.

*EDIT* I also like Fugue in E Minor and Sonata in E Minor... and also forget the composers' names.

favouirte classical piece is also my favourite piece of music of all time:
Henryk Gorecki's 'Symphoney #3'

other favourites include Samuel Barbers 'Adagio for strings', Preisner's 'requiem for a friend' but mainly the track "Lacrimosa", Nymans 'Piano' soundtrack (of course!)

i've always enjoyed modern composers over traditional stuff.
i like Vivaldi's 'Summer' and Beethoven's 'moonlight sonata'
that's about it.

Beethovan's 9th symphony (wouldn't it sound great played by electric guitars? Seriously.)
Khatchaturian 'Sabre Dance'

my favorite classical piece is Bach: cello suite #1 in G. The sound of a well played cello is just so over whelming that it draws you in and captivates you.

there are different styles that suit every my every mood.
atm i'm listening to holst's planets (jupiter).
my absolute fav is Chopin.

Segovia

F.Chopin (Piano Nocturne in E) & J.S.Bach (Brandenburg Concerto No.3 and so many others) are my two best composers.

I also love Opera in music & words. Puccini, Mozart, Verdi.

Dvorak's New World Symphony
Smetana's Moldau
Jackie DuPre's version of Elgar

Beethoven - Fur Elise

very beautiful piece of work....I used to be able to play it on keyboard but have long forgotten....

besides the old school genuises,

Apocaplyptica

4 cellos

Play metal!

Pachelbel - Canon in D

My all time favourite piece: Pachelbel's canon.

Just like rock, it all depends on the mood.

Prokofiev's "Classical Symphony" is a big favorite, along with Mozart's last three symphonies (#39, 40, and 41).

Any movie score by early-20th Century composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Adventures of Robin Hood, Seahawk, Captain Blood, etc.).

Schubert's lieder.

Bartok.

Peer Gynt

It is truly great to see so many replies. Nice to hear people out there know who Bach is- for those looking for real gems, I recommend:

Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 4 (&3), Piano Sonatas Op. 53, Op. 57
Josquin des prez - Missa Panga Lingua
Richard Strauss - Die Frau ohne Schatten (opera)
Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (4 operas, LONG)
Bach - Well Tempered Clavier (all 48 baby!)
Debussy Preludes (both books)
Shostakovich - Preludes and Fugues (all 24), Op. 87
Monteverdi - 1610 Vespers
Gregorian Chant during a Thunderstorm (Anonymous 4)

Vivaldi's Four Seasons and In the Hall of the Mountain King from Grieg. I also like pretty much anything from Tchaichovski!

stravinsky's firebird and the rite of spring

george gershwin, especially rhapsody in blue

ian copeland,especially appalachan spring and fanfare for the common man

edgar varese

philip glass

steve reich

Flight of the BumbleBee and Beethoven

There are many classicals that I like but here are a few I can think of right now.. Ravels Bolero, Edvard Grieg- Peer Gynt, Carl Orff- Carmina Burana and Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra...

Mozart's Requiem is chillingly beautiful.
I had a recording from Vienna in th eearly 60's that was spine tingling...lost it though:mad:

Yes.

There's so many of my favorites. I play classical piano (well I try) so this is a soft spot for me!

My all time favorite I think is Canon in D by Pachabel. It just melts me everytime I hear it.
Anything by Chopin.
Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven
Fur Elise by Beethoven
Dance of the Rosebuds.....damn, can't remember the composer
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach

I really enjoy some opera as well. Pie Jesu is one of the most amazing songs ever and just melts any stress away when I hear it.

Good ones, Minx.

Especially Pachabel and Pie Jesu.

Kurt Weill, the German Gershwin...

Anything by Bach

Anthing by Paganini

Any piece that utilizes good counterpointing