need ideas for classical music for driving
 

Hey!
I am looking for recomendations for classical music. I plan on making a CD of just classical music for a change. I do like classical music, but I have no idea of what is what and who did what, etc.

Thanks,
Robert

"Classical music," in connotation at least, encompasses.......sooooo many different things. Describe what kind of music you're looking for exactly, or else it's REALLY difficult to offer suggestions.

I dont know if you would call it classical, but Yo-Yo Ma plays breathtaking chello and is good for relaxing driving.

http://www.yo-yoma.com/

Do you like strings? Horns? Percussion? Choirs?

Do you want the music to sound relaxing? Invigorating? Challenging?

Do you want ancient? Old? Modern?

I got this for fun at the library and it turned out to be pretty interesting:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

It's called The Classical Music Experience: Discover the Music of the World's Greatest Composers by Julius H. Jacobson II and it has 2 cds narrated by Kevin Kline. It just takes you through different composers and has a little bio and description for each composer and piece. It's written by a layman (i.e., not a musician) so it's a very easy read and he describes the music using terms everyone can understand. The CDs contain short samples of the pieces he selects for you to listen to. It's a great way to figure out what and who you like and also make you a little more knowledgable about composers and classical music in general.

If you want speeding tickets, play the William Tell Overture.

Otherwise, all of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are awesome.

Mozart's symphony #40 (Jupiter), Abduction from the Seraglio, Turkish Rondo, Requiem, clarinet concerto, french horn concerto, oboe concerto, and bassoon concerto.

Pachelbel's Canon in D

Vivaldi's 4 seasons (you'll recognize all of these - they're used a LOT)

Handel's Water Music (really cool)

Buddyhawks is right - anything played by Yo Yo Ma is really cool. He did an album with Bobby McFerrin - Hush - that's kinda neat.

Check out Evelyn Glennie's cds. She's a deaf professional percussionist, but her songs are never boring.

Let me recomend some of Eric Satie's works. His minimalist pianno contraptions are some of the most soothing songs that I know of.

if you want to hear some beautiful melodies
check out berlioz

Mozart's Requiem is my favorite followed by Beethoven's 9th

Apparantly, what you SHOULDN'T choose is Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries (a.k.a. the helicopter song from Apocalypse Now). At least, according to the article in the Herald Sun: Wagner 'dangerous to drivers' [15apr04].

Also on the bad list: Dies Irae from Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem, Firestarter by the Prodigy, Red Alert by Basement Jaxx, and Insomnia by Faithless.

Some good ones, while not "classical", are Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Liszt's Les Preludes, Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings op.48, and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms.