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9th Symphony Ludwig
van Beethoven
1824 Based
on the exuberant poem of Friedrich Schiller "Ode to Joy"
this piece shows why he is
such an imposing figure, bridging the gap from the classical into
the romantic. Twice as long as any symphony until then, he
introduced 4 soloists and a large chorus to the symphony. A
celebration of life, it is one of the most famous melodies of all time.
Adagietto
Symphony No. 5 Gustav Mahler
1904 As
a child when asked what he wanted to become, he answered "a
martyr". This piece
demonstrates that excruciating depth of feeling, characterized by
vast alterations of loud/quiet and high/low. Mahler became
better known at the hands of Leonard Bernstein, who often
presented his pieces. Air
in G This
shows the emotional, non-mathematical side of Bach at his
peak. It is one the most
famous and delicate cello pieces ever written, arguably by the
most legendary composer of all time. Also Sprach Zarathustra Richard Strauss
1896 Achieving
a good deal of pop culture fame through the film "2001: A Space
Odyssey", here is
Strauss translating a poem/story into music in what he called a "tone
poem". Brandenburg Concertos At
his time, many musical pieces were written for special
occasions, to be performed
only once and later discarded. Not so with these concertos written
for an important duke. They are one of the absolute highpoints
of the complex, Baroque style that exemplifies the fascination
with math and logic present during the Age of Reason. Carmina Burana Carl Orff 1937 Fits
the definition of "anachronistic". The composer set the words
of medieval monks and poets
to a highly charged musical score that has become one of the
most recognizable 20th century pieces.
Don
Giovanni An
opera based on the Don Juan motif, it is an example of how
musicians have re-done the
most famous European themes many
times throughout history to give it their own voice. Fantasie Impromptu Frederic Chopin
1834 This
piece, notable for the flurry of rapid notes, is one of the
reasons why Chopin is our
most legendary piano virtuoso. The depth of feeling in his
quieter pieces solidifies his position at the top. Hungarian Rhapsodies Franz Liszt
1846 The
term "Lisztomania" was used to describe the intense emotions
he aroused at concerts as
the first musical superstar. So famous was he that to satisfy
requests for locks of his hair, he had to cut off hair from his dog. Most
famous for introducing the melodies of his traditional rural
Hungary into the European tradition, best known as the Rhapsodies,
begun in 1846. Music
For the Royal Fireworks The
debut, for which a large stage was built, ended in chaos as the
fireworks caused the stage
to burst into flames. Pathetique Symphony No. 6 Peter Tchaikovsky
1893 Best
known for his extension of the "melody" into an entire piece is in his ballets, his final
symphony is far less cheerful and culminates in the
devastating final movement. Pictures at an Exhibition Modest Mussorgsky
1874 On
the edge of the Romantic and Expressionism, this Mussorgsky
piece features simple
repeating melodies that mimic the moods you might experience at an
art exhibition. Pierrot Lunaire Arnold Schoenberg
1912 Perhaps
both the most theoretical and expressionist of the
expressionist composers,
here Schoenberg allows the singer to dwell gently on the notes
midway between speech and song:"Sprechgesang".
Known for his atonal dissonance, his mathematical mind lead him
to want to use all notes equally, regardless of the effects on
any notion of harmony. This piece is at once drama and concert.
Its ensemble differs in each in each movement, ranging from small orchestra to chamber group.
Requiem The
most famous funeral mass ever, composed feverishly just
before his death, it was
finished by his pupil Franz Suessmayr. The brooding slowness and
haunting chorus marks hints at the upcoming evolution from
classical to romantic. Rhapsody in Blue George Gershwin
1924 This
American composer perfectly matched the spirit of his time,
mixing classical music and
piano with a heavy dose of jazz and a bit of blues. Romeo and Juliet Sergei Prokoviev
1936 Perhaps
the most "Russian" of the modern Russian composers, the piece seems to embody our
image of the powerfully emotional Russian spirit. Stalin saw
this as well, and his music appears in some of Eisenstein's epic
propaganda films such as "Alexander Nevsky". Symphony Fantastique Hector Berlioz
1830 This
is the portray of an obsessed artist that expresses his love for his unresponsive beloved.
Here it actually worked! Berlioz married the object of his
affection, Harriet, but neither he (French) nor she (English)
learned the other's language, and it ended badly. The used of
repeated themes (his idée fixe) emphasizes his own fixation. The Four Seasons Antonio Vivaldi
1725 A
lovely violin concerto that seeks to portray the moods of the
seasons, ranging from
including birds, sun, harvest and the harsh winter. The Rights of Spring Igor Stravinsky
1913 Ranks
as the most famous opening of all time. This composer
shocked his audience and era
with his raw dissonance. The Paris theater was trashed,
arguments and challenges to duels followed as the concertgoers debated
what they had just heard. Subtitled "Scenes from Pagan
Russia", the work is one of the reasons why he
is perhaps our most
important 20th century composer. The Ring Richard
Wagner
1880 Legendary
for his theatricality and nationalist overtones,
Wagner's controversial music
features extensive use of the leitmotif, a musical theme
that follows a particular character. He worked on "The
Ring" for most of the 1870s, putting to music
the stories of German myth
such as Tristan and Tannhaueser. Toccata en Fugue The
most famous organ piece of all time. As cantor of St.
Thomas in Leipzig, Bach
wrote a choral piece for each mass and each Christian holiday, 215
religious cantatas in all. Many, such as this organ piece,
demonstrate his mastery of complex melodies using counterpoint - similar
melodies that do not begin at the same time. |