Top Ten Pieces of Music Written Before 1900

Me ^ | 12-05-01 | Pharmboy

[Pharmboy]

Ask the question this way: If you were stranded on a desert island with a CD player and a good sound system, what ten pieces would you take with you that were written before the 20th Century?

My list:
1) Beethoven's Appassionata sonata for piano
2) Bach's Partita Number 2 for solo violin
3) Mozart's Symphony Number 41
4) Wagner's Overture to Tristan und Isolde
5) Beethoven's String Quartet Opus 131
6) Chopin's Ballade Number 4
7) Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (IMO the only worthwhile thing he ever wrote)
8) Schubert's Impromptus (all of them)
9) Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata
and 10) Bach's Mass in B Minor

[Savage Beast]

"Richard Strauss was neither a NAZI nor a sympathizer."

Thanks, Devere. I'm glad to learn that. I love his music. I think I'll love it even more now that you've educated me. ~S

[kalee]

ping

[Age of Reason]

J.S. Bach and Handel would fill my top hundred.

When I was a teenager, I would have preferred Beethoven and Mozart. But I grew up.

[NutCrackerBoy]

No offense, but I liked Pharmboy's original ten better than yours. My preferences for classical music are heavily weighted towards the modern end - Igor Stravinsky, Edgard Varèse, Béla Bartók, etc.

In particular Beethoven's string quartet opus 131, from Pharmboy's list. I wrote a college paper on it. The piece was arguably an early peek at 20th century music.

[Enchante]

Puccini’s Turandot

Sorry, not pre-1900, but maybe we’ll let you have it if you really do get stranded on a desert island (Puccini was born in 1858 but Turandot was written in the 1920s and premiered in 1926 after his death).

[razbinn]

Maple Leaf Rag-Scott Joplin 1899

[kalee]

Allegri’s Misere Anyone who loves choral music should hear this, especially around Lent

Numero uno on my list. :)

[LukeL]

I like Turkey in the Straw, and Camp Town Races

[secret garden]

Bump to save.

[kalee]

Carmina Burana by Carl Orff

[kalee]

Tops my 20th Century list. It was written in 1910.

[humblegunner]

FREEBIRD!

[kalee]

un-ping lol I can’t believe I’m commenting on a 6 year old thread! lol

[Pharmboy]

Some threads get better with age...

[newguy357]

It is inconceivable to not have some Brahms in that list.

[Military family member]

There are several pieces of early American Music, especially the Tin Pan Alley songs that I would probably want to take with me.

Certainly "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away," by Paul Dresser. As a Hoosier, and as a resident of Dresser's hometown, Terre Haute, Indiana, I would be amiss to not include that selection. Especially with Jim Nabors singing it.

[Pharmboy]

Other than the “Academic Festival Overture” and his violin concerto, I never muched liked him. I know, I know...several people I respect have told me I’m all wet on Brahms.

[pax_et_bonum]

Wanna go with me to a karate party?

[danneskjold]

Tops my 20th Century list. It was written in 1910.

Wow...this thread was a blast from the past...Thanks for the post, and glad to hear from another Vaughn Williams fan...

[Calvin Locke]

I heard a guy ripping on Pachabel. Probably on a Dr. Demento show. Playing Canon on a guitar, he said he was a cello player growing up, and when playing Canon in D Major, the 1st violins got melodies, the 2nd violins got melodies, and even the violas got melodies, and that should never happen.

And the cello section? They got to play the same 8 notes, 50-some times.

So he said Pachabel was haunting him, and he goes on to play some recent and recognizable songs that one can hear Canon's influence. Aerosmith, The Beatles, a Taco Bell jingle...