[Pharmboy]

I just don't tire of listening to the above. I have always been impressed with Freeper taste and have an open mind and am willing to learn (I also expect to get several good suggestions for CDs to buy myself for the Holidays).

[headsonpikes]

IMHO, to qualify your request by 'Before 1900', was superfluous. ;^)

[nagdt]

And for those of you who haven't watched the movie Amadeus, you simply must! I've had the video for years and watch it whenever. I just pulled it off the shelf for tonight. Thanks for the thread pharmboy!

[Fresh Wind]

Thank God there is a 24 hr. classical radio station in my area (WWFM). Yeah, its NPR connected, but there is minimal leftist crap, just great music all the time. And, I just scored about 75 classical CD's for 20 bucks at an estate auction! So much to hear, so little time!

[MaryFromMichigan]

The most beautiful music EVER written is Pachelbel's 'Canon in D'.
Beethoven's "Patorale" and Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" - amazing.
Gregorian Chants- excellent.

[tacticalogic]

Bump for the 1812 Overture - because a cannon is a musical instrument.

[avg_freeper]

My list would also include in no particular order:

Berlioz - La Symphonie Fantastique
Vivaldi - The Four Seasons
Verdi - Requim
Bach - Die Kunst Der Fuge (for the amazing grandeur of it)
Beethoven - Ninth Symphony
Chopin - 2nd Nocturne
Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata
(yes Beethoven again but he was the pop star of his time)
Johann Strauss - Blue Danube Waltz (cause it's so durn purty)
Paganini - 24 caprices (yes, all 24 of 'em)
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 In C Sharp Minor

[Mat_Helm]

Bump

[boris]

1. Bach's Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor
2. Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor?br? 3. Bach?s Jesu, Joy of Man?s Desiring?br? 4. Beethoven?s Ninth Symphony (Ode to Joy)?br? 5. Beethoven?s Sixth Symphony (Pastorale)?br? 6. Tchaikovsky?s Violin Concerto in D Major, op. 35?br? 7. Pachelbel?s Canon?br? 8. Rimsky-Korsakoff, Scherezade?br? 9. Modest Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition?br? 10. Camille Saint-Saens, Organ Symphony #3.?P? I got lots more but the limit is ten.?P? Oh well:?br? 10.5 Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik?P? ?B?NOBODY?/B? can stand above Uncle Johann.?P? --Boris

[white rose]

1. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
2. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
3. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
4. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
5. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
6. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
7. Beethoven's Fantasia in C for piano, chorus, and orchestra, Op.80.
8. All of Beethoven's "Fidelio."
9. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
10. Pretty much everything Haydn ever wrote.

Any other questions?

[white rose]

Did I mention that I kinda like Beethoven's Fifth?

[freebilly]

You people need to be ashamed! This thread shows a Eurocentric bias! Why the Chinese, the Africans, and Native Americans were composing great symphonies in the 19th century. :o})

Moussorgsky-- Pictures at an Exhibition.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Good choices all, but my personal list includes:
"The Dance of the Hours" from La Giocanda
"Chorale" by Beethoven
"The William Tell Overture" by Rossini
"Orpheus in the Underworld" by Offenbach
"Carmen" by Bizet
"HMS Pinafore" by Gilbert and Sullivan
"Trumpet Concerto" by Hayden
"Hungarian Rhapsody #2" by Liszt
"Symphonie fantastique" by I forget who
"The Merry Widow" by Lehar
"Peer Gynt" by Grieg
"The Pilgrim's Chorus" from "Tanhauser" by Wagner.

This list is not all inclusive, nor is it in any particular order.

[1 FELLOW FREEPER]

Pharmboy,when we have exhausted this excellent discussion, let's do one on the WORST pop songs ever written.I nominate Sugar Sugar, by the Archies.

[freebilly]

Great thread, in spite of my attempts to hijack it. I might have to do a thread on 20th century Classical music.

Mark O'Connor-- Midnight on the Water

O'Connor & Yo Yo Ma-- Appalachian Journey & Appalachian Waltz (for starters).

O'Connor is the real deal. He should be considered a national treasure.

[KC Burke]

I didn't read every post but will add a couple:

Shubert, Death and the Maiden see the fine Tokyo String Quartet redidtion>
Mendalssohn's Scottish Symphony

[danneskjold]

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis

Absolutely the most moving piece of music I have ever heard.

[Noumenon]

Hmmmm. The conductor/performer is every bit as important as the work itself. Here are my picks...

 

1. Beethoven Symphony #7, Neville Marriner and the Academy of Saint Martin of the Fields. Lush and romantic, recently reissued on Sony Classics.

    

2. Beethoven Symphony #9, Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein lets it all hang out on this, one the finest recordings of the 9th I've heard.
   
3. Symphony No. 8 in E flat major ("Symphony of a Thousand") , George Solti. This 1971 recording is, IMHO,the most coherent, electrifying and emotionally involving of all the versions of the 8th. I've got both the CD and the old Columbia LP versions. The choir and the individual voices are stunning and elegaic. Done without the bombast to which many conductors fall prey when doing Mahler. The final movment, Blicket Auf, just opens the top of your head and lets the light of the divine shine in.
   
4. Mahler Symphony No 2 in C minor, "Resurrection", Eugin Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony. Great sonics and a passionate performance of this work. Claudio Abbaddo's rendition is perhaps a little better, but nowhere near as good in terms of recording engineering.
   
5. Dvorak Symphony No. 9 in E minor ("From the New World"), From the Amazon.com review: "This, the first of Leonard Bernstein's two recordings of this symphony, is vastly superior to his remake on DG. It's a vital, impulsive performance, with a daringly fast tempo in the Scherzo, and a very satisfying culmination in the closing pages. It's simply another reminder of what a reliable, and above all musical, conductor Bernstein was. This mid-price series, called "Bernstein Century," is a real collectors' edition. Great stuff. --David Hurwitz." Ditto.
   
6. Mozart - Don Giovanni. Carlo Maria Giulini's remastered release of this recording is the distillation of Mozart's genius. 
   
7. Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21 and 24. Reference Recordings  #68. Eugin Istomin and the Seattle Symphony.  Istomin might be a little rough on the keys in places, but he has a great rapport with the SSO, and the playful side of Mozart's genius is well served. Crystal clear sonics and and spectacular dynamic range earn this one a place in my own 'reference recordings'
   
8. Mussorgsky - Pictures of an Exibiton (Ravel Orchestrations) · Schumann · Chabrier · Debussy · Ravel / Eiji Oue · Minnesota Orchestra. Reference Recordings - #79 Yeah, I know - Minnesota? Has an ORCHESTRA? But Eiji Oue turnout a stunning performance of this work. I'm cheating here as well. Moussorgsky and Ravel on the same CD is in this case a great two-fer, along with the usual breath-taking clarity of Reference Recordings'  superb engineering. And I'm also playing a little bit loose with the time period - these pieces are just barely turn of the 20th century.
   
9. Vaughan Williams: Fantasies/The Lark Ascending/Five Variants.  Neville Marriner and the Academy of Saint Martin of the Fields. Uni/Argo - #14595. Alright, so I'm fudging the timeline once again. Can't help my affinity for Vaugh Willaims' romanticism and his use of polyphony. Got both of these on CD and LP. Nice mix of short pieces. My 1972 LP is still holding up well.

    

10. Bach - The Complete Brandenburg Concertos / Martin Pearlman, Boston Baroque. Telarc - #80412. Best of the Brandenburgs. Music from a higher plane of existence. What can I say?

 

This list wouldn't be complete without a system capable of doing it justice. My system at present:

Preamp: ARC LS22 - retubed with NOS 70's Russian 6H23s
Power amp: Pass X350 power amp
CD transport: Classe CDP-1 CD player
DAC: Bel Canto DAC-1.1 24/96 upsampling DAC
LP playback: Linn LP12 / Ittok VII / Dynavector DV 10X4 turntable/arm/cartridge combo
Loudspeakers: Magnepan MG20R speakers w/XO20 crossover.

Cables and interconnects
Cardas Golden Cross and  Synergistic Research Reference interconnects
5' Electra Glide Speaker Glide solid silver ribbon main speaker cables (Dave Elrod's latest mods)
4 pair of .5 meter Audio Magic Spellcaster II silver jumpers (to go from the XO20 crossover to the MG20Rpanels themselves)
Electra Glide Fatboy power cables.
Bybee Signature Pro power purification.

 

 

[LibKill]

Bookmarked for later study in my music favorites.

FR is more than a political forum, it is an education.

[joanie-f]

Bach – Fugue in C# minor, Well Tempered Clavier, Book I
Mozart – Quintet in G minor (2 violas)
Schumann – Manfred Overture
Schubert – Wanderer Fantasy, opus 15
Beethoven – Tempest Sonata, opus 31, #2
Chopin – Winter Wind Etude, opus 25, #11
Tschaikovsky – Symphony #6 (Pathetique), last movement
Mozart – Piano Concerto in D minor, first movement
Schubert – Unfinished Symphony, first movement
Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto

[Revelation 911]

Brandenburg Concerto's of course -

and I know its at the cusp of 1900 - but I love Joplin