Re: Orchestral music recommendations

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Date: Sun May 31 1998 - 18:29:29 EDT

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    >
    >Now my problem is because I don't really have a clue as where to begin - I
    >continually buy Orchestral CDs with ho-hum compositions. I in particular like
    >the dark, somber music with angry parts, depressing parts, and beautiful
    >sections. In other words - the "voices" of orchestral music.
    >
    >Anyone here (because I respect the opinions of those here) want to throw out
    >some recommendations? Please include the conductor and orchestra recording
    >you would suggest - as well as the composer and the composition name in
    >particular.
    >

            I also like dark, powerful classical pieces but it's hard to judge
    what you will like based only on Mozart's "Requiem". Here are some of my
    favorites. Let me know what you end up liking. :)

                                    Steve

    Composer Title

    Beethoven Symphonies (5th, 9th, etc)

            -- It's hard to go wrong with any of Beethoven's symphonies, but I'd
            suggest the 5th and 9th as the best starting points for powerful,
            darker styles. Those are among the most amazing symphonies ever
            written. You may like some of his overtures too (such as
            "Prometheus"). For conductors you probably want Leonard Bernstein
            or Herbert von Karajan.

    Dvorak 9th "New World" Symphony -- Another of my favorites.
            -- Some of his Slavonic Dances are also good, such as "Furiant".

    Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony -- Yet another favorite. :)
            -- Tchaikovsky also has some strong overtures such as
            the "1812 overture" and "Marche Slave". His other symphonies
            are also good.

    Verdi Requiem -- If you like operatic stuff then you'll
                                    probably like this. It is very dark and
                                    powerful.

    Gustav Holst The Planets -- The first section, Mars: Bringer of War
                                    is especially dark.

    Gorecki 3rd Symphony -- Very dark. It is slow but it builds an
                                    amazing atmosphere -- extremely powerful.

    Wagner Ring of the Niebulung -- Parts of this massive (16 CD) piece
                                    are very dark and cool (such as "Ride
                                    of the Valkyries" and "Siegfried's Death
                                    March"). Since you probably don't want the
                                    whole thing, try a sampler that has those
                                    parts for a start.

    Vivaldi The Four Seasons -- This one isn't as dark but it is still
                                    quite good.

    Rimsky-Korsakoff Scheherazade -- An interesting piece that was "covered"
                                    by a progressive band called Rennaisance.

    Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain -- A famous, dark but fun piece.

    Bruckner 4th or 8th Symphonies -- I haven't got into Bruckner as much
                                    as the above composers, but his music tends
                                    to be dark and majestic.

    Mahler Symphony #1.

    Some of my favorite overtures and dances (usually not as dark, but powerful
            with good melodies):

    1812 -- Tchaikovsky
    Marche Slave -- Tchaikovsky
    Poet and Peasant -- Suppe
    William Tell -- Rossini
    The Theiving Magpie -- Rossini
    The Barber of Seville -- Rossini
    The Sorcerer's Apprentice -- Paul Dukas
    Hugarian Rhapsody #2 -- Franz Liszt (piano mostly)

    There are some really great dark classical movie soundtracks out there
    that you might like:

    Batman (be sure to get the classical score not the Prince songs)
    Stargate
    Henry V



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