# Classical music that sounds sexy?



## Clairvoyance Enough (Jul 25, 2014)

Music is a well known aphrodisiac but if someone were to ask me personally to name a piece which exemplifies that I probably wouldn't look in the classical genre first. Obviously there is plenty I associate with love and longing and even sensuality, but for some reason classical music steers my mind toward a less salacious and more romantic interpretation of these things.

That's odd because I know there must be some examples out there; post a piece that takes your head to risque places!


----------



## Clairvoyance Enough (Jul 25, 2014)

This is one that does it for me to some extent, probably my ears interpreting the archaic sounds as a sort of primal and ritualistic lust.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Offenbach : Gaîté Parisienne


----------



## George O (Sep 29, 2014)

Bo Derek's suggestions: Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet and Ravel Bolero.


----------



## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Chopin's Nocturnes. Works with my wife every time.


----------



## Clairvoyance Enough (Jul 25, 2014)

A few more off the top of my head.

Let's see, Mozart's piano trio in g major always seemed to be seductively flirtatious beneath the outward charm. I can say that about a lot of Mozart actually.






Handel's concertos often have a similar effect on me. Sorry to make the learned ones cringe, but you know that thing in music where it has sounded happy and genial and then it sort of "bends" into a funkier flavor? Handel and Mozart both employ that in a way that sounds sexy to me.






Even Handel's messiah can make me feel the spirit, so to speak, at times.


----------



## pjang23 (Oct 8, 2009)

The third movement of Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole is particularly seductive:






I highly recommend Perlman's recording with Barenboim.


----------



## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

The obvious choice is Ravel's Bolero; Daphnis et Chloé and Scriabin's Prometheus have their orgasmic climaxes too. On the less known side, Delius was a composer who revered sex and nature. He wrote an opera (which has been revived every now and then, including this and next year) in those lines, the plot is recapitulated in this scene:


----------



## Clairvoyance Enough (Jul 25, 2014)

pjang23 said:


> The third movement of Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole is particularly seductive:
> 
> I highly recommend Perlman's recording with Barenboim.


Good suggestions so far but I definitely hear it in this and would have picked it myself!


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

There is nothing sexier than Debussy's L'isle joyeuse, an orgasm in sound. Sviatoslav Richter did it best:


----------



## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

Ravel _Bolero _...


----------



## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

And there is all that Spanish guitar stuff: Rodrigo et al.


----------



## SottoVoce (Jul 29, 2011)

I wouldn't label them as "sexy", but Scriabin's "Deux Morceaux" are clearly based off intense sexual desire and consummation. The first prelude is named "Desir" and the Second "Caresse Danese". This is not your average lust.. but it's also not very romantic either.


----------



## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

There are many many sexy works in the classical genre.
I find "Printemps Qui Commence" from Saint Saens Samson and Deliah Opera very sensual.


----------



## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Obviously Act II of Tristan und Isolde, from the beginning of the "O sink hernieder"
The climax is reached just when Brangane start to sing.


----------



## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Triplets said:


> Chopin's Nocturnes. Works with my wife every time.


There are many who would agree with you, I'm sure.


----------



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Scheherazade* famously 'did it' for the actress Viviane Ventura; she named the resulting daughter after the piece.


----------



## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

For sheer sensuality coupled with animalistic passion - Messiaen's Turangalila is the complete package.


----------



## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

In my youth I'd have said Hindemith's Kammermusik 1, but as I mature I've come to prefer Ravel's Bolero.


----------



## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Bach's "dialogue cantatas" are very sensual... or did I miss the point? :devil:


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

De Falla - Ritual dance of fire


----------



## Piwikiwi (Apr 1, 2011)

Daphnis et Chloe sounds what an orgasm feels like.


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Hmmm...the music to Brunnehilde's Immolation brings back memories... 

On the other end of the emotional scale, some of Weill's more slinkier Weimar stuff sounds pretty naughty - like one continuous twang of a woman's suspender.


----------



## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Ravel's Bolero is in my opinion the least sexy thing ever (possibly anyone with a Torvill and Dean fetish would beg to disagree.)For a start, it's an annoying earworm. Next, there's nothing like a reputation for irresistible sexiness to make music ridiculous and therefore not sexy. I think being told what is sexy is a turn off by itself- I'll decide for myself, thank you very much! Then there's the old aversion therapy aspect- if a piece of music is sufficiently well known, then you will have heard it in so many mundane contexts- piped music in shops etc- that it acquires mundane and possibly unfortunate associations. For example, Barry White's supposedly sexy groaning always makes me nauseous because my parents used to play his music on long car journeys on which I was invariably ill. I think the music we love has to be kept free of all these associations with the mundane outer world to keep its allure, sexual or otherwise.


----------



## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

It depends.
Madam recently declared a fondness for the original version of the adagio in Barber's string quartet. When pressed (so to speak) she said it makes her senses heightened and even makes her feel vulnerable. Can music truly do that? I don't know.
Other pieces that she or I (or both) feel a similar way about -

Brahms sextets. Two different sides of the same coin? 
Ravel's Trio - _"it's pure filth!" _and it features heavily in our life together.
Debussy's Preludes.
In fact, much of both Debussy and Ravel.
Korngold's violin concerto - second movement.


----------



## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

Vivaldi's laudamus te always sounded kind of naughty to me, I wonder if it's on purpose:






'Come again' by Dowland is pretty obvious in the words (the repeated mention of 'to die') and the structure of the melody as to what it's about:






Also Carmen's Habanera, and just Carmen in general.

This aria by A.Scarlatti from Cecilia Bartoli's Opera Proibita cd always sounded very sultry and sexy to me:






'Heute noch' by Bach from the Coffee Cantata, bit dodgy that she is saying this to her father...


----------



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Debussy's _Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun_. Perhaps sexy, maybe sultry, maybe even a bit perverse, like an old guy leering at younger women....

When I was younger I might've said the Hallelujah Chorus (edit: Or Adams' _A Short Ride in a Fast Machine_). Now I'll take Cage's _ASLSP_ if I can.

I'm starting to fear the mods....

But in all seriousness, the opening of Tchaikovsky's 1st piano concerto. That is the sound of frenzied lovers eloping in a vernal paradise of lust and beauty.


----------



## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Stravinsky's Sacre makes me hot and rambunctious all the time!








/ptr


----------



## Giordano (Aug 10, 2014)

Nereffid said:


> Bach's "dialogue cantatas" are very *sensual*... or did I miss the point? :devil:


Wann kommst du, mein Heil?

Mozart made the same point, in reverse. 

La ci darem la mano


----------



## mikey (Nov 26, 2013)

I had never thought of Bolero as 'sexy' until I heard about the movie '10'. I'm wondering how much of an influence that has had on it's reputation.

My pick would be this


----------



## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

There are a couple of nice performances of Bolero being danced which can be viewed via YouTube. Maybe they're new to some.

A wonderful performance by one of the great 20th century ballerinas, Maya Plisetskaya:





Danced by a dude - Jorge Donn with the same choreographer (Bejart):





Finally, my favourite - and the one I feel is most sensuous - Sylvie Guillem:





Perhaps if you're jaded by Bolero then one of these will offer a more refreshing take. Then again, maybe all they'll do is bring your browser to a grinding halt due to having three videos in the same post. Oh dear. Heh.


----------



## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

4'33'' would be perfect if it wasn't that short.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Stavrogin said:


> 4'33'' would be perfect if it wasn't that short.


It was written for those with a short attention spam.


----------



## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Stavrogin said:


> 4'33'' would be perfect if it wasn't that short.


It would have been long enough for a couple of guys I've dated!


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> It would have been long enough for a couple of guys I've dated!


Careful what you wish for: a hard time wounds all heels.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

There is a little dance in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet-it's soooooo damn sexy!!! I'm not about to go through every section of the ballet to find it though.


----------



## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe; Bolero; La Valse
Debussy: Afternoon of a Faun; Sonata for Harp, Flute & Viola


----------



## jtbell (Oct 4, 2012)

The suite from Rimsky-Korsakov's _Le coq d'or_. (However, this choice may have been influenced by the belly dancer on the cover of my old cassette of the Maazel/Cleveland version of it.)

[added: Aha, here it is!]


----------



## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

hpowders said:


> There is a little dance in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet-it's soooooo damn sexy!!! I'm not about to go through every section of the ballet to find it though.


Dance of the Knights I presume


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

clara s said:


> Dance of the Knights I presume


Yes! Yes! The part about three minutes in! Bullseye clara s!!

Where was that music when I needed it....on the beach...in 19.... never mind!!


----------



## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

That part in Mozart's Magic Flute when the 3 women sing about how they want to protect that one dude, always found that pretty sexy .


----------



## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

RE Dance of the Knights.

Lol! I was in a band in the Eighties we came on stage to that... There was always someone who got up to dance! 
I love Bernstein/Robbins take on it West side Story.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Badinerie said:


> RE Dance of the Knights.
> 
> Lol! I was in a band in the Eighties we came on stage to that... There was always someone who got up to dance!
> I love Bernstein/Robbins take on it West side Story.


Where in West Side Story?


----------



## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

The dance hall Scene.


----------



## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

Does anyone else think Vivaldi's Laudamus Te sounds sexual with the rising thing it does?


----------



## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

Musicforawhile said:


> Does anyone else think Vivaldi's Laudamus Te sounds sexual with the rising thing it does?


Yes, I think Vivaldi liked some of his nuns a lot, so he made them sing sexy things - he 'couldn't' really get it on with any of them, could he?


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Figleaf said:


> It would have been long enough for a couple of guys I've dated!


At least they called in the morning, though, right?


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Badinerie said:


> The dance hall Scene.


I've always liked this, but I would take Prokofiev every time.

Thanks for doing this!!


----------



## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

This very morning I was listening to Schubert's 'Notturno'.









Madam came home from work, perched herself on the corner of my desk, picked up the CD case and looked at it, listened silently for a few minutes while slowly swinging her legs, then announced to no one in particular "_Seriously_ sexy music". Indeed.


----------



## CharlieCello (Nov 21, 2014)

I love this! I hate to be 'that' person but I believe Christian Grey used classical music to get Anna going!

I like this: 




I think this is an extremely emotional and sexy piece. Or maybe it's just because I am in love with Luka Sulic  I haven't worked that one out yet.

Thoughts?


----------



## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Yes! Yes! The part about three minutes in! Bullseye clara s!!
> 
> Where was that music when I needed it....on the beach...in 19.... never mind!!


On the beach in 19... you most probably were hearing

Pattie Smith and "because the night"

or Stevie Wonder "never gonna give you up"

depending which 19... you refer to hahaha


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

clara s said:


> On the beach in 19... you most probably were hearing
> 
> Pattie Smith and "because the night"
> 
> ...


Nope. More like "Light My Fire" by the Doors-the sexiest pop song ever written!

I love pop music from the 1950's-1960's!!


----------



## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Nope. More like "Light My Fire" by the Doors-the sexiest pop song ever written!
> 
> I love pop music from the 1950's-1960's!!


aha now you are talking

All generations love Jim

do you know "the changeling"?

attractive sound


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

clara s said:


> aha now you are talking
> 
> All generations love Jim
> 
> ...


Nice. Yes. The music is timeless, as many pop hits of the 1950's-1960's are.


----------



## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

Rachmaninoff's Vocalise (pick your timbre)

Debussy's Claire de Lune

Saint-Saëns' Le cygne

They are obvious choices, but for a reason. They are the umm... "emotional" cycle in the form of music.

Erik Satie's Gymnopédies are also very nice.


----------



## Loge (Oct 30, 2014)

mikey said:


> I had never thought of Bolero as 'sexy' until I heard about the movie '10'. I'm wondering how much of an influence that has had on it's reputation.


Bolero has been seen as sexy since way back. Here is a Bolero dance from 1934.


----------



## Guest (Nov 25, 2014)

I think that a lot of JS Bach is "sexy", if by that term we equate an inexorable pulse with certain body functions related to reproduction. As Pablo Casals once said, Bach is a "volcano", and I thoroughly second that.


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

"Sexy" and "sensual" seem to me to be two different things in terms of music. If I find the "Danse Bacchanale" from _Samson et Dalila_ by Saint-Saens to be sexy, it provokes a different mood from, say, the _Daphnis et Chloe _Suite No.2 by Ravel, which I would term sensual rather than sexy.











To my ears, sensual music proves more substantial than mere sexy music.

So ... in which category would one place the "Sirenes" from _Nocturnes_ by Debussy? Hmm?






Then there is music which strikes me as "passionate", such as the final movement from Franck's Violin Sonata in A.

So much to consider. And at my age this may not be healthy for my heart. I better go take my meds before I go any further.


----------



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Maybe this piece has to be one of the sexy pieces alive... Schumann's Kreisleriana, Op. 16.


----------

