# 10 year old son with Aspergers loves Classical (Movie) Music, need ideas



## okfoz (Jun 10, 2014)

My son, who is 10 years old has Aspergers, he loves Some Classical music, and I am looking for more music similar to what he likes to try and encourage it.

Here is a list of songs he really likes, Not really Classical in the "normal" sense, But it is what he likes

Hanz Zimmer
- From Pirates of The Caribbean:
-- Jack Sparrow 
-- The Kracken
-- I Don't Think Now is the Best TIme
-- Up is Down
- From: Man of Steel (SuperMan)
-- Arcade (Junkie XL)
-- This is Madness (Junkie XL)

John Williams
- From STAR WARS 
-- The Imperial March - From The empire strikes back,
-- Battle over Corescant - From Revenge of the Sith 
-- The Astried Field - From The Empire strikes Back.

In short, I would really like to introduce him to other classical music, I think he would really like Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt but the Orchestral version I have heard is really weak on the Bass end of the spectrum, something more along the lines of The Kracken, or Jack Sparrow for sound is what he would like. 

I have tried Bolero, but it took too long to get to the climax. I also tried one of my Personal Favorites Caprciao Italian by Tchaikovsky, but again it is 12 min long and by the time it came to what he calls "Big Music" he kind of lost interest. 

In honesty I really do not care even if it is in the pure classical format, IE from the golden era of the 18 & 19th century, as long as it has some sort of melody and powerful... 

Unfortunately most of the classical music I have is poorly recorded and is too light and airy for him to really enjoy. For example you can hear the tympani but the sound engineer was too lazy to set up microphones for each instrument and a single set of microphones were used that are set up 12" apart and microphone used was more suited for flutes so it does not get the fullness of the music. 

Yes I can pick on sound engineers, I am one...

Really Looking for ideas.

Thanks

John


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## omega (Mar 13, 2014)

_The Planets_ by Gustav Holst sounds almost like movie music ; it has very powerful moments and it's a very "pictural" music.


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2013)

What comes to mind immediately is Shostakovich's Assault on Beautiful Gorky. It's high energy right from the beginning, and doesn't require a long listening time. You might also be interested in trying some of Sousa's Marches. Many are short, and quite exciting. The second movement from Beethoven's 9th Symphony starts out with a bang, and just keeps moving. You could also give Libby Larson's Parachute Dancing a try. It's short and a really upbeat piece of music. Many of these works might be available on YouTube, which is becoming a great source to try out music you aren't sure you'll like or not.


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## omega (Mar 13, 2014)

Saint-Saëns' _Carnival of the Animals_ has some calm moments, but it's overall quite lively...






Maybe you could try some Scriabin ?


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## Cheyenne (Aug 6, 2012)

What your son has listened to so far are mere film scores; many classical composers composed excellent film scores, and they have the same structure. Prokofiev's score for _Ivan the Terrible_, this disc of film music by Shostakovich, and this collection of film music by Ralph Vaughan Williams I recommend. Additionally, you could look into _Two Steps from Hell_, which is a music production company that produces music mainly utilized in film trailers. It is not classical music, but should greatly please him. (Searching "two steps from hell pirate" on Youtube got me this -- should please him, right?)

Symphonies which sound very much like film music could also be considered, e.g. Joly Braga Santos' fourth symphony and Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia Antartica -- the latter was adopted from one of his film scores. Prokofiev Scythian Suite and Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream suite also spring to mind as contenders.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

*Carl Nielsen*: Aladdin Suite 




*Schubert*: Symphony 9, Scherzo / Harnoncourt 



 (this live version is not as good and captivating as his recorded Teldec one)

*Ottorino Respighi*: Belkis Suite 



 , not at least the War Dance 




*Shostakovich*: Waltz from Jazz Suite no.2 




*Sergei Prokofiev*: Scythian Suite 




*Khachaturian*: Waltz from Masquerade


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Give this Howard Hanson piece, Lament for Beowulf about 13 seconds. It rarely fails to startle me, but is also fairly epic.


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## Joris (Jan 13, 2013)

I was thinking about _Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Op.27_ by Mendelssohn ^-^


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## okfoz (Jun 10, 2014)

Great Ideas... It is kind of hard to seek this stuff without asking those in the know... 

Keep them coming...


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Beethoven's 5th Symphony

Prokofiev - Alexander Nevsky 'The Battle of the Ice' (try with the Eisenstein film clip on you-tube) also from Romeo and Juliet try the 'Dance of the Knights'

Berlioz - Trojan March from 'les Troyens', perhaps also 'Royal Hunt and Storm'

Mozart - Overture to Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

Leoš Janáček - Sinfonietta


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Khachaturian: Sabre Dance from Gayane:





Orff: Carmina Burana - "O fortuna"


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## cjvinthechair (Aug 6, 2012)

Different approach - maybe try some wind band music - still very much along classical lines, but perhaps a little more similar to the film music your young man enjoys.

Wind band possibilities (can be checked out on You Tube) - Bert Appermont, Philip Sparke, John Mackey, Johan de Meij. Plenty more !


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## Matsps (Jan 13, 2014)

E.S. Posthumus is (IMO) the best movie soundtrack classical. In terms of their more lively stuff:

Unstoppable (don't be fooled by the slow opening, it's very very lively): 



Pompeii: 



Arise (do not be fooled by the slowish opening):


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2014)

You might try Brahms' Hungarian Dances. These are 19 short pieces for orchestra, each is usually 2 to 3 minutes long, and each is intended to be very fun and interesting. Crowd pleasers which don't require long attention spans.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Disney did a couple of Fantasia movies aimed for children.
Otherwise, one of those compilation cd's would probably suffice as a sampler. They usually have short pieces.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances. The first movement has quite a bit of bang for your buck. 

Borodin: Symphony no. 2: about as "big" as music gets, at least the first movement. And speaking of Borodin, the Polovtsian Dances appeal to just about everyone. 

Mussorgsky: Night on bare mountain. 

Beethoven's symphonies might appeal to him, especially of course the very "visual" no. 6 ("Pastoral"), and bits from no. 7 (the second movement was recently used in a movie, the title of which has escaped me now). B's third symphony has a very dramatic second movement, which kind of makes me think of the defeated Napoleon and his army trudging back home through the snows of Russia.

Brahms: Piano concerto no 2 - second movement. (The other movements may be a bit slow to get to the fireworks to his taste).


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Matsps said:


> E.S. Posthumus is (IMO) the best movie soundtrack classical. In terms of their more lively stuff:
> 
> Unstoppable (don't be fooled by the slow opening, it's very very lively):
> 
> ...


it is not that those are not classical, it is that they are really terrible music


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## Mister Man (Feb 3, 2014)

PetrB said:


> it is not that those are not classical, it is that they are really terrible music


Trailer music might give the poor boy a headache! But he listens to Hans Zimmer, so what's the difference?

I'm not belittling him or anything, don't peg me that way!


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Play him some hard-core minimalism, like Philip Glass' *Music in Twelve Parts *or* Dance 1-5, *and see if he responds positively.


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## okfoz (Jun 10, 2014)

The Posthumus stuff kind of reminds me of Mannheim Steamroller in a way... I actually think he might like it, I do not mind it, it is a little short, I think it has a lot of potential, but seems underdeveloped in a way... Kind of like the theme from 2001 a Space Odyssey, I really like the piece, but it is too short to really enjoy, it leaves you wanting more at the end. I tried the Planets on him, but he said it was ok... I really liked it, matter of fact I think I might get the CD to get Mercury and Jupiter tracks. 

One thing that I think I should mention is there is not an attention problem here with music. Instrumental Music calms the boy greatly, kind of like the old adage music calms the wild beast...

I realize that I am new here, but to give Hanz Zimmer some credit, my daughter actually played music from Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest in a High School concert about a month ago. So it is getting some recognition. Try listening to Jack Sparrow or the Kracken, I do not think either are used in the movie as a whole, but parts and pieces are taken and used. So In a way they are not just soundtrack music, I think Zimmer actually attempted to make a workable piece out of them.

John


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Quick hit cut to the chase, no waiting kind of music is most readily found in film scores, because that is the nature of film music. I've listed mainly early 20th century works because they are in great part 'the musical vocabulary' from which many a film composer models their scores, the usual other style used as model is more the grand late romantic style.

Some isolated movements from various works, some great suggestions given already (more below) are all worth trying.

I add a strong reminder that _almost all children want to emulate their parents. What you listen to in your home without paying special attention to your child is ultimately going to interest your child, at least a bit._ I hope you have or find a genuine pleasure in listening to the full pieces from which these various suggested suggestions come... who knows? _As for what he likes; it is common for children or other 'n00bs' to go for the more obvious, dramatic, big bold and loud. I would not presume that eventually a taste for the more quiet, lyric, or following a work which takes longer to build up and develop is not in this child's future... right now, he has typical 'kid's taste.'_

The only pre-20th century work here:
Camille Saint-Saens ~ _Symphony No. 3_, 4th movement. This is about as big and grand as it gets, old style.





I think this might be very well-received: 
John Adams ~ _Grand pianola music_




the link is but a fragment of the piece, with commentary. 
The best recording is with the composer conducting: John Adams - London Sinfonietta; Elektra Nonesuch

Paul Dukas (of _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_ fame (which you might also want to try.)
_La Peri_ ~ ballet score, the opening brass fanfare is well-known.





Ottorino Respighi ~ T_he Pines of Rome_, 1st and 4th (last) movements.
I The Pines of the Villa Borghese (00'00'' - 02'55'') the whole work is readily enjoyable, with rich orchestral writing.




IV Pines of the Appian Way





Prokofiev:
_Piano Concerto No. 3_, 3rd Movement, this piece _moves_ 




_Lieutenant Kijé suite_ -- originally incidental music for a play, then film. A brief five movements. Under about in the link, a menu of click-on start points for each movement.
TryL I. Kijé's wedding; IV Troika 





Kodály Zoltán ~ _Háry János suite,_ again a go-to each movement menu of the different short movements found under 'about'
Recommending: The Battle and Defeat of Napoleon; Entrance of the Emporer and his Court





Stravinsky 
_The Firebird_
Infernal Dance Of All Of Kashchei's Subjects




Finale





_Symphony in three movements_,
I. Overture




III. Con Moto





Carl Nielsen ~ _Symphony No. 5_. Here is an instance where interest may be generated if you, on your own, happen to be listening to the entire piece. For the bigger bang / drama, go to the start of the second half @ 18'40''





Rachmaninoff ~ _Symphonic Dances_, I. Non allegro (about 11 minutes)





Worth a try...
Paul Hindemith, Symphonic Suite, _Mathis der Maler_









Maurice Ravel:
_Ma mere l'oye_ -- a set of short pieces based on fairy tales... 
the finale, _Le jardin féerique_ (under _about_ in the link is a menu of the movements, with a highlighted timing. click, and you're there....) This is a beautiful gradual build-up to a stunning full orchestral climax.





_Piano Concerto in G_ -- the first and third movements are lively, snappy, the writing for all the instruments brilliant... (the slow middle movement, Adagio assai, is a stunner), in eventuality of "a child's taste," try the 3rd movement @ 17'24''





Francis Poulenc: 
_Les Biches_, ballet suite, short episodes of varying character, from upbeat light fun to somewhat poignant.









_Concerto for Organ, strings and timpani_ with a pipe organ, of course this is 'big' and dramatic at times. 





Arthur Honegger ~ _Symphony No. 5 "Di tre re"_, the work's outer movements are quite powerful.
I. Grave




III. Allegro marcato


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## Guest (Jun 11, 2014)

If he likes John Williams, just show him the originals! (Stravinsky, Holst, Dvorak, Saint-Saens, etc)


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Mister Man said:


> Trailer music might give the poor boy a headache! But he listens to Hans Zimmer, so what's the difference?
> 
> I'm not belittling him or anything, don't peg me that way!


I thought the idea was to 'bump him up a notch' from film scores to classical


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

I have very mild Aspergers and this is some of the music I like that may appeal to your son:

Brahms Piano Concerto 1 (1st movement and 3rd movement)
Brahms Piano Concerto 2 (1st movement and 2nd movement)
Beethoven Symphony 9 (1st movement and 2nd movement) 
Mozart Requiem (Dies Irae)


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## okfoz (Jun 10, 2014)

I will say that my intention was to find something to bring him into something more classical... But I think what he likes is the rhythms that some of the movie scores tend to give. I hear what he likes, but I cannot put my finger on how to describe it. 

John


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## Matsps (Jan 13, 2014)

PetrB said:


> it is not that those are not classical, it is that they are really terrible music


Do you also think this of Two Steps From Hell?

(Also, I totally disagree and think the music is lovely)


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

How about a rare concert work by Danny Elfman. A couple of samples.




















Others I like are Britten's Four Sea interludes from Pete Grimes and Ned Rorem's Sunday Morning.


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## hreichgott (Dec 31, 2012)

Rzewski: Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues
Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Prokofiev: Toccata Op. 11
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini

edit: truly, did no one mention these above? 
Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
Copland: ***-Down from Rodeo
Strauss: Also sprach Zarathrustra (the apes/monolith music used in 2001 A Space Odyssey)

edit edit: apparently Copland needs to be censored! this piece is also called the fourth movement of the Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo. You may also know it as the beef commercial music.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Matsps said:


> Do you also think this of Two Steps From Hell?
> 
> (Also, I totally disagree and think the music is lovely)


Maybe a hair better than Posthumous, but so much of this music -- from Two Steps From Hell productions all the way up through James Horner, John Williams, Hans Zimmer and like -- is, no matter how slick and polished, a regurgitation of streams upon streams followed by more streams of the most hackneyed cheap sounding clichés -- talk about a kind of tacky low-end replicate knock-off. So, yeah, I think it is all pretty dreadful music.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

He may like Rosza Violin Concerto 3rd movement


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## CBD (Nov 11, 2013)

Mosolov's Iron Foundry: 




If anything, it's a little too over the top.


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