# Music recommendations from fellow members



## LordHenry (Sep 4, 2013)

Dear friends,

I don't play any musical instrument, and don't possess any knowledge in music theory. I am however an avid music listener, a fanatical "mélomane" interested in almost all genres. I am 34 years old, and for now 2 years I have been under the spell of classical music, and spend hours daily listening to classical recordings.

As you may guess, I judge music solely based on the emotions it prompts in me and my personal aesthetics.

The type of composition that pleases my senses the most is the Piano Concerto. I of course also enjoy piano sonatas and other piano works immensely, as well as most other types of compositions (other types of concertos, symphonies, chamber music...). I love piano, its harmonic and melodic complexity, the infinite possibilities of its compositions...

I desperately want to discover more music that will ravish me, and was wondering if some of you could recommend some compositions and specific recordings I may enjoy. What I love: 
-Mozart's late piano concertos (as well as the 9th),
-the piano works of Chopin, Liszt, some Debussy,
-Schubert's Sonatas, 
-Rachmaninoff's piano concerto #3 (I can't stand #2),
I enjoy a few sonatas and piano works from Beethoven, but have a terrible aversion for most of his symphonies, concertos and other ensembles; a large selection of his most famous compositions consistently strike me as overdramatic and excessively mawkish.

Thank you for your time!
Warm regards,
/Greg


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## Garlic (May 3, 2013)

Try some Brian Ferneyhough


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

Khachaturian Piano Concerto:






Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.2


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)




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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

The level of my technical music incompetence is the same as yours. It is this 'ignorance of the finer points' that guides our preferences, though my relatively vast listening experience may have some _repercussions_. 

"I enjoy a few sonatas and piano works from Beethoven, but have a terrible aversion for most of his symphonies, concertos and other ensembles; a large selection of his most famous compositions consistently strike me as overdramatic and excessively mawkish."

Since my incompetence encompasses psychology, I can only guess at a cause for this aberration. My guess - get ready for this - is that you expect ravishment, and that is not Beethoven's intention. He wants to tell you a true story; sure and it's emotional, but it's true - no con job.

I'm pretty sure I'm being of no help, but someday, my message being indelible, you will wish I had made some sort of sense.

Glad you are here, Greg. you write well, even being desperate for ravishment.


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## LordHenry (Sep 4, 2013)

Thank you for the recommendations folks! I will definitely listen to the compositions you shared and let you know what I thought.

Thank you Hilltroll, you will find grammar mistakes here and there in my posts though; English is not my first language. 

I do love to be told a story. Ravishment was maybe too strong a word, let's just say that I seek music that pleases my ears and awakens my emotions. I am fine with sentiment and drama when handled with measure and justified by the story, but can't help but find that some great composers enjoy hammering oversentimental and overdramatic compositions out of the blue. 

Lyricism has to be rooted in reality, and the voice needs to follow the patterns of a spoken language. I feel just that when I listen to Mozart concertos, or Beethoven's more intimate piano pieces, for example, but when it comes to Beethoven's symphonies and concertos, all I hear is drama for the drama; he proclaims without speaking, elates the boldness of his themes without anchoring it in the complexity of my reality. 

I'd be tempted to oversimplify by saying that the musical waves in Mozart's orchestral works come from the ocean, while the musical waves in Beethoven's orchestral works are annoyingly metaphysical.

This is probably why I have trouble finding orchestral compositions from the romantic era that I fancy. Romantic lyricism lends itself well to poetry or intimate piano works, but orchestral works need to possess the depth of a novel -- and begin with the realism and delicacy of a fine prose narrative -- to please me.

Thanks again for all your feedback, friends.

Cheers,
/Greg


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

LordHenry said:


> Lyricism has to be rooted in reality, and the voice needs to follow the patterns of a spoken language. I feel just that when I listen to Mozart concertos, or Beethoven's more intimate piano pieces, for example, but when it comes to Beethoven's symphonies and concertos, all I hear is drama for the drama; he proclaims without speaking, elates the boldness of his themes without anchoring it in the complexity of my reality.


In addition to some of the piano sonatas, you may like to explore Beethoven's late string quartets, which are very intimate and formally exploratory compositions--much less extroverted than his symphonies and concertos (which I also like). Have you listened to the symphonies of Sibelius? They are moving, deeply personal pieces: after the Beethovenian 1st and Romantic 2nd, he starts to peel away one layer after another! The whole set gives me the shivers!

(Unlike Mozart, however, Sibelius doesn't have a genius for opera, so you may miss a certain quality of "voice" in his work.)

Anyways--happy listening!


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

To be truthful, I'd recommend Schumann's Op 17 Fantasie over all others.

But, from the sounds of it, it seems like the safer off-the-beaten-track recommendation for you might be Moritz Moszkowski's Piano Concerto, Op. 59 - an amazingly overlooked masterpiece.


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## LordHenry (Sep 4, 2013)

Re: recommendation #8:
*Schumann's "Fantasy" sonata (op. 17)* was such a delight, thank you Vesteralen, thank you so much. I listened to it on a BBC Arrau recording that also contains the Piano Sonata #13 from Beethoven that I tried to listen to but in vain (the constant repetition of the same piece of melody all along the Andante bored me to death). Is there another recording that you would mind recommending?

Re: recommendation #7:
Blancrocher, 
I do enjoy *Beethoven's String Quartets* indeed, when the time is right. I have been listening to the Colorado Quartet on Parnassus. Would you mind recommending another recording? Thank you so much, my friend, for the Sibelius recommendation. I totally ignored his work and based on what I am listening to now (symphony #2) I definitely want to explore more.

I did not enjoy recommendations #2, #3 and #4, but thank you for your time folks.

Warm regards,
/Greg


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

LordHenry said:


> Re: recommendation #7:
> Blancrocher,
> I do enjoy *Beethoven's String Quartets* indeed, when the time is right. I have been listening to the Colorado Quartet on Parnassus. Would you mind recommending another recording?


I'd recommend the Takacs Quartet's versions, though many groups have distinguished themselves in this repertoire.

Let me know what you think of the remaining Sibelius symphonies: be prepared for some wild oscillations in tone and form from symphony to symphony!


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Well, I don't know..but, if you liked the Schumann Fantasy, you might enjoy his Sonata No 2 in g minor Op 22. Another favorite of mine is Brahms' Ballades Op 10.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

Piano Concertos are a favorite of mine too.
Try these, if you don't know them already:

-*Ravel*'s _Piano Concerti_: 



 (Piano Concerto for the left hand); 



 (Piano Concerto In G Major)
-*Bartok*'s _Piano Concerto No.2_: 



 (with its "I can't believe it" second movement)
-*Prokofiev*'s _Piano Concerto No.3_: 



-*Ginastera*'s _Piano Concerto No. 1_: 



-*Stravinsky*'s _Movements for Piano and Orchestra_: 



-*Xenakis*' _Keqrops_: 



-*Boulez*'s _Sur Incises_:



-*Ligeti*'s _Piano Concerto_: 



-*Haas*' _limited approximation_s: 




Some of those are not piano concertos, but have interesting piano parts in any case.


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

I recommend any Schubert. Anything Schubert, especially if its late, is worth exploring.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

It sounds as though you might enjoy Brahms works. His symphonies, while superb to me, can be as unsubtle on the surface as Beethoven's, but his chamber works are quite moving, but not as over the top as some Rachmaninov pieces can be. I enjoy the one below because the opening theme seems to be a bit unpredictable. One is not quite sure which direction it will go.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

*"I desperately want to discover more music that will ravish me"
*
Scriabin, Myaskovsky, Schnittke, Nono, Berio, Ligeti, Gubaidulina, Lutoslawski, Szymanowski, Penderecki. :tiphat:


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Judging from the introductory post, you seem to like a lyrical vein in the music rather than the bombastically heroic, martial or provocatively modern ...
My 2 cents: Medtner Piano Concerto 3, but ONLY the Ponti recording:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Romantic-Piano-Concerto-Vol/dp/B000001K3G

This is one of the cases where one recording of a work is markedly different from the others, and Ponti adds the quality of an "impressionistic" flow, where other pianists tend to emphasize the dimension of Russian melancholy and much slower tempi. I never grow tired of listening to the countless details in that intricate, beautiful work and the recording.


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## LordHenry (Sep 4, 2013)

Alright, I created my playlists and will be exploring all day long while I work. Thank you!


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