# What is a ubiquitous piece that you love?



## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Out of the most cliche and omnipresent classical works (Eine kleine nachtmusik, Moonlight sonata mvt. 1, Peer Gynt "Morning Mood, etc.) which do you actually love?

I write this because I heard The Blue Danube in a commercial today and realized that it was actually quite beautiful. An elegant and gorgeous waltz.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Claire de Lune, by Debussy. It is magic.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Debussy - Clair de lune
Grieg - Peer Gynt suites
Ravel - Bolero
Mussorgsky/Ravel - Pictures at an exhibition
Mozart - Clarinet concerto
Mahler - Adagietto from Symphony 5
Beethoven - Symphony 5
Dvorak - Symphony 9
Bach - Cello suites
Bach - Toccata and fugue BWV565
Beethoven - Moonlight sonata
Barber - Adagio (although preferred as part of his SQ)
Rossini - William Tell overture

for starters....


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" is frequently mentioned in this kind of context, so I'm going to say loud and proud that I love it. "Mere" entertainment music or not, it's music of quality and has charm and polish by the bucketload.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I find myself shunning the old chestnuts, the "lollypops" as Beecham used to call them.

Life is short. Why waste it listening to the "same old...same old" when there is so much other terrific music that has been written to explore?

How many times can one listen to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony? 

Those who do are "stagnant listeners".

There is a big wide, wonderful musical world filled with glorious sounds!

Put aside that Brahms 4, Beethoven 5, Tchaikovsky 6 and Dvorak 9 and begin expanding your musical horizons. Move a slight bit out of your comfort zones.

I view listening to ubiquitous classical music as a step backward; regression!


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

Tchaikovsky Nutcracker.

Beethoven symphonies 5 and 9.

Ravel Bolero.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

Today I play a " stagnant listener" , I'm listening to this and watching it as well





and even an extended version !!! :lol:


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

A ubiquitous piece I still love and listen to is Brandenberg Concerto no.3. 

Is there really a meaningful argument that shows you can't listen to what you already know and also listen to new discoveries?


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

I love most of these; how ubiquitous something is doesn't seem to affect whether or not I love it.

That said, I know how much 1812 Overture is disdained by classical fans, and I will always love it


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

hpowders said:


> I find myself shunning the old chestnuts, the "lollypops" as Beecham used to call them.
> 
> Life is short. Why waste it listening to the "same old...same old" when there is so much other terrific music that has been written to explore?
> 
> ...


This is true to some extent. There's a lot of great music out there worth exploring, but I don't have a problem with people returning to old favorites. After all, you wouldn't say that someone who enjoys having sex has stagnant entertainment tastes!


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Pretty much everything on Kickass Classical's Top 100

http://kickassclassical.com//classical-music-popular-famous-best-top-100-list.html


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

I love the following, for a start:

Rhapsody in Blue
Pachelbel's Canon
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Ride of the Valkyries
Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Ave Maria (Schubert)
William Tell Overture
Alla Hornpipe (from Handel Water Music)
Swan Lake theme and waltz
Nessun Dorma


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Blancrocher said:


> Pretty much everything on Kickass Classical's Top 100
> 
> http://kickassclassical.com//classical-music-popular-famous-best-top-100-list.html


Great list, and I love the keywords!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Klassik said:


> This is true to some extent. There's a lot of great music out there worth exploring, but I don't have a problem with* people returning to old favorites*. After all, you wouldn't say that someone who enjoys having sex has stagnant entertainment tastes!


Returning to old favorites is one thing. Never moving away from one's comfort zone is quite another!


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

hpowders said:


> I find myself shunning the old chestnuts, the "lollypops" as Beecham used to call them.
> 
> Life is short. Why waste it listening to the "same old...same old" when there is so much other terrific music that has been written to explore?
> 
> ...


This is a good point and related to something I've been thinking lately. What I've been thinking is this: some people seem to feel happy when they experience something new. But some other people seem to feel happy when they experience something totally familiar. It may be related to the city/rural thing that we talked about here at TC some time ago. Also it may be related to two different kinds of thinking - "historical" and "mythical". History progresses, myth returns to the beginning.

Most people, probably (like in most matters), fall in between.

Myself, I feel good when I experience new things. But when I experience old and familiar things, I feel really, really satisfied. This satisfaction is so great that it cannot be compared to the (itself substantial) thrill of experiencing something new.

So... people are different, eh?


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

Blancrocher said:


> Pretty much everything on Kickass Classical's Top 100
> 
> http://kickassclassical.com//classical-music-popular-famous-best-top-100-list.html


"Kickass" and "classical:" two words far too seldom seen together. But they should be. They should be.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

bharbeke said:


> I love the following, for a start:
> 
> ...snip.....
> 
> ...


Adding "hornpipe" to the list of words that sound dirty but probably aren't.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Klassik said:


> This is true to some extent. There's a lot of great music out there worth exploring, but I don't have a problem with people returning to old favorites. After all, you wouldn't say that someone who enjoys having sex has stagnant entertainment tastes!


Good analogy. Continuing with that line of thought, I've found that a new recording can often make an old piece feel fresh again, just like how a new position can spice things up in the bedroom!


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Bettina said:


> Good analogy. Continuing with that line of thought, I've found that a new recording can often make an old piece feel fresh again, just like how a new position can spice things up in the bedroom!


This is true. :devil: This raises an interesting question though. Does changing your position help you appreciate music in a new way?  Maybe the key to appreciating someone like Bruckner is to not listen to it missionary style as might be his preference? :lol:


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## EarthBoundRules (Sep 25, 2011)

Vivaldi's Four Seasons, specifically the first movement of Winter.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

EarthBoundRules said:


> Vivaldi's Four Seasons, specifically the first movement of Winter.


In the late 90s and early 2000s there seemed to be a fad for East European button accordion trios playing Bach and Vivaldi around Europe. I remember seeing one on a sunny day in front of Cologne cathedral, playing summer then winter from the Four Seasons. It was very impressive.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Xaltotun said:


> . . .
> 
> Myself, I feel good when I experience new things. But when I experience old and familiar things, I feel really, really satisfied. This satisfaction is so great that it cannot be compared to the (itself substantial) thrill of experiencing something new.
> 
> So... people are different, eh?


Or as I like to put it, you enjoy lots of travel but also enjoy coming home. Both are fantastic! I'm the same way.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Mozart's Overture to Nozze de Figaro


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I love the "Moonlight" sonata. I find it profoundly moving, cliche or not.

I like Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor, Op. 3, No. 2 for much the same reason. I understand even he came to resent it after a time, but I only hear these pieces every now and then. I don't listen to radio any more.

I've shamelessly enjoyed Bolero, but lately it's pretty much been replaced with Kilar's Exodus which fills a similar niche but on an even grander scale. Maybe I should come home to Bolero soon.


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

Claire de Lune, the Moonlight sonata, and the Lark Ascending immediately come to mind.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I spend probably 80-90% of my classical music time listening to new works especially modern and contemporary music. I love exploring new music even when I don't end up enjoying it right away. Still I love many of the works that many view as overplayed. Among them are:

Debussy - Clair de lune
Grieg - Peer Gynt suites
Ravel - Bolero
Beethoven - Moonlight sonata
Rossini - William Tell overture
Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker
Beethoven - Symphony 5
Strauss - The Blue Danube
Vivaldi - Four Seasons
Faure - Pavane

And quite a few more "well-loved works".

While I'm not sure I would say I love Pachelbel's Canon and Fur Elise, I certainly enjoy them.


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## Melvin (Mar 25, 2011)

eugeneonagain said:


> In the late 90s and early 2000s there seemed to be a fad for East European button accordion trios playing Bach and Vivaldi around Europe. I remember seeing one on a sunny day in front of Cologne cathedral, playing summer then winter from the Four Seasons. It was very impressive.


That reminds me! I've heard some Bach on accordion before and it sounds great, I really like it. Bach sounds great on any instrument. Also, one time on the radio I heard a version of the Brahms Piano quartet no. 1 transcribed for accordion!!! That one I would like to hear again, I wonder if I could track down the recording..


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Melvin said:


> That reminds me! I've heard some Bach on accordion before and it sounds great, I really like it. *Bach sounds great on any instrument. * Also, one time on the radio I heard a version of the Brahms Piano quartet no. 1 transcribed for accordion!!! That one I would like to hear again, I wonder if I could track down the recording..


 To me thats one of the most impressive things about his music


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Blancrocher said:


> Pretty much everything on Kickass Classical's Top 100
> 
> http://kickassclassical.com//classical-music-popular-famous-best-top-100-list.html


Ugh, many great movements there but it bugs me a little that they're just excerpts/single movements from the whole works! Stop giving masterpieces the shaft! :tiphat:


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Bettina said:


> Good analogy. Continuing with that line of thought, I've found that a new recording can often make an old piece feel fresh again, just like how a new position can spice things up in the bedroom!


Have you recommended this to your students yet?

:lol:


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

AfterHours said:


> Have you recommended this to your students yet?
> 
> :lol:


With certain adult students, I occasionally use risqué metaphors to describe musical moods and techniques.


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Bettina said:


> With certain adult students, I occasionally use risqué metaphors to describe musical moods and techniques.


Very smart, "meeting them where they live" (perhaps even literally?) ... Keeps their attention on, umm, the "pianist".


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## Troy (Apr 23, 2015)

I continue to love Nessun Dorma despite the fact that it's sung by so many people who really shouldn't. Also the Gigue from the fifth French Suite makes me laugh with delight every time I hear it played, though I don't know if that's really ubiquitous.


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

A couple of ballet / dance works seem to stick from hearing them in my youth. Petrushka, Romeo & Juliet.


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