# Classical music for party



## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

Hello TC community,

My orchestra has finished all the work of this semester and we will have a party tomorrow. Is there any recommendation on what classical music may add on to the mood of a party?

KevinW


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Brahms - Hungarian dances
Arnold - English dances (2 sets), Scottish dances, Welsh dances, Cornish dances, Irish dances
Mozart - Divertimenti
Respighi - Ancient Airs and Dances (Italian: Antiche arie e danze)


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

The above, plus:

Mozart Clarinet Concerto
Spohr E-flat piano/wind quintet
Goldmarck Rustic Wedding Symphony
Mendelssohn Midsummer Night's Dream and Fair Melusina overtures


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

In general, great music makes lousy party music. Unless it was written for that purpose: background music. Some of the Mozart Divertimentos? Handel Water Music or Royal Fireworks. When I have a holiday party I like to put on the Christmas albums made a long time ago by Andre Kostelanetz, Carmen Dragon and Morton Gould. Great arrangements, no vocals. And then another favorite: A Theater Organ Christmas.


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## Nawdry (Dec 27, 2020)

mbhaub said:


> In general, great music makes lousy party music. Unless it was written for that purpose: background music. Some of the Mozart Divertimentos? Handel Water Music or Royal Fireworks. When I have a holiday party I like to put on the Christmas albums made a long time ago by Andre Kostelanetz, Carmen Dragon and Morton Gould. Great arrangements, no vocals. And then another favorite: A Theater Organ Christmas.


I generally agree, but would speculate that highschool orchestra musicians probably share the same proclivities and hormonal influences as young people of that age category in general, and would go for classical music at a party about as much as cold coffee. Possibly jaunty holiday golden oldies like "Felix Navidad" might be interspersed with the latest Top 100 pop hits, but, gorgeous as they may be, I doubt the great classical classics from Brahms, Mozart, etc. would receive the appreciation they deserve in this setting.

I will say that some ethnic "pop" music (e.g., Greek, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, etc.), which sort of bridges the gap between classical and popular, has been known to work for such occasions.


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## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

Lol, we just had the party and I ended up listening to Mozart Magic Flute and Divertimento alone in a practice room because they started playing pop outside!


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Dunno about music for whilst the party is on but if you want to clear everyone out at the end of the night then Elgar's Dream of Gerontius should do the trick. Skip the prelude, though, as that's not that awful. Once the singing starts it usually takes less than 5 minutes to clear an entire room. :lol:


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

I think it would help you relate to your peers more if you showed some interest in some of the music they listen to and explore it yourself. Not saying you have to forcibly subject yourself to watered down pop and garbage rap, but there's way more to non-classical than that - no doubt some of your classmates listen to stuff like indie, prog metal, jazz, the list goes on. Not only will it broaden your own horizons as a listener, but familiarizing yourself with other genres will make you a more well-rounded musician too with a stronger sense of musicality. And to be blunt, it'll make you seem less stuck up to people too.

When I was your age the first music I really started listening to was classical which made me pick up the cello. Then some of my friends introduced me to metal which became my 2nd musical love. I was surprised what an organic transition it was from classical to metal, and appreciating their musicianship from a classical listener's perspective: like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, for instance. Not saying metal will necessarily be your cup of tea, but if you talk to some of your classmates and explore some other music, I have no doubt you'll find your own equivalent.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

KevinW said:


> Hello TC community,
> 
> My orchestra has finished all the work of this semester and we will have a party tomorrow. Is there any recommendation on what classical music may add on to the mood of a party?
> 
> KevinW


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Merl said:


> Dunno about music for whilst the party is on but if you want to clear everyone out at the end of the night then Elgar's Dream of Gerontius should do the trick. Skip the prelude, though, as that's not that awful. Once the singing starts it usually takes less than 5 minutes to clear an entire room. :lol:


No, the ultimate room-clearer is Orff's "De Temporum Fine Comoedia."






As for pleasing classical party music, I think Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is great for the purpose.


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## Nawdry (Dec 27, 2020)

KevinW said:


> Lol, we just had the party and I ended up listening to Mozart Magic Flute and Divertimento alone in a practice room because they started playing pop outside!


I was afraid something like that might happen ...


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## Nawdry (Dec 27, 2020)

GucciManeIsTheNewWebern said:


> I think it would help you relate to your peers more if you showed some interest in some of the music they listen to and explore it yourself. Not saying you have to forcibly subject yourself to watered down pop and garbage rap, but there's way more to non-classical than that - no doubt some of your classmates listen to stuff like indie, prog metal, jazz, the list goes on. Not only will it broaden your own horizons as a listener, but familiarizing yourself with other genres will make you a more well-rounded musician too with a stronger sense of musicality. And to be blunt, it'll make you seem less stuck up to people too.
> 
> When I was your age the first music I really started listening to was classical which made me pick up the cello. Then some of my friends introduced me to metal which became my 2nd musical love. I was surprised what an organic transition it was from classical to metal, and appreciating their musicianship from a classical listener's perspective: like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, for instance. Not saying metal will necessarily be your cup of tea, but if you talk to some of your classmates and explore some other music, I have no doubt you'll find your own equivalent.


This is excellent advice. Through the centuries, popular music has been a crucial, robust wellspring for classical music, particularly compositional development. I believe classical musicians, and classical music generally, will benefit from close association with, and interest in, popular genres.


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## BoggyB (May 6, 2016)

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik !

Or Telemann's Table Music maybe.


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## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

GucciManeIsTheNewWebern said:


> I think it would help you relate to your peers more if you showed some interest in some of the music they listen to and explore it yourself. Not saying you have to forcibly subject yourself to watered down pop and garbage rap, but there's way more to non-classical than that - no doubt some of your classmates listen to stuff like indie, prog metal, jazz, the list goes on. Not only will it broaden your own horizons as a listener, but familiarizing yourself with other genres will make you a more well-rounded musician too with a stronger sense of musicality. And to be blunt, it'll make you seem less stuck up to people too.
> 
> When I was your age the first music I really started listening to was classical which made me pick up the cello. Then some of my friends introduced me to metal which became my 2nd musical love. I was surprised what an organic transition it was from classical to metal, and appreciating their musicianship from a classical listener's perspective: like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, for instance. Not saying metal will necessarily be your cup of tea, but if you talk to some of your classmates and explore some other music, I have no doubt you'll find your own equivalent.


I appreciate your suggestion very much. Yes, it would be a great challenge for me to get into the world of my peers if I only listen to classical music. I can pretty much feel that--when I am with other teenagers, I feel like I do not have that much to talk with them. When they talk to each other, I can just stare at them, because those people are talking about their favorite pop song singers or marvel movies but I am thinking about Bach Passions and Mozart Operas... The situation is worsen by the fact that I am not a native speaker of the language my classmates speak. Even my parents say that I am already an old man at the age of 16.

Admittedly there are many problems if I only stick to classical music, but I think my personality probably won't agree if I try to expose myself to the pop culture my peers are living under. I am really traditional in many ways of my life, such as dressing, talking, behavior, interests, hobbies, beliefs, etc. These characteristics do create many obstacles in my life regarding to people relations, but this is also why I come to Talk Classical. I don't want to compromise my own personality (which isn't bad compared to my peers, and even better in some ways), so it is better to find people with similar interests. And gladly, I have found a couple of peers that are resemble to me on this forum! Before that I never encountered people with similar personalities. So it is proven that Talk Classical is a good place.:lol:


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## Judas Priest Fan (Apr 27, 2018)

Care to tell us a bit more about yourself? What´s your native language, and where are you living now?

BTW, I´m 56 and am/was a life long Metal fan, until I discovered Classical about 5 years ago. Now it´s 99% Classical for me


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

MatthewWeflen said:


> No, the ultimate room-clearer is Orff's "De Temporum Fine Comoedia."
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh, no, no, no no no.

You want to clear a room?

*Yoko Ono*.


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## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

Nice! It is always very exciting to see people discovering their interest in classical music and shift from other genres to classical.

If you check my previous threads, you might know that I am a 16 years old Chinese high schooler, but I am currently studying in an American private school in the suburbs of Chicago. My native language is therefore Chinese and I find it sometimes hard to communicate with my classmates for language problems. My English is fairly ok. I have no problem reading, listening and writing in English, but speaking is really hard for me. This problem is worsened when I talk to my peers, given that we have distinct interests and lifestyles. We can “talk”, but we don’t share common topics. For example, my school sometimes organize field trips to downtown Chicago. The destinations for my classmates are probably Alan Walker concerts, but I will go to Chicago Symphony Orchestra for concerts. (Btw, I really want to watch Handel’s Messiah at CSO during winter vacation but it costs so much…) Anyway, I find it hard to make friends with most people, even those in school orchestras because they do not love classical music at all. The orchestra class is just a way to earn credits for their art course requirement. This is the reason why I am very active on Talk Classical. I am currently playing the assistant concertmaster, and I am learning amateur conducting because I really enjoy music. But it will be expected that the players will disappoint me and fend off my passion. 

I am considering whether I should fake a personality… This sounds kinda unrealistic and childish but might be the only option. I have tried to accept their pop culture but apparently it does not fit me. The only way is to fake myself as someone similar with them: listening to K Pop by those male singers that dress like women, or some rock/medals stuff that drives them crazily dancing, or European/American pop music which encourages them to dye their hair half green and half blue like a clown. Watching some Marvel movies that teach them wear as few clothes as possible also works.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

KevinW said:


> I am considering whether I should fake a personality.


I think the Community Forum is more appropriate a place for asking this sort of questions.


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## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

hammeredklavier said:


> I think the Community Forum is more appropriate a place for asking this sort of questions.


Bruh. I am not kidding.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

KevinW said:


> Nice! It is always very exciting to see people discovering their interest in classical music and shift from other genres to classical.
> 
> If you check my previous threads, you might know that I am a 16 years old Chinese high schooler, but I am currently studying in an American private school in the suburbs of Chicago. My native language is therefore Chinese and I find it sometimes hard to communicate with my classmates for language problems. My English is fairly ok. I have no problem reading, listening and writing in English, but speaking is really hard for me. This problem is worsened when I talk to my peers, given that we have distinct interests and lifestyles. We can "talk", but we don't share common topics. For example, my school sometimes organize field trips to downtown Chicago. The destinations for my classmates are probably Alan Walker concerts, but I will go to Chicago Symphony Orchestra for concerts. (Btw, I really want to watch Handel's Messiah at CSO during winter vacation but it costs so much…) Anyway, I find it hard to make friends with most people, even those in school orchestras because they do not love classical music at all. The orchestra class is just a way to earn credits for their art course requirement. This is the reason why I am very active on Talk Classical. I am currently playing the assistant concertmaster, and I am learning amateur conducting because I really enjoy music. But it will be expected that the players will disappoint me and fend off my passion.
> 
> I am considering whether I should fake a personality… This sounds kinda unrealistic and childish but might be the only option. I have tried to accept their pop culture but apparently it does not fit me. The only way is to fake myself as someone similar with them: listening to K Pop by those male singers that dress like women, or some rock/medals stuff that drives them crazily dancing, or European/American pop music which encourages them to dye their hair half green and half blue like a clown. Watching some Marvel movies that teach them wear as few clothes as possible also works.


Interesting.

I imagine it must be difficult for someone of your age to find peers that also enjoy classical music.

If you play an instrument, you might consider auditioning for a youth orchestra.


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## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

pianozach said:


> Interesting.
> 
> I imagine it must be difficult for someone of your age to find peers that also enjoy classical music.
> 
> If you play an instrument, you might consider auditioning for a youth orchestra.


Bruh, youth orchestras are full of people who play instruments perfectly but never likes classical music. They were just forced by their parents to play in those orchestras...


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

KevinW said:


> Bruh, youth orchestras are full of people who play instruments perfectly but never likes classical music. They were just forced by their parents to play in those orchestras...


Bruh, you shouldn't over-generalize. That _may_ be true of some, but there are also those that play because they _*love*_ the music.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Please don’t invite me to a party that has classical music. I speak as one who, as most people on this forum know, loves classical music. But everything in its place surely!


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

pianozach said:


> Bruh, you shouldn't over-generalize. That _may_ be true of some, but there are also those that play because they _*love*_ the music.


It definitely has a grain of truth to it though unfortunately.


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## Judas Priest Fan (Apr 27, 2018)

Kevin, just be who you are; don´t fake anything.

What really baffles me is, how can one learn an instrument, practice for hundreds or thousands of hours, play classical music, and not LIKE it?

By the way, I grew up south of Chicago, but have been living in Germany since 1985.


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## Ariasexta (Jul 3, 2010)

> I am considering whether I should fake a personality… This sounds kinda unrealistic and childish but might be the only option. I have tried to accept their pop culture but apparently it does not fit me. The only way is to fake myself as someone similar with them: listening to K Pop by those male singers that dress like women, or some rock/medals stuff that drives them crazily dancing, or European/American pop music which encourages them to dye their hair half green and half blue like a clown. Watching some Marvel movies that teach them wear as few clothes as possible also works.


A way of making good relationships while keeping ones personal interest alive is concentration, people have a lot of respect for people who can concentrate on their own work, just give up unnecessary hobbies, focus on making friends and your own set vision of work. Do not pursue classical music out of amateurism before you can maintain a stable career that can feed yourself, or you will ruin yourself.

I am 37 yo and well secured in my livelihood, do not be mistaking me for a student for my avatar.


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

Judas Priest Fan said:


> Kevin, just be who you are; don´t fake anything.
> 
> What really baffles me is, how can one learn an instrument, practice for hundreds or thousands of hours, play classical music, and not LIKE it?
> 
> By the way, I grew up south of Chicago, but have been living in Germany since 1985.


100%. Never compromise your sense of self or force a fake personality.


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## Nawdry (Dec 27, 2020)

pianozach said:


> Oh, no, no, no no no.
> 
> You want to clear a room?
> 
> *Yoko Ono*.


If they're really stoned enough, I could imagine them grooving on Yoko indefinitely. You'd have a room full of inert bodies ...

Actually, this has a lot more melodic interest than a lot of the new pop music I hear nowadays.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Hooked On Classics?


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

GucciManeIsTheNewWebern said:


> It definitely has a grain of truth to it though unfortunately.


Indeed it does, and it's not limited to youth orchestras. There are a fair number of people who play in adult community orchestras (and even more so, in amateur choirs) who are largely there for social reasons.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

KevinW said:


> Lol, we just had the party and I ended up listening to Mozart Magic Flute and Divertimento alone in a practice room because they started playing pop outside!


What a surprise


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## progmatist (Apr 3, 2021)

One thing I find helpful in a party type atmosphere is to run classical music through a limiter. Even going so far as brickwalling it. That way, there are no soft passages in which the music all but disappears. This would of course be sacrilege in any other setting.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Don't overthink it. Just play




(^I've listened to the first 2 hours of this, I intend to finish someday)


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

hammeredklavier said:


> Don't overthink it. Just play
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm a big fan of a Telemann. I honestly think he's way more inventive and interesting than people give him credit for.


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