I got turned away from classical for the longest time because of these composers (With the exception of Beethoven and Bach, whom I've always liked). I was about to give up classical as something I'd never understand until I found out about Erik Satie: http://youtu.be/atejQh9cXWI This started it all. This piece, all of his pieces were so different from all other classical pieces I've ever listened to; This was no surprise as Satie never quite liked romanticism and the previous classical composers and their ways. He had an entirely different style, one that was a kind of predessecor to other musical genres (Muzak, "furniture music" and ambient of the likes of Brian Eno and friends). I suppose this is my Number 1. Here's a good documentary on Erik Satie: http://youtu.be/rCacoDnHGe4 After Erik Satie, I wanted to look for similar artists, and many people have told me that he hung out with Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, and they composed in a musical style inspired by the paintings of the impressionist painters, which is what they called themselves: Debussy: http://youtu.be/ZdBjJZ0sAJQ Ravel: http://youtu.be/amGl9Qmgu7E These are my numbers 2 and 3. After a while, I wanted to go back to the ones I disliked and see if I liked them now, at this point, I found a composer named Gustav Mahler: http://youtu.be/URKGIa0b_jI Now, this was some really heavy stuff. I went to listen to all of hy symphonies and all of them were great, and even moreso, all of them had that "link" I couldn't find in Mozart or the other usual folks. I guess at this point, I was well on my way to becoming addicted to classical. This is my number 4. After Mahler, I better appreciated Mozart and friends but I still didn't like them, I just put away my issues with them. I wanted to go more modern, as it seemed that has never let me down. Enter Stravinsky and Shostakovich and my numbers 5 and 6: Stravinsky: http://youtu.be/aGFRwKQqbk4 Shostakovich: http://youtu.be/ogJFXqYEYd8 From here, I wanted to go even more modern, to see what's going on so far, an I discovered Alfred Schnittke, my number 7, and oh man, was this a real mindscrew: http://youtu.be/xNKWoo9Fe40 If you want to take a gander at the abyss, this guy will help you there. All of his works are so deliciously dark and demonic. Very excellent. From here I went to the Minimalists: Steve Reich: http://youtu.be/fx27voOtpNs Terry Riley: http://youtu.be/BHBvoBti_eg I find it harder and harder to write. I don't know who said it, but someone said writing about music is like dancing about architecture. I'll just leave it to you to hear them and let them speak for themselves. Those are my numbers 8 and 9. Long ago, I found out about John Cage and his radical 4'33'' and the more avante-garde classical at the time. I liked a lot of it, but there was one composer in particular that stood far out from the rest, and that guy was Morton Feldman: http://youtu.be/MR4o9sjA1EE http://youtu.be/x-9QcADiekY http://youtu.be/myIvdeQH8hQ This guy... He was a lot like Satie. He spend most of his time in music school arguing with his teachers about what music should be like. I found a kindred spirit in him. I never got classical music before when it was all Mozart and Schubert and Haydn so on. His music is so quiet, so meaningful, so sad. It's quite avante-garde, so it takes some buffering time for someone used to only Mozart or Beethoven, or even Mahler, Satie, Reich and everyone else on my list, to get into him but his work, imo, is really something special from all the other composers I've ever listened to. He's my number 10 favorite composer. And now, some honorable mentions: Perotin, a very OLD composer: http://youtu.be/bpgaEFmdFcM This is a funny quirk. I actually like Medieval composers/Gregorian chant because they were actually similar to modern composers in a certain sense (Hard to explain, since I'm not musically educated). Somehwere along the line, composers like Mozart and Beethoven, the classical and romantic periods, changed their musical style. Arvo Part: http://youtu.be/PzSlmWQuHFw Modern composer, and very excellent. John Luther Adams: http://youtu.be/g6wX1c-Zk9Q Inspired by Morton Feldman and the natural areas of Alaska, so naturally, I'd like his work. Very beautiful stuff. Simeon Ten Holt: http://youtu.be/f7yeIWne0iw This piece is magnificent. This is my number 11, if I could add in a number 11. IT's a strange piece that just makes you want to reflect the longer you listen to it. It's a really amazing song. And for now, that is it, because this is already a long list, but at least I gave you some recommendations that are more on the modern side, which I think more people should look into, as there's a lot of neat stuff there waiting to be found and enjoyed. As always, this is all my opinion, I have no musical background and the likes
Philip Glass - Known for composing several soundtracks for movies/shows, can vary from more ambient, relaxed pieces to very aggressive and repetitive minimalism, "Like he wants to punch you in the face or something." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imbwn6iVryQ - Glassworks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il4VDf-ugPI - Metamorphosis 1 (series of 7 piano pieces based on repetitions of the same sets of notes rearranged differently) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmX_GgozpQs - Einstein on the Beach (more aggressive, mathematical) Johan Johannsson - Icelandic neo-classical composer, incredibly haunting and stripped down pieces. Known for also incorporating unusual instruments/samples (such as his composition IBM 1401, which uses samples from a instructional video for the IBM 1401 printer.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt7pjz3Vr_4 - Fordlandia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBw_wSoVQrY - IBM 1401 Processing Unit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Rfkhg7s_M - The Cause of Labour is the Hope of the World (If you watch nothing else, watch this. It's a piece produced for a movie about the coal miners of Britain in the early 1900s. Powerful would be an understatement.) Max Richter - An even more modern composer, he stands solidly in neo-classical along with Johannsson. Has a tendency to include some elements of electronica in his works, many of his pieces use very fuzzed out samples made to sound like old style radios. Wrote the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed film Waltz With Bashir, and also Shutter Island. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3A0FwAhGWA - Infra 4 (best listened in order) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4Kybxu7fiQ - Infra 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rluU6BGpKw - The Nature of Daylight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TRskpDol_4&feature=resul... - Iconography Hopefully some people see this and my linkspam isn't to waste. These really are great composers
I've listened to some Philip Glass and I've liked what I have heard. I'll start there. Thanks Lhowon.
I don't have anything of meaning to add unfortunately, but I'm almost certain the the architecture quote was said by Zappa.
Excellent! I didn't even realize he said it, and I call myself a Zappa fan! Of course, in retrospect, I could have googled the quote and figured that out... I'm stupid. Well, since you provided something, I may as well just post some more classical stuff I like, as a way to say thank you, and also because I wanna share some composers I really enjoy, and I don't know any other place to post it but here: Alexander Scriabin's 5th Sonata: http://youtu.be/WqmOp_rKRqo Perhaps the most beautiful piano Sonata I've ever heard in my entire life (That part at 1:30... God!). This piece inspired me to make a crazy new years resolution to learn the piano and play this piece. I know it's impossible, since famous concert pianist Sviatoslav Richter said this was the hardest piano piece he's ever played, but hell, why not? Samuil Feinberg's 1st Piano Sonata: http://youtu.be/uKXceUKEyOs Melancholic piano piece. I found this composer when looking for more composers like Scriabin, which is actually a lot harder than it seems since Scriabin was really quite the odd composer, with his music inspired by his Synesthesia and religious/philsophic studies. This guy's stuff really gives off a very similar vibe though. Quite beautiful stuff. Gyorgy Ligeti's Harmonies study #1 for Organ: http://youtu.be/J3gVRPmx9cI This piece, I really dig. Organs as it is often have this spooky atmosphere to them thanks to things like the phantom of the opera and cheesy horror movies using them, but this makes them sound downright unsettling thanks to his unconventional method of playing, which some youtubers describe on the video (makes for some interesting reading). The avante-garde classical composers often have a lot of stuff that I personally find unlistenable, even knowing the history behind it, but Ligeti stands out as one of the great ones worth listening to. Gavriil Popov's 1st Symphony: http://youtu.be/umr1FL65EpM This Symphony apparently caused quite a ruckus in the USSR forcing him to "calm down" his composing, his later pieces taking a much more reserved, soviet friendly tone to them. Critics often find this to be his most interesting piece, and listening to it, you can see why: This is NOT a happy piece. It's sad his talents were suppressed a bit due to politics. Philip Glass's Satyagraha Opera (I chose the last part) http://youtu.be/CHKUt5fDbH0 Lhowon already posted a lot of Philip glass, but I'll post this anyways: I really have this odd love-hate thing with Philip Glass. I absolutely love his earlier works, like his famous three operas Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten, as well as his music in changing parts and music in twelve parts, but I personally don't like any of his symphonies or later works. I don't know, but his later works have this loss of flavor that made him so great. His early music was really some stunning stuff. Hyper minimalistic and repetitive music that just sounds fantastic. His later stuff is also like this, but it takes on a form that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Giya Kanchelli's Styx: http://youtu.be/kyD_L5G_AFs Simply put, a stunning evocative piece. Normally pieces like this don't "grab" me, but this one... Straight to the heart and mind. And for the heck of it, here's a bonus Satie's Gymnopedie on a Synthesizer: http://youtu.be/BNx_c1gyB2o Damn, I could go all day on all the classical composers and pieces I love. This isn't even half of all the stuff I love... I really ought to one day study this stuff a little more in depth. But then again, this isn't even a big interest of mine, compared to my interest in computers, literature and Philosophy... Oh world, why must you tease me with all of this interesting stuff and then give me about 70 years to enjoy it. Can't I have an eternity to enjoy all of this wonderful stuff? One can dream...
Bridge - Piano Sonata; I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aiWXBNioxE I love the choice of chords a lot, it gives me really creepy and sad vibes. I feel as if there's a lot of Chopin and Scriabin influences in it, even though it contains original-sounding harmonies. Definitely worth a listen, if you haven't already, IMO.
Never heard of him, but just this: sounds like something I'd do, which makes me like him just for that. The piano sonata you link to is quite beautiful. Sometimes it reminds me of the style the impressionist composers, specifically Debussy, use. I really enjoyed listening to it. It's a piece that makes me think of the words magical and subtle as descriptions."As a pacifist of deep conviction Bridge was scarred by the misery caused by World War I. It is known that he was so distressed by the news from the battlefields that he would wander the streets by himself at night, mulling over the carnage."
Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor - http://youtu.be/YrjRK-h0730?hd=1
I enjoy collecting vinyl records and until now I have not considered collecting classical music. Now I have some new names to search for. Again, I really look forward to this journey you've laid out for me. I have no doubt it will take me in some new directions (as it did you) and I look forward to sharing my findings with you. Thank you Owl. Thank you very much.
If you really want to get into classical, here's an amazing wikipedia chart showing most notable western composers in chronological order. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_classical_music_compose... This is seriously an amazing chart, and makes me glad Wikipedia exists. Just looking at this list reminds me of several other composers I really like (Charles Ives, for instance. Great American Composer). With all this, you're pretty much set for finding all sorts of great composers and new tunes to have stuck in your heard.