Classical Music Recommendations

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I recommend Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. My favorite to play on piano is bach because he puts amazing left-hand basslines into his songs!! Mozart rocks to play in a group!! Umm…for more modern instrumental, i recommend Apocalyptica…don’t be freaked by the name…i believe it is all instrumental, violins, cellos, guitars, but they are all electric. They do a cover of Grieg’s (sp.?) “In the Hall of the Mountain King” which is just amazing!!
 
I am a professional violinist and play as the first violinist in my family’s chamber orchestra (currently made up of myself and 7 siblings, all playing violin, viola, or cello). I highly recommend classical music by any of the major composers, but with a Catholic twist: do the research on the composers and especially emphasize the Catholics! Such composers at Franz Joseph Haydn ( who inscribed all his works with A.M.D.G. or some equivalent), Antonio Vivaldi, Tartini, Corelli, Bruckner, Mahler,…the list goes on and on!
 
THANKS Everyone for the great suggestions!!!
We do have such a library, and I have checked it out and there are numerous resources there!

Captaincatholic (or anyone), could you recommend specific works by Hadyn, Vivaldi, etc. There is a plethora of picks out there!!!
 
I agree with most of the recommendations here, although I’m one of those who feels not much good was written after Beethoven died (yeah, I’m a music snob 👍)

If you want something that is CONSUMATELY AWESOME and current in classical music, look for “Fantasias for Violin and Piano” by Eric Genuis, featuring William Merimee on violin. We saw them perform at a Catholic Resource Center conference Memorial Day Weekend - tears were just rolling down my face :crying: -but they were tears of joy.

Eric is part of RADIX - a wonderful youth ministry performance group. Their bio’s can be found here: radixguys.com/main2.htm
I don’t see the “Fantasias” CD on the site yet; it’s fairly new. The concert was also bundled with Radix’s “The Passion” DVD. (another CONSUMATELY AWESOME presentation - made me cry as much as Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” did.) I’m sure if you contact them, they could give you ordering info about the “Fantasias” CD.
 
DNP, here are some specific recommendations (just my opinion, of course). I tried to follow your criteria to the best of my ability:

Orchestral works:

F. J. Haydn - symphonies 92-104
W. A. Mozart - symphonies 35-41
Beethoven - symphonies 1, 2, 5-7, piano concertos 1-5
G. Mahler - symphony 1
B. Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Tchaikovsky - symphony 4

Keyboard works:

J. S. Bach - Well Tempered Clavier (you will have to choose between piano vs. harpsichord versions)

This is obviously a very short list, hopefully good for a start.

I praise God - for the composers who were blessed with with the ability to create this music; for the publishers who saw fit to bring it to print; for the musicians who perform it; for the producers who record it; and for our ability to listen and enjoy! Glory to God indeed!! Peace and blessings.
 
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DonaNobisPacem:
I have a 7th grade boy who LOVES to listen to classical music. Can anybody make some recommendations as to where to start with classical music??? What is good listening for his age, etc??

He doesn’t like “opera” music, so I take this to mean no vocals, just orchestral in nature.

Thank you everyone!!
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Go to WCRB Web Site in Boston for a good start.

At
140.239.61.3/cgi-bin/univ/univ.pl?page=essential.html&station=wcrb

WCRB lists the most popular works of the most popular Classical Composers. Each selection gives an MP3 sample of the recommended work. I hope this helps your 7th grader: That’s about the age that I discovered “good” music.
 
A lot of great suggestions have already been made, but I’ll throw in a few more ideas.
  1. Domenico Scarlatti - he created some great effects on the keyboard. Try to find Sonata in D Makor, K. 119. In it, Scarlatti imitates the sound of castanets and showcases a Spanish-guitar like sound.
  2. Bela Bartok - pretty much any work of his will do. His piano playing is very percussive and rhythmic.
  3. Look for keyboard music played on either the harpsichord or virginal - they have a distinctive sound that I personally enjoy. Also, fugues played on the organ can be really neat, because you can play additional voices with your feet, creating a much more intricate fugue.
Peace
 
Everyone here has made some excellent suggestions. Especially the one for Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyrie, I walked down the aisle to that one. And yes I was thinking, Kill the rabbit, Kill the rabbit. I couldn’t help it.
Here are some of my favorites:
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture, Cossack Dance, Emperor Waltz, Waltz from Swan Lake
Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Nightmusic), The Marriage of Figaro
Beethoven - Fur Elise, Symphony no. 5, Moonlight Sonata
Ravel - Bolero

And as stated in other posts. Don’t knock opera. You might want to try one of the Three Tenors’ CDs. It might be that your son doesn’t like sopranos. Good Luck.
 
I am especially fond of the most mellifluous of all instruments, and the only instrument made by God, the human voice.

Chant is my favorite, but I like the polyphony of Palestrina, Victoria, and others.

My two favorite recordings are not of the Western Gregorian variety, but are rather Eastern.

The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is an excellent recording in Greek of the the Divine Liturgy

Melchite Sacred Chant: Hymns to the Virgin by Sr. Marie Keyrouz is easily my favorite recording. These Melchite chants are in Greek and (Classical) Arabic. I love the wonderful, very Middle Eastern sound.

Sr. Marie Keyrouz has other recordings as well, and I’m sure they’re wonderful, but I don’t own any of them (yet!).

Jason
 
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DonaNobisPacem:
I have a 7th grade boy who LOVES to listen to classical music. Can anybody make some recommendations as to where to start with classical music??? What is good listening for his age, etc??

He doesn’t like “opera” music, so I take this to mean no vocals, just orchestral in nature.

Thank you everyone!!
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Tell him to listen to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ beautiful “Six Studies on English Folksong.” (Piano and clarinet version, if possible!) Each piece is short (no longer than three minutes, I think), and amazing in its own right. Put together–wow!

Other recommendations:
Beethoven’s String Quartet in c-sharp minor
Rzewski’s “La Puebla Unida Jemas Sera Vencida”
Tchaikovsky’s First Symphony (“Winter Daydreams”)
Bach’s Cello Suites
Mahler’s Second Symphony (“Auferstehung” or “Resurrection”)
and finally…
Sibelius “Karelia” Suite

That should give him a broad sample…

Pax,
Fred
 
I was a professional musician for several years, having been initiated into its joys by my grandmother at an early age. Here’s a list of the pieces I remember loving when I first discovered music:

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos # 3 and # 5
Beethoven: Symphonies # 7 and # 9
Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Mendelssohn: Overture to “A Midsummer-Night’s Dream”
Haydn: “Surprise” symphony
Bach: Sinfonia from Cantata # 29
Pachelbel: Kanon
Humperdinck: Overture to “Hansel and Gretel”
Saint-Saens: Danse macabre
Beethoven: Piano Sonata # 8 in c minor, “Pathetique”
Mozart: Overture to “The Marriage of Figaro”
Corelli: Concerto Grosso # 8, opus 6, “Christmas Concerto”
Copland: Appalachian Spring

Hope this helps! (There’s no vocal music here, other than the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which never bothered me as a child)
 
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DonaNobisPacem:
THANKS Everyone for the great suggestions!!!
We do have such a library, and I have checked it out and there are numerous resources there!

Captaincatholic (or anyone), could you recommend specific works by Hadyn, Vivaldi, etc. There is a plethora of picks out there!!!
Click to expand...
Haydn’s London Symphonies are very good! Actually, any of his late symphonies are terrific! I especially enjoy #100 “The Military”, 104 “The London”, and everyone’s favorite “The Surprise”. Also, his string quartets are quite nice. Perhaps my all-time favorite piece of Haydn’s music is his “Farewell” Symphony, which is a bit of a joke, or at least a humorous hint to his employer that it was time for a vacation so the musicians could visit their families…

As for Vivaldi, the young “Red Priest” wrote many concerti that are worthy of note (pun intended!!:)). My favorites are the L’estro Armonico. Everyone knows his Four Seasons, but I think them a bit overdone… His bassoon concerti are quite nice, too.

Also, there is the genius of Mozart, the fire of Beethoven, and the incredible variety of soooooo much that is available!

By the way: Nothing can replace the excitement of a live performance! (Wink, wink from the performer!)

God bless!

Katie
 
If anyone is interested, we have a FANTASTIC classical music radio station up in Raleigh:
www.theclassicalstation.org
You can listen via your internet connection; it’s heard around the world!

On Sunday mornings, beginning at 7:30 a.m. (Eastern time), they provide a very lovely program of sacred music – one of the offerings goes by the week’s lectionary readings.
 
Laura L,
I just put your classical music station in my bookmark favorites list. I will check it out.

What I need is a suggestion for music that I can play in the background during prayer.
I really do not know much, if at all, anything abput classical music.
(it has started to grow on me).

Any suggestions?

go with God!
Edwin
 
I am a cellist. I would encourage string quartet music.
Very listenable, moving, and fun.
My favorites:
All of Beethoven quartets
Franz Schubert - Quartet No. 15 in D!!! 👍

Also - be sure to investigate the great sacred choral works. Very moving and inspirational. Handel’s Messiah.
Also, pick up the “Hymn for the World” CD’s I & II. Very beautiful works of the church. Gorgeous vocal, choral, and orchestral music.
 
Okay, I just wrote this big long post and then, upon checking your original post, realized you said 7th GRADE, not 7-YEAR-OLD. 🙂

I don’t know where you live, but if you have a local symphony of a reasonable size, find out if they have any youth programs. Also, I reiterate what several have already said: Offer him the chance to get started on an instrument. I’ve never met anyone who said they regretted taking music lessons - but many who say they wished they had.
 
Oh captaincatholic you are my captain. Bruckner is one of my favorites! Good to see another fan! There is also a Russian choral composer named Taneyev (not THAT Taneyev) that is absolutely amazing. His poetry in the lyrics are astounding. Many are just simple things in nature and the Russian landscape. Very simple and profound (the best lyrics are)
 
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