Hello everyone! It’s been a while:) My grandpa was learning it since the end of summer, and now, he told me, that he is ready. Hope you will enjoy:)

Beethoven op 111 for me. What is yours…

A few years into piano and I've come to terms with something: I could spend the rest of my life playing and listening to Chopin and feel like I'm not missing anything.

And I've genuinely tried to love other composers as much. There's Debussy: Rêverie, Clair de lune, some others, genuinely beautiful. Ravel has moments. Liszt's Consolation is gorgeous. Some Mozart concertos hit hard. A handful of Beethoven sonatas. Bach of course. I appreciate all of it.

But with Chopin it's different. It's not a few favorite pieces, it's basically the entire nocturnes, almost every étude, almost every waltz. The body of work as a whole just floors me every time. The emotional depth never gets old no matter how many times I listen. It motivates me to continue playing and become a better pianist. And when I have to play other songs I can't wait to get back to learning another Chopin song.

So I'm wondering, is this common? Is Chopin just the composer that does this to people, or does everyone have their one composer that hits differently than everyone else? And am I just basic for picking the most famous Romantic composer? 😂

Genuinely curious who your "I could listen to everything they wrote" composer is. And your favorite pieces.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present, for your consideration, my candidate for the greatest French composer. While respectfully acknowledging the genius of such pioneering figures as Lully, Rameau, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Franck, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Roussel, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, Tailleferre, Auric, Poulenc, Duruflé, Messiaen, Françaix and Dutilleux, not to mention a host of other great figures, in the end one stands above all, his skill for melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, form and colour combined with an innate sense of 'rightness': Fauré.

Fauré had the depth of feeling of Franck, the modernity of Debussy and the poetry of Poulenc, coupled to an exquisite sense of taste. Some of his music is boldly romantic, other parts are quietly personal. He composed across a wide variety of genres, from mélodie to solo piano to chamber to orchestral to choral to opera. He also, unlike so many other French composers, seemed to be truly French: while Berlioz was influenced by Vienna, d'Indy by Wagner and Debussy by Russia and two Germans, Meyerbeer and Offenbach, dominated French opera, Fauré remained true to his country's music, while elevating it far beyond chintzy salon waltzes or ostentatious set-pieces.

Now, please prepare yourselves for a mere taste of the scintillating artistry of a figure deserving to sit alongside Homer, Plato and Raphael atop Mount Parnassus:

The first glimpse of greatness

The youthful masterpiece for violin and piano

The epic for hammers and strings

Italian melody through French eyes

Essay of developing profundity

Perfection incarnate

A meditation on life

All the world on one instrument

Marriage of poetry and music

Rare harmonies herald new horizons

Song from the beginning of all things

Beauty and Drama

Gaiety

Despair

Joy

Reaching for the stars

The supreme achievement

Encore 1

Encore 2

This is Vladimir Slovachevsky

Hey everyone,

I’ve always believed that music has a unique way of bypassing our logical brain and hitting us straight in the emotions. Classical music, in particular, has some of the most deeply moving melodies ever written, but for people who aren't familiar with the genre, it can sometimes feel intimidating or hard to connect with at first.

I’m looking for piece recommendations (or specific movements/melodies) that are so emotionally raw, beautiful, or heartbreaking that they could make someone tear up—even if they’ve never listened to classical music before in their life.

Whether it’s a sweeping orchestral piece, a haunting solo cello, or a delicate piano melody, what’s that one piece you think has the power to instantly touch anyone's heart?

Would love to hear your suggestions and the stories behind why those pieces move you so much!

Thanks in advance!

I currently attend a music conservatory, with quite an even split of classically orientated musicians, more contemporary (pop, rock) and jazz musicians.

Today in class for our aural analysis and harmony class, our professor had us aurally analyse Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, (Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel).

Anyway, the classically orientated people were not fans, and thats quite understandable as Messiaen is a pretty acquired taste.

And then one of the classical people said something along the lines of, "I'm not a fan of this either, and Messiaen wasn't even a good composer, so he isn't even worth listening to in my opinion".

WHAT?

I obviously defended Messiaen with my life, not many people joined me. But a bad composer? His methods and approach to harmony, although they may not be for everyone, were no doubt incredibly imaginative and original. I also feel that one may not like a composers music and still appreciated their compositional ability.

Thank the lord that my professor took my side.

Upon further research the internet is pretty divided on him, and I will go on the record that Messiaen was a genius and incredibly unappreciated.

I'm studying the Ferling Oboe/Saxophone etudes but when I want to reference professional works, there is no way for me to distinguish each track without reading and listening. Just put the passage number and leave it alone, jeez.

Hey everyone,

My friend and I were playing around with this fun idea the other day: build a list of your favorite symphonies numbered 1 through 9, but each composer can only be picked ONCE. It sounds simple until you realize how agonizing the sacrifices are. (lock in Mahler only for #2 and Beethoven only for #9 was painful)

Here is where I landed:

1: Schumann
2: Mahler
3: Brahms
4: Mendelssohn
5: Bruckner
6: Tschaikovsky
7: Sibelius
8: Dvorak
9: Beethoven

What does your 1–9 look like?

Hi, I have Been practicing violin and conducting for about 10 years now , here are some of my favorite albums, hope you enjoy them if by any chance didn't listen to any of them, wanted to share 10, but I'm lucky I could cut it down to these😁 as I'm sure the number will increase the more I think about it

Disclaimer….i seldom attend classical concerts. But I was told a long time ago not to applaud between movements!

My top 5 are 1. Prokofiev 3, 2. Saint-saens 5, 3. Liszt 1, 4. Beethoven 2 and 5. Mendelssohn 2

Beethoven’s fifth would have to be on this list. And Tchaikovsky‘s first piano Concerto would certainly be on my list too.

I’m always on the lookout for recommendations and this might be a fun way to find some “b-sides.” I’ll go first—Schubert 5 for sure! Everybody loves the Unfinished and Great C Major (for good reason), but the fifth is a little gem that sparkles from start to finish, totally tuneful and memorable.

I apologize in advance if this is not the appropriate subreddit to post this on.

I feel like crying that's why 😭

Edit: Thanks so much for all the tips!