Are you a closet classical music lover? Do you mentally run through the opening theme of Beethoven's 5th while pretending to listen to Puff Daddy or Avril Lavigne? Do you quickly switch your MP3 player from Bach's St. Matthew Passion to Nickelback when someone asks you what you're listening to? No? Well, then you are missing out my friend. Here are a few tips for becoming a classical music lover without losing your social status or your lunch.
When you hear the term "classical music," what immediately comes to mind? High-brow symphony performances attended by people whose idea of a good time is starching their shirts? Music so boring you can't fathom how anyone managed to stay awake before the creation of rock & roll? 200-year-old wig wearing Germans with nothing better to do than write music that all sounds the same? Yes, there is a certain stigma associated with classical music that can be hard for the modern listener to get past, but a rich reward awaits those who are not afraid to make the attempt.
While some classical music can be a bit slow and long-winded, there are a lot of lively works too. Take, for example, Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," which features a nice, quiet, easy like Sunday morning percussion section consisting of cannons. That's right, I said cannons. When was the last time you heard Dr. Dre with a rhythm section like that? Then there are pieces like Flight of the Bumblebee, which features a tempo so fast it makes the Energizer Bunny on Espresso look like a three-toed sloth. Berlioz's "Symphony Fantastique" is a veritable roller coaster ride that features, according to the composer's program notes, an opium dream and a beheading. How about the first performance Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," which caused a riot when it was premiered in 1913? These pieces, along with patriotic standards like "Stars and Stripes Forever" and just plain fun songs like Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" prove that classical music doesn't have to be boring.
Sometimes it may feel to the modern listener like classical music was written by ancient composers who pre-dated the dinosaurs. Yes, much music in this style was written by people who thought "cool" referred to temperature and "rap" was something you did with a door knocker. But classical music is still being written today, and it is listened to by millions of people in those modern concert halls we call movie theaters. What would movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Braveheart," "Last of the Mohicans," "Glory," and "Star Wars" be without their soundtracks? Ever since the days of silent movies, when shows were accompanied by theater organs, music has been an indispensable part of what has become the ultimate audio-visual experience. Nearly every movie today, even those using more contemporary scoring styles, includes an orchestra in at least part of its soundtrack. Movie music is today's classical music, and it's still a living, breathing artistic medium.
The classical music of the past was the foundation of the music we enjoy today. Even jazz and rock (and yes, sadly, muzak) owe their existence to the western music system made possible by musicians and theorists who lived as far back as the ancient Greeks. (Music existed long before then, too, and has been a part of every culture.) The music of the past is a mirror of the time in which it was created, and today serves as a window into the lives of people in past eras. But, ancient though it may be, it can still move us today. In fact, much classical music of the past has made its way into modern movies and television shows. Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" is better known today as the theme for "2001: A Space Odyssey." Rossini's "William Tell Overture" became the Lone Ranger theme song, and Mouret's "Rondeau" is better known as the theme for Masterpiece Theatre. There's even the "Beef, It's What's for Dinner" campaign of the 1990's that featured Aaron Copland's "Rodeo." And of course, Pachelbel's Canon in D and Beethoven's 5th are as indispensable a part of our culture as Coca-Cola.
There was a time when you had to go to the concert hall to hear classical music. Thanks to recording technology, there are now so many classical works available that attempting to sort through them can a little overwhelming. To help you with this task, I will briefly discuss the different periods classical music is divided into. In many cases, songs from a particular era exhibit similar sounds, and if you like one song from one era you may wish to search for others from that same period:
-Medieval/Renaissance period: Prior to 1600. Notable composers: Josquin Des Prez, Jon Dunstable. Characterized by unaccompanied vocal music such as plainchants and madrigals.
-Baroque period: 1600 - 1750. Notable composers: Bach, Vivaldi, Handel. Style: Complex, ornate, controlled; often featured a harpsichord.
-Classical period: 1750 - about 1820: Notable composers: Haydn, Mozart, early Beethoven. Style: Melodic, balanced, uniform with consonant harmony; piano first became popular during this era.
-Romantic period: about 1820 through about 1900. Notable composers: Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, late Beethoven. Style: Lush, emotional, with an emphasis on personal artistic expression; often features more dissonant harmonies and musical "flavors" influenced by folk music of various nationalities.
-Modern period: about 1900 through the present. Notable composers: Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Copland, John Cage, John Williams, Hans Zimmer. Style: Varies widely from imitative to conservative to experimental.
Thanks to the Internet, it is very easy to find free classical music in various styles from various eras. Local radio stations, iTunes radio and Live365.com broadcast classical music over the Internet, and sites like Pandora and Last.FM allow personalized, interactive listening experiences. Digital music services like iTunes and Amazon provide short samples of pieces that can be listened to for free and purchased if desired. However, purchasing digital classical music can be challenging. In an era when point and click technology allows instant digital song purchases, you might suppose that every classical work would be available to you at any time for a buck a song. You would, in this supposition, be entirely mistaken. Services like iTunes and Amazon offer many, far too many, classical pieces as "album only" works. This means that if you want the 3rd movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, it's yours for the taking. But if you want the 1st, 2nd and 4th movements, you'll have to fork over $10 or more to purchase an entire album. Why, in an age when men have walked on the moon and cheese comes in a spray can, are individual classical pieces so difficult to acquire? It may be that the licensing agreements with music publishers are too restrictive, or it may be that classical songs are too long. It may even be that Steve Jobs' heart is two sizes too small. Whatever the reason, be prepared to be annoyed by the online classical music purchasing experience.
Any discussion about classical music would be incomplete without a few words about the names classical composers gave their works. Expressive, meaningful names like "Op. 65" and "Symphony No. 2 in D Major." Descriptive, artistically inspired names like "Piano Concerto #21 K647" and "Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 3 in C Minor." Don't they just roll off the tongue? Are you sensing the sarcasm? There were, I have no doubt, good reasons composers chose not to bestow more memorable names on their works, but it certainly can make things confusing for the modern listener. Yes, the occasional composer had the misfortune to have a piece nick-named (not always in accordance with his own wishes) something useful, like "Moonlight Sonata" or "Pathetique." But far too many otherwise excellent pieces are distinguished only by their music, not their names. Such pieces sometimes elude the grasp of casual music listeners, who cannot remember if they were searching for "Sonata for Piano No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106" or "Sonata for Piano No. 31 in A-Flat Major, Op. 110." If asked, I would be happy to provide better names for such works, but so far no one has taken me up on this offer. For now, you have the "opportunity" to search for the hidden treasures masked by such bland names as "Orchestral Suite #2 in B Minor, BWV 1067" and "Etude #12 in C Minor."
I am as confident as Johannes Brahms was when he came up with the perfect name for his memorable work "Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 78" that you will find great enjoyment as you make classical music--past, present and future--a part of your life. To get you started on your quest for the ideal classical collection, I have provided a list of some familiar favorites and some less familiar--but no less spectacular--pieces. May the bewigged composers of times past smile upon you as you venture into new realms in search of that great classical valhalla in the sky.
Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring; Toccata and Fugue in D Minor; Goldberg Variations; Brandenburg Concerto #3
Beethoven: 5th Symphony; 9th Symphony; Moonlight Sonata, Fur Elise
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Waltz on the Beautiful Blue Danube, Emperor Waltz, Roses from the South
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major "Jupiter," Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, Eine Kleine Nactmusik, Overture to the Marriage of Figaro, Turkish March
Pachelbel: Canon in D
Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence Op. 70 movement IV (Allegro Vivace); Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor; Nutcracker Suite
Ravel: Bolero
Smetana: Ma Vlast movement II (The Moldau Theme)
Dvorak: Slavonic Dance No. 1 Op. 46, Cello Concerto in B Minor
Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man, Rodeo - Four Dance Episodes movement IV (Hoedown)
Debussy: Claire de Lune
Brahms: Wiegenlied (Lullaby), Waltz in A Major
Chopin: Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on Greensleeves
Rachmaninov: Variations on a theme by Paganini
Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Telemann: Concerto for Trumpet (Adagio)
Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries
Bizet: Carmen, Habanera
Grieg: Peer Gynt, Morning; In the Hall of the Mountain King; Holberg Suite
Schubert: Ave Maria
Mahler: 1st Symphony, 2nd Symphony, 5th Symphony
Shostakovich: 5th Symphony
Lortzing: Zar Und Zimmermann
Liszt: Liebestraum
Handel: Messiah, Music for the Royal Fireworks
Glazunov: Poeme Lyrique
Sibelius: Finlandia
Puccinni: O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Suppe: Leighte Kavallarie (Light Cavalry)
Boccherini: La Musica Notturna Delle Strade Di Madrid No. 6 Op. 30
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet movement XI: Dance of the Knights
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