Classical Music...

Hey...
yesterday I've been to the opera Carmen and it was amacing. I've always been into classical music, so I wonder if anyone around here is, too.
I still think that nothing gives you gossebumps like classical music. The chills you get when the orchestra plays and opera singers (like Jonas Kaufmann yesterday as Don Jose) start to sing...
No rock or pop song does this to me....

-raises hand-

Ever since I started taking piano lessons in the summer before 4th grade, classical music is something that I've really enjoyed. The first CDs my parents ever bought for me (and the first I've ever owned) were a Reader's Digest 2-disc set of Tchiakovsky's greatest works.

The Romantic era (the 19th century) is my favorite era in terms of classical music. Baroque is a close second. The Classical era is something that is a hit/miss for me, depending on my mood. Sometimes, I find it too structured for my taste. My feelings on contemporary classical music vary, depending on what it is. I can deal with some atonality, but if it's music that is completely atonal, chances are, I won't enjoy it at all. I should listen to more of the modern-day classical music. Eric Whitacre, for example, is a genius. Last spring, my college band played "Equus." It's deceptively difficult.

I like classical music a lot but mostly I listen to it on Christmas. The Water Music by Händel is in our family the typical music for gift-giving time
My fave compositions are:
Beethoven - Piano concerto No. 5
Dvorak - "From the new world"
and any violin concerto that Nigel Kennedy played
Also I like some of the more modern classic like Bartok and Penderecki
and minimalist Steve Reich.
I don't like Opera but there's one exeption: "Song to the moon" from "Rusalka" by Dvorak
And I think Mozart's "Magic Flute" is a cute fairy tale with really good singers...

I love Dvorak's "New World" Symphony. I played the 4th movement of that in All-Region Orchestra my sophomore year of high scool. Because I was on the lower part, I got to play the opening horn lick. It was awesome.

I should listen to more Steve Reich; I rather like him. The same goes for Philip Glass.

I'm actually not a fan of Mozart, generally speaking. I love his "Requiem," but other than that, I think he's overrated. His four horn concertos are standard repertoire in the horn world, and I've had to play them more often than I care to.

I don't get opera at all. I've tried and tried over the years buit still can't grasp it
Composers I love are
Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Mahler, Copland, Gershwin and Philip Glass.

There are others I like some of their music, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Dvorak and I like some of the really early stuff like Palestrina.

Don't find Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss and the really big names that interesting personally.

I myself didn't really get into opera until I started going to my university. My perception on that changed drastically after hearing some of the vocal faculty sing on a faculty recital. It was amazing.

I have a two-disc set of Stravinsky, which includes his big stuff like "The Rites of Spring," "The Firebird Suite," and "Petrushka." It's pretty crazy stuff. I like that on occasion, although I do have to be in the right mood for it. Vaughan Williams is a prominent composer in the band world, so I know him very well. In my freshman year, my high school band played Shostakovich's "Festive Overture," so I know him, to an extent. I could use some more listens to the others, though, particularly Sibelius.

You mentioned you like some of the earlier stuff. Are you more into stuff with a lot of polyphonic texture, or are you into the more simple things like madrigals?

I actually like Beethoven, especially in the third period of his career. I'm assuming by Strauss, you mean Johann. I haven't really listened to him at all, I don't think.-

Not keen on madrigals. Actually I'm not keen on most vocal work in a choral or classical setting although I like the plainchant and polyphonic work of people like Palestrina.

With regard to madrigals, I like folk music and I play guitar (a little) and whistle (Tin, Irish, Penny......take your pick, they're all the same) which is my main instrument. I play a few English folk dance tunes from 17th Century stuff onwards. Some of it may be older but was first collected in the 1600s.

I'm actually really fond of sacred choral works.

The folk stuff sounds legit. I play a bit of tin whistle myself, although that's purely for when I'm alone.

I am woefully ignorant when it comes to classical music. I would say, though, that one of my favorite things to listen to is the album Copland Conducts Copland. I love his compositions and if I were ever stranded on a remote island somewhere, I'd probably want this album with me.

Awww, it's OK. There's always time to learn, right?

Anyway, Copland is quite good, particularly if you like music that sounds like America. I know that sounds weird, but given he's a pioneer in genuinely American classical music, it's true. I really should perhaps listen to more Copland, but I'm really ADD when it comes to music, so I end up listening to things that are different from what I originally planned. I'm particularly bad with that when it comes to modern popular music.

Wow... I feel a bit stupid right now. Well, I love classical music and I know many songs but most of the time I couldn't name one...
I can tell you that I love Vivaldi and therefore Nigel Kennedy. I've seen him live once which was pretty awesome.
I'm not "fan" of a certain composer... I just like the music when it really touches me (which is most of the time).
I became fan of classical music when I first saw the Three Tenors on TV when I was around 7 yrs old. It gave me goosebumps and I still can remember it. I'm still fan of Carreras and Domingo as singers (and for Domingo as a conductor). And I love the fact that from time to time Opera is a big deal on TV.
This year Netrebko, Kaufmann and Schropp are playing three concerts in Germany and one will be broadcasted live which is a big deal!
I like that! And people who have nothing to do with it can examine if they like it....