MY TOP 100 CLASSICAL MUSIC FAVORITES CONTINUE BELOW. THEY ARE NUMBERED ~ BUT NOT RANKED IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER.
11. FESTIVE OVERTURE BY DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Here's another song I've loved since my days in high school band.
According to Wikipedia, "Festive Overture" was written in 1947 to mark the 30th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was not performed however until the 37th anniversary, when Alexander Melik-Pashayev conducted it during a Nov. 6, 1954, concert in Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. |
|
The Bolshoi's conductor, Vassili Nobolsin, found himself without a suitable new work to open the concert, and contacted Shostakovich just days before. He apparently based it on Mikhail Glinka's "Ruslan and Ludmilla" overture (1842) -- another one of my favorites (see below) -- as it features the same lively tempo and style of melody.
|
12. THE OVERTURE TO MIKHAIL GLINKA'S 1842 OPERA "RUSLAN AND LUDMILLA"
See the entry above for Dimitri Shostakovich's "Festive Overture."
The video at the left is Glinka's overture performed by the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Ludmilla" was based on a poem of the same name by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The complete poem is HERE. Information about the poem is HERE. |
Glinka's overture performed by accordions -- bottom left -- was too good not to include. Then, the song is performed by four pianists, bottom center, and a saxophone group, bottom right.
|
|
|
13. THE MUSIC OF LÉO DELIBES' 1876 BALLET "SYLVIA"
I grew up just outside of Washington, DC, in Northern Virginia, and at that time, when the evening news would come on at 6:00 p.m. on CBS WTOP Channel 9, the broadcast drew your attention immediately because of the program's theme song -- the French horn fanfare from Delibes' ballet "Sylvia" (at the 0:45 mark in the ballet suite at the right).
I'm not sure when I realized that that song was from Delibes' ballet and not an original piece for their news broadcast, but I've loved it all along -- along with the full score for the ballet. |
|
Another very famous part from the ballet's score, the pizzicato, occurs at 5:19 in the suite of highlights above on the right.
I'm sure that this pizzicato was featured in some Looney Tunes cartoon -- probably with Bugs Bunny -- but I haven't found it yet. However, Chico Marx did play the "Pizzicato Polka" (based on Delibes' pizzicato from "Sylvia") in the 1931 film "Monkey Business." You can listen to it at the 3:27 mark in the video at the right. |
|
|
If you are interested, I found a YouTube version of the complete ballet at the left.
You can read about "Sylvia" on Wikipedia, HERE. Statements about the ballet's premiere include this information: "Sylvia, ou la nymphe de Diane, as it was originally titled, was the first ballet to be shown at the newly constructed Opera Garnier and it did so with extravagance. This approach proved at times excessive. The lavish scenery of Jules Chéret was poorly lit, detracting from the quality of the production. The costumes designed by Lacoste were well appreciated, however. In the end it was Delibes' score that saved the production. Without such highly esteemed music, the ballet would have soon drifted into obscurity." |
14. FERDINAND HÉROLD'S OVERTURE TO HIS COMIC OPERA "ZAMPA"
Did I become a band geek because I liked classical music, or did I begin to love classical music because I was a band geek? Another un-answerable question for the ages.
The Zampa Overture is another song I love that dates back to my days in high school band. My favorite parts in the video at the right start at 4:02 (especially how the orchestra builds to that section starting at 3:08) and at 6:00 (to this day, I find I hum this portion of the overture a lot). |
|
|
At the left: The Zampa Overture on a player piano.
At the right: The Zampa Overture on a Ruth 78 Key Concert Organ; however, methinks the tempo's a mite too fast in this version.. Is Ferdinand Hérold a one-hit wonder? I'm not sure I could even name another song by him, but I sure do love his overture to Zampa! |
|
|
15. JOHANN PACHELBEL'S CANON IN D MAJOR
Who doesn't love Pachelbel's Canon?
I can remember when I first heard it. I was 20 years old, and it was on July 4, 1976, our country's Bicentennial. I was in Washington, DC, with friends, and we visited the Smithsonian's newly opened Air & Space Museum. The museum was beyond packed! It was the first time I'd ever seen Smithsonian museums close their doors off and on for crowd control -- and for good reason. The city was PACKED! |
While we were in the museum, we got tickets to their IMAX showing of a film called "To Fly!" The movie began with a small portion of the screen showing a man about to take off in a hot air balloon (shown at the right), and when he soared into the sky, the magnificent shots from the aerial photography opened onto the massive IMAX screen. It was quite spectacular.
At some point in the movie, this beautiful song accompanied the breathtaking video. What was that song? I had never heard it before -- and I was a classical music buff at that time. I made sure to stay through the movie's credits to find out the name -- Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel. |
|
Why had I not heard of this song before? Well, according to information on Wikipedia (HERE), "Like his other works, Pachelbel's Canon, although popular during his lifetime, went out of style and remained in obscurity for centuries. A 1968 arrangement and recording of it by the Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra gained popularity over the next decade, and in the 1970s the piece began to be recorded by many ensembles; by the early 1980s its presence as background music was deemed inescapable."
NOTE: The article on "To Fly!" states that the movie is claimed to be the "longest running ticketed film in one location" in history. If that is true then I have seen the longest running ticketed film AND the longest running non-ticketed film, "Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot" (staring Jack Lord before his "Hawaii Five-O" days). Information on that film is HERE.
NOTE: The article on "To Fly!" states that the movie is claimed to be the "longest running ticketed film in one location" in history. If that is true then I have seen the longest running ticketed film AND the longest running non-ticketed film, "Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot" (staring Jack Lord before his "Hawaii Five-O" days). Information on that film is HERE.
Below: Various versions of the ubiquitous Canon (and believe me -- I could have posted a LOT more. Top Row, L-R: The Canon on the marimba; the Canon as interpreted by eight floppy drives; Pachelbel's Chicken. Bottom Row, L-R: Pachelbel on the kazoo (there were other kazoo renditions too); a really nice jazzy version of the Canon; a stand-up comics take on Pachelbel's Canon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Before I move on to post the next song in my "Top 100," I have a funny story to relate about myself and Pachelbel's Canon. I play the piano, and I also write songs. Many of the songs I write are based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson. One night, I sat down at the piano to compose music for Dickinson's poem "I never saw a moor" (at the right). I penned what I thought was a beautiful tune that fit with the meaning and tone of the poem, but the more I played it, the more it sounded familiar. You can read about it & even see the music at my plog (poetry blog), HERE. |
By Emily Dickinson: I never saw a Moor – I never saw the Sea – Yet know I how the Heather looks And what a Billow be. I never spoke with God, Nor visited in Heaven-- Yet certain am I of the spot As if the Checks were given – |
Above: Emily Dickinson
|
16. BENJAMIN BRITTEN'S "YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO THE ORCHESTRA"
Written in 1945 by Benjamin Britten, "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" is based on the second movement, the "Rondeau", of the "Abdelazer Suite" by Henry Purcell (below on the left).
|
|
Concerning the "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," I also found all of this:
* A game -- HERE: I have NO IDEA if it's any good. I didn't delve into it to find out. : )
* A teacher's guide -- HERE -- provided by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
* A listening map -- HERE and HERE. (There were others too -- just search "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Listening Map."
Finally, Wes Anderson used Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" very effectively in his movie "Moonlight Kingdom." If you're interested, I wrote about it in a blog I used to write -- HERE. I wrote a follow-up piece two days later -- HERE -- in which I also discuss Camille Saint-Saens’ "Carnival of the Animals."
* A game -- HERE: I have NO IDEA if it's any good. I didn't delve into it to find out. : )
* A teacher's guide -- HERE -- provided by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
* A listening map -- HERE and HERE. (There were others too -- just search "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Listening Map."
Finally, Wes Anderson used Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" very effectively in his movie "Moonlight Kingdom." If you're interested, I wrote about it in a blog I used to write -- HERE. I wrote a follow-up piece two days later -- HERE -- in which I also discuss Camille Saint-Saens’ "Carnival of the Animals."
17. SCHUBERT'S PIANO TRIO #2 IN E FLAT MAJOR
|
|
Every episode is EXCELLENT as they take you through Adams' entire adult life, from his unpopular stand in serving as the defense attorney for the accused British soldiers in the Boston Massacre through his presidency to his retirement when he wrote his memoirs and penned many letters to his former adversary and now confidant, Thomas Jefferson.
|
In one of the episodes (maybe #5, Unite or Die?), the soundtrack includes the second movement from Schubert's Piano Trio #2 -- and the hypnotic music fits the story line soooo perfectly. The entire trio is wonderful (above right), but the second movement (at the left) is just mesmerizing -- and as a result, quite popular with Hollywood. Take a look at the information below from Wikipedia about the songs use in movies and TV shows: |
"The main theme of the second movement was used as one of the central musical themes in Stanley Kubrick's 1975 film Barry Lyndon. It has also been used in a number of other films, including The Hunger, Crimson Tide, The Piano Teacher, L'Homme de sa vie, Land of the Blind, Recollections of the Yellow House, The Way He Looks, Miss Julie, the HBO miniseries John Adams, The Mechanic, two episodes of American Crime Story, and as the opening piece for the ABC documentary The Killing Season."
18. ALBINONI'S ADAGIO IN G MINOR
I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard Tomaso Albinoni's "Adagio for Strings." My wife and I went to see the movie "Gallipoli." We didn't know that it was about "Winston Churchill's Great Blunder ," the Battle of Gallipoli, sometimes referred to as "Churchill's Waterloo." We assumed that it was a feel-good movie about sprinters training for some weighty but friendly competition -- a "Chariots of Fire" meets "Hoosiers" kind of thing.
And then the movie's theme began to play. |
|
|
We both looked at each other and said something like, "Well, this is going to be a downer." It was -- but we walked away loving the movie and the movie's main theme, Albinoni's Adagio.
Hmm. But there is a mystery surrounding this particular Adagio. Did Tomaso Albinoni actually write it? Did he write a portion of it, and someone else finished it? Or did someone else write the entire piece? I became aware of this mystery while binge-watching the HBO series "The Sopranos." |
When I watched "The Sopranos," I would follow each viewing with a check up on the episode -- HERE -- so that I could keep straight who was who, who was angry with whom, who was New Jersey & who was New York family, and so on. Each article would provide a synopsis of the episode, but it would also discuss the title's reference, filming locations, names of guest stars, cultural references and more -- including information on any music heard in the episode.
Albinoni's "Adagio" is played frequently on the show, usually during someone's funeral (including Tony Soprano's mother). However, I noticed in these Wikipedia articles that the song would, at times, be listed as "Adagio for Strings by Remo Giazotto." Huh? Who is Remo Giazotto?
Remo Giazotto was an Italian musicologist, music critic, and composer. He catalogued the works of Albinoni, and he wrote biographies of Albinoni and other composers. He was the first to publish the "Adagio in G Minor" which he claimed to have transcribed from a manuscript fragment of an Albinoni sonata that he had received from the Saxon State Library. He later revised his story, and said that he actually wrote the piece.
So who wrote the "Adagio"? Albinoni or Giazotto?
I don't know for sure -- but I suspect I'll always refer to it as "Albinoni's Adagio," my favorite dirge.
Albinoni's "Adagio" is played frequently on the show, usually during someone's funeral (including Tony Soprano's mother). However, I noticed in these Wikipedia articles that the song would, at times, be listed as "Adagio for Strings by Remo Giazotto." Huh? Who is Remo Giazotto?
Remo Giazotto was an Italian musicologist, music critic, and composer. He catalogued the works of Albinoni, and he wrote biographies of Albinoni and other composers. He was the first to publish the "Adagio in G Minor" which he claimed to have transcribed from a manuscript fragment of an Albinoni sonata that he had received from the Saxon State Library. He later revised his story, and said that he actually wrote the piece.
So who wrote the "Adagio"? Albinoni or Giazotto?
I don't know for sure -- but I suspect I'll always refer to it as "Albinoni's Adagio," my favorite dirge.
|
19. MOZART'S LACRIMOSA (& HIS REQUIEM IN D MINOR)
Of course, I love Mozart’s “Requiem” in its entirety, but the “Lacrimosa" (at the left) approaches the sublime – and alas, it was the last bit of music Mozart wrote (sadly, Mozart died at the very young age of 35). Below is information from Wikipedia (it references Franz Xaver Süssmayr, an Austrian composer and conductor who is known primarily as the composer who completed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's unfinished Requiem):
|
“Lacrimosa” (Day of tears and mourning) finishes the Sequence. Legend traditionally says that the first eight measures are the last music Mozart ever wrote. Süssmayr then models the rest of the movement on the melodic pattern and sighing motive Mozart used in those first measures, but, as noted above, he fails to finish the movement with a fugue.
The Requiem in its entirety is at the far right.
Below are various arrangements of Mozart's Lacrimosa -- and there are many other versions in cyber-land if you run a search. In one of the videos, a listener reacts to hearing the piece for the first time. At one point, he wells up and says emotionally, "Is this art or music?" |
|
Below left: The Lacrimosa performed by a quartet. Below center: The Lacrimosa performed by a boys' choir. Below right: A version on acoustic guitar.
|
|
|
Below left: One singers interpretation of the Lacrimosa. Below center: A jazz version of the Lacrimosa. Below right: A listeners first time reaction to hearing the Lacrimosa.
20. BACH'S "JESU, JOY OF MAN'S DESIRING"
I enjoy some works by Baroque composers, a period in music history from about 1600 to 1725 or 1750 (which my wife calls “Williamsburg Music” or “George Washington music” – even though the dates don’t necessarily connect), but it’s not necessarily my “go-to.” Baroque music is often characterized by a steady pulse throughout a work with repeated patterns of rhythmic sequences. It is very formulaic, with complex and rule-bound counterpoint and harmonies -- and with lots of concordant ornamentation sprinkled throughout. To me, it’s often great background music.
|
Certain pieces from the period do stand out, though. Handel’s “Messiah.” Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.” Pachelbel’s Canon – which is already on my list. Bach’s Brandenburg concertos.
Another piece by Bach which I love is “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” With it’s simple and pleasing chord progression, its lilting and flowing bass line, and its serene melody, it is really a beautiful work. My wife and I both love this song so much that we had it played at our wedding. : )
Another piece by Bach which I love is “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” With it’s simple and pleasing chord progression, its lilting and flowing bass line, and its serene melody, it is really a beautiful work. My wife and I both love this song so much that we had it played at our wedding. : )
|
A jazzy interpretation is at the left; however, If you search on YouTube, you can find this song in just about any style and by just about any type of musical group. You'll find it sung by choral groups or individual singers. You'll find it played by instrumental groups or performed on solo instruments. You can find it played by acoustic guitar, organ, cello, clarinet, trumpet, harp duet, oboe, percussion ensemble, moog synthesizer, bagpipes, Kalimba (thumb piano), and more.
|