MY TOP 100 CLASSICAL MUSIC FAVORITES CONTINUE BELOW. THEY ARE NUMBERED ~ BUT NOT RANKED IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER.
21. TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN F MINOR
22. TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN E MINOR
23. TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN B MINOR, "PATHÉTIQUE"
22. TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN E MINOR
23. TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN B MINOR, "PATHÉTIQUE"
Since I love all three of these symphonies, I thought I'd post them all at once. I know I've heard Tchaikovsky's first three symphonies, but I think I need to revisit them -- I can't recall them at all. That's not the same with the 4th, 5th, and 6th -- I love all three, and I've listened to them many times.
I've posted videos of the three symphonies below, and each version includes a score so that you can follow along. If you do listen, then over the course of listening to the three, you will hear intense drama, high emotion, multilayered tension, weighty introspection, profound despair, and exultant triumph.
I've posted videos of the three symphonies below, and each version includes a score so that you can follow along. If you do listen, then over the course of listening to the three, you will hear intense drama, high emotion, multilayered tension, weighty introspection, profound despair, and exultant triumph.
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FYI #1: The program notes from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Symphony No. 5 noted that, "the Andante presents one of Tchaikovsky's most beloved themes, a horn melody so poignant and seductive...." To be honest, it always reminds me of a vintage operatic TV commercial for Rice Krispies: "No more Rice Krispies. We are out of Rice Krispies" -- but that ad is actually based on Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci." Still, every time I hear Tchaikovsky's melody I sing to myself, "We are out of Rice Krispies." |
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FYI #2: Wikipedia includes an article on Tchaikovsky's symphonies, HERE. The article includes this bit of information: "Tchaikovsky's opening entry for his diary of 1872 reads as follows: 'Yesterday, on the road from Vorozhba to Kiev, music came singing and echoing through my head after a long interval of silence. A theme in embryo, in B-flat major, took possession of my mind and almost led me on to attempt a symphony. Suddenly the thought came over me to cast aside Stasov's not too successful Tempest and devote the summer to composing a symphony which should throw all my previous works in the shade.'" (I added the underline.)
Have you ever heard Tchaikovsky's "The Tempest"? UGH. It is dull, tedious, uninspiring and unmemorable. It is one of the few classical pieces that I don't care to hear ever again.
After hearing a performance of the work in 1879, Tchaikovsky wrote this: "Today's performance of The Tempest did not please me. Its form is too long, episodic and unbalanced. The effect of these disconnected episodes produces a lack of movement and coherency. It grieves me to admit that I could be responsible for something so unsuccessful at its performances, and incomprehensible to the public"
Tchaikovsky certainly hit the nail on the head with that.
Have you ever heard Tchaikovsky's "The Tempest"? UGH. It is dull, tedious, uninspiring and unmemorable. It is one of the few classical pieces that I don't care to hear ever again.
After hearing a performance of the work in 1879, Tchaikovsky wrote this: "Today's performance of The Tempest did not please me. Its form is too long, episodic and unbalanced. The effect of these disconnected episodes produces a lack of movement and coherency. It grieves me to admit that I could be responsible for something so unsuccessful at its performances, and incomprehensible to the public"
Tchaikovsky certainly hit the nail on the head with that.
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And now for something completely different:
24. THE WASHINGTON POST MARCH BY JOHN PHILIP SOUSA
Who doesn't love a good march? And those by the "March King," John Philip Sousa, cannot be topped! Yes, "Stars & Stripes Forever" is rousing, patriotic and fun, but my favorite is the "Washington Post," a march that is just as stirring and spirited. Here's some information on its history from Wikipedia: |
In 1889, the recent purchasers of The Washington Post newspaper — Frank Hatoon, a former Postmaster General, and Beriah Wilkins, a former Democratic congressman from Ohio—requested that Sousa, the leader of the United States Marine Band, compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony, in conjunction with a campaign to promote the newspaper under new ownership. Sousa obliged; "The Washington Post" was introduced at a ceremony on June 15, 1889, 'with President Benjamin Harrison in attendance' before 'a huge crowd on the grounds of the Smithsonian Museum.' It quickly became quite popular in both the United States and Europe as the standard musical accompaniment to the two-step, a late 19th-century dance craze. This led to a British journalist dubbing Sousa 'The March King.'"
Above: I have an old piece of sheet music with the Washington Post March as a piano duet, and it is great fun to play! I tried to find this particular arrangement on YouTube, but I couldn't. I did find others. The video at the right was posted just this past November, and it says that the performance was from "Duet Festival 2020" (I have no idea where this Duet Festival is held). When I took a look, the video had just 4 views, so give me a hand in getting these kids even more! : )
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25. RAVEL'S BOLERO
There are many, many solos in the complete catalogue of all classical music, from the solo oboe line in the 3rd movement of Mozart's Serenade No. 10 for winds in B-flat major ("Gran Partita") which was highlighted in the play & movie "Amadeus" to "Tubby the Tuba," the orchestral showcase for the tuba (which was inspired by a tuba player's lament, "You know, tubas can sing, too"), to the countless number of concertos for solo instruments; however, of all the solos that have ever been written, I would venture to say that the most grueling one is the solo snare drum line in Maurice Ravel's orchestral piece "Bolero," (which was originally composed as a ballet for Russian actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein).
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The line, shown above, repeats what -- about a hundred times? A thousand times? I dunno -- I've never actually counted.
UPDATE: Well, I just looked it up on Wikipedia, HERE, and it says, "(Bolero) is built over an unchanging ostinato rhythm played 169 times...that remains constant throughout the piece."
To be honest I never really paid that much attention to the drum line when I listened to "Bolero" -- until I was at a live performance of the piece. When the drummer started that hypnotic line and played it over and over and over and over, I was nervous for him. I wondered how in the world he could play it without getting lost or dazed and confused. He never did. He played it marvelously, and I sincerely hope he got a bonus in his paycheck that week. Maybe prior to the concert he consulted this "Guide to playing the horrendous snare drum part in Ravel’s ‘Bolero,'" HERE.
UPDATE: Well, I just looked it up on Wikipedia, HERE, and it says, "(Bolero) is built over an unchanging ostinato rhythm played 169 times...that remains constant throughout the piece."
To be honest I never really paid that much attention to the drum line when I listened to "Bolero" -- until I was at a live performance of the piece. When the drummer started that hypnotic line and played it over and over and over and over, I was nervous for him. I wondered how in the world he could play it without getting lost or dazed and confused. He never did. He played it marvelously, and I sincerely hope he got a bonus in his paycheck that week. Maybe prior to the concert he consulted this "Guide to playing the horrendous snare drum part in Ravel’s ‘Bolero,'" HERE.
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Concerning the solos I mentioned above: Far left: Danny Kaye narrates "Tubby the Tuba" Left: The 3rd movement from Mozart's Serenade No. 10 for winds in B-flat major ("Gran Partita") |
This movement of the "Gran Partita" will sound familiar to you if you have seen the play or movie "Amadeus" -- it is the first of Mozart's music that composer Antonio Salieri hears in the play, and then he says this:
"The beginning -- simple, almost comic, just a pulse. Bassoons and basset horns, like a rusty squeezebox. And then suddenly, high above it, an oboe. A single note, hanging there, unwavering. Until a clarinet took over and sweetened it into a phrase of such delight....This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God."
"The beginning -- simple, almost comic, just a pulse. Bassoons and basset horns, like a rusty squeezebox. And then suddenly, high above it, an oboe. A single note, hanging there, unwavering. Until a clarinet took over and sweetened it into a phrase of such delight....This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God."
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26. MENDELSSOHN'S SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN A MAJOR Who doesn't love Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4, the "Italian"? It is certainly one of if not the most cheerful piece ever written. As a matter of fact, when Mendelsohn was in the process of writing it (he was just 24!), he wrote to his sister, "The Italian symphony is making great progress. It will be the jolliest piece I have ever done, especially the last movement." And of course, there's that cheerful first movement too!
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This piece along with many other Mendelssohn pieces are featured in countless TV programs and movies. IMDB includes this list, HERE, and the Symphony No. 4 was noted in about 20 different shows and films. One of the most famous was the use of the Italian Symphony in the 1979 film "Breaking Away" (right). |
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But what's the main reason why so much Mendelssohn is included in numerous shows & films? Check out the tune above on the far right.
27. ROSSINI'S "WILLIAM TELL" OVERTURE
Who doesn't love the William Tell Overture?
The overture, which lasts for approximately 12 minutes, paints a musical picture of life in the Swiss Alps, the setting for Rossini's opera. It was described by composer Hector Berlioz as "a symphony in four parts": Dawn; a storm; the calm after the storm (with a "call to the cows"); and the March of the Swiss Soldiers (the ultra-dynamic galop known by many as the theme music for "The Lone Ranger"). |
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And speaking of the Long Ranger, where does that masked man take his trash? To the dump, to the dump, to the dump dump dump.
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Of course, the overture was also featured in many cartoons. One example is at the right.
I used to have piano sheet music for the William Tell Overture, but I have no idea what happened to it. : ( However, I found a piano version of the overture on YouTube (at the left). |
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28. CHABRIER'S ESPAÑA RHAPSODY FOR ORCHESTRA
Is Emmanuel Chabrier another "one hit wonder" with his joyous España? Can you name another song by Chabrier? (See #14 on my list for Ferdinand Herold's "Zampa Overture," another "one hit wonder.")
Chabrier wrote España after he and his wife toured Spain in 1882. Originally he planned the song as a piano duet (below left), but it ultimately evolved into a work for full orchestra. I'm not sure, but I think I first heard España played on the moog synthesizer (below center). I used to own that very album. |
España is also the basis of the melody of the 1956 American popular song "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" (below right) by Al Hoffman & Dick Manning and sung by Perry Como -- something I learned just yesterday while listening to WQXR. I had no idea! : )
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29. LEONARD BERNSTEIN'S OVERTURE TO "CANDIDE"
I am posting this on December 1st of 2020, and just as I was pulling up my site to add #29 to my list, I heard on the radio (my local classical channel, WVTF) that Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" premiered on December 1st in 1956. Therefore, I decided to postpone the piece I originally had planned to highlight today, and I've decided to post the buoyant and rollicking overture to "Candide" instead.
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According to LA Philharmonic program notes by John Henken, Candide's overture "has become a hugely popular concert classic. (The New York Philharmonic, in honor of its former music director, now has a tradition of playing the Candide Overture without a conductor.) Though it does touch on some of the show’s great tunes, the dashing overture is also a shapely sonata form with points of canonic imitation and a sparkling Rossini crescendo to close."
At the left: A snippet of Bernstein's overture was used as the opening theme for "The Dick Cavet Show" in the 1970s.
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At the right: The overture to "Candide" on the piano with score. At the far right: The overture played by the OU Percussion Orchestra. |
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30. SCHUBERT'S SYMPHONY NO. 8, "UNFINISHED"
Schubert began writing this symphony in 1822, but he only completed two movement even though he lived for another six years. Plus the work is his eighth symphony, although it is sometimes renumbered as Symphony No. 7, in accordance with the revised Deutsch catalogue and the Neue Schubert-Ausgabe.
Why did Schubert leave the symphony unfinished? An article at ConnollyMusic.com states, "The short answer is that no one knows, but of course there are many theories." You can check out those theories HERE. |
The fact that there is an "Unfinished Symphony" begs the question, "Is there an "Unbegun Symphony"? And that answer to that query is, "Yes!"
The "Unbegun Symphony" (at the right) was written by P. D. Q. Bach, and the work is introduced and conducted by Peter Schickele, the world's leading authority on the composer. The symphony begins at about the 1:50 mark.
In his introductory comments, Schickele states, "Working around P. D. Q. Bach's music for as long as I have, there's one trait of his which has rubbed off on me more than any other -- and that is 'plagiarism.'" Schickele then admits that the work does not include a single original theme. As one person commented below the video, "How many 'pearls of plagiarism' can you count?" You might even recognize some themes from some of the works here on my list of Top 100 Classical Music Favorites. |
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Schubert's Unfinished Symphony was also featured in Season 2, Episode 8 of "The Simpsons," "Bart the Daredevil." Homer wants to take the family to see Truckasaurus at a monster truck rally, but first they must sit through Lisa's band concert at Springfield Elementary. Concerning the video at the left, I could not find the scene in English -- so I have no idea what language the Simpsons are speaking. The symphony starts at the :24 mark, and if you want to know what is being said, I've provided the lines from the script below: |
Principal Skinner: Let's have good assembly manners. People! People! Quiet, please! Don't make me flick the lights on and off. Thank you. Ladies, gentlemen, parents. Welcome to the first in a series of concert series! Tonight, Sherbert's—er, Schubert's Unfinished Symphony.
Homer: Good, unfinished. This shouldn't take long.
Conductor: Remember, children, stay together. Five, six, seven, eight!
[Band plays.]
Homer: That was beautiful. Can we go now?
Marge: Sit down, Homer.
Homer: How much longer was Sherbert planning on making this?
Homer: Good, unfinished. This shouldn't take long.
Conductor: Remember, children, stay together. Five, six, seven, eight!
[Band plays.]
Homer: That was beautiful. Can we go now?
Marge: Sit down, Homer.
Homer: How much longer was Sherbert planning on making this?