MY TOP 100 CLASSICAL MUSIC FAVORITES CONTINUE BELOW. THEY ARE NUMBERED ~ BUT NOT RANKED IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER.
51. THREE PRELUDES BY GEORGE GERSHWIN
I can't remember when I first heard these pieces, but I've loved them ever since. I have a copy and have tried to play them -- with some success -- but never to the point of playing them publicly. : )
At the far right: A version transcribed for orchestra. |
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From Wikipedia: Gershwin originally planned to compose 24 preludes for this group of works. The number was reduced to seven in manuscript form, and then reduced to five in public performance, and further decreased to three when first published in 1926. Two of the remaining preludes not published were rearranged for solo violin and piano and published as "Short Story." Of the other two, the Prelude in G was eliminated by the publisher because somewhat similar music had already appeared in Gershwin's Concerto in F. The other was excluded for unknown reasons.
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Above left: Prelude No. 1 on the clarinet. Above center: Prelude No. 2 on the trumpet. Above right: Prelude No. 3 on two guitars. Left: "Short Story" for violin and piano, "two of the remaining preludes" mentioned above. |
52. BEETHOVEN'S SYMPHONY NO. 7 IN A MAJOR
This symphony was an immediate hit after its premiere in 1813, and Beethoven even remarked that it was one of his best works. The piece was so well received, in fact, that the audience demanded the Allegretto movement be encored immediately. Concerning the final movement, some program notes for the Symphony of the Canyons stated, "the final movement zips along at an irrepressible pace that threatens to sweep the entire orchestra off its feet and around the theater, caught up in the sheer joy of performing one of the most perfect symphonies ever written."
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At the right: How the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 was used in films. In the video at the far right, the names of the movies are not provided until the very end. |
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53. PAVANE POUR UNE INFANTE DÉFUNTE BY RAVEL
54. GABRIEL FAURÉ - PAVANE Maurice Ravel wrote "Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte" for solo piano in 1899 while he was studying at the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Fauré -- who also wrote a beautiful Pavane, a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century.
Fauré wrote his piece for solo piano in 1887, and he orchestrated it later that year for strings and one pair each of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns. |
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Ravel orchestrated his piece in 1910 using two flutes, an oboe, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, harp and strings.
Above right: Ravel plays his Pavane on the piano. At the right: The orchestrated version of Ravel's Pavane. |
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The orchestral version of Fauré's Pavane includes optional lyrics written by French poet Robert de Montesquiou.
At the left: The orchestrated version of Fauré's Pavane. At the right: Fauré's Pavane with chorus. |
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Robert de Montesquiou's lyrics for Fauré's Pavane:
C'est Lindor, c'est Tircis et c'est tous nos vainqueurs! C'est Myrtille, c'est Lydé! Les reines de nos coeurs! Comme ils sont provocants! Comme ils sont fiers toujours! Comme on ose régner sur nos sorts et nos jours! Faites attention! Observez la mesure! Ô la mortelle injure! La cadence est moins lente! Et la chute plus sûre! Nous rabattrons bien leur caquets! Nous serons bientôt leurs laquais! Qu'ils sont laids! Chers minois! Qu'ils sont fols! (Airs coquets!) Et c'est toujours de même, et c'est ainsi toujours! On s'adore! On se hait! On maudit ses amours! Adieu Myrtille, Eglé, Chloé, démons moqueurs! Adieu donc et bons jours aux tyrans de nos coeurs! Et bons jours! |
English Translation:
It is Lindor, it is Tircis, and it is all our victors! It is Myrtille, it is Lyde! The queens of our hearts. As they are defying! As they are always proud! As we dare rule our fates and our days! Pay attention! Observe the measure! Oh mortal insult! The cadence is less slow! And the fall more certain! We'll make them sing a different tune! We will soon be their running dogs! They are ugly! Dear little face! They are madmen! (Quaint airs and tunes!) And it is always the same, and so forever! We love! We hate ! We curse our loves! Farewell Myrtille, Egle, Chloe, mocking demons! Farewell and good day to the tyrants of our hearts! And a good day! |
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55. THE SCORE TO "WEST SIDE STORY" BY LEONARD BERNSTEIN I don't know if George Gershwin was the first to fuse classical music with jazz, but he certainly succeeded in doing so with "Rhapsody in Blue" and many other of his works. The same is true concerning Leonard Bernstein -- I don't know if he was the first to mix Broadway with classical music, but he certainly triumphed in doing so with the score to "West Side Story."
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Of course one of the challenges Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins faced was how to make a street gang look tough when dancing ballet-like choreography set to classically-inspired music set to a Latin beat. Did they succeed? Watch the video at the right to see what you think.
Plus, in 2021 we'll see how Steven Spielberg does with his remake of the movie (far right). |
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56. DVORAK'S SYMPHONY NO. 9 IN E MINOR, "FROM THE NEW WORLD"
This has always been one of my favorite symphonies. I can't remember though if I actually heard the entire symphony first or just its second movement -- as the melody for that movement is used in a song called "Goin' Home." My father used to love that song. He learned how to play the guitar for a short while, and he'd always play and sing "Goin' Home."
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Below left to right: "Going Home" performed in a solo, on the acoustic guitar, and by a boys' choir.
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The symphony was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, and it premiered on December 16, 1893, at Carnegie Hall conducted by Anton Seidl. Information about the premiere is HERE. The program from the concert that night in Carnegie Hall is HERE.
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57. SCHUMANN'S SCENES FROM CHILDHOOD
Evidently, Robert Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work, but he chose 13 for the final version. Of course, movement No. 7 of the work, "Träumerei" ("Dreaming"), is one of Schumann's best known pieces, but the entire work is wonderful -- and in addition to No. 7, I also love No. 1, "Von fremden Ländern und Menschen" ("Of Foreign Lands and Peoples").
The unused movements were later published in Bunte Blätter, Op. 99, and Albumblätter, Op. 124 |
Above left: The complete "Kinderszenen" (Scenes from Childhood). Below left: No. 7 of the work, "Träumerei" ("Dreaming"). Below center: Bunte Blätter Below: Albumblätter
58. VIVALDI'S THE FOUR SEASONS
I heard a joke once that went something like this, "Did Antonio Vivaldi write 500 concertos, or did he write one concerto 500 times?"
While it is true that some music written in Vivaldi's time period can sound very similar, his four violin concerti known as "The Four Seasons" are certainly stand outs. They are beautiful, and each gives wonderful musical expression to each season of the year. |
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Above right: The complete Four Seasons. Below left to right: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
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At the left: In 2016, pianist Justin Bird transcribed the four concerti for solo piano. Also, TIL that the the four concertos were written to accompany four sonnets -- or perhaps vice versa. I had no idea. The four sonnets are HERE. |
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59. SMETANA'S "THE MOLDAU"
“Má vlast” ("My homeland" – below on the right) is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. It is usually presented as a single work in six movements and with the exception of “Vltava” (“The Moldau” – on the left) which is often played as an individual piece.
In "The Moldau," Smetana evokes the sounds of one of Bohemia's great rivers. He said this about the work: |
"The composition describes the course of the Vltava, starting from the two small springs, the Cold and Warm Vltava, to the unification of both streams into a single current, the course of the Vltava through woods and meadows, through landscapes where a farmer's wedding is celebrated, the round dance of the mermaids in the night's moonshine: on the nearby rocks loom proud castles, palaces and ruins aloft. The Vltava swirls into the St. John's Rapids; then it widens and flows toward Prague, past the Vyšehrad, and then majestically vanishes into the distance, ending at the Labe (the Elbe)." |
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UPDATE:
WOW! When I reviewed François-Adrien Boieldieu's Harp Concerto in C (HERE), I found this video (at the left) of "The Moldau" on the harp -- soooo impressive! |
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60. HANDEL'S MESSIAH
Today is Christmas Eve Eve of 2020, so I thought this would be the perfect time to post Handel's Messiah, an English-language oratorio composed in 1741. The complete work is included in the video at the left. Three "hits" from the oratorio are below, left to right: "Ev'ry Valley Shall Be Exalted," "For Unto Us A Child Is Born," and the Hallelujah Chorus.
According to theodysseyonline.com, the Top 10 hits from Handel's Messiah are HERE. |
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to one and all! I'll continue posting more of my Top 100 Classical Music Favorites after Christmas.
*<(:-)> <--(That's supposed to be Santa Claus.)
*<(:-)> <--(That's supposed to be Santa Claus.)
At the right: A group of silent monks sings the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. |
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