Classical Music?

Rhino

I like classical music, but don't know much about it. My personal preference is slow music that has a lot of deep strings, drums and pianos. The only thing I know by name is 'moon light sona'.

Any recommendations? I like the relaxing or 'dark/sad' music; I don't like all the "fruity stuff"

Also is there anywhere I can legally and freely download classical music on the interwebs?

Janson

It's a little hard to give specific recommendations because you're talking hundreds of years of music written by hundreds of composers.

I imagine, though, that you'll want to listen to Romantic/Modern-era music (the last two hundred years or so).

Classic Cat is good for free Classical music. Obviously free is as free does; it's by no means comprehensive but it'll give you a good start.

I'd recommend just listen to a bunch of music (if you don't want to browse the internet you can also pick up compilations like 'top 100 tunes' for very, very cheap on cd) and seeing which composers/genres you like, and then it'll be easier to ask for more specific recommendations.

Personally I think the popular Russian composers would fit your bill - Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff, for example.

brandotheninjamaster

Pandora just implemented a classical music selection. Type in a name of a well known composer and see where it takes you.

badpoet

Pandora is a good spot to start. Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony might fit your bill a bit.

Otherwise, I find that when I'm in a classical mood I'm satisfied by the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. It is by no means a substitute for most people, but I enjoy it.

Xaquin

The first thing I got into was the Classical Thunder CDs .... I already knew some of them, but the ones I didn't know I really enjoyed. It always seemed like a greatest hits for classical music CD set to me, but I love it.

RNEMESiS42

You can't go wrong with Mozart's Requiem for "dark/sad" music.

Arasaki

Beethoven is pretty good. If you like dark music, Prokofiev can be a good one to listen to also.

Chen

Pretty much all of Saint-Saëns' compositions are depressingly sad. Works from Russian composers like Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky and Prokofiev sound like something you'd enjoy too.

NightDragon

I know you're looking more for places to *get* the music, but i NEED to suggest this.

"The Lark Ascending" by Ralph Vaughan Williams. One of my absolute favorite pieces. Very slow, relaxing, gorgeous piece.

lizard eats flies

I always find myself suggesting some of the same things:
Carl Orff - Carmina Burana, one of the more common suggestions for this is Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta symphony orchestra, but I always preferred the recording by the San Fransisco symphony orchestra

Mozart - Requiem. was suggested before but its good

Stravinsky - anything really, but rite of spring and symphony of psalms are excellent

Rachmaninoff is great for stuff with piano which you mentioned you liked as well as gershwin (tho this doesnt generally fall in the 'dark' range)

Check out some bach fugues and you can never go wrong with a Beethoven symphony (if you have never listened to number 9 in its entirety, do it and do it now)

IreneDAdler

So... define "fruity." Do you mean cheerful, like Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik? Or do you mean extremely modern and abstract, like Cage's 4'33"?

Also, try Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration; Schubert's Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished;" Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique;" Mahler's 5, 6, or 9; Beethoven's 3, 5, 7; Sibelius 2; and Shostakovich 5 and 7. You'd probably also really like Barber's Adagio.

And try to branch out into other genres of classical music too. One of the first pieces of chamber music that I really liked was Mozart's "Dissonance" quartet, KV465. You could also try Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" quartet.

edit: Oh, and Chopin's Nocturnes, if you like solo piano stuff.

vash11

IreneDAdler wrote: »

So... define "fruity." Do you mean cheerful, like Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik? Or do you mean extremely modern and abstract, like Cage's 4'33"?

Also, try Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration; Schubert's Symphony No. 8, "Unfinished;" Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique;" Mahler's 5, 6, or 9; Beethoven's 3, 5, 7; Sibelius 2; and Shostakovich 5 and 7. You'd probably also really like Barber's Adagio.

And try to branch out into other genres of classical music too. One of the first pieces of chamber music that I really liked was Mozart's "Dissonance" quartet, KV465. You could also try Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" quartet.

edit: Oh, and Chopin's Nocturnes, if you like solo piano stuff.

Yea, chopin was godly with a piano. Every piece of music that he wrote involves it in some way.

Edit- If you like moonlight sonata, you will almost definitely like this I believe it's called Comptine d'un autre été.

CheerfulBear

The first thing you should do is look for Brahm's double concerto for violin and cello. It's probably one of my favorite pieces, and would fit the bill for something more moody. Here's the third movement with Rostropovich on the cello (he is my hero). It still blows my mind every time I listen to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwBGlbgi_js

I would also suggest Mendelssohn's two piano trios, especially the second one in C minor. Also if you want something dark and brooding with lots of low strings, you should look around for cello concertos or sonatas. Prokofiev's Sonata in C for Cello and Piano, for example, is fan-fucking-tastic. First movement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC-Evv-A3aU

Shostakovich's cello concertos are also amazing. I suggest his cello concerto in E flat major. Here's the first movement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyaPlvae5k

Shostakovich's also wrote a string quartet (no. 8 in c minor) that might be described as "haunting" or something like that. Here are the first two movements. The transition between them is really great, and even though the sound quality is kind of sketchy, it should still give you an idea of the intensity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk-Qh3bAOeY

Edit:

IreneDAdler wrote: »

So... define "fruity." Do you mean cheerful, like Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik? Or do you mean extremely modern and abstract, like Cage's 4'33"?

Boo Cage, booooooo

Orogogus

I'm not sure how to read some of the qualifiers in the OP. Like, slow classical pieces don't usually have very prominent drum parts, and I don't know where to draw the line between relaxing and fruity. But here are some that I think are good for people to get into classical music:

Dvorak's 9th symphony: 3rd movement is relaxing, the other 3 movements are much livelier (although not any more so than the 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata)

Dvorak's 8th symphony: Maybe just the 3rd & 4th movements (3rd is the one I would consider sad)

Elgar's Salut d'Amor: A short violin and piano piece that's either relaxing or fruity, I don't know

Pachelbel's Canon in Relaxing? I think? You hear it at a lot of weddings (not the "Here Comes the Bride" song)

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition

Bach's BWV 140 (Wachet Auf), 4th movement is a nice piece and easy to listen to. It's a religious piece, so skip if that style doesn't appeal to you

Schubert's Unfinished Sympony: Someone mentioned this one already

Beethoven's Fur Elise: Piano piece, everyone's probably heard the primary melody a million times

Soggychicken

Chen wrote: »

Pretty much all of Saint-Saëns' compositions are depressingly sad. Works from Russian composers like Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky and Prokofiev sound like something you'd enjoy too.

Ehhhhh... Saint-Saens is like the opposite of depressingly sad...

Off the top of my head:

Carnival of Animals
Samson and Delila
Danse Macabre

Djiem

I know you want "sad, slow" stuff and nothing "fruity", but every time I hear "classical" I need to chime in and recommend Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2.
It's slow at the start and "fruity" (maybe? depends your definition) by the end.
Another one which might be fruity, but it's so good: Ravel's Bolero.

I'm surprised neither were mentionned yet. You've all heard the Hungarian Rhapsody anyway, you just didn't know what it was called. You've heard it watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse, Tom & Jerry, the Animaniacs, Woody Woodpecker, the Tiny Toons, etc.

Golden Leg

If you ever want a little good-natured humor with your classical music, Victor Borge will do the trick.

saggio

Symphony of Psalms by Stravinsky is exactly what you are looking for.

Cyvros

RNEMESiS42 wrote: »

You can't go wrong with Mozart's Requiem for "dark/sad" music.

Very true. You may also enjoy a fair bit of Mahler's work - the man didn't exactly have the happiest of lives, and much of his music reflects that. I haven't listened to his symphonies for a while, but I think his fifth symphony might be a good one to start with.