Classical Music - Definitive Editions?

As an aside - do any search for classical music for kids/children - you're handed a list of  music that kids can sleep to. ???

As with any thing you will find true genius or just demonstrating talent.

Hard to imagine children wouldn't find something in Mozart's lighter music.

I grew up listening to zero classical music, then at age 23 Eine kleine Nacht musik was the attention grabber that helped draw me in to explore more, so I guess it might work for a six-year old

Some suggestions - try Prokofiev Peter & The Wolf (chose a version with narrative), Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals.  I also recommend Prokofiev's Classical Symphony (symphony no.1)

Turn to a classical music used in film or ballet. Easy accessibility.

Melancholia: Tristan und Isolde Prelude by Wagner

The Hunger: The Flower Duet’ from Lakmé by Delibes

 Amadeus: Requiem by Mozart* ( by Marriner; my personal fave )

Chocolat: The Gnossiennes by Satie

Drowning by Numbers: Sinfonia Concertante: II. Andante by Mozart

Behind the Candelabra: Prelude in E minor, Op.28 No.4 by Chopin

Elvira Madigan: Piano Concerto No.21: Andante by Mozart

Eyes Wide Shut: Musica Ricercata: II. Mesto by Ligeti

Tree of Life: Má vlast by Smetana

Jean de Florette: Overture to La forza del destino by Verdi

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: String Quintet in E, Op.11, No.5: Menuet Celebre by Boccherini

Bagdad Café: The Well-Tempered Clavier by JS Bach

Heaven: Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt

When the kid is asleep:

A Clockwork Orange: Funeral music for Queen Mary by Henry Purcell.

The Gotfather: during the Baptism Scene some proper organ music.

I think the Mozart suggestion is a good one, Piano Concerto No. 21 as suggested above, or any of Nos 20, 23 and 24, all masterpieces, and very accessible.

Romantic period is a good way in, Schubert's String Quintet (D.956) has some of the most beautiful music ever written. (There is also the Trout Quintet which has a piano as the 5th instrument, also a good choice.) Also Chopin, pretty much anything by him, but maybe try a few of the preludes, all for solo piano.

For orchestral works Beethoven's best known symphonies, the 6th as a started, then the 9th and 5th, plus a plug for my personal favourite the 7th. Also Mozart, Symphonies 40 & 41 are fantastic. Then look at the Romantic period again, Brahms 1st and 4 Symphonies, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky violin concertos.

Going back to Baroque time, then Vivaldi's 4 Seasons is an obvious suggestion, and I'd also suggest trying Bach's Goldberg Variations, a towering work.

If you like Ma, I guess you like the cello, look out for Jacqueline DuPre's recordigs of the Elgar Cello  Concerto, some of the most poignant music ever recorded.

There are so many to choose from, Ive tried to pick ones that don't rely on being steeped in the period's music, great tunes, but still all the genius of the greatest music, which show enough of the forms to help you decide which types you like.

It's hard not to keep listing pieces, I feel I've let the 20th century down, Bach's certainly under-represented, I'd suggest Beethoven string quartets Op. 132 and 135 in a longer list, Mahler and Wanger seem oddly absent, but I'm trying not to just brain dump my whole favourites list.

Focussing on the 6 year old:

At that age, s/he would seem likely to find it interesting simply because you do (assuming you do!), but possibly likely to be more effective if tuneful and individual pieces not over-long.

At that age a special treat, maybe once a week or so, was my mother playing from her small collection of 78s, from which even today I can recall things like Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours, Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, and the one that became my favourite: Beethoven's Egmont overture. From that I was hooked on classical music for life, though in due course discovered some other styles I liked.

To complement suggestions so far, Classical FM radio is actually quite good for sampling a rangecof things, tending to focus on more popular works, and on shorter pieces or exerpts e.g just a single movement from a symphony), subject to judgement at the time as to the style of music at the particular time when you want to listen - if the choice seems uninteresting turn it off before boredom sets in and try another time! If the young'un likes a piece then buy it for future repeated play and furtger exploration if it is a longer work.

Handel's Water Music, and Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Maybe Beethoven's Eighth symphony?

Thanks all around! There's so much, it's easy to get lost - making spotify playlists now...

How about the ones that as a child were "exciting", 1812 Overture with all those bells and cannon. Fanfare for the Common Man, the Cats Duet.

Seriously, catching a child's attention, Debussy's Children's Corner Suite, six pieces that really are sound pictures. Then Villa Lobos The Little Train of the Caipira.

Or all those from school days - Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Pictures at an Exhibition (try for free, this Wednesday from the proms).....

As a 6 yr child I was bought a number of records of fairy tales set to classical music e.g. Ugly Ducling to Grieg, Treasure Island to Berlioz etc. Still available on Discogs on vinyl - https://www.discogs.com/artist...ndon-Theatre-Company

really enjoyed then ( and still do listen to)

Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

In fact Disney's Fantasia might be a good introduction to Classical music.

sjbabbey posted:

Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

In fact Disney's Fantasia might be a good introduction to Classical music.

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This.  If I was introducing a small child to music, I'd put this, Fantasia 2000 and Allegro Non Troppo on repeat on the dvd/bluray. (When they get older you can introduce them to "The Rabbit of Seville" and the crowning glory of American animation "What's Opera, Doc".)

From a purely aural point, for children you probably want something heavy on the melody - Rossini overtures, Greig's Peer Gynt Suite (which has both Morning and In the Hall of the Mountain King), Strauss waltzes, Suppe overtures etc.

regards,

Giles

What works for my kids is to watch concerts on Digital Concert Hall / Berliner Philharmoniker and let them identify the instruments.

My 2 oldest are now playing French Horn (presumably caused by the opening of Bruckner 4) and Trombone (presumably caused by the Imperial March).

There seem to be a bazillion recordings of each of the recommendation here - any easy way to steer oneself to the better recordings? Any labels that are better than the others?

Ah so you're after the Dummies Guide to classical music. Try this site: 

https://classicalcandor.blogsp...tion-on-compact.html

Or this one

http://www.classicalcdguide.com/main/intro.htm

Both contain lists of pieces, recordings and options. Happy hunting.

regards,

Giles

Seeing Andre Preview's version of Grieg's Piano Concerto (by Grieg) made me smile. He plays all the right notes in the right order, you know.

sjbabbey posted:

Seeing Andre Preview's version of Grieg's Piano Concerto (by Grieg) made me smile. He plays all the right notes in the right order, you know.

I know too little of the matter - there's something tongue in cheek here - but I don't get it.

MM, This should help to explain.

Sampled stuff on spotify - so far, got this on order:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MRMRR4/

Listen to EOINK, he knows what he's talking about. Every recommendation is very strong. He also seems to be the only one who's posted that actually listens to classical music as opposed to thinking it's something you hear in movies, as background when impressing friends at dinner parties, or for falling asleep to. Grrrr...

I would add to his list the following excellent and equally accessible pieces: the Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Bruch Violin Concertos; Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 "Italian"; Haydn piano sonata in E flat major Hob XVI:49; Dvorak cello concerto in B; Beethoven's 5th piano concerto; Bach's 3rd Brandenburg Concerto; and Rodrigo's Aranjuez concerto for guitar. There's so many it's impossible to list them all.

Please, please, please, avoid compilations of single movements from here and there. Karajan's Adagio CDs come to mind. Classical works are written as works, the movements go together, lead into each other, and recycle common themes. The adagio movements (usually the second) are often the most accessible, and thus the favorites. But they're infinitely nicer in the context of the preceding and succeeding movements. Mona Lisa's smile may be the best part of the painting, but cropping out the rest and leaving just her lips would ruin it wouldn't it? Compilations of classical movements are like a collage of 2x2 inch fragments cut from someone else's favorite famous paintings and thrown together in random order. 

If you're starting with chamber music (Schubert's string quintet was an excellent recommendation, Beethoven's middle quartets are even better but much less accessible), close your eyes and place the instruments on the sound stage in front of you (most quartets have the two violins to the left, then cello, then viola, older ones swap viola for 2nd violin or cello), listen to the dialog between the instruments. They don't all play at once. They're talking to each other. They have different parts to play and the real beauty comes when you pick apart the instruments and hear the interplay between them.

You won't get every piece on the first listen, even the more accessible ones. Listen to them over and over. As they become familiar, your ears and brain will pick out new details, interplay, emphasis, themes, and depth. Eventually you'll realize that Beethoven's late quartets are to rock what a SpaceX rocket is to a caveman rubbing two sticks together. I like fire as much as the next guy, but there's no comparison in achievement, sophistication, or importance.

perizoqui posted:

Listen to EOINK, he knows what he's talking about. Every recommendation is very strong. He also seems to be the only one who's posted that actually listens to classical music as opposed to thinking it's something you hear in movies, as background when impressing friends at dinner parties, or for falling asleep to. Grrrr...

That is rather disingenuous! I listen to classical about 50% of the time (and mostly complete works not exerpts)...

t think some of the contributions - certainly mine - were focusing on the dssire to be accessible to a 6 year old, and my interpretation was that what was wanted was a some suggestion of accessible things to try, from which to discover music to be explored further.

Innocent Bystander posted:

That is rather disingenuous! I listen to classical about 50% of the time (and mostly complete works not exerpts)...

Apologies, didn't mean to offend! Perhaps we just have different taste. My sense is that 6 year olds, like those of any age, are best introduced to classical music with the good stuff.

Surely all music is "good stuff", which is good for any individual depends on their taste.

Taking the theme of construction of music, interplay, development of themes etc I  have been lucky enough to see The Aurora Orchestra many times, they always make classical music accessible, my personal favourite was Mozart 40 with the Memory Palace talk beforehand.

Their recent Proms performance is to be televised on August  18th, well worth a watch for an explanation of the way a piece us "constructed".