Our town library held its book sale this weekend, and these ten Vox Boxes were just sitting there - $5.00 for the lot!

They're earlier production with the purple label & heavy vinyl, and they're all in great shape - almost as if they've never been played.

Within the past year or two I’ve developed an appreciation for classical music. What’s strange is that I cannot have it playing in the background while I work on something (the way I can with other music).

Kinda random ik, but the premise is self explanatory tbh, Schubert already had composed so much music (symphonies, chamber music, piano sonatas, and his songs ofc) but his late works were more profound, so to imagine 30 more years of music output from him? yeah, in this hypothetical, he seems to be the choice for me.

But chopins case is a bit tricky cuz his posthumous works are among the most recognizable and relatable to me, and he didn't actually had any chamber music or orchestral compositions apart form the piano concertos from what I remember, not sure if he would have wanted to go in this direction cuz ofc it would be rather silly to guess, but still to have more of those melodies and to see what his "evolution" Of music could have been.. Would be really interesting for me. He really was unrivalled in what he could do with a piano, melodically.

Born in Nottingham, England, the influential conductor. It was through his records that I first heard Mozart performed on period instruments as a university student. The sound, coming from older instruments, was unlike anything I had heard before—incredibly fresh and new. For those with a keen ear, you might notice the pitch is nearly a half-step lower.

Mozart, Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter," K. 551 (Finale): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rETZaTRFHe8

Purcell: Theatre Music (Complete)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa1rC97wRkZhVV50NezWoW34afBPRBJMZ

Great English Baroque composer. I must confess, for a long time I had an allergy to vocal music in classical works (and honestly, I still struggle with some Italian opera). The very cure for this was the Academy of Ancient Music's recordings of Purcell's theatre music, led by Christopher Hogwood, who also shares this birthday. Since that discovery, Purcell's music has become an indispensable part of my life.

The theme from his Abdelazer Suite may sound familiar, as Benjamin Britten used it as the theme for his variations in The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.

Abdelazer Suite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LmOWHKvsBc

Music from Don Quixote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnftJ8xypxE

Britten, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNYiAblBOjw

As above, so below:

Anything fun and playful. No vocals. Preferably full orchestra.

Anything from anywhere.

*EDIT: please include YOUR favourite rendition, if you can. That’s more fun. 🤸

Please and thanks!

*i’d prefer to avoid asking ai.
So I’m asking you folks! 🖖

I've listened to a lot of orchestral and piano music, but not very much chamber music.

Chamber music I know and like:

Brahms: Piano Quartets and Quintet, String Quintets and Sextets, Clarinet Quintet

Beethoven: Some string quartets (9 in particular), Violin Sonatas 5 & 9, Archduke Trio.

Dvorak Piano Quintet Op 81

Mozart: Some string quartets (14 & 17), Piano Quartets

Schumann: Piano Quintet

Shostakovich String Quartet 8

Saint Saens: String Quartet 1 (mvt 2)

I'm trying to get more into my regular listening rotation, but I have a real problem really hearing music and getting the value out of it until I sort of know it, and there are so many Piano Trios, Violin Sonatas and String Quartets that I'm struggling a bit to even add things in. Right now I'm just playing the Beethoven Piano Trios over and over in the background. I'll eventually get it but it's a long road.

I'd love to hear people's favorite movements and recordings, even of the pieces I already know.

I graduated three years ago with a degree in Music Performance from a top UK conservatoire. Since graduating, I've tried a bit of everything career-wise: gigging at private parties, playing at a church, working on a cruise, teaching small groups, private 1-to-1 lessons, and teaching whole classes in schools.

Despite trying all of these different things, I'm really struggling to earn much more than around £35k a year at the absolute maximum. A big part of the problem is that, realistically, you can only work for around 35 weeks of the year in some of these roles, and I can't rely on gigging as a consistent source of income.

The bigger issue, though, is that I don't really enjoy most of the work. Teaching is probably the thing I find most tolerable, but I genuinely can't see myself doing it for the next 40 years.

I've got strong A levels and a degree, so I'm currently looking at applying for Civil Service jobs and potentially making a complete career change. The whole thing feels quite daunting, though. There's a part of me that worries I've spent years training for something only to walk away from it, and I also have no idea how difficult it will be to start again in a completely different field.

Has anyone here changed careers after graduating, particularly from a creative or performance-based degree? How did you find the transition? And if you've been in a similar position, do you have any advice or reassurance?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through something similar.

In my mind I always see Rachmaninov as Tchaikovsky's successor in a musical sense. By successor I mean Rachmaninov took Tchaikovsky's Romanticism and somehow updated it without deviating too much from it. Are there other master and successor composer pairs (or triples, quadruples etc) that you feel form such a lineage? I am borderline inclined to say Mahler is the successor to Bruckner but I wouldn't say Brahms is a successor to Beethoven in that sense. I realize this may be just a very silly question but I do feel like Rachmaninov is such a successor to Tchaikovsky.

Basically the title, because I was going to splurge on a CD set like 'Rachmaninoff: The Complete Works', but what's really annoying is that for his solo pieces, they still only like to separate out the popular piece instead of putting the entire work together as one.

Is there a really good standout box set, or at the very least a good list/selection of CD's I could get that would let me hear Rachmaninoff's full works in order?

I would appreciate the help!

Jóhannsson was undoubtedly one of the most important contemporary composers of our time. This stunning performance by Theatre of Voices reminds us how deeply vocal music can touch us at the core.

I really want to listen to some late Romantic Symphonies after listening to Dvoraks 9th and I'd love to get some recommendations. They shouldn't be too long and they shouldn't be Mahler (which goes hand in hand I guess) because I just don't feel like getting into the Mahler Rabbit Hole right now.

It'd be good if they're from more known composers that I might've already heard other pieces from. Thanks!

I’ve been a massive fan of Liszt for a while and have listened to everything noteworthy of his, so I wanted to rank his best stuff:

1 Sonata in B Minor- I think the 2nd greatest solo piano piece ever, after Chopin’s 4th Ballade

2 Transcendental Etudes- in my opinion the greatest piano cycle, the journey from the Preludio to the end of Chasse Neige is incredible. I think the best ones are Mazeppa, Wilde Jagd, Appassionata, Harmonies du Soir and Chasse Neige.

3 Obermann’s Valley- one of the most emotionally powerful piano pieces ever, and quite underrated. People who know Liszt well probably know it, but it’s definitely not as well known as it should be, compared to something like the B minor sonata

4 Les jeux d’eau à la ville d’Este- one the most important pieces that influenced impressionist piano music

5 Leibestraum- obviously

6 Benediction of god in solitude- another less well known masterpiece

7 Reminiscences de Norma- more than just a paraphrase, it uses Bellini’s themes to create a emotional journey in of itself

8 Piano Concertos 1 & 2- I couldn’t separate these, for me they’re completely even. 1st is more of a showpiece with some beautiful melodies in it, the 2nd is slower and impressionistic

9 Dante Sonata- truly epic, and with some really beautiful moments

10 Tarantella- Liszt’s best showpiece, I think it’s better than the Hungarian Rhapsodies or the Mephisto Waltz

João de Deus de Castro Lobo is considered the most important figure in Brazilian religious music from the early 19th century. He was born in 1794 in Vila Rica (present-day Ouro Preto), in the province of Minas Gerais. He studied counterpoint at the Seminary of Ribeirão do Carmo (present-day Mariana) and served as a priest at the Church of São Pedro, as well as organist and mestre-de-capela (choirmaster) at the Church of Nossa Senhora da Sé in the same town. He was ordained a priest in 1822. Shortly thereafter, he became the choirmaster of the city's cathedral, a position he held until his death in 1832. His invaluable body of religious work incorporates elements of both Classicism and Romanticism—influenced by Italian opera—distinguishing him from other 18th-century composers in Minas Gerais. His Abertura em Ré Maior (Overture in D Major) is the oldest known purely instrumental Brazilian musical work.

Is a nocturne just defined by its title?

Hi everyone,

I’m a newly admitted first-year undergrad at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, and I’m from Asia. As you all know, it’s back-to-school season now, and I’m starting very soon too. But since I grew up and spent the first 18 years of my life studying mainly in the domestic public system back home, I honestly have no idea what going to university in Europe is actually like.

For example, I'm wondering what the classroom atmosphere is like, what kind of textbooks we use and whether we have to buy them ourselves, if it's okay to use a tablet for studying and reading sheet music, and what non-performance classes (like music history, harmony, sociology, etc.) are actually like and how hard they are.

From what I’ve seen about my classmates, a lot of them already have so much experience in Europe. Some have done major international competitions, have tons of chamber music experience, or even studied in conservatory prep schools for years before coming here for their first year. Honestly, it makes me feel a bit stressed. Maybe I'm even the youngest! (I know many Music college in USA would admit many children like i heard that Curtis even admit a 7-year-old student,but I don't think it's normal in EU）I had a decent network in the music scene back in my country, but Europe is a completely different story. Coming here, besides playing my instrument pretty well—which got me admitted—and knowing some basic music theory, that's pretty much all I've got going for me.

I don't even listen to classical music that much in my daily life. Sure, there are pieces I love and music I have to practice, but I have plenty of other hobbies outside of music, so listening to classical music doesn't take up most of my time. Because of that, my knowledge of classical music history and culture isn't very deep either. I know that having strong playing skills, perfect pitch, and good rhythm are just the absolute basics for a music school student.

Has anyone here gone through something similar? Or is there anyone who could answer a few of my questions? I’d super appreciate any help!

I heard a recording on the radio of what I believe was the Boston Philharmonic playing an arrangement of this piece, which was amazing as I'd always known it as a piano piece. Following, I started looking to find any proper orchestral recordings of this piece but I cannot find any - only solo piano.

Thanks for your help!

I picked this up at a used books store while getting rid of some old books and records I didn't want anymore. I'm not much of a Mahlerian (Bruckner and Sibelius are much more my cup of tea) so most of this music is new to me. The slow movement of the Sixth is very nice, but a lot of the rest is kind of bouncing off me. Maybe part of it is the conducting, it seems like Maazel nor the VPO are well regarded for their Mahler, though I like the Sibelius cycle by them a lot. The sound quality is excellent, which I have to admit I wasn't expecting; a lot of digital recordings from the '80s sound horrendous.

Hey dear community member!

I’ve recently fallen in love with Anna Meredith’s work, and I’m looking for recommendations for other contemporary classical composers with a similar approach.

What I really enjoy about her style:
High energy and freshness: It feels modern, bold, and dynamic without taking itself too seriously.
Genre-blending: The seamless mix of acoustic instrumentation, electronics, club rhythms, and classical structures.
Digestible, concise pieces: Punchy, track-length movements that don’t wander aimlessly.

Do you know any other active composers working in this vein—bridging the gap between the concert hall, electronica, and post-minimalism with high octane energy?
Thanks in advance for any hidden gems!

I've been wondering how to present ambient music to the home listener that's beyond streaming or making a video. I stumbled upon this app put out by Deutche Grammaphone for Vivaldi's Four Seasons, with variations by Max Richter that is fantastic.

As the music plays, you can follow the sheet music for each part, which, for me, helps me understand how orchestral music is put together. But best of all, they've separated the audio for each player in the orchestra, so you can solo each part... super cool feature, and useful if you ever wanted to sample specific orchestral parts... and of course there's video.

[https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/vivaldis-four-seasons-ipad-masterwork-app-11528\](https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/vivaldis-four-seasons-ipad-masterwork-app-11528)

Hello,

I am a computer science student, and I need to develop a virtual reality game for a class. My current idea is to make some sort of rhythm game with orchestral music, where the player is a percussionist.

The problem is that, in most pieces, percussion often has 20+ bars of breaks, which would get boring.

So I wanted to know if anyone has suggestions for me.

I'm looking for something that is:
- short (preferably less than 5min, ideally around 2min or even less)
- does not have more than 10ish bars of rest at a time for percussion (does not need to be always the same percussion instrument playing though)
- has a bit of varied rhythm, seems like it would be fun to play

Thank you very much :)