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Classical music gays

Who are your favorite composers and what are some pleasant, relaxing pieces you would recommend for stressful times?

by Anonymousreply 104June 11, 2020 4:43 AM

Chopin, Wagner, Debussy, Glass, Bach, Mozart, Mahler (the Lieder, anyway)

This nocturne always blows my mind.

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by Anonymousreply 1June 4, 2020 10:47 PM

anothah killah

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by Anonymousreply 2June 4, 2020 10:53 PM

I like Alexsandr Borodin's Polovtsian Dances.

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by Anonymousreply 3June 4, 2020 10:56 PM

Bizet's L'Arlésienne Suites 1 & 2

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by Anonymousreply 4June 4, 2020 11:01 PM

I am not at all religious, but do enjoy this liturgical piece from Tchaikovsky.

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by Anonymousreply 5June 4, 2020 11:01 PM

Vaughan Williams's "The Lark Ascending", though I always found it a little unnervingly dark for some reason...

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by Anonymousreply 6June 4, 2020 11:03 PM

Max Richter's "Sleep" (at > 8 hours long) has become my go-to for, well, just what it says on the tin.

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by Anonymousreply 7June 4, 2020 11:05 PM

Mahler - Symphony No. 2. Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.

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by Anonymousreply 8June 4, 2020 11:59 PM

Schumann.

by Anonymousreply 9June 5, 2020 12:00 AM

Britten and Pears

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by Anonymousreply 10June 5, 2020 12:02 AM

Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings

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by Anonymousreply 11June 5, 2020 12:10 AM

I’ve really been liking Górecki lately.

by Anonymousreply 12June 5, 2020 12:10 AM

The OP asks for pleasant and relaxing r1, but Wagner and Mahler might not be the ticket.

That Chopin you linked is gorgeous, though.

by Anonymousreply 13June 5, 2020 12:24 AM

R13 How about the Siegfried Idyll?

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by Anonymousreply 14June 5, 2020 12:33 AM

I've been so obsessed with the Schumann 3 ("Renisch") lately - that fourth movement is so unusual and Wagnerian....

by Anonymousreply 15June 5, 2020 12:58 AM

There are certain movements in Mahler I find tremendously "soothing" and "relaxing," r13. The rest is quite stirring, but it adds to my total sense of well-being.

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by Anonymousreply 16June 5, 2020 7:37 AM

Eric Satie—Gymnopaedie #1

Beethoven—Moonlight Sonata, mmt 1

Edward Elgar—Nimrod, fr. Enigma variations

Claude Debussy—Clair de Lune

Others

by Anonymousreply 17June 5, 2020 7:58 AM

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Serenade to Music

The sound on the original recording is much better than this youtube copy.

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by Anonymousreply 18June 5, 2020 9:15 AM

Frederick Delius: Florida Suite, A Walk to the Paradise Garden, Brigg Fair, Songs of Sunset, In a Summer Garden, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, A Song of Summer.

The recordings by Beecham are considered definitive but I prefer Barbirolli's versions.

by Anonymousreply 19June 5, 2020 9:34 AM

The three Bs I want are the barrelhouse, the boogey-woogey and the blues.

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by Anonymousreply 20June 5, 2020 9:41 AM

Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No, 3 and Symphony No. 4

Richard Rodgers: The Carousel Waltz and 2nd Act ballet from Carousel

by Anonymousreply 21June 5, 2020 9:44 AM

Arvo Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel

by Anonymousreply 22June 5, 2020 9:54 AM

Borodin's String Quartet No. 2, Le Petite Suite and In the Steppes of Central Asia.

The classic Broadway musical Kismet had all of its music adapted from the works of Borodin, including from all of the above. He won the first posthumous Tony Award.

by Anonymousreply 23June 5, 2020 10:21 AM

More Chopin:

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by Anonymousreply 24June 5, 2020 10:28 AM

[quote]but Wagner and Mahler might not be the ticket.

I specified Mahler's Lieder. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the Symphonies, which I find bombastic.

As to Wagner, there are many passages that are soothing and gorgeous. The Siegfried Idyll is one, ITA.

by Anonymousreply 25June 5, 2020 10:29 AM

More Beethoven:

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by Anonymousreply 26June 5, 2020 10:31 AM

And Mahler's 4th goes from lilting to ethereal at the end, quite unlike his other big works.

by Anonymousreply 27June 5, 2020 10:33 AM

Some sedate Wagner:

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by Anonymousreply 28June 5, 2020 10:33 AM

Debussy, of course:

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by Anonymousreply 29June 5, 2020 10:36 AM

More Debussy:

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by Anonymousreply 30June 5, 2020 10:40 AM

A bit of Saint-Saens:

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by Anonymousreply 31June 5, 2020 10:41 AM

Sent into space to describe human culture to the universe

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by Anonymousreply 32June 5, 2020 10:44 AM

More Beethoven:

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by Anonymousreply 33June 5, 2020 10:44 AM

Schubert Impromptu:

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by Anonymousreply 34June 5, 2020 10:55 AM

A million years ago friends of my parents gave me a record of Purcell, Vivaldi, and Haydn trumpet concertos (I was a struggling trumpeter in the school orchestra). Years later I still enjoy listening to it.

I pretty much love anything composed by Vivaldi.

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by Anonymousreply 35June 5, 2020 10:57 AM

More Schubert:

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by Anonymousreply 36June 5, 2020 10:58 AM

Still more Schubert:

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by Anonymousreply 37June 5, 2020 11:00 AM

Schubert again:

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by Anonymousreply 38June 5, 2020 11:02 AM

To be honest, I think this may be the single greatest piece of music ever composed (and I really don’t care for Bach, overall):

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by Anonymousreply 39June 5, 2020 11:06 AM

This gem by Puccini:

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by Anonymousreply 40June 5, 2020 11:08 AM

Thanks R33, that went perfectly with my morning coffee and crossword.

I have a question for the group.

In 2018 Seth Stephens-Davidowitz wrote in the NY Times that your musical tastes are pretty much formed by the time you're a teenager and don't change much after that. For me it's just the opposite. Up through college (1983) I listened to popular music (and, being a good gay, show tunes) but had little interest in classical.

Now well into middle age, I listen almost exclusively to classical and haven't listened to anything 'current' in over 30 years (to me it all sounds the same: boom boom boom, no melody, unintelligible lyrics, no beginning middle, or end). I do, however, like something from the so-called Great American Songbook (Gershwin, Porter, Kern, etc) with a cocktail.

So my question is: were you always into classical music, or, like me, did you develop an appreciation later in life?

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by Anonymousreply 41June 5, 2020 11:14 AM

Allegri’s Miserere - look up the Mozart connection, it’s a wonderful and true story!

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by Anonymousreply 42June 5, 2020 11:23 AM

Thomas Tallis’ one-of-a-kind, 40-part/voice masterpiece:

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by Anonymousreply 43June 5, 2020 11:27 AM

"Hallelujah Junction - 1st movement" by John Adams

by Anonymousreply 44June 5, 2020 11:38 AM

Some sweet and serene Mozart:

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by Anonymousreply 45June 5, 2020 11:48 AM

Speaking of John Adams, this piece is simultaneously hypnotic and creepy:

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by Anonymousreply 46June 5, 2020 11:51 AM

Here you go, OP. This is not exactly classical, but it is far, far, removed from the current commercial product.

Gavin Bryars' "Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet" is guaranteed to take your attention away from all the shit going on in the world right now and to leave you transported and relaxed.

Or, possibly, it might break you and send you to any number of residential treatment programs.

Or, you might run screaming from the room in which it is playing.

But stick it out. That's my advice. This piece of music is astonishing.

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by Anonymousreply 47June 5, 2020 12:57 PM

Like Curious Eldergay r41, I started listening to classical music in the 1980s. I'd just bought a CD player, didn't care much for the pop music of the day, and tired quickly of buying the CD versions of my old LPs. Then one day in a record store, a guy played Schubert's last piano sonata, D960, and I thought it was the most magical thing I'd ever heard.

This was the beginning of a decades-long OCDish collecting of classical music for me. CD was the perfect form for it: no scratching, no surface noise. ESPECIALLY no surface noise. And you can collect multiple versions of the same piece of music.

I bought all of Schubert's piano sonatas, by at least two different pianists, Brendel (my original) and Uchida; Mozart's Piano Concertos by Brendel, Perahia, and Uchida; Mozart's Symphonies (I didn't get too obsessive here: Hogwood's were my early favorite; nothing came close). Lots of Beethoven symphonies. With him and Tchaikovsky, I find I like practically every version.

I bought lots of different versions of Mahler symphonies in particular. Tennstedt. Bernstein. Abbado. Rattle. Klemperer. Barbirolli. Whatever the popular ones were at the end of the '80s / early '90s. This remains my favorite classical music. I can listen to nothing but Mahler for hours.

I didn't find a set of Beethoven's piano sonatas I really liked until the '00s, when Paul Lewis and Andras Schiff released sets (2005 or so).

Ones I didn't like: Debussy, Ravel, Saint Saens, Elgar...anything meandering. Strauss (waltz or opera).

Ones I like a little: Schoenberg, Webern, Berg.

by Anonymousreply 48June 5, 2020 3:14 PM

I have always loved Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp, especially the second movement. Two years I visited his birthplace in Salzburg, and heard this music playing in the gift shop. It was so achingly beautiful that I burst into tears, right in the middle of the gift shop. (Yes, I know....Mary!)

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by Anonymousreply 49June 5, 2020 3:18 PM

[quote]So my question is: were you always into classical music, or, like me, did you develop an appreciation later in life?

We had a few classical records around when I was a kid that I liked...Beethoven, Liszt, Tchaikovsky's Peter and the Wolf...but not a ton of exposure, aside from the well-known popular stuff. I started to appreciate it more when I got into figure skating, though I am hardly any sort of expert. I like the fact that it is generally music that has stood the test of time, and wasn't recorded on an Ipad with autotuned vocals. Our culture has become so lowbrow and trashy that I welcome any antidote right now.

by Anonymousreply 50June 6, 2020 12:52 AM

Speaking of Adams, who is not among my favorites, The Arrival of Nixon in China from his opera Nixon in China, is extraordinary.

by Anonymousreply 51June 6, 2020 12:56 AM

Fauré Requiem is the most sublime music, all of it (35 minutes).

by Anonymousreply 52June 6, 2020 12:58 AM

If you need a good cry, Karl Jenkins, Benedictus.

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by Anonymousreply 53June 6, 2020 1:51 AM

R52 - YES! The Agnus Dei is my favorite movement from Fauré’s Requiem:

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by Anonymousreply 54June 6, 2020 2:47 AM

Staying home has gotten me into Chopin nocturnes and I discovered a great pianist, unknown to me until listening to about 10 different performances of this one, which kept sticking in my head: Nocturne opus 9, No. 3. Ivan Moravec. One of the great Chopin pianists of all time apparently (Czech-1930-2015). His whole recording of the 20 nocturnes (originally 1965, remastered in 2005) is for me addicting, especially this one, which is not one of the best known ones.

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by Anonymousreply 55June 6, 2020 3:50 AM

[quote] So my question is: were you always into classical music, or, like me, did you develop an appreciation later in life?

I started getting into film scores and 'ambient' instrumental, before making the leap into classical.

by Anonymousreply 56June 6, 2020 4:24 AM

Massanet: Meditation from Thais

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by Anonymousreply 57June 6, 2020 4:28 AM

Duruflé Requiem

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by Anonymousreply 58June 6, 2020 4:32 AM

Holst: The Planets - II. Venus, the Bringer of Peace

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by Anonymousreply 59June 6, 2020 4:33 AM

[quote]So my question is: were you always into classical music, or, like me, did you develop an appreciation later in life?

I was in band and choir in high school, so I was introduced to classical music during that time. That was almost 40 years ago. My appreciation for has grown over the years and continues to grow even now. But I like all kinds of music - pop, rock, country, show tunes, standards, etc. The two genres I've never really developed more than a surface appreciation for are hip hop and jazz. But I think that's mostly because I've never taken the opportunity to explore those genres and educate myself about them.

by Anonymousreply 60June 6, 2020 4:41 AM

Khachaturian: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia

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by Anonymousreply 61June 6, 2020 5:02 AM

R51, Also from Nixon in China, [italic] I Am the Wife of Mao Tse-Tung [/italic] is even more extraordinary.

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by Anonymousreply 62June 6, 2020 6:54 AM

Someone on another thread turned me onto The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto. Really very lovely. I would post a vid link, but could only find 20 min+ ones, which would probably slow down the thread.

by Anonymousreply 63June 6, 2020 7:21 AM

^^^ That’s Kathleen Kim hitting high D.

by Anonymousreply 64June 6, 2020 7:38 AM

“Daphnis et Chloé” by Ravel

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by Anonymousreply 65June 6, 2020 10:25 AM

My hobbies include singing in a Baroque and Renaissance ensemble, and also organ-fondling. For this reason, I'm going to go with Byrd, Victoria, and Bach. This is my favourite Bach fugue, played by one of my favourite organists. I can't play it anywhere as well as he does, but it's a lot of fun.

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by Anonymousreply 66June 6, 2020 10:41 AM

R66 - Thanks for sharing! I love that fugue as well, although please note that it is a spurious piece that has long been misattributed to J.S. Bach.

by Anonymousreply 67June 6, 2020 11:33 AM

His feet just dance over the pedals

by Anonymousreply 68June 6, 2020 12:52 PM

R67 thanks. I didn’t know that it was one of the spurious works, and I thought I knew my Bach.

I’ll go stand in the corner and listen to Schoenberg as punishment.

by Anonymousreply 69June 6, 2020 1:16 PM

R68, It’s called the “gigue” (jig) fugue for a reason! It was a signature piece of Virgil Fox, and there are anecdotes of people getting up to dance in the aisles when he played it.

by Anonymousreply 70June 6, 2020 1:24 PM

Faure: Pavane

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by Anonymousreply 71June 6, 2020 2:28 PM

Faure: Pavane for a Dead Princess

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by Anonymousreply 72June 6, 2020 2:29 PM

Handel: Sarabande (used as theme for "Barry Lyndon"

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by Anonymousreply 73June 6, 2020 2:32 PM

MOZART: PIANO CONCERTO 21 ANDANTE (used as theme for "Elvira Madigan)

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by Anonymousreply 74June 6, 2020 2:37 PM

R73, thanks. Voices of Music are a superb ensemble.

by Anonymousreply 75June 6, 2020 2:38 PM

R69 - No problem! No matter who composed it, it’s no less joyful nor superb.

As for your “punishment”, none is required; however, here’s some Schoenberg that’s actually palatable:

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by Anonymousreply 76June 6, 2020 3:09 PM

The sublime "Humming Chorus" from Puccini's "Madame Butterfly"

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by Anonymousreply 77June 6, 2020 4:40 PM

The sublime "Humming Chorus" from Puccini's, "Madame Butterfly"

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by Anonymousreply 78June 6, 2020 4:43 PM

dammit, why does this double post, or rather why does the first one not post until the second one does and then both show up?

by Anonymousreply 79June 6, 2020 4:47 PM

Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, Pietro Mascagni

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by Anonymousreply 80June 6, 2020 4:48 PM

Variation 18.

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by Anonymousreply 81June 6, 2020 4:53 PM

Smetana: Vltava (The Moldau)

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by Anonymousreply 82June 6, 2020 4:53 PM

I love Cavalleria Rusticana, R80. It’s a straight hour full of magnificent music. I always love how Mascagni used the arpeggiotic fall at the end of a lot of phrases.

by Anonymousreply 83June 6, 2020 4:55 PM

Puccini does it for me.

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by Anonymousreply 84June 6, 2020 4:56 PM

Gabriel's Oboe.

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by Anonymousreply 85June 6, 2020 4:58 PM

Offenbach's "Baracole" from "Tales of Hoffman"

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by Anonymousreply 86June 6, 2020 5:00 PM

Summer Music - Samuel Barber

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by Anonymousreply 87June 6, 2020 5:09 PM

noted above

Gustav MAHLER, CINQUIEME SYMPHONIE,, Mouvement 4 : Adagietto

but with opening scene from Visconti's "Death In Venice" which used the piece brilliantly

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by Anonymousreply 88June 6, 2020 5:13 PM

“Trois Nocturnes” (Nuages, Fêtes, Sirènes) by Debussy.

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by Anonymousreply 89June 6, 2020 5:54 PM

Diana Ross

by Anonymousreply 90June 6, 2020 6:04 PM

R67 /76, thanks again. That Schoenberg was very pleasant to listen to. Did I hear a nod to Brahms, or should I take another tablet?

by Anonymousreply 91June 6, 2020 6:10 PM

Hey R91! When I first heard Transfigured Night, I was stunned. It demonstrates that AS was equipped to be a fine composer, but he took a different path. (Yes, I definitely hear the Brahms!)

It’s like some of Picasso’s first paintings: he demonstrated that he’d mastered the craft, and then took off in his own direction.

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by Anonymousreply 92June 6, 2020 11:08 PM

Well, this isn’t exactly “relaxing”, but it is one of the cleverest and most joyful pieces ever composed for the piano - even though it’s called The Banjo.

Gottschalk totally nailed the effect!

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by Anonymousreply 93June 8, 2020 2:27 AM

Now for something more calm and relaxing. Ralph Vaughan Williams uses both melodies and harmonies in such a way that it always makes me nostalgic for bygone times.

The Lark Ascending was recommended by someone else on this thread and I believe it is one of RVW’s best works. It was composed in the summer of 1914, just before the outbreak of WW I, and for me is the apotheosis of the Edwardian Era and a time that will never return.

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by Anonymousreply 94June 8, 2020 2:36 AM

I'm afraid that decades of repeated playing of The Lark Ascending on UK classical music radio has made me fall out of love with it. But I totally agree with the comments about RVW. Here is one of his earliest extant compositions: it's not as relaxing as the Lark, but it has that same yearning quality.

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by Anonymousreply 95June 8, 2020 5:38 AM

R88, see r21.

by Anonymousreply 96June 8, 2020 5:51 AM

Another one from Tchaikovsky -- None but the Lonely Hearts

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by Anonymousreply 97June 8, 2020 6:11 AM

Since OP wanted pleasant and relaxing and others have mentioned Vaughan Williams we can't leave out 'Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis' by RVW.

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by Anonymousreply 98June 9, 2020 5:45 AM

Less well-remembered from Death in Venice, r93, and sehr langsam rather than adagietto, we have this movement from Symphony No. 3.

So take your "see" and stick it where we can't see.

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by Anonymousreply 99June 9, 2020 7:25 AM

Coronavirus Étude for Organ and Disinfecting Wipe

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by Anonymousreply 100June 9, 2020 7:48 AM

R99 - What did I do to offend you?

by Anonymousreply 101June 9, 2020 8:24 AM

I'm a pianist, so I have always listened to a lot of piano recordings. I love Rachmaninoff, particularly the piano concertos and preludes. I love the schmaltzy, heavy-romantic stuff, which Rach always provides. Ravel is also a favorite, Daphnis in particular, also his solo piano works; Jeux D'eau, Une Barque Sur L'Ocean and Ondine are great aural treats. Vivaldi's L'Estro Harmonico and Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are fun in that they have the relentless underlying Baroque momentum that is so satisfying. The climax in Ondine at 3:50 in the following video is so beautiful; I love the descending chordal progression and the movement over the keyboard, which dissipates into a murky puddle.

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by Anonymousreply 102June 9, 2020 1:12 PM

R102 - Have you heard the Gina Bachauer recording of Gaspard de la Nuit with Sir John Gielgud reading the Aloysius Bertrand poems before each piece? It’s an amazing experience!

by Anonymousreply 103June 9, 2020 2:22 PM

R102 - Here is that remarkable performance:

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by Anonymousreply 104June 11, 2020 4:43 AM
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