Re: Thanks for the participation
Okay, I even went through my old vinyls, all my CDs, my wish list, and was serious and thought hard and everything and here's my list, in no particular order. I couldn't think that hard
And I went over 10, sorry. Way over, actually.
1. Alban Berg. Violin Concerto, 1935, aka, "Requiem for Manon" who was Alma Mahler's daughter, of whom Berg was very fond (Berg among many). The person I think plays this best by far is Yehudi Menuhin. You can hear other soloists and it doesn't even sound like the same music.
2. Beethoven. Tough to pick favorites, but I'll picked Piano Sonato Op. 111. This was his final piano sonata and there is a section where one note is struck in a kind of broken, but increasingly forté manner, as if Beethoven is pounding the note again and again, desperate to hear it. Op. 111 also has sections in it that sound like pure be-bop. Also love the Late String Quartets and the "Emperor" Cto. as played by Alfred Brendel.
3. Anton Bruckner. It was said of Bruckner, "He is where he is going." His music tends to take some getting used to but if you can run to it, I think it helps. One of my favorites, Symphony #4, Romantische, as played by the Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan.
4. David Byrne. Music for dance "The Catherine Wheel" and, with Talking Heads, music from the album "Remain in Light."
5. The Beatles. "Sgt. Pepper," "Rubber Soul."
6. Bach. The Goldberg Variations played by Glenn Gould, both the 1955 and the recording just before he died. The Unaccompanied Violin Sonatas and Partitas--Menuhin. The Well-Tempered Clavier--Gould.
7. Laurie Anderson. "Big Science."
8. Saint-Saens. Violin Sonata in D min Op 75 with soloist Elmar Oliveira.
9. Cream. "Disraeli Gears."
10. Mahler. Symphonies #1, 4, and 9, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Kindertotenlieder and Songs from Ruckert, especially as sung by Dietrich Fischer-Diskau. For me, "Ich bin der Welt abhandon Geikommen" is the greatest piece of music ever written, but the conductor in the orchestral version has to give the minor chord before the last "in meinem Lied" the right timing and emphasis otherwise the song loses its power. Bernstein gets it right, both orchestrally and on piano.
11. Lou Reed. "Mistrial." "Rock 'n Roll Animal."
12. Mozart. "Don Giovanni." "Requiem."
13. Nino Rota. "Prova d' Orchestra." Music for film "Casanova."
14. Nirvana. "Nevermind." <<Hey, Mathman! "In Utero." "Unplugged in New York."
15. Phillip Glass: Music for film "The Thin Blue Line." Music for dance "In the Upper Room." Music for film "Koyannisquatsi."
Edited to add:
16. Chopin: The Preludes and Etudes, especially as performed by Murray Perahia.
17. Brahams: 1st Symphony. Brahams is having to compete with Beethoven, do something to blow people away in comparison to Ludwig van. The opening chords and arrangement of the Brahams 1st is like hearing Strauss's "Thus Spake Zarathustra" for the first time.
18. Michael Nyman: Music for various films by Peter Greenaway, "The Architect's Contract," "A Zed and Two Naughts," "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover," "Prospero's Books" and others.
19. Peter Gabriel: Music for the films "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence." For "RPF," Gabriel asked the director to have the sound engineer send him natural sounds from the part of Australia where the film took place--animals, wind blowing through various flora, native sounds, anything.
20. Leonard Cohen: Songs: Suzanne ("Suzanne takes you down to the place by the river..."); Winter Lady; The Stranger Song; Sisters Of Mercy; One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong; Bird On The Wire; Story Of Isaac; A Bunch Of Lonesome Heroes; Lady Midnight; Tonight Will Be Fine; Avalanche; Last Year's Man; Diamonds In The Mine; Love Calls You By Your Name; Sing Another Song, Boys; and many others
Thanks Eltamina. Great topic! This isn't as organized as I'd hoped, I broke the rules, but it's the gist.
Edited to add: Actually, this isn't organized at all. I'm going to have to come back sometime and both whittle it down and arrange it.
Rgirl
Pachelbel - Canon in D
