I want to listen to some orchestral music sets...give me some!
December 2, 2022 12:16 AM Subscribe
I want to listen to orchestral music but don't want to have to think. So give me performances etc that you think are particularly good! More details within.
I just watched Hibike Euphonium, which has made me want to listen to orchestral music. It's great to program to! But it's such a gigantic field. Not just time periods, but like, 800 different famous performances of various pieces etc. I don't want to think...I just want you, who knows of some great performance, to tell me the name or, ideally give me a youtube link. Ideally I'm interested in full performances that I can just put on and go.
Beyond that, I'm open to anything. I like orchestral versions of video game soundtracks, if you know of a particularly good one (I'm listening to the Chrono Trigger Orchestral Arrangement as I type this).
I generally prefer more upbeat or faster stuff (I listen to a lot of electronic music), but honestly, I'm down for whatever. I just don't want to have to wade through 500 years or music history, I just want some good music I can enjoy and program to :)
I just watched Hibike Euphonium, which has made me want to listen to orchestral music. It's great to program to! But it's such a gigantic field. Not just time periods, but like, 800 different famous performances of various pieces etc. I don't want to think...I just want you, who knows of some great performance, to tell me the name or, ideally give me a youtube link. Ideally I'm interested in full performances that I can just put on and go.
Beyond that, I'm open to anything. I like orchestral versions of video game soundtracks, if you know of a particularly good one (I'm listening to the Chrono Trigger Orchestral Arrangement as I type this).
I generally prefer more upbeat or faster stuff (I listen to a lot of electronic music), but honestly, I'm down for whatever. I just don't want to have to wade through 500 years or music history, I just want some good music I can enjoy and program to :)
Contra point: I can't stand Mozart. Too twee. (Though the movie Amadeus is wonderful.)
So it sounds like you're sorta broadly looking for orchestral music? Try a few things on see what you like? If you live somewhere with a symphony orchestra, my best suggestion is to buy season tickets up in the cheap seats and just start going. Don't think about it too much. That's what I did, I just woke up one day and decided I, an uncultured music idiot, was going to find something new to like. And now here I am loving classical music. (Except not Mozart. But learning what I didn't like came out of this process, too!)
posted by phunniemee at 4:28 AM on December 2, 2022
So it sounds like you're sorta broadly looking for orchestral music? Try a few things on see what you like? If you live somewhere with a symphony orchestra, my best suggestion is to buy season tickets up in the cheap seats and just start going. Don't think about it too much. That's what I did, I just woke up one day and decided I, an uncultured music idiot, was going to find something new to like. And now here I am loving classical music. (Except not Mozart. But learning what I didn't like came out of this process, too!)
posted by phunniemee at 4:28 AM on December 2, 2022
Response by poster: punniemee, that is a great suggestion. I do not live in a place with an orchestra, though I am planning on moving to a place ~sometime next year that will have a very good one. season tickets to a great orchestra would be a great way to get exposure to more orchestral music.
that said, can't put that on my headphones while I program in the meantime :D but it is a good suggestion in that I hadn't really thought about it for after we move...
posted by wooh at 4:33 AM on December 2, 2022
that said, can't put that on my headphones while I program in the meantime :D but it is a good suggestion in that I hadn't really thought about it for after we move...
posted by wooh at 4:33 AM on December 2, 2022
See whether you have any classical radio stations in your area. It helps to have real live people curating the stream; you get a better variety of stuff than what an algorithm might feed you. Jot down the composers and pieces that you like, and after a while you'll know what to seek out.
If an old-school over-the-air radio isn't an option for you, your local station might have a stream. Alternately, Minnesota Public Radio has a pretty good classical music stream.
posted by Johnny Assay at 4:40 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
If an old-school over-the-air radio isn't an option for you, your local station might have a stream. Alternately, Minnesota Public Radio has a pretty good classical music stream.
posted by Johnny Assay at 4:40 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
So anyway, here is some stuff that I like, that you may like, too. I like my classical music loud and busy and occasionally dangerous sounding, so there's a lot of noise going on here:
Modest Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Modest Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain
Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring (Hey here's a music joke I like: Did you hear there was a riot at the first Rite of Spring performance? Some guy even stood up and shouted "Firebird!")
Sergei Prokofiev - my fave is Romeo and Juliet but the ballet is like 2 hours long, so here is a taste
Gustav Holst - Planets Suite
Antonin Dvorak - New World Symphony
And a quick little one just for fun,
Edvard Grieg - Hall of the Mountain King
Also, I'm beginning to diverge wildly from the topic here but do you know Isao Tomita? He was an electronic music composer and he liked the same music I do. Listening to his version of Pictures or Planets has made me love the original orchestrations even more because he's heard things I didn't hear, picked them out, and then I can appreciate them even better the next time. You may like him, too.
posted by phunniemee at 4:51 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Modest Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Modest Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain
Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring (Hey here's a music joke I like: Did you hear there was a riot at the first Rite of Spring performance? Some guy even stood up and shouted "Firebird!")
Sergei Prokofiev - my fave is Romeo and Juliet but the ballet is like 2 hours long, so here is a taste
Gustav Holst - Planets Suite
Antonin Dvorak - New World Symphony
And a quick little one just for fun,
Edvard Grieg - Hall of the Mountain King
Also, I'm beginning to diverge wildly from the topic here but do you know Isao Tomita? He was an electronic music composer and he liked the same music I do. Listening to his version of Pictures or Planets has made me love the original orchestrations even more because he's heard things I didn't hear, picked them out, and then I can appreciate them even better the next time. You may like him, too.
posted by phunniemee at 4:51 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Seconding the radio. I recommend BBC Radio 3, but there are many many other stations. Listen for a few days & follow up the stuff that you like the most.
Pro tip: it totally doesn’t matter whether this or that recording by this or that orchestra with this or that conductor is “the best”. There are reasonable grounds on which fully accredited experts will always disagree about that. For general listening purposes, it isn’t relevant.
posted by Puppy McSock at 4:52 AM on December 2, 2022
Pro tip: it totally doesn’t matter whether this or that recording by this or that orchestra with this or that conductor is “the best”. There are reasonable grounds on which fully accredited experts will always disagree about that. For general listening purposes, it isn’t relevant.
posted by Puppy McSock at 4:52 AM on December 2, 2022
See whether you have any classical radio stations in your area.
Chicago's WFMT is streaming online if you want. Be warned they have a real hard on for Shostakovich who I just can't get into but like, it's otherwise great.
posted by phunniemee at 4:53 AM on December 2, 2022
Chicago's WFMT is streaming online if you want. Be warned they have a real hard on for Shostakovich who I just can't get into but like, it's otherwise great.
posted by phunniemee at 4:53 AM on December 2, 2022
Oh goody. I get to once again recommend Steve Reich's Variations for Winds, Strings, and Keyboards on Metafilter.
posted by wittgenstein at 5:01 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by wittgenstein at 5:01 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Be warned they have a real hard on for Shostakovich who I just can't get into but like, it's otherwise great.
I may in fact be in their target audience, so thanks for the tip.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:06 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
I may in fact be in their target audience, so thanks for the tip.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:06 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
The orchestral landscape has a bit of overall structure. At its beginnings around Bach's time, it was very organized in both rhythm and harmony. Each of the subsequent greats loosened the rules a little. By the end of the 19th century, Debussy and Ravel felt free to do as they pleased with harmony.
Since then, the interest has changed from melody and harmony to rhythm and meter. This was true of popular music too as big band music and jazz were overrun by rock and roll to say nothing of rap. There has been less interest in the the traditional forms of symphonies and concertos and sonotas too.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:19 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Since then, the interest has changed from melody and harmony to rhythm and meter. This was true of popular music too as big band music and jazz were overrun by rock and roll to say nothing of rap. There has been less interest in the the traditional forms of symphonies and concertos and sonotas too.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:19 AM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I appreciate the links, punniemee! and I think online radio is a great suggestion.
the place I live in has basically no culture like this...there will be no local radio, no local station, no local anything. but international streams are a great idea and I welcome their suggestions.
and SemiSalt, that sort of information is interesting, but in a sense is why I just want people to give me stuff they think is good. orchestral music is so huge, so historical, I don't want to have to think about it...at least not yet.
like, a few years ago someone tweeted out how much they liked the Chrono Trigger Orchestral Arrangement...I bought it, and now I listen to it regularly. I think it's interesting to know about the evolution of orchestral music, but also overwhelming, and will just demotivate me from seeking anything out.
posted by wooh at 6:28 AM on December 2, 2022
the place I live in has basically no culture like this...there will be no local radio, no local station, no local anything. but international streams are a great idea and I welcome their suggestions.
and SemiSalt, that sort of information is interesting, but in a sense is why I just want people to give me stuff they think is good. orchestral music is so huge, so historical, I don't want to have to think about it...at least not yet.
like, a few years ago someone tweeted out how much they liked the Chrono Trigger Orchestral Arrangement...I bought it, and now I listen to it regularly. I think it's interesting to know about the evolution of orchestral music, but also overwhelming, and will just demotivate me from seeking anything out.
posted by wooh at 6:28 AM on December 2, 2022
My local classical station is KING-FM, available streaming at king.org. The last year they have been going hard on female and BIPOC composers, and it's been enlightening. They have plenty of the standard classics, plus an hour of film music every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.They also tease with trivia about upcoming composers and music. Listener supported, so no commercials except their own station promos and local arts event announcements. Even their pledge drives are fun to listen to.
posted by lhauser at 6:29 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by lhauser at 6:29 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
If you're open to symphonic band music as well (and why wouldn't you be) I will recommend the following:
- Johan de Meij's Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings" - movement 1 "Gandalf". Note that this is completely different music from what was in the Lord of the Rings movies. This piece came out in the 80s. This is only the first movement (Gandalf). The 1st and 5th movements (Hobbits) are the most upbeat.
- H. Owen Reed's La Fiesta Mexicana: Carnival. This is one movement of La Fiesta Mexicana. It's a particularly good interpretation and recording. The whole La Fiesta Mexicana piece is great (and this recording is from "The President's Own" United States Marine Band's album Feste recorded in 2009)
- Hindemith's March from Symphonic Metamorphosis
If the Chrono Trigger orchestral arrangement is your only familiarity with video game music arranged for orchestra, you might also like the orchestral arrangement of the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack.
posted by bananana at 7:00 AM on December 2, 2022
- Johan de Meij's Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings" - movement 1 "Gandalf". Note that this is completely different music from what was in the Lord of the Rings movies. This piece came out in the 80s. This is only the first movement (Gandalf). The 1st and 5th movements (Hobbits) are the most upbeat.
- H. Owen Reed's La Fiesta Mexicana: Carnival. This is one movement of La Fiesta Mexicana. It's a particularly good interpretation and recording. The whole La Fiesta Mexicana piece is great (and this recording is from "The President's Own" United States Marine Band's album Feste recorded in 2009)
- Hindemith's March from Symphonic Metamorphosis
If the Chrono Trigger orchestral arrangement is your only familiarity with video game music arranged for orchestra, you might also like the orchestral arrangement of the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack.
posted by bananana at 7:00 AM on December 2, 2022
I sometimes like to listen to opera overtures. They're usually short-ish, self-contained pieces that are more or less the precursor to opening credits music to a movie--no singing, just orchestra. The music that plays during the title and the scroll on Star Wars--that's an opera overture.
Try Verdi's (Aida maybe) or Rossini's operas and also just google best opera overtures to get you started.
posted by sevenless at 7:40 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Try Verdi's (Aida maybe) or Rossini's operas and also just google best opera overtures to get you started.
posted by sevenless at 7:40 AM on December 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
I will second KING-FM. They stream from both their website as well as apps for your phone.
posted by ShooBoo at 8:04 AM on December 2, 2022
posted by ShooBoo at 8:04 AM on December 2, 2022
bowie/glass low symphony
posted by j_curiouser at 9:35 AM on December 2, 2022
posted by j_curiouser at 9:35 AM on December 2, 2022
The biggest name in orchestral music for films is John Williams. He did the music for Star Wars and Jaws, and lots more. His Emperor's March is one of the most played pieces of orchestral music today at least with orchestras of lesser pretentiousness.
Aaron Copland was considered to be the first American composer to break into the European dominated orchestral scene. His music has themes that are familiar to the American ear.
Actually almost every great composer worked with folk music from his native country as a source of inspiration and, I suppose, to make the music more attractive for the local audience.
posted by SemiSalt at 10:55 AM on December 2, 2022
Aaron Copland was considered to be the first American composer to break into the European dominated orchestral scene. His music has themes that are familiar to the American ear.
Actually almost every great composer worked with folk music from his native country as a source of inspiration and, I suppose, to make the music more attractive for the local audience.
posted by SemiSalt at 10:55 AM on December 2, 2022
Stravinsky: Petrouchka
Respighi: Pines of Rome
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 This Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic is especially dramatic.
and more recent, the score of The Illusionist by Philip Glass. This is the Main Theme and hearing it in the theatre sent chills up my spine, it was so good.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:08 PM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Respighi: Pines of Rome
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 This Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic is especially dramatic.
and more recent, the score of The Illusionist by Philip Glass. This is the Main Theme and hearing it in the theatre sent chills up my spine, it was so good.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:08 PM on December 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
I exclusively listening to orchestral music while programming, and these are the online radio streams I usually listen to:
Sunday Baroque Streams the last 4 hours of a radio show focused on Baroque and earlier works, usually organized around a theme. Some talking, but mostly interesting facts about the composers.
Venice Classic Radio Mostly Baroque and Classical works with a bias towards Italian composers. If you don't speak Italian, click on the button that says "Ascolta" and it pops out a little player window. Minimal talking (they only do a station identifier every hour or so).
WQXR NYC classical radio, mostly music during the night and working hours Eastern time, they have some shows that are very talky in the evening. They have great announcers and it's worth listening to Nimet Habachy after midnight ET if you get the chance. They also have streams dedicated to opera and modern composers.
posted by Lycaste at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2022
Sunday Baroque Streams the last 4 hours of a radio show focused on Baroque and earlier works, usually organized around a theme. Some talking, but mostly interesting facts about the composers.
Venice Classic Radio Mostly Baroque and Classical works with a bias towards Italian composers. If you don't speak Italian, click on the button that says "Ascolta" and it pops out a little player window. Minimal talking (they only do a station identifier every hour or so).
WQXR NYC classical radio, mostly music during the night and working hours Eastern time, they have some shows that are very talky in the evening. They have great announcers and it's worth listening to Nimet Habachy after midnight ET if you get the chance. They also have streams dedicated to opera and modern composers.
posted by Lycaste at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2022
Boccherini - La Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid
Shostakovich - Waltz No. 2
Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro (Overture)
Rossini - La Gazza Ladra (Overture)
Copland - Hoedown
Beethoven - Symphony No. 7
Rossini - The Barber of Seville (Overture)
posted by panther of the pyrenees at 3:07 PM on December 2, 2022
Shostakovich - Waltz No. 2
Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro (Overture)
Rossini - La Gazza Ladra (Overture)
Copland - Hoedown
Beethoven - Symphony No. 7
Rossini - The Barber of Seville (Overture)
posted by panther of the pyrenees at 3:07 PM on December 2, 2022
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2, Evgeny Kissin
Rachmaninov : Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Mahler - Symphony No.5 - Abbado
Dmitri Shostakovich - Waltz No. 2
Classic FM Online is pretty accessible and as someone not raised on classical really helped me find things i liked ..
posted by burr1545 at 3:22 PM on December 2, 2022
Rachmaninov : Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Mahler - Symphony No.5 - Abbado
Dmitri Shostakovich - Waltz No. 2
Classic FM Online is pretty accessible and as someone not raised on classical really helped me find things i liked ..
posted by burr1545 at 3:22 PM on December 2, 2022
My tastes are eclectic, just throwing a few random favorites of mine out there:
Holst - The Planets - IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity by Berlin Philharmonic
American Symphony (from movie soundtrack Mr. Holland's Opus)
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, 2nd movement
Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture - Love Theme
posted by forthright at 3:49 PM on December 2, 2022
Holst - The Planets - IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity by Berlin Philharmonic
American Symphony (from movie soundtrack Mr. Holland's Opus)
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, 2nd movement
Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture - Love Theme
posted by forthright at 3:49 PM on December 2, 2022
Debussy - La Mer
Debussy - Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Ravel - Mother Goose Suite
These are orchestral analogs of French impressionist painting, which was happening at about the same time.
posted by JonJacky at 7:33 PM on December 2, 2022
Debussy - Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Ravel - Mother Goose Suite
These are orchestral analogs of French impressionist painting, which was happening at about the same time.
posted by JonJacky at 7:33 PM on December 2, 2022
Borodin - In the Steppes of Central Asia, Polovtsian dances
Mussorgsky - Dawn on the Moskva-River
Similar impressionistic mood as the French pieces above - - but Russian.
posted by JonJacky at 7:51 PM on December 2, 2022
Mussorgsky - Dawn on the Moskva-River
Similar impressionistic mood as the French pieces above - - but Russian.
posted by JonJacky at 7:51 PM on December 2, 2022
You want music to work to, right? I recommend Bach for brainwork.
I enjoy Late Romantic music too, but its sweeping drama is a little distracting for me. Too much of a Hollywood vibe for me to get immersed in abstract thinking. But something about the logic of Baroque music ticking along like clockwork is very conducive to thinking about logical clockwork-y things. Spreadsheets, data, lines of code - these flow right along to J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. If the Brandenburgs are a little too "busy" for you, the Goldberg Variations are a series of keyboard pieces that are less tonally dense than the orchestral concertos. Not catchy hummable tunes, but sometimes that's a feature, not a bug.
posted by Quietgal at 9:27 PM on December 2, 2022
I enjoy Late Romantic music too, but its sweeping drama is a little distracting for me. Too much of a Hollywood vibe for me to get immersed in abstract thinking. But something about the logic of Baroque music ticking along like clockwork is very conducive to thinking about logical clockwork-y things. Spreadsheets, data, lines of code - these flow right along to J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. If the Brandenburgs are a little too "busy" for you, the Goldberg Variations are a series of keyboard pieces that are less tonally dense than the orchestral concertos. Not catchy hummable tunes, but sometimes that's a feature, not a bug.
posted by Quietgal at 9:27 PM on December 2, 2022
A few Youtube channels that I like and that are always good for a quality interpretation: hr-Sinfonieorchester – Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Akademia Filmu i Telewizji. A lot of professional orchestras have a Youtube channel, so that can be a good starting point.
A few of my favourite pieces, keeping in mind that my tastes skew heavily towards the 19th/20th century :
Mozart's Requiem
Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Verdi's Messa di Requiem
Smetana's Ma Vlast
Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No.2
Saint-Saëns's Symphony No.3
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition
Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
Dvořák's Symphony No.8
Dvořák's Symphony No.9 "The New World"
Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Vaughan Williams's Concerto Grosso
Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2
Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring
Orff's Carmina Burana
Rodriguez's Concierto de Aranjuez
Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony
posted by snakeling at 9:36 AM on December 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
A few of my favourite pieces, keeping in mind that my tastes skew heavily towards the 19th/20th century :
Mozart's Requiem
Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Verdi's Messa di Requiem
Smetana's Ma Vlast
Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No.2
Saint-Saëns's Symphony No.3
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition
Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
Dvořák's Symphony No.8
Dvořák's Symphony No.9 "The New World"
Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Vaughan Williams's Concerto Grosso
Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2
Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring
Orff's Carmina Burana
Rodriguez's Concierto de Aranjuez
Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony
posted by snakeling at 9:36 AM on December 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Can't believe no one has linked Stravinsky's Firebird Suite! An absolute must, the finale makes me cry every single time I listen to it, live or recorded. The whole thing covers so much emotional terrain and is extremely loud and grand at the end.
Here is the version conducted by Leonard Bernstein.
posted by mostly vowels at 10:15 AM on December 3, 2022
Here is the version conducted by Leonard Bernstein.
posted by mostly vowels at 10:15 AM on December 3, 2022
If you're new to this, put on Classic FM. It's incredibly accessible and will introduce you to lots of well-known and popular pieces. You can use it to narrow down your interests and explore more deeply in other places, or not. The popular stuff is popular for a very good reason!
(BBC Radio 3 is also excellent but a bit higher brow, and occasionally ruins my day by playing jazz.)
posted by plonkee at 11:09 AM on December 3, 2022
(BBC Radio 3 is also excellent but a bit higher brow, and occasionally ruins my day by playing jazz.)
posted by plonkee at 11:09 AM on December 3, 2022
Also (once you decide thinking might be ok :) couldn't hurt to learn the periods some of the stuff you like comes from
eg
medieval
baroque
classical
renaissance
romantic
'neo classical' / avant garde / 20th century
So if you know a composer mostly worked in the X era, you can see if you like others from that time frame as well.
posted by bitterkitten at 10:47 AM on December 4, 2022
eg
medieval
baroque
classical
renaissance
romantic
'neo classical' / avant garde / 20th century
So if you know a composer mostly worked in the X era, you can see if you like others from that time frame as well.
posted by bitterkitten at 10:47 AM on December 4, 2022
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posted by Morpeth at 4:19 AM on December 2, 2022