Beethoven?

Originally posted by Mephisto2
The '1712' ouverture?

Originally posted by mosquitorespect
His ninth symphony, especially the fourth movement (presto) is utterly amazing, and the most famous.

I have just put his Opera, 'Fidelio' on my mp3 player but haven't listened to it yet.

His piano sonatas are also very good.

I wouldn't go for the 9th symphony as a first introduction, because it's lengthy enough to maybe put you off.

Some of the things I would suggest for starters would be:

Symphonies 5 and 7. I also like 2 and 4 but they're not as famous.

Piano sonatas - most of the ones with nicknames deserve their fame, so try Moonlight, Pathetique, Waldstein, Appassionata (my personal favourite). The last three sonatas, numbers 30-32, are something else again and have something of a spiritual quality (especially 30 and 32).

There's a piano trio known as the "Ghost" which earnt its name from the stunning slow movement. A TV performance got my nephew's attention at the age of around 6 months, which was impressive given the attention span of kids at that age.

All of his string quartets are pretty good as far as I know. Much rarer but every bit as good is his string quintet.

I wondered when the first would come up with the fifth, that's my favourite too closely followed by the sixth, which probably makes me the one with the least level here.

On the discussion who is the better composer: That's laughable.

Bach was a giant as were Beethoven, Mozart, Schütz (ever haerd of him? you ´really should) MOnetevrdi Mahler... but every single one in his own field.

It's difficult to answer this question because understanding Beethoven requires
a certain musical maturity. Many of his works are brilliant, but some are subtly
brilliant and some wear the brilliance on their sleeves.

So, I would not recommend the late piano sonatas (28-32, say) because their
brilliance is so complex and so profound that you might find them puzzling and
get turned off. Similarly, I would avoid the late quartets.

Beethoven's 5th Symphony is quintessentially 'Beethovenian' piece. He takes
what can only be defined as a crude theme (da da da duh) and turns it into a
masterpiece. That is Beethoven's strength: his primal-ness. The piano sonata
in d minor (entitled 'Tempest'😉 is another example of this. The sonata for
violin and piano entitled 'Kreuzer' would also suit your purposes well. And, I
shouldn't forget, the 3rd piano concerto. This will give you a taste of Beethoven
in four different media (symphony, solo piano, chamber music, and concerto).
I would move there to other mid-period piano sonatas, the 3rd, 4th and 7th
symphonies, the 'Razumovsky' quartets, and the violin concerto and 4th piano
concerto.

After that, you should explore what you like. If you like solo piano music, then
look at the sonatas. If you like chamber music, check out the violin and late cello
sonatas, and especially the late quartets. If you like the big stuff, check out the
remaining symphonies and his various concert overtures (Egmont, Leonore, Fidelio
from the opera).

To clarify the music history: Young Beethoven studied briefly with Mozart (who
thought he was brilliant), but Mozart died before their lessons could take any
shape. Beethoven then studied with FJ Haydn, who found him talented but
crude. As I recall (at least) Beethoven's first two opus numbers (the first being
three trios for piano, violin and cello, the second being three piano sonatas) did
not meet with Haydn's deep approval (especially the c minor trio), but more of a
grudging respect. Beethoven did not find Haydn to be the most engaging teacher
and didn't continue the relationship -- it didn't matter much because Haydn became
mentally or physically incompetent (I can't recall which) in his last years (in the
beginning of the 19th century).

Nemesio

Originally posted by knightwest
or...

the 1812 Overture, if you are referring to Tchaikovsky's piece (which he hated by the way, because he considered it to be too populist).

It is about Russia's victory over French troops, and was followed by one of the most important events in 19th century history, the Vienna Congress, which redrew the map of Europe, and pretty much set the sc ...[text shortened]... ormance with real cannons yet.

Verdi's Requiem is also a must on my annual concert calendar!

Originally posted by Mephisto2
I mentioned '1712' in response to the 'PDQ' reference. I have this CD by Peter Schickele (alias P.D.Q. Bach) which is called '1712 Overture' and is full of musical 'assaults' as he calls it. He 'claims' that Tssjachovski just copied a piece written 100 years before by Bach. The music is a great satire on the 1812, with a lot of jokes, and the can ...[text shortened]... oons. The CD also contains a great narrated story about Bach and his greedyness. A must-have CD.

A little fugue in G minor is fun to play (Bach), have done it as a duet but solo is best...

Some of bach's lute suites also sound amazing on the semi-acoustic guitar.

Originally posted by LordOfTheChessboard
Some of bach's lute suites also sound amazing on the semi-acoustic guitar.

Originally posted by demonseed
Actually, guitar is the instrument I play.

And a lot of Bach stuff sounds good, I think Segovia did a lot of the transpositions (he played the lute as well as the guitar if memory serves).

Originally posted by demonseed
A little fugue in G minor is fun to play (Bach), have done it as a duet but solo is best...

Originally posted by LordOfTheChessboard
Yes, you are right, he also played some of them brilliantly. I have an mp3 of him playing a piece for solo violin named "Gavvote en rondeau".
Its amazing how good bach's pieces can sound on just one guitar!

Originally posted by Nemesio
Do you mean the 'Little g minor' fugue that was originally
composed for the organ (subject starts G, D, B-flat, A, G,
B-flat, A, G, F-sharp, A, D...)?

Or do you mean the one originally composed for violin,
transcribed for lute in g minor (subject starts D, D, D, D,
C, B-flat, C, A, B-flat, G)?

The latter was subsequently transcribed for organ in d minor
(and is often called the 'fiddle fugue'😉.

Nemesio

Originally posted by royalchicken
Can you point me to a decent recording of the second?