# Looking for classical composers/pieces



## Carcinoid (Jan 28, 2010)

_Hello everyone!_

First in foremost, I looked around on SS to double check thats there isn't a thread like this one here already, and I didn't find one.. but if there _IS_ one out there, then my apologies. 

So Ive been listening to a lot of classical music lately and I want more. So this is where you come in!

Heres what I like:
Bach of course
Mussorgsky 
Paganini
Beethoven

I don't really like the stuff thats super happy sounding; haven't been a fan of Major pieces. I like the deep, creepy, epic sounding stuff (i.e. Night on Bald Mountain) and/or intense melodic super dynamic fast stuff (think Paganini) . 

Thanks a lot guys, 'ppreciate it.


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## Keytarist (Jan 28, 2010)

Would you like to explain a more detailed and specific view of what you're searching?. For instance: Are you looking only for orchestral stuff?, do you want XX century composers?, or maybe composers from an specific era?, etc..


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## Carcinoid (Jan 28, 2010)

any era i suppose. i was sort of prepared for questions like this lol

and i dont really have a specific instrument of preference.. i like whole symphonies, i like just keys/organ, or violin.. anythings cool with me brutha


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## telecaster90 (Jan 29, 2010)

Check out Opus 60 No. 7 by Carcassi. Here's a really fast version of it.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jan 29, 2010)

Stravinsky is awesome for what you described


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## Durero (Jan 29, 2010)

Favourite piece by one of my favourite composers


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Jan 29, 2010)

Hmm, this should give you a good start.






(^ This one starts picking up at 2:20.)




Seeing this as a ballet really brings out the dramatic quality of the music. I saw a version with bondage pirates and cupid on a skateboard. It's pretty trippy without the visual aid, though:








This is probably the most famous bit from this thing. The beginning is supposed to be a sunrise - birds are flying around, the sun is gradually coming out, then it comes over the horizon, which is when the orchestra gets really loud (4:37):





I posted this in the twelve-tone thread:


Glenn Gould takes some freedoms with the tempo in this one (When doesn't he?), and some people bitch him out for that, but it's very cool, nonetheless:


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## Carcinoid (Jan 29, 2010)

SchecterWhore said:


> I saw a version with bondage pirates and cupid on a skateboard.



lol. cupid shredding sounds pretty epic.



And thanks a lot everyone, I truly appreciate you guys helping me out with this even though you guys didn't have too. I will be very busy investigating these pieces!


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## Keytarist (Jan 29, 2010)

I was hoping to be the first to post Daphnis et Chloé by Maurice Ravel. That composition almost made me cry, it just blows me away. So I'ld suggest you to listen to:

Antonio Vivaldi · Guitar concerto in D Major
Johann Sebastian Bach · Brandenburg concertos
Franz Joseph Haydn · Piano concerto in D Major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart · Symphony No.40 in G minor
Carl Maria Von Weber · Konzerstuck in F minor Op.79
Ludwig Van Beethoven · 7th Symphony
Johannes Brahms · Piano concerto No.1
Franz Schubert · Symphony No.9
Hector Berlioz · Fantastic Symphony
Richard Wagner · Tristan und Isolde (an opera)
Gustav Mahler · 5th Symphony
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky · 5th Symphony
Alexander Borodin · 2nd Symphony
Gabriel Fauré · Pelleas et Melisande
Dimitri Shostakovich · 5th Symphony
Sergei Prokofiev · 5th Symphony
Maurice Ravel · Daphnis et Chloé
Claude Debussy · La Mer
Gustav Holst · The Planets
Paul Hindemith · Kammermusik
Igor Stravinsky · The Rite of Spring
Béla Bartók · The Miraculous Mandarin
Arnold Schoenberg · Variations for Orchestra Op.31
Alban Berg · Violin Concerto
Anton Webern · Concerto fo Nine instruments Op.24
Olivier Messiaen · Turangalila Symphony
György Ligeti · Lontano
Iannis Xenakis · Metastasis
Henri Dutilleux · Métaboles
Krzsztof Penderecki · Violin concerto No.2 Metamorphosen

This is my attempt to create a list of different compositions of different eras, a lot of composers are missing, though. I'm not obsessed with the number 5 for some symphonies; this came like that by coincidence.


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jan 29, 2010)

Mahler Symphony #2 = greatest piece of music ever written


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## synrgy (Jan 29, 2010)

SchecterWhore totally beat me to it. Holst's 'the Planets' (especially the Mars movement which I think is one of the most metal classical pieces ever..) OWNS. 

Not to mention +1 for Beethoven and/or Bach.


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## Konfusius (Feb 3, 2010)

Whatever you wrote: Paganini.  His music is über-awesome.


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## stryker1800 (Feb 13, 2010)

I'm a fan of Agustin Barrios Mangore myself, gotta love the romantic era.


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## ddtonfire (Feb 13, 2010)

Carcinoid said:


> I like the deep, creepy, epic sounding stuff (i.e. Night on Bald Mountain)



Anton Bruckner. He can be difficult to get into at first, especially because of his long compositions, but once you do, you're hooked. I'm especially passionate about his music and I could write about it all day, but I'll keep it brief. His music is filled with emotion and his endings are phenomenally epic. He especially enjoys having the brass section play fortississimo. He's amazing at slow, intense buildups; Bruckner climaxes are music orgasms.

His 9th Symphony fits your tastes perfectly: ominous, creepy, and epic. I'll give you some examples from it.

Here's the first half of the second movement (I swear it's a precursor to metal):



And here's the finale of the first movement, showcasing his epic endings. tl;dr version starts at 5:27:



And the coda of the third movement, with a ridiculous climax on a full V13 chord (you'll know it when you hear it):





I hope you can enjoy his music as much as I do.


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## bulletbass man (Feb 20, 2010)

Beethovens piano sonatas are fantastic.
Mozarts Requiem
Richard Strauss is the best composer of the 20th century in my opinion. His opera's elektra and salome are brilliant. Metamorphosen is absolutely fantastic.
for guitar Villa Lobos, Barrios, and York are my favorite composers.
Wagner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcNi-5moPe4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6znv2BRzu4U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmAMqpzK8k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVJXSDTFfGY&feature=related (my fave)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUx4xkFQKfs&feature=related

Barrios is my favorite guitar composer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSb0UB7sc3c&feature=related (my fave)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2N2sErg_jw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkDb1Nhhu70

york only going to show you my fave by him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV7TA0OSrik

strauss (favorite composer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRbf71sdTrw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOnq2zr5jqI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NBuDxHe5uc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLuW-GBaJ8k


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## Hasmamagee (Dec 19, 2010)

If you want to listen to something really really far out there listen to variese' 

If you just want something beautiful to listen to Dvorjac's new world symphony is amazing


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## theclap (Dec 26, 2010)

I think I can contribute..Since we're going for eerie. 

Bach's Sarabande Yo-Yo Ma of course


Scriabin is one of my favorites so here's the first 
Sonata no.5


Personal favorite if I was to pick one to listen to from my post i'd pick this. by Scriabin Vers la Flamme


He also does a lot of etudes and basic forms like this etude in e major it sounds like


favorite Chopin piece right here, scherzo in b minor. The Bb one is the most played and well known. This one in my opinion is better. one of my favorite listens in the music realm. no yundi li is not playing.


Mozart's Adagio and Fugue in C minor. Favoritist Fugue ever skip to 3 minutes for contrapuntal orgasms. It's actually a Double Fugue to my ear. If you can find 2 piano's playing this I prefer it. 


Eric Whitacre's Water Night is a wonderful choral piece. I had the chance to sing this last year. It's wild and sounds just like what it is trying to accomplish, water.


Hector Berlioz is the epitome of fucked up. If you've ever taken a music history class of the classical-romantic era you can back me up on this. Read up on this before you listen to it and you'll get it. He was also not a musician. You might also recognize this from Julia Robert's movie "Sleeping with the Enemy" lol.


choir piece. Did an all male version of this in my choir i fuckin love the shit out of this. Dark and romantic sounding, not to be confused with dark romantic sounding. It's also in Db which is awesome.
*Cantique de Jean Racine *

 

The dark parts in this overture are swell. Covers the whole spectrum of emotions just as the play does itself. try and follow along if you've read it before. this is the first half if i recall the love theme is about the half way marker for this piece. 


i was gonna post up some berg and stravinsky but some other people have been exploring that. Bela Bartok is my favorite when it comes to more atonal music. 


as mentioned above this post variese is wild, of course a zappa fan would mention him. 
Check out Aaron Copland as well.


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## Cure for optimism (Jan 6, 2011)

This is Anton Webern. He wrote some very interesting music should really check this guy out......my music theory teacher showed me


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## conortheshreder (Jan 11, 2011)

YouTube - Peripetie - Arnold Schoenberg

this is fuckin weird but I love it, I'm doing this piece in school and everyone thinks it sounds like shit


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## Overtone (Jan 11, 2011)

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. Listen to all 3 parts, but IIRC the adagio is the one that is just devastatingly beautiful.

And for appreciating classical music it's good to indulge your snob genes a bit and listen to it on CD/vinyl on a good system, in person, or at least a high bitrate mp3 or FLAC with decent headphones. Youtube over computer speakers just doesn't have ANY emotional impact or subtlety for me.


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## Explorer (Jan 11, 2011)

Going to the symphonic poem theme asked about in the first post, here's some suggestions:

The Pines of Rome (Pini di Roma) - Ottorino Respighi (Nothing is as epic as the Roman Legion returning triumphant, right?)
The Peer Gynt Suite - Edvard Grieg
Spanish Dance from La Vida Breve (The Brief Life) - Manuel de Falla

If I'm in the mood for some really amazing non-symphonic classical music, I reach for JS Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and for his complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (especially either of the excellent recordings by Gidon Kremer).


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## timbaline (Jan 11, 2011)

Carmen Fatasie- Saraste


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## Hemi-Powered Drone (Jan 18, 2011)

Anything by Bartok would be good, especially if your one of the many people on this site into polyrhythms and the like.


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## guitareben (Feb 23, 2011)

It's allready been said... but:

Stravinsky - Rights of Spring


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## Skyblue (Feb 23, 2011)

guitareben said:


> It's allready been said... but:
> 
> Stravinsky - Rite of Spring


Fixed  

plus, what's up with saying Berlioz wasn't a musician? as far as I know, he was a guitarist~ or you mean he wasn't musically educated?

EDIT: oh, and if we're mentioning Stravinsky, then check out Symphony of Psalms 
and also Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Bartok. 
oh, and some Debussy stuff (I prefer his more orchestral stuff than the piano solo pieces)


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## Saber_777 (Apr 11, 2011)

henryk wieniawski


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## Solodini (May 7, 2011)

Chopin, Stravinsky, Zappa!


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## AlexRuger (May 23, 2011)

A local classical and jazz radio station was playing "Violin Concerto" by this guy Christopher Rouse. I hadn't heard of him before. I was in my car and had to pull over and listen to the whole thing or else I would've crashed from freaking out so much at how good it was. By far one of the best pieces of music I've ever heard, regardless of genre.


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## John Strieder (Aug 16, 2011)

Hans Erich Apostel, Frangis Ali-Sade, Milton Babbitt, Alban Berg, Elliott Carter, Friedrich Cerha, Unsuk Chin, Gloria Coates, Ruth Crawford-Seeger, Michael Denhoff, Edison Denisov, James Dillon, Julio Estrada, Morton Feldman, Brian Ferneyhough, Gerard Grisey, Cristobal Halffter, Jonathan Harvey, Hans-Werner Henze, Wieland Hoban, Heinz Holliger, György Kurtag, Bernhard Lang, György Ligeti, Liza Lim, Alberto Posadas, Rebecca Saunders, Giacinto Scelsi, Arnold Schönberg, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Ralph Shapey, Reginald Smith-Brindle [lots of guitar music], Toru Takemitsu, Augusta Read Thomas, Frances-Marie Uitti, Fartein Valen, Anton Webern, Iannis Xenakis ...















Enjoy!


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## thedonal (Aug 23, 2011)

This is a great thread. I've started revisiting my classical collection.

I'm shocked that, this being a guitar forum, no-one has mentioned Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez.

But, I'm rather partial to-

Beethoven- Symphony No.3
Holst- The Planets Suite (Jupiter can bring tears to my eyes- sadly it was raped for a bloody Rugby anthem!!)
Elgar- The Enigma Variations

I occasionally go more modern with Stravinsky- The Rite of Spring, Grieg- Peer Gynt, Gorecki- Symphony No.3.

I had a listen to Mozart's 40th and 41st the other day. I always felt that the 40th started amazingly but descended into formulaic, bland Viennese twee-ness, but my opinion of this work is definitely on the up.

Also- Zbigniew Preisner- Requiem for a Friend. It's beautiful.


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## ZeroCool (Sep 1, 2011)

I've copied this post I made on a different thread but it still applies:

Personally I prefer modern classical. You have to check out Howard Shore's work. He did all the Lord of the Rings music and it is amazing. There are over 90 songs available.

Also, as odd as it sounds. World of Warcraft. It's soundtrack, which is available on iTunes, is composed by their in-house composers but, I have to say, the music is amazing. Especially for dgent lovers as this music is heavily ambient. 

If anyone else has heard/bought this stuff, let me know what you think.


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Sep 1, 2011)

Renaissance

Sacred Choral

John Sheppard
Thomas Talls*
William Byrd

Secular, Dance and Theatrical

Robert Johnson
Thomas Morley
John Dowland*

Baroque

Sacred and secular, choral, instrumental and theatrical

Henry Purcell*
Jeremiah clarke

Lutenists

Paul O'dette
Shirley Rumsey
Julian Bream
Valery Saurage
Alphonse Marin (with Veleria Mignaco)

Early Consorts

Baltimore Consort
Taronto consort
Sirium
Capella de Ministres
Tordi Savall ensemble

There's a list a friend gave me to listen to.


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## trenolds39 (Sep 4, 2011)

These are just two pieces that come to mind that you might be interested in. Sorry that they are both cello; I've been spending much more time playing cello and am not as familiar with symphonies.


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## Nyx Erebos (Sep 5, 2011)

Deep and creepy -> Prokofiev's violin concertos


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## Enselmis (Oct 16, 2011)

Somebody sticky this please. It deserves it,


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Oct 16, 2011)

Fucking Mahler. Gets my vote as the best Bohemian composer ever.




Some Symphony #5, for good measure.



There's a really kickass recording conducted by George Solti, but I can't find it on Youtube and every other one seems to have a really flubbed trumpet solo at the beginning. I have mixed feelings with Barenboim, but he tends to work his orchestra pretty well, so this will do. I saw Dudamel conduct Mahler 1, and that was incredible. Wish I could afford the time for that more often.

I'm not a big fan of Dvorak, but he does some crazy shit with the horns in this movement:




Also, one of the most beautiful Brahms movements ever.


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## Captain_Awesome (Dec 2, 2011)

telecaster90 said:


> Check out Opus 60 No. 7 by Carcassi. Here's a really fast version of it.




I wouldn't be encouraging speed on the No 7, as accurate as this player is with the notation (despite some rhythmical errors) there's little to no dynamic control and he doesn't take the time to slow down at the end of phrases. It's a much better piece if you play it slightly Rubato, paying more attention to the dynamics and taking your time over the tremolo semi-quavers a little bit more, rather than glancing over them with a fast tremolo technique. It's very easy to let your right hand control the piece rather than consciously thinking about your playing.

Also, in an answer to the main question, try some of Mertz's work (Johann Kaspar Mertz) particularly his 'Elegie' might be of interest to you.


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## Manticore (Dec 2, 2011)




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## Manticore (Dec 2, 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7rFsvUSQ-4&feature=related

when djent can do this I'll listen to it


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## scherzo1928 (Dec 4, 2011)

this music... oh man, this music!


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## Dan_Vacant (Dec 4, 2011)

I have a question for buying classical music what would be good versions to buy, mainly of bach I love him


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Dec 14, 2011)

I assume you're talking about J.S. Bach. The guy had twenty children, many of them composers in their own right, some of whom were just as important and perhaps more influential than their father (C.P.E. Bach comes to mind), so it's important to specify.

What genre are you looking for? Keyboard music? Chamber music? Solo pieces? Vocal pieces? Depending on the works you're looking for, I can probably recommend a few interpretations. When I shop for classical music, the first thing that I look for is the year of the recording. There are two big reasons for this: first, nearly every classical recording before 1970 is done with a single microphone set up in the back of the auditorium, next to the kid stuffing his face with Cheetos and crinkling the bag the entire time. I had an awful mono recording of the Ring cycle from the 60's that sounded like it was all mids and the noise floor was nearly as loud as the instruments. Secondly, interpretations of old music, notably of Baroque music, tends to be more Romantic before a certain time. They might still be good interpretations, but it might not be what you're looking for. You can test the waters by going onto Youtube and finding performances, or if you have a music library near you, check out a few CD's.

I'm a sucker for late Romantic and early twentieth century symphonic works, so I really know that genre much better - Charles Dutoit and George Szell are fantastic conductors, Daniel Barenboim is another one of my favorites (except for his piano playing). Wilhelm Furtwängler is also awesome, but the recording techniques available to his orchestras now sound very dated (he died in 1954), so I tend to avoid Furtwängler, even though his conducting is powerful.


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## Dan_Vacant (Dec 14, 2011)

SchecterWhore said:


> I assume you're talking about J.S. Bach. The guy had twenty children, many of them composers in their own right, some of whom were just as important and perhaps more influential than their father (C.P.E. Bach comes to mind), so it's important to specify.
> 
> What genre are you looking for? Keyboard music? Chamber music? Solo pieces? Vocal pieces? Depending on the works you're looking for, I can probably recommend a few interpretations. When I shop for classical music, the first thing that I look for is the year of the recording. There are two big reasons for this: first, nearly every classical recording before 1970 is done with a single microphone set up in the back of the auditorium, next to the kid stuffing his face with Cheetos and crinkling the bag the entire time. I had an awful mono recording of the Ring cycle from the 60's that sounded like it was all mids and the noise floor was nearly as loud as the instruments. Secondly, interpretations of old music, notably of Baroque music, tends to be more Romantic before a certain time. They might still be good interpretations, but it might not be what you're looking for. You can test the waters by going onto Youtube and finding performances, or if you have a music library near you, check out a few CD's.
> 
> I'm a sucker for late Romantic and early twentieth century symphonic works, so I really know that genre much better - Charles Dutoit and George Szell are fantastic conductors, Daniel Barenboim is another one of my favorites (except for his piano playing). Wilhelm Furtwängler is also awesome, but the recording techniques available to his orchestras now sound very dated (he died in 1954), so I tend to avoid Furtwängler, even though his conducting is powerful.


Yup I was talking about about J.S. Bach. I didn't know he had children that were composers too. I prefer whole orchestras and I haven't looked at libraries yet even though the closets one has a huge Mozart cd set


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Dec 16, 2011)

I actually don't know Bach's orchestral writing too well (or at least what could be called an orchestra during the Baroque), and I don't have too many good recordings. However, here are a few of his works that you might want to check out:

The Brandenburg Concerti
The Cantatas (He wrote a a metric shit-ton of cantatas for a gig he had.)
The B Minor Mass

Those are all fairly large-scale works, and finding a few good performances shouldn't be a problem. If you're into Beethoven, Simon Rattle did a decent recording of the nine symphonies:

Amazon.com: Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies [Box Set]: Beethoven, Daniel Barenboim, Staatskapelle Berlin: Music

Michael Tilson Thomas does a good Mahler, as does Simon Rattle.


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## Acreator (Nov 2, 2012)

early Stravinsky
Rachmaninoff
Penderecki
Shostakovich
Prokofiev
Jacques Hétu
Christopher Rouse
John Corigliano
David Del Tredici
John Adams
Steve Reich
Claude Vivier
Chris Paul Harman
Tristan Murail
Gérard Grisey
Steven Mackey
Nico Muhly


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## AlexRuger (Nov 6, 2012)

Lately I've _really_ been digging on Shostakovich. Particularly his 5th and 10th Symphonies. His 10th is by far one of my favorite pieces of music now.

If it hasn't already been posted, Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe is incredible.


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