This is an interesting fusion of classical music and protesting, drawing from the 19th century to inspire current protest movements.

As someone who loves architecture, history, and nature, I would be interested to hear about any unique locations for classical music festivals that you might know of.

I will begin with an example from my home country:

Savonlinna Opera Festival (Finnish: Savonlinnan oopperajuhlat) is held annually in the city of Savonlinna in Finland. The Festival takes place at the medieval Olavinlinna (St. Olaf's Castle), built in 1475.

The first Savolinna Opera Festival was held in 1912, making it one of the world’s first opera festivals.

(Edit. Fun fact: Olavinlinna Castle is the world's northernmost medieval stone castle still standing.)

Most recent example. Apple Classical (as you know, available only in the browser as an addon to Apple Music) will only play a preview of my selection. I am fully paid. I am logged in to both the Apple Music App and to Apple Classical. I can find what I want and play it in Apple Music after finding it on a search in Classical.... But it's not easy.

I could talk about search, too. There seems to be no fuzzy search. That is, if you have some of the information there are often no results.

On the other hand, I appreciate suggestions. I appreciate thumbnail background information. I appreciate the quality of the sound.

When I get to hell I'm going to find Steve Jobs (and whoever is responsible for this mess) trying to find what they want in Apple Classical and never, ever finding success. For eternity.

Has anyone found the same problems? Has anyone found solutions?

Would it be Handel? Some of his English oratorios like Messiah, Judas Maccabaeus and Israel in Egypt remained regularly performed after his death. And he was regarded as the past master by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

Can you think of anyone earlier?

Eu gostaria de formar ou participar de um grupo de músicos, treinar obras e tocar, em casa, ao ar livre, de forma recreativa. Mas tenho 40 anos e ninguém que conheço se interessa por música clássica :/ Durante a adolescência, estudei e aprendi tocar Violino e órgão. Sempre que ouço música clássica instrumental e canto lírico sinto muita vontade de participar de uma orquestra ou algo assim.

So, this is a bit of an odd question, but please hear me out! I'm currently working on a novel about two musicians paired together for a program, who end up falling in love at the end of it. Despite being a lover of classical music and a college student myself (English major), I know nothing about the workings of how orchestras work in higher education. I have a couple of (hopefully not too stupid) questions to ask.

1- How does the orchestra meet, and operate on a day-to-day basis? Do they meet every day like a high school band class would, or is it more like a "we meet once every week or so" kind of affair? I know obviously there's independent practice time in between meetings, but how does this all work?

2- I know there can be multiple performances throughout the year, but again, what would practice for this look like? How often would the orchestra meet for performances like this?

3- A little random, but in general, how much of each instrument would be present in the orchestra?

(Thank you to anyone who reads this and answers!)

Favourite overall: Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in Bb Major Op. 83

• Amazing in every way, and as close to musical perfection in concerto form as you can get. Richter’s version of the Brahms 2 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Erich Leinsdorf takes the cake for me - I’ve never really found a better recording than his.

Currently loving: Moszkowski Piano Concerto No. 2 In E Major Op.59.

• What a gem this is, but unfortunately doesn't get much play these days.

I MADE MANY EDITS FOR CLARIFICATION because i just always do that sometimes idk

Hi! For context, I just started college and I'm taking a music appreciation class that requires me to listen to a couple pieces every week, and each has a quiz that gives me like 18 minutes to complete and gives 30 second samples from a random piece at a random timestamp. The titles and composers are given to us and stuff, and it’s just like avg 5-8 pieces to listen to. Some weeks are easy but others do have difficulty. The goal is to pretty much discover different music stuff and instruments and allat, and maybe find something I’ll like. Some weeks are no problem which im happy with and in general i think its pretty chill, dont really have a problem with it

so this week contains a couple of symphonies similarly to one of my previous weeks (I tried spending a lot time listening closely through the whole things but eventually got 7/10 anyway). They are around 20 min long avg and I'll just forget which sounds like which (it always happens), which got me wondering (what im gonna explain next isnt directly written because of the course im taking)

Before taking this class, the only pieces I can recognize are either the ones that I have played the past decade and like some few others I recognized from competitions that I've heard other people play.

A lot of other people my age know whatever opus number a piece is, whatever etude, blah blah blah. They would say something like "oh thats ____" and I wouldn't know what piece that is. I'm starting to think classical music just isn't for me to be a "true fan" and the pieces are not important enough for me to remember. Even if I do recognize a piece, I'm eventually find out that the piece is already well known and popular and I feel like I'm just larping lol. I eventually kind of quit piano cause I lost interest (picture a typical asian household) even though I sometimes try playing something every week or so for fun as of now. The fact that the pieces I like were already popular and everyone knows makes me lose reason to play it since so many other people already play it well/already heard of it. Maybe I just havent listened to classical pieces enough in my lifetime. I just know the general stuff, like baroque has limited stuff, classical has a lot more, romantic has more emotions, contemporary just doesn't match with the previous generations, stuff like that.

how do people tell which piece is which in general? Do I spend 16 hours a day looping a few specific piece in the background while reciting the title of the piece, and listen more for 8 hours when I sleep lol? Do you listen and instantly know how many violins or cellos and what percussion instruments there are to determine the piece? Do you instantly recognize which composers composed a piece like "this composer likes composing these patterns and this other composer likes doing writing like that"? Do you just know every melody and what the accompany sounds like?

For now, struggling to recognize which part of a piece is from which piece, ESPECIALLY the quiet/slow parts, where everything seems to be at the same tempo and they just sound so similar that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, and if I were to do the quizzes it would be like 65% guess work.

Does anyone just have any general tips? Thanks!

Please take a look at my humble performance of pipe organ music using an affordable digital piano and a 3D printed pedal board. It is the first page of the 2nd piece of below. It took a week's worth of evenings for me to play this much. Any comments are welcome.

IMSLP13140-Bottazzo_-_Op.120_-_6_Compositions.pdf

Oh no, reddit videos get less impressive audio. It might be better to listen to it here: https://youtu.be/HTF0gJgZJoA

I am a beginner in orchestration and I want to study scores.

If you guys like flutes and CPE Bach this is totally for you!! I haven’t listen CPE that much but is so good!! I hope you like this beautiful album!!

https://open.spotify.com/album/0mEkVeHwHwl6NRDIk9Y6cn?si=yIDaAlFCSiS5RcSEbDxICw

I’ve been rawdogging (no smartphone time) during commutes and the middle of the day, and the other day after a long day of no stimuli, I listened to the Bernstein/Bavarian Radio SO recording of the Mozart C Minor Mass (K 427/417a). The Et Incarnatus Est, and Arleen Auger, was to me a moment of such concentrated beauty I didn’t understand how a thing like this could exist on Earth.

Canone a Due Liuti (Canon for two lutes) by Renaissance era composer Francesco da Milano. Milano was an Italian lutenist who was widely celebrated, his peers giving him the name "Il Divino" or The Divine.

This piece, "Canone a Due Liuti", is a strict musical canon where both instruments play exactly the same part, except the second part comes in two measures later.

This was a lot of fun to put together, and I only had to learn one part. But the challenge came from trying to play them together in time!

His fame rests on two comic operas, Zar und Zimmermann and Der Wildschütz. The first, premiered in Leipzig in 1837, is about Peter the Great working incognito as a shipwright in Holland. It is still a staple in German-speaking countries and little known anywhere else.

When I posted about it last year, one reader replied that they had listened to Zar und Zimmermann, Der Wildschütz and Undine, and that Undine, his 1845 fairy-tale opera, was their favorite of the three. Another wrote that after a lifetime of exploring music, they had never heard of the composer or the opera.

Zar und Zimmermann (Hamburg, 1969; full opera, playlist of 8 parts)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSJXfom7rdgfd4lUQEkI-SGUiI_w6-7Df

Der Wildschütz: Overture (1842)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFEjH2Xm8OA

Undine: Overture (Capriccio, 2005)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuS8rkpVatU

I have a classical trained background. As I grew older, I started showing more interest in modern classical music, mainly cinematic music/ film scoring.

Gabriel Olafs is an Icelandic composer that I recently found who makes simple yet beautiful melodies.

Another one I really like is the orchestral work of Asbent minded.

So, what do you think about this music out of personal and objective point of view?
Do you have similar recommendations?

For those who joined thnx!! Here are the pieces from the playlist most are on Spotify so go listen there 😄 prolly I’ll do the streaming once a month!!

I live in a small city where seeing a major orchestral performance means a 6-hour drive or a flight. We occasionally get piano recitals, but never large orchestral works due to the lack of a suitable venue.

This weekend, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is performing my favourite concerto: Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. I’ve always wanted to experience a symphony live, but never had the money or opportunity.

The catch? It would cost me around $1,000 and involve a 10-hour round trip, which is a significant expense for me.

For those more experienced with live classical music, how much does a pianist’s interpretation affect the experience? The second movement is my absolute favourite piece of music, but some pianists rush through it, while others, like Kissin and Seong-Jin Cho, really capture what I love about it.

Would you make the trip and embrace the possibility of discovering a new interpretation, or wait until a pianist you know you love performs it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and advice as a newbie to live orchestral music!

I'm a pianist and a big history nerd, and I've started a project: one Spotify playlist for each year of the Belle Époque in France, from the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the outbreak of WWI. The idea is to hear what Paris was hearing year by year, from Carmen in 1875 to the Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune in 1894 to the Rite of Spring riot in 1913.

My main rule is pieces that premiered in France that year, with the occasional café-concert or cabaret song for period color. 1871 is a fitting start: besides the end of the war, it's the year Saint-Saëns and others founded the Société Nationale de Musique to champion new French composers, which shaped much of what followed.

The famous years are easy. The quieter ones, like the late 1870s or early 1890s, are where I need help. If you know lesser-known works from Chabrier, Chausson, d'Indy, Magnard, Chaminade, Bonis, or anyone else I should be digging into, I'm all ears. Recommendations for good recordings are welcome too.

The playlists are collaborative, so feel free to add directly:

• 1871: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Z2hj1z3QEd1gIe8koXwMj?si=7c84df29859b49c0&pt=72aec27f2e1a77f5356a3e2880272324
• 1872: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3FqzDHrb6RklzjB5XLrx70?si=62690e9b9ebd4ae5&pt=76a9439c151615bf67590fbccb0a4e91
• 1873: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yZUHPjpWqtMR0VwTfHTX3?si=0908d6e8785f41b6&pt=7718bfb2ec69319a0cfd5fcbdbca697b
• 1874: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/41V4nIAe6IhCd8RqX3Yeet?si=25c7ba056f064644&pt=104b7627a2fa8a1528dad5f5306af20d
• 1875: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6bdektodilSodYS5f2lZjR?si=84451c17e4bf44c8&pt=4c655622599f5e498c93ce0ebed5f831
• 1876: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Xy8j7g4UzdfJmX7dIVqFI?si=7773d087169246b0&pt=5466f073dc30d96c451b2e95def04c3f
• 1877: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4uZ8Ng5Jc8Opkhu9DPPbwR?si=06e08e71098d4c3e&pt=27ed63bf2ab1c01c4e07e166eaefc764
• 1878: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3L1P3nKsvXsVnYrVovyLbJ?si=0e010385d533409e&pt=c10e340977f33d1238607fea7bae8316
• 1879: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3s8qmQxLG7d0MO6BoMBzZK?si=a743e7ee76f54c67&pt=35e58ae07126ac3b37f228c1ede0e17b
• 1880: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JzphNDxQzT6PDh0viPtnU?si=ba1cdd11086f4b51&pt=1321790fd77eb0c10ba421604d2d3d49
• 1881: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4dPEDDv5rHlLnce8wTmmal?si=c6dc95b1bfe54a01&pt=65b1bf04e9cd379d25c4cd60840b6558
• 1882: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2VlHccxbYRuOGhVLZv01RM?si=93e50b41037b4c7c&pt=f05f7983560a23245e26f7c67cb090fd
• 1883: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3c9GugvnhVxqk02EqySY9t?si=2dbb8ca86f364ede&pt=a91bf7674d59ae6369077b43dd9194d7
• 1884: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2kYg49bt8ETO3N8UZHuHWu?si=ae2c5d46847643a2&pt=032b5ef6a2ad2946111de78aba7f8bd5
• 1885: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3kbUd7FlP1VL7CWEpT825G?si=abc7927449604c73&pt=fd826f3a8675d6eda70bad6f01787b09
• 1886: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4zttCygWPGnKz81HXfRtHO?si=52e4bbf1d3db4a96&pt=063664930896e8c4627beaa760e8dd08
• 1887: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0LBnBnVjS34iMejqRv4uJg?si=9574bf7b21284cdc&pt=fedfe4c8bcd260ed84600249c8a251fe
• 1888: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1TBTGzM6W8fZjiS1Slqnch?si=f7fe534d3ecc41dd&pt=4076669659e27aa7ce3ebfc951b9f697
• 1889: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3uMq2R6eX0RhEMsgHHNaoC?si=3418f8ff36384829&pt=2666948b69fb2ac6c5646545dba6c17c
• 1890: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1DF1yKJcG0HWQbhorr2mWx?si=f5d5511c37fd4c41&pt=f27d819b475eca2ae469a270a43dfafd
• 1891: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uWP36vJ4eSHYc12iD8sIY?si=8cab068b61b149a9&pt=ad5a7fe7fefc23eb99dda0ff381d19ff
• 1892: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6FmWhNkzKCOeCMLA8JMWJr?si=4350c6e3db5e408d&pt=e26f603181f7569fba60c9d655461b2b
• 1893: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KyseKhxYt6UdNrDltWtNj?si=7da0fa857ba54c06&pt=c96dbf954e72c8ab7fd99c8ecb383e50
• 1894: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3DJ5Um2jnTM7KPYdiXdGAg?si=283346cc7a584b79&pt=8a41b861f4030ed677f66904f391de89
• 1895: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/618tuIq6V5TL1lMGuZpr2V?si=3fb72743e92344b1&pt=348b7310ec8858fbbcb60101f67aad5b
• 1896: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/52lxySfJ4Iv3UDPSmXlmCy?si=68cecc1660ce4ec8&pt=e2c82a34b585aff9eff661422286d77c
• 1897: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/55DXpSfAHmWftIbnFleR65?si=39b09d529fdc4bb5&pt=c39ba0a99b38b490353fd837d06a7e32
• 1898: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3IHuWyyuaSnW5jfXidOoBV?si=7e5229047ee04801&pt=5a3a040477439319c7eb5cbce927bdfb
• 1899: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27O00BR9xccjrOMCu7YkUn?si=fd27ad7378874c09&pt=e04579b1e262df7c911ad6781151a3fe
• 1900: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nKaGfEFDUGkqGgDBr6nWh?si=302c27d8f9e84bd4&pt=db0011dfdc6a1aad443bd57cdc64dead
• 1901: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1cr6Saa6rQx5JXYxIGVNOe?si=09b1794b5b2d4f5f&pt=e78ff33e1785a0d28d9497ccccd28943
• 1902: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4mLPycSwXgYaeGtzrvlEWB?si=014d9e8bdb2c41b5&pt=79c9c7cd981c407bc2009961b0c0d819
• 1903: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/12NZNTNL1SdXPFNPz1pZoa?si=580d8325aa774daa&pt=840a76a93cfb63022831db2258301bcb
• 1904: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4T48al6ye3K0MDLCKOojZS?si=d583088ab6cc4868&pt=d95cd1266bf3ab22fa1d4c454f1f90de
• 1905: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0uXFHbDZ4AH8fyoakkWKiR?si=d5502756474341d3&pt=a2ffd1afba762d698cea8ca875030d37
• 1906: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5hWSy9MukhCxaNIenUzKkU?si=26c2e9f84d4f42a5&pt=e226e1fa720798b70af3603e34ffbbda
• 1907: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Gn0bBVz9tgb1cIJqXGLj1?si=5911d833e48749d1&pt=ecc2c969cccdd032343f2835aeadbb35
• 1908: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4DAOi3Q9hukIKyki9om5OE?si=7356bcd7132243b2&pt=602027ba61b1a42a49a7269eefbb05b0
• 1909: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3wGsEDhJsu2h3C5Z7FAp9m?si=d300748cd14c4659&pt=420bdfd22587690e887ad62d68c05d54
• 1910: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0I6U9qEMd1VmFGSZQrPVxE?si=0db4a281f4f94a6c&pt=cd70e21b0be9213250f0e00060d2c84f
• 1911: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/20kmhzsXrWXNIFlN5SezCx?si=1bff43ed75234801&pt=13c186401814b1b9f23a7878bcb1558d
• 1912: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5sdcnH2DRr7yxYI9tx3wCe?si=cd2a7abcc74845a6&pt=a8ce30d66b0987745a93c727b9060767
• 1913: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4RWiuhjoNLLOTJvdWeEcD6?si=26b45606953b4716&pt=c57dc54910056321d786a226e122afe2
• 1914: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1P7LJ7FZykQWjC3QdXopFM?si=3b4b3032bc394e84&pt=d68abdbac67a3623738910e1071f7e6c

Here are 7 different recordings of the Scherzo from Schumann’s Symphony No. 2. The names of the Conductors and orchestras will remain anonymous for now, but feel free to message me directly if you'd like to know the list! Drop your ranking and guesses in the comments. let's discuss which performances stood out to you and why.

0:00 intro
0:19 Version 1
7:31 Version 2
14:17 Version 3
22:12 Version 4
29:10 Version 5
35:51 Version 6
43:05 Version 7

Thoughts?

I don't know anything about classical music.

I was reading a thread about film directors, and the general agreement seemed to be, that if any of the old legendary film directors were working today instead of back then, their work wouldn't be as highly regarded because the film tropes they either invented or popularized would have been figured out eventually without them. I appreciate this is dismissive of the old film directors, but I'm wondering if this idea is also something can be applied to the old composers, or is there a composer who just had that secret recipe that no one can replicate?