Last weekend the wife and I took a night out to the symphony. The concert featured a "Classical Music Top 40" theme (10 pieces total) showcasing uber-popular hits like Pachelbel's Canon in D, Bizet's Toreador from Carmen, and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.
In the movie "Chocolate" (2000), there are several scenes where Vianne (a drifter and chocolatier) attempts in vain to guess the favorite chocolate desert of one Roux (another drifter). Each time Vianne offers Roux a different chocolate sweet, he replies something to the effect of "very good, but not my favorite". In a similar fashion I found the concert to be very good, but not my favorite.
I've thought about it some more and compiled a list of what I think would make some of my favorite "Top 40" program (that is not part of a string quartet, solo work, symphony, concerto, opera or multiple pieces from the same composer - for this list, please reference my forthcoming "Top 500"). I've hyperlinked the following pieces via Youtube for your listening pleasure (some of the links may not have the best sound quality):
Beethoven: Egmont Overture
Gustav Holst: Jupiter from "The Planets"
Mussorgsky: Baba Yaga
Tchaikovsky: "Swan Lake" Suite
Elgar: Enigma Variations (Nimrod)
Prokofiev: Troika from Lieutenant Kije
Dvorak: Slavonic Dance No. 1
Barber: Adagio for Strings
Vivaldi: Presto (Summer) from "Four Seasons"
Mozart: Adagio Serenade No 10 in B Flat
Bach: Toccata and Fugue in d minor arr. Leopold Stokowski for orchestra
3 comments:
Yes, yes, YES! I LOVE Jupiter. That middle 1:53 is the ring tone on my phone I love it that much. And my very first phone had Toccata and Fugue in D minor on it. Which was awesome. I would add "Pomp and Circumstance" by Elgar to my list. I am a sucker for a crescendo.
I just left a list of some amazing orchestral pieces, and then erased the comment, because I realized I didn't read your qualifications in your post carefully enough.
To be continued...
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