Music Geek - Tumblr Posts
Amadeus is such a great movie for learning the deep meaning of and the appreciation for Mozart's music
how to get into classical music?
this post is inspired by the great twoset violin video which you can watch here. Their tips are good, but I just wanted to add something based on my experience!
Listen to the compilations - I think everything works in this case, seriously - playlists on spotify, "the very best of " albums. You can just search for example "the very best of Vivaldi" and listen to whatever the hell is there.
Ask your classical music enthusiast friend what's their current favorite piece - that's the best question you can ask. Questions like "what are your 5 favorite pieces" or "what pieces would you recommend for a beginner" can be confusing for someone, who has hundreds of favorite pieces and knows thousands of them. If you ask about their current favorite piece, you can discover something completely new and complex.
Watch Amadeus - it is a movie about composers Mozart and Salieri and it's based on a play, so not everything there is true, but the soundtrack is just 100% classical music and like 99% of Mozart's compositions. How the soundtrack is combined with the atmosphere of this film is indescribable. And here's an important information - this movie made me loose my fucking mind and fall blindly in love with classical music. I didn't give a shit about classical music before watching Amadeus.
You already know some pieces but you're still too confused - search for other interpretations - the best thing about classical music is that you can find your beloved performance of your favorite piece and cherish it like it's your own treasure. So, for example, you know The Four Seasons and you like it, but you feel like something's missing? Search for other recording. btw - check out this Spring.
Find your favorite musicians - you find your favorite musician, you want to hear more of their work, you automatically check their other recordings and wow, suddenly you know more pieces! Even if you like this musician only because they're pretty and you want to watch them play! Go for it, there's nothing wrong about it!
WATCH performances - there's something hypnotizing about watching a perfectly synchronized orchestra, the work of a conductor, a violinist making funny faces, a pianist waving a hand in a weird way. Seeing it makes you feel more connected to the musicians and finally - to the music.
Go see a free classical music performance - even if it's something you don't know. Even if it won't be so great, because it's for free or something. Just take your friend and spend a nice evening. Or maybe it's free opera performance online? Then buy some chips or wine or whatever, read the synopsis to prepare yourself and go for it! I mean, if it's for free you can just leave or turn that off, you won't loose anything.
The very last thing - watch Twoset Violin. Even the silly charades videos or Ling Ling workout. You can't escape from exploring new pieces when you watch twoset. Their channel shows that classical music is for everyone and lots of their videos are very educational.
Beautiful Opera arias to start your classical music Journey
Below i made a little list for poeple who want to get into Opera (with Links)
1. Nessun Dorma - Giacomo Puccini
~ A total classic for a reason
2. Lascia ch'io pianga - Georg Friedrich Händel
~ "let me weep my cruel fate" - it's breathtakingly beautiful
3. L'ho perduta - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
~ a short musical masterpiece
4. Je crois entendre encore - George Bizet
~ one of the most heartfelt melodies ever written
5. La Habanera - George Bizet
~ almost everyone heard this sassy classic once
6. Un bel di vedremo - Giacomo Puccini
~ another tearjerker by the master of romantic operas
7. Una furtiva lagrima - Geatano Donizetti
~ one of the most romantic arias out there
8. Addio del passato - Giuseppe Verdi
~ a musical farewell
9. Largo al Factotum - Giachino Rossini
~ This is a fun one and a real show off
10. Pourquoi me reveiller - Jules Massenet
~ this is the one for you if you like it dark and dramatic
‘yassified’ classical composers
Well...that looks...wrong
And why does Vivaldi look like one of the Kardashians
Honestly...They could have just kept Liszt the way he was in the first place
Schostakovitch is the only one that kinda works
Clara Schumann already was a boss
Wow...They really did Elgar dirty
Hats off to whoever had to decipher Beethoven's Handwriting
That is wild😂
Just for reference...this is what it should look like:
One of Mozart's scores
Why do these Posters for the Met's Don Giovanni remind me of Pirates of the Caribbean? 😅 Opera Houses have really gotten A LOT more modern over the last few years. They really got a Hollywood poster movie style to them now.
Marius Kwiecien as Don Giovanni
