Ive always liked classical music but dont realy know whats out there. I was just introduced to Chopin's Nocturne No 2 in E Flat. Frickin awesome. I would like to find some more music like this to relax to. Piano music, kinda slow but rich. Something I can drift away to. Any sugestions would be apriciated. Im always eager to expand my music collection and knowlege. D'aurellius, I agree with you totally! :D A few minutes ago when I heard my favourite nocturne by Chopin (the nocturne in c sharp minor, published posthumously) on air, I could not concentrate on my Nanoworld module questions immediately. I stopped to listen to John O'Connor play the nocturne instead. It was great!
There are a lot of relaxing classics out there, just tune in to any classical radio and you hear a great deal of them. I got to know most of my favourites there :)
Here is a list of my favourites (fast-paced ones excluded), not exhaustive but may be useful to you:
Bach:
1. the well tempered clavier bk 1 (prelude no 1 in c bwv 846)
2. orchestral suite no 3 in d bwv 1068 (air)
3. concerto no 5 for harpsichord & strings in f minor bwv 1056 (largo)
Tekla Badarzewska:
4. a maiden's prayer op 3
Beethoven:
5. piano sonata no 14 in c sharp minor (moonlight) 1st mvmt op 27 no 2 (adagio sostenuto)
6. piano sonata no 8 in c minor (pathetique) 2nd mvmt op 13 (adagio cantabile)
7. piano concerto no 5 in e flat (emperor) 2nd mvmt op 73 (adagio un poco mosso)
8.symphony no 7 in a 2nd mvmt op 92 (allegretto)
9. bagatelle in a minor woo 59 (fur elise)
Bizet:
10.carmen suite no 1 3rd mvmt (intermezzo)
Brahms:
11. wiegenlied op 49 no 4 (guten abend, gut nacht)
12. intermezzo in a op 118 no 2
13. intermezzo in b flat minor op 117 no 2
Chopin:
14. prelude no 4 in e minor op 28 (suffocation)
15. prelude no 15 in d flat op 28 (raindrop)
16. piano concerto no 1 in e minor 2nd mvmt op 11 (romance - larghetto)
17. piano concerto no 2 in f minor 2nd mvmt op 21 (larghetto)
18. nocturne no 19 in e minor op 72 no 1
19. andante spianato in g op 22
20. fantaisie-impromptu in c sharp minor op 66
21. var on mozart's la ci darem la mano in b flat 2nd mvmt op 2 (tema - allegretto)
22. nocturne no 1 in b flat minor op 9 no 1
23. nocturne no 2 in e flat op 9 no 2
24. nocturne no 20 in c sharp minor (reminiscence)
Debussy:
25. reverie L68
26. suite bergamasque 3rd mvmt L75 (clair de lune)
27. beau soir L6
Dvorak:
28. symphony no 9 in e minor (fr the new world) 2nd mvmt op 95 (largo)
Faure:
29. berceuse op 16
Lichner:
30. forget me not op 160 no 6
Liszt:
31. dreams of love no 3 in a flat s541 (o love, so long as you can)
32. concert etude no 3 in d flat s144 (a sigh)
33. grand paganini etude no 3 in g sharp minor s141 (the little bell)
Massenet:
34. thais (meditation)
Mendelssohn:
35. on wings of song op 34 no 2
Moszkowski:
36. sechs stucke fur das pianoforte hainauer op 15 no 1 (serenata)
Mozart:
37. fantasy no 3 in d minor k397
38. piano concerto no 21 in c (elvira madigan) 2nd mvmt k467 (romance - andante)
39. horn concerto no 3 in e flat 2nd mvmt k447 (romance - larghetto)
40. piano concerto no 17 in g 2nd mvmt k453 (andante)
Offenbach:
41. the tales of hoffmann act 2 (barcarolle)
Pachelbel:
42. canon in d
Paganini:
43. cantabile in d op 17
Rachmaninov:
44. vocalise op 34 no 14
Ravel:
45. mother goose no 5 (the fairy garden)
46. pavane for a dead princess
Saint-Saens:
47. the carnival of the animals no 7 (aquarium)
48. the carnival of the animals no 13 (the swan)
Schubert:
49. ellen's 3rd song d839 (ave maria)
50. impromptu in g flat d899.3
51. du bist die ruh d776
Schumann:
52. scenes fr childhood no 7 op 15 (reverie)
53. album for the young no 35 op 68 (mignon)
54. carnaval no 12 in a flat op 9 (chopin)
55. myrthen op 25 no 1 (widmung - du meine seele, du mein herz)
Tchaikovsky:
56. the seasons no 6 op 37b (jun - barcarolle)
57. the nutcracker act 2 tableau 3 no 13 op 71 (waltz of the flowers)
58. the nutcracker act 2 tableau 3 no 14 var 2 op 71 (dance of the sugar plum fairy)
Verdi:
59. la traviata act 3 no 33 (violetta, annina & physician - farewell, past days of joy)
Music from the Movies:
60. The theme from the 1980 film, "Somewhere in Time" by John Barry. It is so touching!
61. Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell, from the 1941 film "Dangerous Moonlight". It was said that the producers wanted a Rachmaninov-style piece for their film, but they could not persuade Rachmaninov himself to write one, so Addinsell wrote a piece similar in style for the film.
Hope you would have an enjoyable time listening to classical masterpieces! I love anything that's Mozart or Beethoven, but some of it can be more fast-pased. Bach is good for slow music Vivaldi, the Four Seasons is so relaxing. piano sonata 14 "moonlight" I like Beethoven's "Elise" Clare de Lune by Claude Debussy
Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven
Turkish March by Mozart
Pathetique Sonata by Beethoven
Nimrod (Adagio) from Variations On an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma" by Mozart
Polonaise for Piano in A Flat Major, B147, Op.53: Heroic by Fr茅d茅ric Chopin
Chopin, Nocturne in C-sharp minor by Fr茅d茅ric Chopin
Air on a G String (Seven) by Johann Sebastian Bach Chopin's music is great place to start! He has many other beautiful pieces that you would like: he has many more Nocturnes as well as Preludes and Mazurkas that you might also like. He also has etudes that are very virtuosic - not as relaxing to listen to because they are mostly fast, but they are fantastic! Here are a few of my favorite Chopin wks:
Barcarolle Op. 60
Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61
Ballade No. 3 Op. 47
Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66
Piano Concerto No. 2 in Fm Op. 21
The Berceuse Op. 57 is probably one of his most relaxing works...it literally means "cradle song" or lullaby.
Rachmaninoff is also always a good choice. His Piano Concerto No. 2 and his Variations on a Theme by Paganini are both very famous and heart-wrenchingly beautiful. His preludes and etudes-tableaux are also great.
Check out some Beethoven sonatas and also some variation sets, which are slightly lesser known (I love the Heroica variations)
I also find J.S. Bach to be very relaxing...his Brandenburg Concerti are wonderful (they are for baroque orch. but also usu. include a continuo (harpsichord) part. Bach's Well-tempered Clavier are wonderful solo piano pieces...also the Goldberg Variations (which were written to help put a patron with insomnia to sleep! They are not boring, however)
You could also try a compilation CD of classical music that is meant for relaxing but sometimes those recordings aren't always the best and they often do not include the complete work - only certain movements. Anything in the classical canon between 1700 and 1950 (ish) is great. Much of the music is not as soporific as you might think. You may find that even the music that you are currently listening to like the Chopin Nocturne that you mentioned is not always as "relaxing" as you might think if you really listen. Chopins music was referred to by Schumann as being "guns hidden in roses."
The nocturnes are typically lilting melodies that are very romantic. You should listen to Chopin's Ballades to get a flavor of the more epic of his creations.
Any student of classical piano would suggest the 32 sonatas of Beethoven as standard listening fare. They are at the core of the repertoire and portray every possible mood.
Other expressive piano music would certainly include Debussy. Pieces from his "Images" collection would certainly pique your interest.
There is so much great music available, literally books have been written that would be answers to your question. No music collection would be complete without a repitoire of piano concerti...Mozart's "Elvira Madigan" is a good start; Beethoven's 3rd or 5th (Emporer); Brahms' #1 and #2; Chopin's #1 and #2; Saint Saens #1, #2, and #4; Rachmaninoff #2 and #3; Prokofiev's #1 and #3.
Those give a good overview of the history and development of the genre. Some are hardly relaxing but I personally enjoy listening to these on a long road trip...I never tire of listening to them
another good piece would be Rachmaninoff's "Variations on a theme by Paganini" one of which is the love theme in the Christopher Reeve movie "Somewhere in Time" but I enjoy all of them.
Hope this helps to build your collection. Really.. Ignore the rest.. They're very much cliche..
You must hear one of the most intricately written Classical piece of all time.. It's gorgeous. And very, very nice to listen to. Written by Pablo Casals.
O Vos Omnes. Shostakovich
Rachmaninov- Vocalise Op. 34
Bach Cello Suites
Symphonie Espagnole - Lalo
Zigunerweisn- Sarasate If you're looking for something to put you to sleep, you may find that the classical music that you like the best will make you want to stay awake. All the best relaxing songs are much better enjoyed while not sleeping:
The second movement of Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto;
Barber's Adagio for Strings (probably not good for sleeping...);
Ravel's Pavane pour un Infante D茅funte;
Faur茅's Pavane;
The second movement of Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto;
Any slow piece by Bach (develop your brain capacity in your sleep!);
The Chopin Waltzes and Mazurkas (nocturnes are good too though);
The second movement of Dvorak's Ninth Symphony;
Second movement of Grieg's Piano Concerto;
Liszt's Consolation No. 3 for piano;
Second movement of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2;
Rachmaninoff... oh, so many things by Rachmaninoff:
-Vocalize, opus 34
-Slow Movements of Piano Concerto No. 2 and any symphony;
-茅tude-tableau no. 2 in C, opus 33;
-Movements of the Vespers or the St. John liturgy
-Second Movements of Vaughan Williams first and second symphonies ('A Sea Symphony' and 'A London Symphony', respectively)
-Debussy's Clair de Lune, his Nocturnes for Orchestra, and many of his other piano pieces.
These ought to keep you awake (but pleasently sleepy) for years to come. Now i'm no expert, but some folks from http://www.thepianoteachers.com/ told me about some pretty good beginner/medium level stuff that i'm playing right now. Flight of the bumble bee is just spot on. Hope you like it, it's really really fun to play, listen to, etc. | 