jenna

this past year i've been getting into Classical, hardcore! my problem is i don't know what to buy, i don't have the luxury of being able to buy pieces i've already heard. does anyone have any suggestions? the stuff i like is the kind of deeper darker stuff like Mozart's requiem. i also like anything by Beethoven, that guy was mad, his music was insane!

WorldRuler

Do you want a list of artists I like? If so:

Handle
Bach-(maybe a little to bright)
Haydn
Copland-(very different, pretty mordern and country like, considered America's greatest classical composer with Gershwin right behind)

polymorphikos

You can't go wrong with Tchaikovsky. The two suitesof his I've heard (nutcracker and Swan Lake) have plenty of brightness in them, but interspersed with very dark and/or lush/sweeping parts that are especially beautiful.

Hypes

Ludwig van!

jenna

yeah, Beethoven really is my fave! his work is amazing.
Thanks WorldRuler, i'm adding those you mentioned to my list. lucky Classical is so not popular anymore so you can pick up CD's by all the major composers for a pretty cheap price!
and Polymorphikos, i've heard a bit of Tchaikovsky, but not the ones you mentioned, i'll check those out too!

Leto

Don't forget some Chopin piano works, and maybe in a quite different style some Vivaldi.

Now, all depends if you want symphony, chamber music (litteral translation not sure ti's the good word) or single instrument music.

Here's alink to a very good pianist : http://www.helenegrimaud.com/

The Masterâ„¢

Depending on my mood, I'll listen to most classical music... Mozart, Beethoven, Hyden, Brahms, Procoviev, Ravel, Mahler...

I've even been know to blast out some Wagner - now there is some seriously dark foreboding music!!!

I also listen to some contemporary pieces (as well as traditional) played by people such as Michael Nyman, Vanessa Mae, Karl Jenkins, Duel, Planets, Bond, etc...

Space Monkey

I have some suggestions. As for the traditional classical composers, I'd definitely look for Rakhmaninov's (sp?) piano work.

But mostly, if you like dark and weirdly moody, movie soundtracks might often be the way.
Jerry Goldsmith's scores for the Omen films are a must. Unbelievable music, chants combined with crazed orchestral soundscapes, it is chilling.
Also, Wojziech Kilar (sp?) did the score for Coppola's Dracula, and this is essential listening also - very, very good music.
Elliot Goldenthal did the soundtrack for Interview with the vampire - I highly recommend this too.

And finally - this isn't a soundtrack or even a 'real' classical composer per se, but there's a French band called Elend, who's album 'Les Tenebres du dehors' (Holy Records) is a soundscape of samples and keyboard orchestral work mixed in with their own music - it's the most creepy, surreal classical music I've ever known. The album is themed on Dante's Inferno, and the whole CD is illustrated with Gustave Dore's art from the same work. It is essential, I can't stress this enough. All are available through amazon I believe.

Sirathiel

I think it's spelled Rachmaninov.

I've always loved classical music. So here some recommendations:

Ludwig van Beethoven - my fave of his is the Ninth Symphony. I simply adore. The Fifth is better known, but I prefer the other.

Peter I. Tschaikovsky is also a very good choice. I recomend especially Ouverture solennelle "1812" op. 49 and Marche slave op. 31 (hehe, got the CD, so I copied all the info...)

Georg Friedrich Händel (or Handel, but never!!!! Handle *shudders*) - love his music to pieces, especially Fireworks Music (? not sure if it's that in English) and Watermusic (same translation uncertainty) - but they might be a bit too bright for your taste.

Johann Sebastian Bach - another great composer, but usually rather lighthearted stuff - Attention: he's had lots of children that were also composers - similar styles

Ravel is good too.

Wagner - I just LOVE Wagner. He's written lots of opera stuff (at least I think it's opera) the Ring Saga, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, etc.

You know, there are three music pieces that are usually played at a weeding (bridal marches?) - one of them is from a Wagner opera!

Guiseppe Verdi - Nabucco, opera - could be your type, too.

Film music - yeah always a great source for great music - Gladiator was pretty dark in this aspect. You might want to check it out.

And Jean Sibelius - for example Finlandia - very dark and moody, too.


Well, I'll stop now. Hope you'll find something that you like!

Old Nick

I'd like to second Wagner, and then add Dvorak. Symphony no 9 "From a new World" is really good.

Prokofiev might be to your liking.

littlemissattitude

I love classical music but I don't know anything about it, so I guess I won't be of any use to you in this thread. Except to say, try Gershwin. "Rhapsody in Blue" is phenomenal. Not exactly classical in a classic sense, but wonderful music nonetheless.

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Leto

And I'll second both two personsabove reccomendations.
Although for me, Gershiw is immediatly associated to Woody Allen's Manhattan

As Bach is associated to a TV animed I loved : Once upon a time:Man

Not sure it was translated in english, it was in italian, spanish and german.

jenna

wow, i've got a huge list going now, thanks everyone!

Circus Cranium

Don't forget Vivaldi. I know The Four Seasons is way overplayed, but La Cetra is great, and it's a 2 CD collection.

The Masterâ„¢

Danse Macabre - Saint Sans!!! Can't get much darker than that!!!