Classical Music Faves – Part 1

Like most Americans of my generation my earliest exposure to classical music was through television cartoons (although to be fair I think my family also had a copy of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf in our record collection). Perhaps it’s my French, Irish, Russian, and German heritage but at a very young age I became enchanted with European folk tales- especially Peter and the Wolf- and even then I appreciated how the wisdom such stories impart to kids is not only universal but might just save your life one day (I think Peter and the Wolf is really about Russia and Germany, by the way).

Erik Satie

When I was a child my German grandmother seemed to nurture my Germanic pride by giving me German-themed gifts and after I begged my parents for a copy of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries they bought it for me. I spent many happy hours lying on our living room floor playing with my action figures while listening to Wagner- or other classical music on the radio- and the otherworldly music served as the ideal soundtrack for the epic movies I was creating in my mind. In fact, much of my later interest in classical music came from movies. In college My Dinner with Andre inspired me to purchase Satie’s music which I would listen to while studying or woking late at night on my novel.

Giacomo Puccini

In the ‘90s my family’s growing love affair with Italian opera music began to affect me and to this day Puccini inspires me when I’m cooking (although my first visit to the opera a few years ago with my parents left me with lots of questions). For me, classical music is a lot like wine- I like most of it, and I want the good stuff- but I just don’t know where to begin. So, I keep my ears open and when I hear a piece of classical music I like- on the radio, in a film, on Spotify- I take note and then add it to my collection. Here are some of my favorite classical music songs (from the past 40 years or so). Enjoy!

Sergei Prokofiev

01. Puccini: “Turandot / Act 3: ‘Nessun dorma!’ (‘None shall sleep’)”
      – John Alldis Choir, Wandsworth School Boys Choir, Zubin Mehta, London Philharmonic
         Orchestra, Luciano Pavarotti (1973)
02. Smetana: “Ma vlast (My Fatherland): No. 2. Vltava (Moldau)”
      – Antoni Wit, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (1994)
03. Satie: “Gymnopédie No. 1”
      – Pascal Rogé (1984)
04. Prokofiev: “Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67: Peter in the meadow”
      – Ondrej Lenárd, Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (1990)
05. Mozart: “Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: VIII Lacrimosa”
      – Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Wien, Vienna State Opera Chorus (2002)

06. Copland: “Variations on a Shaker Melody (‘Simple Gifts’)”
      – Richard Kapp, Philharmonia Virtuosi (1994)
07. Vaughan Williams: “Fantasia on Greensleeves”
      – James Judd, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (2003)
08. Debussy: “Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun)”
      – György Lehel , Budapest Symphony Orchestra (1988)
09. Britten: “Four Sea Interludes, Op. 33a: III. Moonlight”
      – André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra (1976)
10. Brahms: “Hungarian Dance No. 1”
      – Raymond Dessaints, Ensemble Amati (1995)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

Recommended Links:

Come and See – Trailer

The Flying Turtle

My Dinner with Andre – Trailer