Rachmaninoff and Saint-Saens round out my top five composers (Liszt, Chopin, Beethoven are the others). There is so much emotion in Rachmaninoff's compositions - beautiful and powerful. Saint-Saens would maybe restore my faith in French composers, but the rest don't sound like him, which is probably why I like him. You must experience his 3rd symphony where you have good stereo and surround sound.
Rachmaninoff– 2nd and 3rd Piano Concertos, Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Prelude in C# minor, G minor and B flat minor, Elegie, Op. 3, No. 1 (piano, not vocal), Symphony No. 2
Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade (there is a really cool interactive site teaching all the different parts of the story here), Flight of the Bumblebee
Rossini – William Tell Overture
Saint-Saens – 3rd Symphony, 2nd Piano Concerto, African Fantasy, The Carnival of the Animals (especially The Swan), Piano Sonata in B, Dance Macabre, Bacchanale
Schubert – Symphony No. 9
Schumann – Piano Concerto in A minor,
Shostakovich – 2nd Piano Concerto,
Sibelius – Finlandia, Romance Op. 24 No. 9
Smetana - Overture and Dance of the Comedians (The Bartered Bride)
Stravinsky – The Firebird Suite, Rite of Spring
1 comment:
I would add Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D, Op 61 to the list.
Many of my current favorites are the instrumental scores from movies. I personally think James Newton Howard and Thomas Newman are amazing
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