The only Orchestral/Classical Thread
 

So lets discuss/analyze classical music. Favorite composers, orchestras, musical pieces. Instruments and anything about classical composing. What are your favorite ensembles (e.g. quartets, orchestras chamber orchestras trios.. )
Scales, instrument techniques and so on…

I my self love Bach most of all. His polyphony is just awesome!

I mostly write for quartets with additional instruments (strings and something else like Harpsichord) I totally love harpsichord or orchstras

I use two flutes, oboes and clarinets, a basson and a contrabasson for the woodwinds, two French horns and trumpets, one trombone and a tuba for brass.
And strings. This is my base orchestra staves. I then add additional instruments depending on the mood I want and the complexity I am after (didn’t include the percussion and keyboards as those are not heard in my every composition)

I am not that skilled tho… having the music in your midn is one thing writing it down is another and that's where all the rules come like Musical Grammar. Never took classes btw

Hope this thread turns into something useful for ppl who are new to orchestral writing

Any questions and answers are appreciated! I sometimes get questions too so this would be a good place to find out the desired answer

Cheers

PS sorry for my grammar :sad:

I love Nightwish with passion. I love listening to the orchestral tracks by themselves. So wonderful :) I also like soundtracks from films that use an orchestra. Sounds epic!!!

I'm playing Bach on Friday for my Grade 8 saxophone exam, beautiful music. These past two years we had to analyze in alot of detail Purcell's Dido, some nice pieces in it, though wouldn't say its my favorite opera.

Beethoven is my favorite when it comes to classical, and playing it on piano helps to appreciate it even more.

Oh, I also played a Haydn for my piano exam today. A typical Haydn/Mozart piece, nothing special, but enjoyable regardless.

I went to Vienna last Christmas with my music class. Incredible! Visited Mozart's house, watched a string quartet and ballet, absolutely top class musicians. The place was just heaven for anyone who has any sort of interest in classical music.

Orchestra wise my favourite composers are John Williams, Debussy, and Liszt.

I also like Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Corelli, Scriabin, Prokofiev and Ravel.

I like writing for orchestras, small ensembles and solo piano.

Here's some of my favourite orchestral pieces:

Oohh, Prokofiev! Played one of his pieces today also for piano, forgot about that one. Another fantastic composer right there!

Debussy is absolutely beautiful! And Black Star! Classic!

This thread has been done countless times in various forms.

But anyway, my current fix is Scriabin. It's amazing how by listening to his sonatas in sequence you can hear the evolution of his writing style. Starting off with very strong Chopin influences and ending with something else entirely.

Black Star is the only piece is really liked that Malmsteen did with orchestra, it's a shame he and the Japanese philharmonic didn't have much time to practise because it could have turned out much better.

I think Rachmaninov is probably my favourite classical composer. I really enjoy everything he wrote, though of course some things more than others. I've tried playing some of the piano lines from his concertos on guitar, it's tricky to say the least!

I also really enjoy Chopin, but only the solo piano stuff. I've always felt that some of his passages can sound completely improvised when played well. I like Lizst too, but a little Lizst goes a long way.

Violins often sound very shrill to me, but I've recently starting listening to some more classical music centred around the violin.

List of composers I listen to-
Beethoven
Bach
Chopin
Fernando Sor
Francisco Tarrega
Villa Lobo

Beautiful music! centuries of music are very overwhealming tough, I don't know a tenth the pieces I'd like to know.
Like, the Blue Danube, listened to it like 50 times after watching 2001 A Space Odyssey lol
I do love Bach! I'm probably famliliar with ~5 of his hundreds and hundreds of pieces lol!

A question.. how should we define classical music? Music that has certain elements? Like short modulations and such.

As in very recent compositions, Jason Becker... all masterpieces. Air would be completely classical to my ears, containing harmonies, modulations, blabla, counterpoint, everything. And his pieces from Perspective... The End of the Beginning, Serrana... could those be considered classical? What about Higher, which is more of an acapella song?
Anyway, I consider his pieces to be of such level as Bach and Beethoven, as being the real true genious of our time.

I like writing for orchestras, small ensembles and solo piano.

oh and one of my favorite pieces is The Dance of the Kights by Prokofiev!

I didnt know he wrote his own music :p:

The composer not the guitarist..unless i'm missing the sarcasm here :haha:

Im talkin about the composer too lol, as in Star Wars right?

Hes considered to be one of the most blatant plagiarizers in modern music. Quoting an orchestra conductor I sat under, "Show me a John Williams score and Ill show you who he plagiarized it from."

But yea, him and the guy that did the score for phantom of the opera (vomits) totally plagiarize all over.

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and Mars, the Bringer of War FTW?

Haha, yes. Among many others

You do realise half the time a composers writes music for a film the director has already put existing music to it and asks the composer to write "something that sounds like that"?

It happened with the stars wars theme and Holsts 'the planets' if im not mistaken.

Speilberg asked him to rerecord the planets for the movie and instead Williams said "why don't i write somethng that SOUNDS like the planets?".

Happens all the time.

That still doesnt make the material any more original :shrug:

Couldn't give a monkey's if it was original or not :p: as long as i get to listen to stuff like the jurassic park theme i'm happy.