Classical Music Niche Areas You Might Like: The Romantics

. The story so far: I first described some pieces, or works, that you might be interested in. (I tried to keep them to smaller works, less than about 20 minutes long, for the most part, though I wasn't trying very hard.) I focused on chamber works (small groups of instruments) and concertos (works for a featured solo instrument and orchestra), which are, for the lack of a better word, more focused pieces, so that they're a bit more accessible, in some ways. Following up on that post, I gave you links to some of the works mentioned (I should have given the links in the original post, I suppose, but perhaps it was as well that I didn't, in order not to steer you towards any particular recordings.) I also gave you an idea of how to follow-up on a liking you might have discovered to particular composers. That's how I got into classical music: by looking for works by the composer of something I really, really liked. (In my case, it was the famous chorale "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring," which is a clumsy English versification of Jesu bleibet meine Freude, a chorale from Bach's Cantata number 147.) You now really have a pretty good map for the music from about 1750 to 1890, spanning the end of Bach's life to the end of Mendelssohn's life. The so-called classical period falls in the early part of this period, and then we go into the early romantic period. We have already met some composers in the romantic period: Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, and even our friend Mozart, according to some people, e.g. Charles Rosen, reputedly. (For those of you who actually make money as authorities who decide which composers are allowed to be classified as Romantics, note that this is a not-for-profit blog.) The Romantic movement in music (and we're still talking about classical music, even if the word "classical" is used to describe a certain period) is one where the composers broke the rules, used bigger and more expressive orchestras, wrote works of longer duration, tried to express more acute and complex emotions (though Bach might have objected to this statement if he were alive) and were inspired by literature. This isn't surprising, because the literature of the 1800 was an explosion that simply could not be ignored. In keeping with my plan to suggest shorter works for you to "taste", I'm going to introduce you to a variety of composers. It is very likely that many of you who were left cold by music of the classical era we've looked at so far, will find something here. (EVEN IF YOU DON'T, THERE IS YET MORE!!!) One kind of thing to try is Overtures. Overtures are relatively short things, the opening of an opera, or just simply an overture for fun. We've already met Mendelssohn, and his Midsummer Night's Dream Overture is most definitely romantic, but if you've tried Mendelssohn and not liked him much, don't waste your time. Wagner is squarely in the romantic classification. Here is the Overture to Lohengrin. This will blow your mind. unfortunately, Wagner did not write a great deal like this, but his operas Lohengrin and Parsifal live in the same sound-world, if I might be allowed the use of that phrase. This recording is by Otto Klemperer. The music is supposed to, at least in some degree, represent the pure love of Elsa for the knight Lohengrin. Another possible piece to try is Wagner's Siegfried-Idyll, though it is so untypical of Wagner that you might be frustrated by trying to follow up. It is actually chamber music, as played here, since there is only one instrument per part, a total of some 13 instruments in all, very restrained orchestration for Wagner, let me assure you. Or try the Overtures to Tannhäuser or Die Meistersinger, both easily found, or even purchased for a couple of dollars from Amazon.com. Tchaikovsky wrote some lovely overtures, including the famous 1812 overture. (It's hard to appreciate this one because it's so familiar.) Bizet: The Overture to Carmen. This one is likely to be a hit with anybody, as is the opera as a whole. This overture style is called the Potpourri Overture, for obvious reasons. Mozart's Overture to The Magic Flute (Der Zauberflöte), is classical, but has those shimmers of romantic feeling that throws our methods of sorting styles into a cocked hat. Don Giovanni, if possible, is more romantic still. Verdi's Overture to Aida might make you a convert to Italian opera. Also check out A Faust Overture by Liszt, and the overture to Rosamunde (Schubert), and the symphonic suite titled Sheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov. Belshazzar's Feast is a work by William Walton with which I'm not personally familiar, but I mention it here as a possible listening choice. Leonard Bernstein (Candide) and Benjamin Britten (Noye's Fludde, or Peter Grimes) Suites and Variations are another possible choice. The Enigma variations by Edward Elgar, and the Pomp and Circumstances marches are well loved, especially in English-speaking countries. One of the most well-known variations is Nimrod. The Wise Virgins, a ballet suite by William Walton is based on Bach tunes, and is not a good representative of the romantic style. (Still, here is a fragment, just because I love it so much!) Other suites are by Percy Grainger, Aaron Copland (Appalachian Spring), Ralph Vaughan Williams (The Lark Ascending, a single movement and not a suite, actually). Pictures at an Exhibition is a must-hear, an orchestration (by Ravel) of a piano work by Mussorgsky. Ravel, of course, wrote the amazing Bolero, a ballet movement originally. However, his suite Pour le Tombeau le Couperin brings us to the impressionist style of Debussy, Ravel and Faure, and from there to the minimalists of the present day: Philip Glass, Henryk Górecki, Arvo Pärt, John Tavener and others. [To be continued...]