r/classicalmusic

Do you buy *new* physical media?

Every year or so, someone asks: who here is buying CDs? The replies tend to mention the bargain bin at the record store.

But my question is: how many of you all are still purchasing newly manufactured CDs, opera/ballet DVDs, vinyl LPs, etc.? Do you watch for new interpretations of your favorite works, and/or track stars on the rise via their physical releases? And if you do, where do you buy them?

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u/Busy-Neck-1961 — 5 hours ago

Surgery Recovery Playlist

Currently recovering from surgery, which means lots of lying down and icing my face. Any recommendations for my recovery playlist would be much appreciated! Preferably music that’s relatively chill throughout.

Some of my favorite composers include Richard Strauss, Mahler, John Adams, Glass, Bach. But open to anything!

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u/Legal_Tender_0 — 6 hours ago

Do you collect concert programmes?

I really do. To take one home is like touching that concert's memory again. And I also work with a creative team, so a well-designed program is indeed a treasure to keep.

u/Early_Yesterday443 — 5 hours ago

Looking for Strings + Choir Textures

Hello all,

I’m a composer, working on a new piece for a commissioning group for Spring 2027. I’m aiming at 60 min in length, and the instrumentation is Choir, String Orchestra, Piano, and Percussion.

This is a new area for me in terms of colors/textures (I’m quite accustomed to choral writing, but less so strings), and wondered if anyone had some recommendations for pieces using this instrumentation. I’m particularly interested in exploring various textures this ensemble can make, as 60 min of the same might get awfully boring.

Thanks in advanced for your time and thoughts!

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u/Stolidd — 4 hours ago
▲ 9 r/classicalmusic+2 crossposts

La dolcissima effigie-A refined take

I am a USMC vet, tenor & former performer surviving with MSA-C and working through Dysarthria. I love the art of singing and after 15 years I am trying again after a dream I could sing again. For me it is a miracle. For everyone else, I hope you may enjoy.through these posts all I'm trying to do is create a moment of connection between people with a common bond of music.

u/OpErZnGr — 9 hours ago

What’s your Favorite Violin Concerto?

For me my top 5 would be:

Tchaikovsky (mainly because it was the first classical piece I fell in love with.)

Sibelius

Beethoven

Brahms

Weinawski 2

HM: Bruch 1, Paganini 1, Dvorak and Weinawski 1.

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u/arssenalbro101 — 21 hours ago

recordings of brahms requiem

I'm fond of a newer one Masaaki Suzuki/Bach Collegium Japan, I really like the soloist and the balance of everything. But I want to hear others! I find the soloists for me the breaking point, I don't like most of them

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u/niviss — 17 hours ago

How do you get background culture about music and musical history ?

Posting as an amateur cellist who would like to have a better understanding of styles and pieces I play, as I am stating to get to the more expressive part of learning - and also have poor classical culture.

I would like to learn more about music history (I get the 4 main periods but don't know them very well either, or even remember who belongs where), so from that, to biographical stuff or backstory of specific pieces, to discussing composer's style or more narrow periods, to different form of music.

Anything that can help me understand music and have a more structured knowledge of it.

Reading is a struggle for me, so I'd rather take other suggestions but if you think a specific book is a must have, I'll note the title somewhere.

Thanks !

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u/Loikira — 10 hours ago
▲ 70 r/classicalmusic+1 crossposts

I’ve never been in a theater for an orchestra which is the best seat?

Both for audio quality and visibility of the musicians, are the three red ones better? If so which one? Or are the other green ones better?

Maybe it’s not that important but I have no experience in this 😅

u/Ok-Bit5838 — 21 hours ago

Tension between the old/familiar and new/unrecognized music in performances/recordings

So two things are simultaneously true:

  1. When an orchestra decides to program a Beethoven/Mahler/Bruckner/etc. cycle, some people complain about not needing yet another one, about old stuffy music (maybe insert something about dead white men).

  2. Performances and recordings of the above attract more concert goers and listeners than new or rare music, by a long shot.

As a listener, I'm always happy to give new music a shot, which I think should be part of the job of a balanced classical performer. But at the end of the day, classical music is kinda definitionally the music that has retained interest across the centuries. Of course there are shifts in what is appreciated, meaning there is also room to promote music that could end up moving more into the standard rep. I'm personally always a little irked by the dismissiveness of the old classics, though. It's the center of classical music and always will be. So sure, don't check out that new Mahler cycle if you don't want another one. But no need to be snooty about it, either.

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u/Honest_Wheel3842 — 17 hours ago

How come western music never really made much use of microtones even after extensive contact with Indian music in the 20th century?

I find it very strange because there are many western instruments that are capable of using microtones, like the Viola. And singers can do pretty much anything. I'm not just talking about western classical music. I just thought I'd ask on here cuz I figured you guys would be more knowledgeable.

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u/LocksmithMental6910 — 22 hours ago

intense Baroque vocal music recs?

I've been really getting into baroque vocal music by some more niche composers lately and I love just how intense and emotionally charged they are!

Some of my favourites are:

https://youtu.be/g8Ue\_7Tg08c?si=4bKD88tgoWjvOFPY⁠ Hasse's Mea tormenta, properate

https://youtu.be/9Jrw0BuTQjw?si=DFDdJF2A8KxC3tNX⁠ Zelenka's Miserere I

If anyone has recommendations for similar works with the same kind of energy/vibe I'd really appreciate them. Thanks!

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u/SpiteChance89 — 15 hours ago

"Ooops, I did it again..."

Same used record store as this post from 7 months ago, same situation as before... stack of classical records as tall as me near the front of the store, owner didn't want to go to the trouble of sorting them, told me I could have the whole stack for $40 cash just to get them out of his way.

Probably 70+ symphonies and a dozen boxed sets, 25 or so piano-focused albums, 120+ assorted chamber music LPs, maybe 50 thrift store xmas records and oddities.

There are lots of composers here I don't know much about, and I had Claude.ai give me the lowdown on them while I sorted the boxes. Shchedrin, Roussel, Havergal Brian, Rubbra, Arriaga, Balakirev, Nystroem, Valek, Larson, Hovhaness, Schmidt, Lalo... Lots of new stuff to discover and not many things that just duplicate what I already own.

Classical aside, the thing I was most excited about in the haul was actually Vangelis's "Music of COSMOS" on vinyl. (When I'm not hoarding vinyl I'm an astronomy prof who grew up on the Sagan PBS series.)

u/DoctorGluino — 21 hours ago

Music pieces that can exemplify different psychiatric illnesses

I have always been fascinated by the connections between music and emotions. Also I know different composers also have drawn upon their own mental state to create pieces that are phenomenal.

I was hoping for an interesting exercise and would love to hear people’s thoughts on which classical music might best exemplify/represent all the following psychiatric illnesses:

Depression
Psychosis
Bipolar
Anxiety
PTSD
ADHD

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u/Embarrassed-Sea-6078 — 24 hours ago

What's your favorite flute concerto?

Mine's Mozart's 1st one. The 1st Movement in particular always has this very cheerful, optimistic and sentimental vibe to it.

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u/Veraxus113 — 23 hours ago

Dmitri you're a wizard!!! (Shosty drawing 2)

(English isn't my first language I apologize if I make any errors.)

If anyone remembers, I had already painted Shostakovich. I hope you enjoy this drawing, and I know I have a lot to improve on. If you have any suggestions or opinions, please let me know!

I also wanted to ask you: what is your favorite Shostakovich symphony?

u/Jiayi_222 — 1 day ago

Pieces that arose out of despair over WWI

That is a theme that’s been popping up a lot so I want to explore it for a little bit. Name some pieces that arose from a composer in despair about The Great War:

Elgar: Cello Concerto
Vierne: Piano Quintet (for his son; a very dark elegiac work)
Bridge: Cello Sonata
Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin (dedicated to a lot of his friends who died in the War) are my starters

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u/Stunning-Hand6627 — 1 day ago