classical music is probably more familiar than we might at first imagine. indeed, nowadays it is all around us, whether it be in restaurants, supermarkets, lifts, for advertising or as theme and incidental music on television. a great deal of film music either directly uses or draws from the classical tradition ; a good example of the former might be 2001 : space odyssey, and of the latter, the many scores john williams has composed in recent years for such blockbusters as the star wars and indiana jones trilogies.
in the vast and wide-ranging world of classical music there is truly something there for everyone - pieces which once discovered represent the start of an exciting and irresistible journey which will provide a lifetimes listening pleasure. for example, those who are particularly excited by hearing instrumentalists working at full stretch will thrill to the likes of liszt and paganini, or if something a little more reserved and self-contained is required, the chamber music of haydn or mozart would be a good starting point. if a full symphony orchestra in overdrive is more to your taste then tchaikovsky or richard strauss could well fit the bill, whereas those who have already warmed to vivaldis four seasons might well try the music of some of the great italians contemporaries such as handel, johann sebastian bach or domenico scarlatti. whatever your tastes may be, there has never been a better time to start building a classical music collection on cd.
any attempt to define what is meant literally by the term classical music is fraught with difficulty. how does one encapsulate in just a few words a musical tradition which encompasses such infinite varieties of style and expression, from the monastic intonings of gregorian chant to the laid-back jazz inflections of gershwins rhapsody in blue, from the elegant poise of mozarts eine kleine nachtmusik to the despairing, heightened emotionalism of tchaikovskys pathetique symphony ? one is treading on very dangerous ground indeed if one pre-supposes that it is simply superior to other musical types such as popular, jazz, rock and the like, let alone the music of other cultures.
in general popular music may be as clear in expression as the longer examples of classical music. one important difference, however, lies in the logical connection that exists in classical music between the beginning and end, with the latter a logical extension and development of the former. popular music, on the other hand, tends to present its material without development, the music ending when interest is exhausted.
sadly, whilst classical music is socially undivisive in itself, it has unfortunately become associated in most peoples minds with the intellectual elite. even now, and with certain honourable exceptions, the attending of a live concert can be an intimidating ( not to say costly ) experience for the uninitiated, especially in that most jealously guarded of establishments, the opera house. the wonderful thing about the technological age in which we live, and particularly the advent of the compact disc, is that we can bypass all irrelevant social and intellectual pretence, and enjoy in the comfort of our own home ( often at far less biaya ) some of the finest music ever composed.
in the vast and wide-ranging world of classical music there is truly something there for everyone - pieces which once discovered represent the start of an exciting and irresistible journey which will provide a lifetimes listening pleasure. for example, those who are particularly excited by hearing instrumentalists working at full stretch will thrill to the likes of liszt and paganini, or if something a little more reserved and self-contained is required, the chamber music of haydn or mozart would be a good starting point. if a full symphony orchestra in overdrive is more to your taste then tchaikovsky or richard strauss could well fit the bill, whereas those who have already warmed to vivaldis four seasons might well try the music of some of the great italians contemporaries such as handel, johann sebastian bach or domenico scarlatti. whatever your tastes may be, there has never been a better time to start building a classical music collection on cd.
any attempt to define what is meant literally by the term classical music is fraught with difficulty. how does one encapsulate in just a few words a musical tradition which encompasses such infinite varieties of style and expression, from the monastic intonings of gregorian chant to the laid-back jazz inflections of gershwins rhapsody in blue, from the elegant poise of mozarts eine kleine nachtmusik to the despairing, heightened emotionalism of tchaikovskys pathetique symphony ? one is treading on very dangerous ground indeed if one pre-supposes that it is simply superior to other musical types such as popular, jazz, rock and the like, let alone the music of other cultures.
in general popular music may be as clear in expression as the longer examples of classical music. one important difference, however, lies in the logical connection that exists in classical music between the beginning and end, with the latter a logical extension and development of the former. popular music, on the other hand, tends to present its material without development, the music ending when interest is exhausted.
sadly, whilst classical music is socially undivisive in itself, it has unfortunately become associated in most peoples minds with the intellectual elite. even now, and with certain honourable exceptions, the attending of a live concert can be an intimidating ( not to say costly ) experience for the uninitiated, especially in that most jealously guarded of establishments, the opera house. the wonderful thing about the technological age in which we live, and particularly the advent of the compact disc, is that we can bypass all irrelevant social and intellectual pretence, and enjoy in the comfort of our own home ( often at far less biaya ) some of the finest music ever composed.
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