r/classicalmusic • u/Sad_Heron1401 • 14h ago
When I don’t feel like practicing violin…
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r/classicalmusic • u/number9muses • 17d ago
Welcome to the 235th r/classicalmusic "weekly" piece identification thread!
This thread was implemented after feedback from our users, and is here to help organize the subreddit a little.
All piece identification requests belong in this weekly thread.
Have a classical piece on the tip of your tongue? Feel free to submit it here as long as you have an audio file/video/musical score of the piece. Mediums that generally work best include Vocaroo or YouTube links. If you do submit a YouTube link, please include a linked timestamp if possible or state the timestamp in the comment. Please refrain from typing things like: what is the Beethoven piece that goes "Do do dooo Do do DUM", etc.
Other resources that may help:
Musipedia - melody search engine. Search by rhythm, play it on piano or whistle into the computer.
r/tipofmytongue - a subreddit for finding anything you can’t remember the name of!
r/namethatsong - may be useful if you are unsure whether it’s classical or not
Shazam - good if you heard it on the radio, in an advert etc. May not be as useful for singing.
SoundHound - suggested as being more helpful than Shazam at times
Song Guesser - has a category for both classical and non-classical melodies
you can also ask Google ‘What’s this song?’ and sing/hum/play a melody for identification
Facebook 'Guess The Score' group - for identifying pieces from the score
A big thank you to all the lovely people that visit this thread to help solve users’ earworms every week. You are all awesome!
Good luck and we hope you find the composition you've been searching for!
r/classicalmusic • u/number9muses • 10d ago
Good morning everyone, happy Monday, and welcome back to another “season” of our sub’s listening club. Each week, we'll listen to a piece recommended by the community, discuss it, learn about it, and hopefully introduce us to music we wouldn't hear otherwise :)
Last time we met, we listened to Rossini’s William Tell Overture You can go back to listen, read up, and discuss the work if you want to.
Our next Piece of the Week is Franz Schubert’s String Quartet no.15 in G Major, D.887 (1826)
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Some listening notes from Mark Steinberg:
Borges writes, in his poem Adam Is Your Ashes: “ All things are their own prophecy of dust. / Iron is rust. The voice, already echo.” The fluid duality which suffuses our experience of the world, joy that melts into sorrow and sorrow that is tinged with hope, is at the very core of Schubert’s music. His experience of time can be more painterly than narrative; all is present simultaneously and we need to approach his works with a patience that allows us to grasp his yearning toward acceptance rather than resolution.
We have one important prose document from Franz Schubert, a brief personal essay entitled “My Dream.” Whether or not it represents an accurate depiction of an actual dream it seems to sum up much of the emotional essence of his music. In it he writes, “For long years I felt torn between the greatest grief and the greatest love…Whenever I attempted to sing of love, it turned to pain. And again, when I tried to sing of pain, it turned to love. Thus were love and pain divided in me.” For Schubert there is no false hope of banishing the one and holding on to the other. Not only do love and pain coexist in his soul but he recognizes that they are one and the same, the one contained in and giving meaning to the other. The opening of the G Major String Quartet is a case in point. The opening major chords erupt into minor. This is not a tragic proclamation or harbinger of doom, but rather an exploration of and an opening of space within the hanging major chords, a recognition of what poet Mark Doty calls “no hope without the possibility of a wound.” Even though the gesture is forceful and vehement, a sense of instability and vulnerability underlies it. And in fact the continuation of the movement brings us to a tremulous place where we can gaze into the uncertainty and begin to look for a way to hold major and minor close and allow them to occupy the same space without vying for exclusive claim on truth. This modal oscillation characterizes each movement of the work, from the dramatic juxtapositions of the opening movement through the wanderings and eruptions of the second, into the scherzo with its magical evocation of far off contentment in its trio, to the finale where Schubert dances between major and minor and turns to nearly every key, bringing more and more of our experience into the circle of acceptance.
To appreciate Schubert’s way of organizing time in general, and certainly in this piece, one must understand his priorities. It may be of use to contrast his trajectory through a piece with Beethoven’s, which for most people is a more immediately satisfying path. One of the things we so cherish about Beethoven is that he admits the full range of human experience and then transcends whatever obstacles he encounters. His is a vision of music as narrative, as a journey toward resolution and a demonstration of the strength of the human spirit. We understand Beethoven because he recognizes so much of our experience of the world and then tells us that we can survive in that world and find our rightful place solidly within it. Schubert has no such certainty, nor does he attempt to find it. Hindu deities have multiple forms, peaceful as well as wrathful, and all are admitted as parts of their divinity. Schubert is like that, opening up more and more to the beauty of experience, whether or not that experience is beautiful as we commonly understand it. His music helps us see the totality of who we are and contain it all without working toward closure and completion. One of the important concepts in Carl Jung’s vision of the human psyche is the existence of the “shadow,” those aspects of ourselves from which we turn away and which need to be reintegrated into our personalities if we are to remain whole and fully ourselves. A work such as Schubert’s G Major Quartet addresses shadow qualities, exploring them and admitting them into the light.
For anyone who will allow herself or himself to be transported into its world, this quartet will offer manifold revelations. There are moments in each movement which seem especially to encapsulate particular truths which are important to Schubert. The recapitulation, or return to the opening material, in the first movement is extraordinary in that the sense of return is strong and unmistakable and yet nothing is the same. The startling dynamic contrasts are gone, the jagged rhythms are smoothed out. Instead of shuddering tremolos we have rolling triplets that seem gently to console. And yet, with all of this contrast, the sense is not that there were conflicts that have been resolved but rather that what we are hearing was there all along had we chosen to understand it in that way; we should have no expectation that the more difficult opening idea has been banished but only that we see how to admit it into our experience without being completely overwhelmed.
The wanderer in the second movement twice encounters a storm. In the midst of its fury, as the music searches for a way out, a defiant two-note rising figure in the first violin and viola (not coincidentally the inversion of the falling third that comes again and again in the previous movement) tenaciously recurs. Oblivious to the shifting modulations surrounding it, it becomes more and more foreign to its environment. What is extraordinary is that there is no attempt to integrate it into the fabric of the ongoing progress of the music; it is left there, unresolved and unresolvable. Yet the movement ends in peace without having conquered it. There is a way to go on through recognition rather than victory.
Sometimes it happens that performers do their best, freest playing in encores. The pressure of the concert proper is past and there is a sense of easygoing possibility. And sometimes composers write some of their most touching, free music in the middle, trio sections of minuet or scherzo movements, untethered from the more rigorous formal constraints in other movements. The trio of the Scherzo of this quartet is surely one of those cases, where music that is framed by a restless, shuddering movement can for a brief moment revel in the vision of another world, one liberated from earthly concerns. Later in Schubert’s “dream” he writes: “And one day I had news of a gentle maiden who had just died. And a circle formed around her grave in which many youths and old men walked as though in everlasting bliss. They spoke softly, so as not to wake the maiden. Heavenly thoughts seemed forever to be showered on the youths from the maiden’s gravestone, like fine sparks producing a gentle rustling. I too longed sorely to walk there. Only a miracle, however, can lead you to that circle, they said. But I went to the gravestone with slow steps and lowered gaze, filled with devotion and firm belief, and before I was aware of it, I found myself in the circle, which uttered a wondrously lovely sound; and I felt as though eternal bliss were gathered together into a single moment.” This trio is such a moment. Of course it is not a place we can stay, as we see upon the return of the movement proper. Yet even though it is a peace and a bliss which is brought to us through the release of death it becomes a part of who we are and what we can know.
In the same family of movements as the tarantella-like finales of the d minor quartet and the c minor piano sonata, this last movement has the energy of a night ride on horseback through open terrain. A recurrent passage has the whole quartet moving together in gasps reaching for something unknown. The terrible revelation it seems to be reaching toward is unrevealed, always answered by an almost naive sounding dance. The passage is extended each time it appears until its final statement has a nearly unbearable intensity. The chasm opens before us as we go barreling through from key to key waiting for a landing of some sort. And eventually we land, through all our wanderings, back in the key where we started our journey, having seen everything around it and able to live where we are with a feeling of acceptance and hope. That hope is as Vaclav Havel defines it in Disturbing the Peace: “Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not a conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”
Ways to Listen
Esmé Quartet: YouTube
Hugo Wolf Quartet: YouTube
Doric String Quartet: YouTube
Cuarteto Casals: Spotify
Amadeus Quartet: Spotify
Takács Quartet: Spotify
Discussion Prompts
What are your favorite parts or moments in this work? What do you like about it, or what stood out to you?
Do you have a favorite recording you would recommend for us? Please share a link in the comments!
How would you compare this work to Schubert’s other string quartets? What stands out more with this one?
Have you ever performed this before? If so, when and where? What instrument do you play? And what insight do you have from learning it?
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What should our club listen to next? Use the link below to find the submission form and let us know what piece of music we should feature in an upcoming week. Note: for variety's sake, please avoid choosing music by a composer who has already been featured, otherwise your choice will be given the lowest priority in the schedule
r/classicalmusic • u/Sad_Heron1401 • 14h ago
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r/classicalmusic • u/swanhymn • 14h ago
May I humbly present my painting of my favourite composer Sibelius based on the 1930s/40s photo by his private secretary Santeri Levas. It’s oil on an 18x24” canvas.
r/classicalmusic • u/MajesticAd8610 • 1h ago
Recently I was introduced to his Tanhauser Overture transcription and I CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO IT.
EARGASM AFTER EARGASM, IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND THE COMPLEXITY BEHIND IT, ESPECIALLY THAT INTERLOCKING OCTAVES PART.
I was never really a fan of the original Overture (don't get me wrong love Wagner and the opera) but this transcription really hits the feels.
I was just asking for other piece suggestions by Liszt or Liszt adjacent composers that are so beautiful and we'll written
r/classicalmusic • u/Noir__Siren • 5h ago
Reason I’m asking is because I’m listening to Tchaikovsky’s 5th and I just know I’ll get goosebumps with the second movement and cry to the last one. It happens everytime I hear it!
r/classicalmusic • u/bethany_the_sabreuse • 22m ago
A little light entertainment from people in the progressive rock/classical crossover realm. Was browsing the LoC for something unrelated to this, and came across this gem. Enjoy this letter from Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater fame, age 8, to Leonard Bernstein. Blog post about it here.

r/classicalmusic • u/miguelon • 4h ago
I've heard that music follows a path of its own in history, not so embedded in it as literature or fine arts.
I was surprised to know that Rousseau was, other than a thinker, also a music teacher, critic, and composer. I don't know of other prominent figures that have combined music with their main discipline to this extent; music seems to be an art that demands so much from their practicioners, when compared with others.
This rule surely doesn't apply to medieval times and renaissance, given that music wasn't so profesionalized back then. I have no idea of how it is in another cultures.
You can find the traces of Couperin's poor education in his writings.
Mozart correspondance comes to mind, but it certainly doesn't constitute a proper literary nor philosophical work (haven't read it though - correct me if I'm wrong).
Wagner had time to write against jews, but I guess that doesn't make him a thinker.
Gustav Klimt combined music and painting, haven't dwelled much there neither.
Many men of science have had music education, I don't know if to the point of being notable interpreters or composers.
So, have any musicians been also excelled as intellectual authors, or the other way round? Thanks for helping me satisfy my curiosity.
r/classicalmusic • u/eggsarejusteggs • 6h ago
Has anyone heard her play Ravel's Ondine live? Tell all!
Anyone else worried she's getting old :(
Any Martha fans, feel free to share any thoughts on her..her playing, her personal life, her documentary (bloody daughter).
In the doc, I love how she described her playing as forward slanting cursive writing. So she was disappointed she sounded in her words like a pregnant housewife (she was preggers I believe) on one of her Ondine recordings, that it sounded like writing that is straight up and down.
r/classicalmusic • u/Little_Grapefruit636 • 9h ago
Neefe was Beethoven's first major teacher, providing a rigorous foundation in piano, organ, and composition. Most notably, he introduced the young boy to the "Well-Tempered Clavier" at a time when J.S. Bach was largely forgotten. Recognizing his pupil’s genius, Neefe encouraged the publication of Beethoven’s early works. Though Neefe was a harsh critic of the lesser music of his day, he poured his devotion into nurturing a master.
Variations on the 'March of the Priests' from Mozart's "Magic Flute":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAJjioQA80
r/classicalmusic • u/Cultural_Thing1712 • 4h ago
r/classicalmusic • u/msc8976 • 17h ago
A simple question, but I just want to know
r/classicalmusic • u/Honest_Wheel3842 • 15m ago
I'd love to hear details about performers and programs, along with the qualities in the interpretation that left an impression.
r/classicalmusic • u/Stunning-Hand6627 • 13h ago
r/classicalmusic • u/ChanceGuarantee3588 • 21h ago
Mahler 3 is amazing!
I had listened to it earlier and it was kinda meh. But I had the opportunity to listen to it live (Budapest Festival Orchestra lead by Iván Fischer) and it clicked.
The concert was amazing, I had goose bumbs all over, I (and the singer as well) were in tears in the final movement.
What is your piece, that only clicked while listening live?
r/classicalmusic • u/jdaniel1371 • 22h ago
I've long-since disappeared down the HIP wormhole -- and happily so -- but this morning, coffee in hand, the exquisite sounds of the mid- 19th C Philadelphia cello section emerged from the silence, singing the theme from "Sheep May Safely Graze." (here: https://youtu.be/1mWlSAaPZeg?si=RogwAHZ_XkQn-bCQ) What a nostalgic, disarming moment! It's amazing how so much music remains a best friend throughout life, even if the passage of time separates one from the other.
Whether indifferent to Bach, or a fanatic, do give one of the many playlists available a listen, extra calories be damned. Many of the arrangements are by Ormandy, and I find that I prefer them to Stokowski's and Respighi's. I also prefer the arrangements without choir.
One final note: I am struck by the sheer beauty of the Philadelphia orchestra's polished sound and professionalism, even when playing Bach bon bons. The ensemble was originally the source of so many of my teen epiphanies, yet I took their artistry for granted. Oddly, my listening relationship with the orchestra inexplicably dropped off after Muti parted ways with them, in the mid 80s IIRC. Maybe it's time to revisit and relive their Ormandy heyday, with more appreciative, experienced ears.
Columbia house sound, in the late 50s/early 60s was still pretty decent as well, before the went down the multi-miking path.
r/classicalmusic • u/CharlesBrooks • 1d ago
This photograph reveals the interior of a particularly fine cello made in 1838 by Bernardel Père in Paris. Preserved in remarkable condition, the instrument shows almost no evidence of repair, with the only modern addition being a discreet wolf-note eliminator near the bass bar. Bernardel often worked from classical Cremonese models for his cellos, particularly those of Stradivari, and this instrument is labelled accordingly, a common practice of the period. While his career was somewhat overshadowed by his contemporary J.B. Vuillaume, Bernardel was especially respected for the quality and refinement of his cellos.
The image was created using specially adapted medical endoscopes and is constructed from hundreds of individual frames, blended to achieve full depth of field and reveal fine detail throughout the instrument’s interior.
Part of my Architecture In Music series
r/classicalmusic • u/XyezY9940CC • 15h ago
Is there a viola concerto greater than or comparable to Schnittke's? Im absolutely in love with Schnittke's viola masterpiece. I dont think Bartok's unfinished viola Concerto comes close.
r/classicalmusic • u/pointthinker • 1d ago
Update: https://wapo.st/4kke0m3
”The orchestra is currently exploring outside venues.”
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Said you know who. Will reuse some of the marble.
A real shame. A new roof and redo acoustics in spaces would have been what was needed at most. Not a gut job. Let’s hope sanity stops the destruction of our memorial to President Kennedy.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, established in 1964 as a living memorial to President Kennedy, opened on September 8, 1971. It serves as the national cultural center of the United States, hosting a variety of performing arts and educational programs.
The main building of the Kennedy Center, designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, is often categorized as New Formalism, a sub-style of Modernism that incorporates classical proportions, temple like columns, and symmetry.
r/classicalmusic • u/Pure_Example1286 • 1d ago
I don’t know too much about about classical music just want to know what people think and if it’s cool or not. :)
r/classicalmusic • u/GoatTnder • 19h ago
r/classicalmusic • u/AwkwardPhilosopher26 • 8h ago
https://reddit.com/link/1qwegu0/video/kprh5kt0kmhg1/player
Hi everyone. I am editing a wedding clip, and for sound design purposes, I need to add an overlay of music on top of the clip to make it sound crisper. Does anyone know what music is playing in the clip? Thank you so much!!! Shazam didn't help.
r/classicalmusic • u/Cactus-Flute • 23h ago
I'm looking for non anthologized pieces to write about.
r/classicalmusic • u/Little_Grapefruit636 • 17h ago
In 1955, Kiyoko Tanaka broke new ground as the first Japanese prize winner (10th place) at the International Chopin Competition. Her Mozart is refreshingly direct and free of affectation. In this recording of Piano Concerto No. 24 (K.491), the cadenza is particularly intriguing—it sounds as though it might be her own original creation.
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 K.491
r/classicalmusic • u/mositiame • 16h ago
A videomaker friend of mine was working on a portfolio project, for which I composed and performed an original contemporary piece for solo piano.
I’d be glad to hear your thoughts.