Posted on 12/05/2001 7:02:28 PM PST by Pharmboy
Ask the question this way: If you were stranded on a desert island with a CD player and a good sound system, what ten pieces would you take with you that were written before the 20th Century?
My list:
1) Beethoven's Appassionata sonata for piano
2) Bach's Partita Number 2 for solo violin
3) Mozart's Symphony Number 41
4) Wagner's Overture to Tristan und Isolde
5) Beethoven's String Quartet Opus 131
6) Chopin's Ballade Number 4
7) Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (IMO the only worthwhile thing he ever wrote)
8) Schubert's Impromptus (all of them)
9) Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata
and 10) Bach's Mass in B Minor
I could skip #6, but the rest of your list is outstanding.
Tallis: Spem in Alium
Berlioz: Requiem, op. 5
Purcell: The Funeral Music for Queen Mary
Tchaikovsky: The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom
Bruckner: Ninth Symphony
Mascagni: The "Hymn to the Sun" from Iris
Satie: Gnossiennes
Schönberg: Verklärte Nacht
Handel: Messiah
PDQ Bach: The Art of the Ground Round, S. $1.19/lb
I was never a huge fan either...until I heard his first two string quartets...and learned one of his rhapsodies for the piano. I highly recommend the string quartets.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.