Classical Music Buffs? Click This!

[frontmanpb101]

i was listening to NPR and they mentioned a guy named "rockmonanov" i probably butchered that spelling, but, i know i've heard the name before and can not for the life of me think of where. can anyone help? i've tried google for the last 30 minutes!

[cymptom]

Hehe Rachmaninov? Check out the second and third piano concertos... they're incredible.

[frontmanpb101]

will do... just as soon as i find the movie that referenced him! haha. i have a feeling it was in a situation (on the movie) where someone is announcing something and they say "and now ______ by rachmaninov!" any ideas? thanks for the correct spelling of the name and the recommendations

[ghostofdavid]

My favorite classical sound of the moment is Vide Cor Meum by Patrick Cassidy. It is on the Hannibal soundtrack as well as the Kingdom of Heaven soundtrack. I know its not Rachmaninov, but thought I would recommend it anyway.

[ioannisds]

will do... just as soon as i find the movie that referenced him! haha. i have a feeling it was in a situation (on the movie) where someone is announcing something and they say "and now ______ by rachmaninov!" any ideas? thanks for the correct spelling of the name and the recommendations

I am a Rachmaninov freak. I have a giant picture of him on my wall, as well as a concert program from one of his recitals (no, I wasn't there). Rachmaninov is also spelled Rachmaninoff, so look for both. Really the latter is more common.

As far as the movie you mentioned, it is in all likelihood the movie "Shine", where his 3rd Piano Concerto purportedly played a role in the mental breakdown of the lead character, because of its technical and musical difficulties. Based on a true story.

Here is a list of his music that I think you will find the most immediately appealing:

Piano Preludes (played by Alexis Weissenberg, as he owns all others) - Op. 3 #2, Op. 23 #s 2, 4, 5, and Op. 32 #s 5, 10, and 13 (MOTHER OF GOD).

His 2nd and 3rd Piano Concertos, as cymptom mentioned

If you like choral music (and really, even if you don't) please, please, please, check out his Vespers Op. 37. I can't think of a more beautiful piece of choral music ever written by anyone. The one sung by the Robert Shaw Festival Singers is a good introduction to the piece, though there are many other recordings you can check out (I think I own like 8 or 9).

From there, if you like what you hear, just start picking up more CDs of pieces you don't know. Rachmaninoff is kind of an oddball, historically speaking, because he was writing music really from the Romantic Era during a time when music was becoming very experimental and flat out wierd. He just couldn't seem to let go of the past, and thank God for that. You can hear the nostalgia in every single bar.

My favorite classical sound of the moment is Vide Cor Meum by Patrick Cassidy. It is on the Hannibal soundtrack as well as the Kingdom of Heaven soundtrack. I know its not Rachmaninov, but thought I would recommend it anyway.

THAT is an awesome piece. As a classical music maniac, I remember hearing it during Hannibal and thinking "how the hell do I not know this?". It brought tears to my eyes. Patrick Cassidy has an album, Immortal Memory, which is really quite beautiful. It features Lisa Gerrard, the woman whose singing is featured during a few scenes in the movie Gladiator. Worth checking out.

[Erica]

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory