The intelligent truckdriver’s classical music starter pack–Cresswell edition [now with playlist!]

 

Last week I blogged on New York violinist Philippe Quint, who hit the streets to ask folk how come you’re not listening to classical music?
    In response, a commenter suggested “a top ten list for beginners.”
    Great idea! I thought. Even better idea: why not write one myself, and get well-known classical music enthusiast Lindsay Perigo to write another—the idea being that we prepare a top-ten list for the person I like to think I write for: a fellow I like to call The Intelligent Truckdriver.
    I posted Lindsay’s yesterday.
    So here’s my own laundry list of reasons to give classical music a try: because you deserve something better than rage, pain, anger and hurt—because classical music can touch you in places that rock, jazz, hip hop and even blues can’t,and provide you with real emotional fuel.
    And here’s my own list of classics to seduce The Intelligent Truckdriver – ten or more moods of classical music (you see what I did there?), starting with pieces by Wagner and Beethoven (because if rock music and beats are your thing, then Beethoven is the ultimate writer of riffs) and the riffs they pinched for Jaws and for every war film and video war game . . .

[NB: links are to YouTube vids, which is easy but not always ideal. Do let me know if any links pack up. And try if you can, to listen on something decent, and with a better than decent pair of speakers – and no, Virginia, what came in the same box as your laptop probably isn’t decent enough.]

Riffs

• Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 3 – by Richard Wagner, from his opera Lohengrin
• Beethoven’s 9th Symphony: Scherzo – by Ludwig Van Beethoven
• Beethoven’s 7th Symphony: Allegro - by Ludwig Van Beethoven
• Symphony №9, "From The New World" - IV - Allegro Con Fuoco – by Antonin Dvořák
• ‘Mars: Bringer of War’ – by Gustav Holst, from The Planets Suite

Exaltation & Intensity

• Piano Concerto No. 1 (opening) – by Pieter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• Piano Concerto No. 2, 3rd movement – by Sergei Rachmaninov
• Violin Concerto – by Max Bruch
• ‘Nessun Dorma’ – by Giacomo Puccini, from hisopera Turandot

Reflection & Resolve

• ‘Nimrod Variation’ – by Edward Elgar, from the Enigma Variations
• 'E Lecevan le Stelle' – by Giacomo Puccini, from Tosca
• St Francis Walking on the Water – by Franz Liszt

Meditation

• ‘Forest Murmurs’ – by Richard Wagner, from Siegfried
• ‘Lark Ascending’ – by Ralph Vaughan-Williams
• ‘Meditation’ – by Jules Massenet, from Thais
• 5th Symphony: Adagietto – Gustav Mahler
• Four Last Songs – by Richard Strauss

Tragedy & Turmoil

• Vesti La Giubba – by Ruggero Leoncavallo, from I Pagliacci
• Siegfried’s Funeral March (excerpt) – by Richard Wagner, from Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)
• Requiem (excerpts), K 626 – by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• 'Night Train To Moscow': "6th Symphony" & "Manfred Symphony" excerpts – by Pieter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, taken from Ken Russell’s film The Music Lovers

Grief

• Adagio in G minor – by Albinoni
• Adagio for Strings – by Samuel Barber

Spiritual!

• Pilgrim’s Chorus – by Richard Wagner, from Tannhauser
• 9th Symphony, 4th movement (excerpt: Ode to Joy) – by Ludwig Van Beethoven
• Finale, from Parsifal – by Richard Wagner, from Parsifal

Work Songs

• Anvil Chorus – by Giuseppe Verdi, from Il Trovatore
• Forging Song – by Richard Wagner, from Siegfried

Drinking

• Drink, Drink, Drink! – from The Student Prince
• Drinking Song – from The Vagabond King
• Innaffia l'ugola! Trinca, tracanna! – by Giuseppe Verdi, from Otello
• ‘All I want is more champagne!’ – by Johan Strauss, from Die Fliedermaus

Tender

• Pearl Fisher’s duet, ‘Au fond du temple saint’ – by Georges Bizet, from The Pearl Fishers
• Moonlight Sonata – by Ludwig Van Beethoven
• Emperor Concerto, 2nd movement – by Ludwig Van Beethoven

Orgies & Orgasms

• Bacchanale/Venusberg – by Richard Wagner, from Tannhauser
• Dance of the Seven Veils – by Richard Strauss, from Salome
• ‘Queen of the Night’ – by Mozart, from The Magic Flute
• Liebestod – by Richard Wagner, from Tristan and Isolde

NB: Spotify Playlist coming soon . . . and here it is!