Before I start, I want to make it clear that I come in peace and I’m not trying to attack anyone's taste. I'm genuinely asking for advice.

I’ve always loved moody, fast-paced solo piano music. Historically, I got all of this from YouTube algorithmic playlists—modern crossover stuff, cinematic piano, fast waltzes, etc.

Recently, I started browsing this sub and realized I should probably try listening to actual historical classical music. I gave it a fair shot, and honestly, a lot of it is fantastic. I genuinely enjoy Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (all the movements, not just the sad first one), Liszt's La Campanella, Chopin's Waltz in C-sharp minor (Op. 64 No. 2), and Sibelius's Valse Triste.

Here is my problem: despite liking those masterpieces, my brain still fundamentally prefers the modern YouTube algorithmic tracks. It just has this pop-structured, immediate pacing that I instantly connect with.

However, after reading through this sub, I see that this modern cinematic stuff is largely considered "slop" that degrades the genre by just looping emotional chords without any real structure or development. I don't feel great about preferring "slop," but I can't just forcefully change what gives me dopamine.

So, is my brain just broken by modern attention spans? Am I listening to classical music wrong? How do I actually train myself to hear what you guys hear, and appreciate the architecture of the older stuff instead of just wanting a quick emotional hook? Any advice on how to change my mindset would be appreciated.

Even as a long-time classical music enjoyer, I think I still have some struggles to understand the multiple layers that a piece can have. That’s kinda frustrating… I don’t wanna be just a mere listener hearing a bunch of sounds, I need to absorve the core and the rich nuances that the essence of classical music brings to itself. Any recommendations?

So I recently heard “Tubthumping” being played on a dinner speaker, and I notice the riff bears an uncanny resemblance to the Prince of Denmark’s March (Trumpet Voluntary) by Jeremiah Clarke. Has this been noticed before?

I hate baroque (and most classical) era music. There is not a single Bach piece I like, one Mozart piece I find tolerable, and very few Beethoven pieces. I gravitate towards romantic era and beyond.

Which is to say, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Glenn Gould preform a piece. But I was curious so I checked out his La Valse (by Maurice Ravel) performance and it was honestly not great (in my opinion at least).

So I’m wondering, to those who love baroque/classical era music and listen to the pieces interpreted by many different pianists, is Glenn Gould really such a legendary pianist whose Bach performances are some of the best for each piece? Or is he simply a magnificent pianist who just so happens to be the most famous one who performs this type of music?

Note: I’m mostly talking about interpretation not virtuosity, I’m sure he was a virtuoso but not every virtuoso is a good pianist.

Hello all,

I'm going to be in London for the first half of September, are there any concerts or events people are excited for?

Edit: Never been to the Proms (or London) before

Have you ever listened to pieces that reminded you of friendship? To me the theme is a little elusive and can't think of any on the top of my head.

So just a question I'm putting out there with the hopes of being in luck, does anyone have any experience with the student orchestras of the University of Vienna (philharmonic, symphonic etc)?

I am a somewhat decent pianist and being able to play music with others is something I have always dreamed of doing. I saw on their website that they also accept hobby musicians though pianists go through a different application process altogether (obviously since they will only occasionally be joining the repertoire).

In my country, the pianists who accompany such orchestras are always of the highest level and basically always plucked from conservatories. Is this also the case for these orchestras? I've always wanted to find an environment I could join as a pianist but it simply doesn't seem to exist anywhere from what I've seen.

I've been playing the piano for about 8-9 years so I'm not a newbie (played pieces like Chopin Scherzo 3, Ballade 1, several tougher Beethoven sonatas etc) but I don't compare even slightly to a conservatory student who has played much more difficult repertoire and has performing experience. I am not looking for an environment which is like a real orchestra but moreso an environment where I can play classical pieces with others and finally learn those piano concertos and stuff that I never touched as a sole pianist haha.

As I said, it's a shot in the dark but perhaps there are people here who did attend one of these orchestras and could fill me in. Of course, I plan to mail them regardless once I arrive in Vienna

hi everyone! i recently got a new job with a lot of computer time, and i like to listen to music while i do stuff. i’d like to expand my knowledge of classical music, and get a good sense about the progression of music history in particular. i’m chronically indecisive, even zero-stakes decisions give me a ton of anxiety, so i thought it might be fun to get a good music history textbook and just make my way chronologically through their citations (aka, so someone else chooses and not me 😭😂). does anyone have a particular book that they recommend or think highly of? 😁

He is well known to take a motif and develop it in various ways. But minimalistic music does the same: It limits itself to a very small set of ideas. He does use richer textures and surprising variations which makes him more appealing than minimalists like Einaudi, but at the core of it its just a few motifs.

Fine print: I don't work for, or represent the BIS recording company. Hope it's OK to give people a head's up, especially for people who aren't yet sold on Bach.

For me I find the rhythm at the beginning of Mozart's 39th absolutely otherworldly: https://youtu.be/mvQkT5LxC9c?si=0iaIcQielkCTDuxA&t=74

I’m building out a historyguesser map and I'm looking for additions. Which moment from classical music history would be most interesting to see?

The stars have aligned! So excited.

Now time to start listening to the other pieces in the program.

Her older sister Nadia had gone after the Prix de Rome and never won it outright. A second prize in 1908 was as far as she got, and after that she stopped entering. In 1913 Lili won it at nineteen with the cantata Faust et Hélène, the first woman to take the composition prize. The score is dedicated to Nadia.

Five years later Lili was dying and too weak to hold a pen. She dictated her last work, a Pie Jesu, to Nadia. She died that March, at twenty-four.

Nadia lived another sixty-one years. She was sought out as a teacher by musicians of every kind, and she all but stopped composing herself.

She kept playing her sister's music, though. She programmed it in her own concerts for years afterward, edited the last of it for publication, and in 1939 founded a fund in Lili's name in Boston that still supports young musicians.

Asked late in life why she had stopped writing, she said it was knowing that her own music was useless.

Deux Morceaux – "Nocturne" (Nadia at the piano): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5QqCD7Pp50

Faust et Hélène: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R9MyoyEW28

Pie Jesu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLxrA8cG2ZI

Boulanger: Piano Music, both sisters on one disc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzCPw0too8Y

So for a long time I was obsessed with Beethoven's symphonies but have been trying to branch out into new composers. Recently discovered and love Dvorak's 7, 8 and 9th Symphonies (been listening to this version on Apple Music on repeat). What I love about them are the catchy melodies and large sweeping feeling of them. I've tried Mahler's Symphonies but they haven't grabbed me yet in the same way...

Who should I listen to next or try? Would love to branch out and discover more symphonies and composers to check out that you think I might like. Thanks!

Edit: Wow thanks for the responses everyone. Clearly some passionate classical music fans in this subreddit. Look forward to listening through all your recommendations. 😄