Various Ways to Enjoy Classical Music: Focusing on Short Pieces
While I'm introducing some casual ways to listen, I'd like to suggest another relaxed way to enjoy classical music. (^^♪
That is to avoid the long, difficult-to-remember, and potentially tedious major works, and instead listen only to short, easy-to-enjoy pieces, much like pop music.
For example,
"Für Elise"
"The Maiden's Prayer"
"The Maiden's Prayer, Op. 4 (Guitar Version)"
Kinderszenen: "Träumerei"
Kinderszenen: "Träumerei (Flute, Gaubert Version)"
"Turkish March"
Can you guess what I mean if I list these titles?
No, even for those who don't recognize them, once you hear the melody, you will definitely say,
"I've heard that before!"
These are short pieces from various genres that are likely to elicit that reaction.
Recently, the music world seems to be leaning more towards major works, doesn't it?
I feel that fewer people are interested in such short pieces, but in the past, most classical music fans started by listening to such short pieces and eventually grew to appreciate major works like symphonies and concertos.
This is because, in the old days, records were still in the SP era (they would break if you dropped them).
There was a historical background where short pieces that fit conveniently were preferred because each side could only hold about five minutes of music.
As we moved into the era of LPs and CDs, major works that had been neglected began to receive attention. Consequently, these short pieces were gradually forgotten, and they have become scarce in catalogs, leading to the present day. However, if you look carefully, there are still quite a few recordings sleeping everywhere.
If you really try to collect them, you should find that so many pieces emerge that they form a genre of their own.
Wouldn't it be fun to gather them and give them a listen?
The charm of short pieces is, above all, their accessible melodies.
In the case of vocal music, there are many strophic songs that repeat the same melody for each verse, so it is not very difficult to memorize and hum them. Instrumental pieces, which have various moods ranging from bright to dark, also capture the heart first and foremost with their distinctive and beautiful melodies.
And because they are short, I think it is also nice and easy that you are not required to listen to them analytically, thinking about form or history.
At most, it is fine if you just remember the title of the piece and the composer.
Or, I think it is enough if you just know what instrument is being played.
Far from getting bored, you might even find yourself wanting more in some cases.
But that ease and fun, similar to pop music, is what makes them so appealing (^^♪
If you look at an overview of what kind of pieces are included in general, there are piano miniatures such as the aforementioned "Für Elise".
They are wide-ranging and diverse, from harpsichord pieces by Bach and Handel to those included in suites from the Classical and Romantic eras.
The ways they are enjoyed are also diverse.
Here is what the specific repertoire looks like.
■ Collection of Nostalgic Orchestral Masterpieces
"Light Cavalry" Overture (Suppé)
Over the Waves (Rosas)
Waves of the Danube (Ivanovici)
Serenade (Drigo)
Serenade (Heykens)
Suite "Peer Gynt" - Morning (Grieg)
Opera "Jewels of the Madonna" Intermezzo (Wolf-Ferrari)
Golden Wedding (Marie)
Procession of the Sardar (Ippolitov-Ivanov)
Beer Barrel Polka (Vejvoda)
In a Persian Market (Ketèlbey)
"Poet and Peasant" Overture (Suppé)
Turkish March (Beethoven)
Opera "Cavalleria Rusticana" Intermezzo (Mascagni)
The Skaters' Waltz (Waldteufel)
Radetzky March (J. Strauss I)
■ Collection of Eternal Piano Masterpieces
Moments Musicaux No. 3 (Schubert)
Clair de Lune (Debussy)
Liebestraum No. 3 (Liszt)
Turkish March (Mozart)
Sonatina in C Major - 1st Movement (Mozart)
Minute Waltz (Chopin)
Raindrop Prelude (Chopin)
The Maiden's Prayer (Badarzewska)
Revolutionary Etude (Chopin)
Tristesse (Chopin)
Spring Song (Mendelssohn)
Military March (Schubert)
Menuet in G Major (Paderewski)
Waltz in A-flat Major (Brahms)
Träumerei (Schumann)
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (Debussy)
Arabesque No. 1 (Debussy)
Fantaisie-Impromptu (Chopin)
"Moonlight Sonata" - 1st Movement (Beethoven)
La Campanella (Liszt)
■ Collection of Beautiful Violin Masterpieces
Méditation from Thaïs (Massenet)
Humoresque (Dvořák)
Csárdás (Monti)
Chinese Tambourin (Kreisler)
Zigeunerweisen (Sarasate)
Souvenir (Drdla)
Schön Rosmarin (Kreisler)
On Wings of Song (Mendelssohn/arr. Heifetz)
Flight of the Bumblebee (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Liebesfreud (Kreisler)
Liebesleid (Kreisler)
Air on the G String (J.S. Bach/arr. Wilhelmj)
Romance in F Major (Beethoven)
Melody (Tchaikovsky)
Salut d'Amour (Elgar)
Nocturne No. 20 (Chopin/arr. Milstein)
Tango (Albéniz/arr. Kreisler)
Estrellita (Ponce/arr. Heifetz)
■ Collection of Masterpieces for Various Instruments
The Swan (Saint-Saëns)
Après un rêve (Fauré)
L'Arlésienne - Minuet (Bizet)
The Fountain (Hasselmans)
Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Tárrega)
Forbidden Games (Spanish Folk Song)
Berceuse from Jocelyn (Godard)
Sicilienne (Fauré)
Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy (Doppler)
Three Romances - No. 1 (Schumann)
Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Gluck)
The Harmonious Blacksmith (Handel)
Little Fugue in G Minor (J.S. Bach)
The Cuckoo (Daquin)
Clarinet Quintet - 1st Movement (Mozart)
Orchestral Suite No. 2 - Polonaise (J.S. Bach)
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 - 3rd Movement (J.S. Bach)
■ Collection of World-Famous Songs Passed Down Through Generations
Love's Old Sweet Song (Molloy)
The Last Rose of Summer (Irish Folk Song)
Home! Sweet Home! (Bishop)
Serenade (Gounod)
Old Folks at Home (Foster)
Torna a Surriento (De Curtis)
O Sole Mio (Di Capua)
Opera "Rigoletto" - La donna è mobile (Verdi)
Opera "Carmen" - Toreador Song (Bizet)
Opera "Der Freischütz" - Huntsmen's Chorus (Weber)
Opera "Madama Butterfly" - Un bel dì, vedremo (Puccini)
Vilja Song (Lehár)
Annie Laurie (Scott)
Londonderry Air (Irish Folk Song)
Heidenröslein (Werner)
Die Lorelei (Silcher)
Élégie (Massenet)
Ave Maria (J.S. Bach/Gounod)
Heidenröslein (Schubert)
Mozart's Lullaby (Flies)
Alleluia (Mozart)