Good Music, part 5

Here are my final favorite classical works. Enjoy!

Requiem Mass in D Minor, Lacrimosa
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart has been by far the most represented composer on my list, but I'm not sure that I consider him my favorite. I enjoy a lot of Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, and Strauss compositions as well. Anyway, this piece is one of my favorites and was a very close tie with the movement that precedes it in the same work, Confutatis maledictis, which you can listen to here.



An der schonen blauen Donau (Blue Danube Waltz), Op. 314
Johann Strauss II

A very well known work, but I love waltzes and this is one of the best.



Peter and the Wolf
Sergei Prokofiev

This is a piece which is often overlooked by adults because it was originally written for children. I prefer it without the narration, but it is difficult to find on YouTube without someone narrating it, so I chose Boris Karloff. A great primer on music and musical instruments and a work I enjoy as much as any of Prokofiev's other compositions.

Ancient Music

Alert reader Edie Howe pointed me in the direction of this pieced of ancient music.



It is a fun piece to watch, especially when you try to sort out all of the period instruments.

Here is a link to an article on classical music and how period music is making a comeback.

Enjoy!

Good Things for Every Photographer to Know

These are good things to know if you do much shooting.

Good Music, part 4

Sorry for the long time between posts. I've had a cold that knocked me out pretty good for a few days. Here are three more pieces I enjoy:

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, Adagio
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

This is the second movement of this piece, and I think the best.



"Arabian Dance," Nutcracker Suite
Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky

Another classic from Tchaikovsky's third ballet.



"Hoe-Down," Rodeo
Aaron Copeland

Most of us know this as the music from the "Beef, its what's for dinner..." commercials. It one of my favorite pieces and served as inspiration for composers writing music for the western movies of the 1950s and 60s.



More to come...

Effective Advertising?

I read an interesting story today on former NFL offensive tackle Brad Benson and the advertising he uses to sell Hyundai’s from his dealership.

As someone who works in marketing, I was impressed by the results that Benson sees from his off-the-wall ads. Media of all forms are becoming so cluttered with messages that anything that can cut through and make an impact on consumers is worth taking notice of.

The types of ads that he uses are also going to be difficult for others to copy, as they are dependent on personality and the type of business. Obviously a fancy restaurant couldn’t use that type of message, nor could a rival dealership owner who is known for being more straight laced. I would imagine that Benson’s NFL image helps him here.

Undoubtedly people will see his success with and try to copy it in some way, which means that this type of messaging and advertising will become a new form of clutter that somebody else will need to be cut through with innovative new advertising.

See below for one of his ads.

Good Music, part 3

Here are three more pieces that I enjoy:

Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale"
Ludwig van Beethoven

The name is very appropriate, I think. It has a very pastoral feel to it.

Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major "Eine kleine Nachtmusik," IV.Rondo : Allegro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

I enjoy the fourth movement of this piece the best, but the whole thing is amazing.

Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, "L'inverno" (Winter): Allegro non molto

Antonio Vivaldi

More to come...

Good Music, part 2

Humoresque In G Flat, Op. 101/7, Antonin Dvorak:

This is a great piece of lighthearted music. The video is especially good thanks to the virtuoso violin and cello work of Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma, respectively.



Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2, Frederic Chopin:

This is my vote for the best work ever written for piano. Very enjoyable.

Symphony No. 40 in G minor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Not much to say here. Just a great piece of work. More to come...

Good music

This is another non-photography related post, but I have been thinking about music a lot lately, so I wanted to post on it.

I read an article in City Journal recently about the rise in popularity of classical music and it made me realize how little I listen to popular music lately. Over the last few years I have slowly migrated from popular music to classical in my listening habits and thought little about it. I would guess this is mostly due to my ability to work on school and personal projects while listening to classical music. Popular music can be distracting to me as I work. When I edit photos I am most likely listening to it. Anyway, that is mostly what I listen to nowadays, whether I am working on something or not. So, I decided I wanted to post my favorite works here as a way for me to list what I think is the best classical music has to offer.

What follows are three of my favorite classical works. I will post three more every few days until I finish my list or I get tired of it. These works do not appear in order of my preference.

Partita in A minor for solo flute by Johann Sebastian Bach:

I don't have much to say about this other than that it is fantastic.



"Waltz of the Flowers," Nutcracker Suite, Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky:



3 Preludes for Piano Solo: II. Andante con moto e poco rubato, George Gershwin:

Gershwin's music definitely has an early 20th century feel to it. I like the moodiness of this particular work. I couldn't find a professional performance of it on YouTube, but this kid is pretty good.



Three more coming in the next few days.