28
votes
Why doesn't anyone write great symphonies any more?
Symphonies were historically commissioned pieces of work. The commission was to pay for the writing and then the performing. Commissioning for symphonies has mostly disappeared so orchestras are not ...
- 1,789
22
votes
Why doesn't anyone write great symphonies any more?
All musical forms, from Gregorian chant to hip hop, are most closely associated with a particular time and place, they go in and out of popularity. Older forms become a niche product, created and ...
- 15.4k
19
votes
Accepted
Why do many vinyl albums place sides I and IV on one record and II and III on the other?
Many phonographs were able to play multiple records in sequence with a mechanism that would hold one or more records on the turntable, and one or more additional records elevated on the center post.
...
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17
votes
Slow and deliberate, hauntingly beautiful classical piece (identify from score)
This is the second movement (the Allegretto) of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony (score). Your notation is slightly different from the Beethoven, but this is certainly the piece you're looking for.
It's ...
- 1,990
15
votes
Why doesn't anyone write great symphonies any more?
There are still symphonic compositions being made but most are created as scores for movies. John Williams is one of the most prolific soundtrack composers, writing scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones,...
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15
votes
Are there any examples in classical music history of "mashups" of two unrelated works?
The technical term is "quodlibet" (meaning "whatever you please"). A famous example is Bach's "Goldberg Variations" in which two folksongs are combined in various ways. ...
- 261
11
votes
Which part of Schubert's Symphony No.8 is unfinished?
Wikipedia's article on Schubert's Symphony No. 8 gives details.
Schubert started in 1822 but left with only two movements—though he lived for another six years. A scherzo, nearly completed in piano ...
- 3,855
9
votes
What did Chopin think of the saxophone?
Chopin was uninterested in any instrument other than the piano. As is known, other than pure piano pieces, he only wrote the cello pieces and songs in his very early youth and the two concertos. And ...
- 1,712
9
votes
Religious music - one note for extended period
The style of singing you describe is known as "intoning".
Here is a description from online copy of
["A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1900) edited by George Grove", article by William Smyth ...
- 4,242
8
votes
How did Gilbert and Sullivan protect their operas from pirates?
In the begining of 19th century US law (copyright act of 1790) protected only American authors.(1) There were no international copyright agreements between the US and other countries, making it nearly ...
- 1,712
8
votes
Which part of Schubert's Symphony No.8 is unfinished?
Classical symphonies are supposed to have four movements. This one has only two, therefore it is technically incomplete. (Works in which individual movements are incomplete usually don't get published ...
- 221
7
votes
Accepted
Flute melody from classical symphony
I would say it's "Morning Mood" from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1.
Peer Gynt started life as incidental music to the play of the same name by Henrik Ibsen; it included vocal as well as ...
- 377
7
votes
What does "classical" mean? Is Dvořák classical?
The term Classical in terms of music has two main distinct meanings that have been mentioned in the comments. In the broadest sense Classical refers to music that is related mostly to the history of ...
- 429
7
votes
Accepted
Who is the Elise that Beethoven composed about?
Wikipedia offers some possibilities:
Max Unger suggested that Ludwig Nohl may have transcribed the title incorrectly and the original work may have been named "Für Therese", a
reference to ...
- 2,854
7
votes
Accepted
Chopin wrote a plagal cadence at the end of his Scherzo No. 1 that resembles a final "Amen" on a choral hymn. Was he a Christian?
Frederik Chopin was almost certainly born and bred as a Catholic, as were almost people in Poland during his lifetime. His father, Nicolas Chopin, was a Frenchman from Lorraine who had emigrated to ...
- 6,035
6
votes
Music with brutal and high variations of tempo and/or sound level and/or pitch
Certainly not classical, but your question led my mind directly to this track:
Stubb (A Dub) by Mr Bungle off of their self-titled debut album.
Mr. Bungle was an American experimental band from ...
- 852
6
votes
Style of dress for a symphony orchestra
I am in a symphony and full orchestra. We only dress according to the music if it's a holiday and will wear costumes or hats for the fun of the audience. Our orchestras always stick to black tie ...
- 477
6
votes
Accepted
How much of Opera is about sex?
There are a bunch of more modern operas with very explicit sex scenes in them, often violent ones. Check out the plots of Shostakovich's Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District, Berg's Lulu, Adés's Powder ...
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6
votes
What piano piece is this?
This is Ludovico Einaudi - Divenire, the quoted part starts around 2:00.
A friend of mine plays this song. The original is much faster than the recording you supplied.
- 15.4k
6
votes
Why doesn't anyone write great symphonies any more?
Musicians make music with the technology available.
Do you think if Beethoven were alive today that he would scoff at the intricate variations in sound possible with modern equipment, and stick with ...
- 169
6
votes
Accepted
Why is Beethoven's Op 81 split into "81a" and "81b" instead of No. 1 and No. 2?
This is mainly a historical accident, arising from the fact that the pieces were published by different publishers. The piano sonata was published originally by Breitkopf & Härtel as Op. 81 in ...
- 176
6
votes
Accepted
Classical piece used as hold music on call to local GP
This is the famous "Celebrated" Minuet, by classical composer Luigi Boccherini, frequently used in movies and on television as a signifier of elegance, class and refinement. For Suzuki-trained ...
- 15.4k
5
votes
Accepted
Quote about classical music during the Industrial Revolution
The question is vague enough that I'm not sure I have the precise answer, but it seems to me that it may be referring to the work The Art of Noises (1913) by Luigi Russolo.
The original is in Italian,...
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5
votes
Accepted
What year was the song Rafaga by Joaquín Turina song written?
Ráfaga was composed in 1929. It WAS originally composed for guitar. Segovia just arranged and edited it.
Source: http://www.joaquinturina.com/opus53.html
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5
votes
Has any instrumental music ever been used to carry information?
(Very good answers above!) There are so many examples of music communicating more information than mere artistic expression.
The only reason that the Romans developed the brass horn was to signal ...
- 340
5
votes
Accepted
Are all ORIGINAL VERSION classical sheet music in the public domain?
Laws vary from country to country in details (e.g. number of years a copyright is valid, the ways it can eventually be prolonged, weather the author is till alive or not influences the permanence of ...
- 1,712
5
votes
Accepted
Identify Chopin Prelude or Rondo from sheet music snippet
It's Chopin's Prelude in B-flat minor, Op. 28, No. 16. Here's a video where it's performed just plain too damn fast.
- 1,990
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