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I have fairly catholic tastes in music (with Warren & Vijaya, Carol and Bridget among my friends how could it be otherwise?) Having been brought up in Liverpool and having attended concerts by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra from an early age I have a taste for classical music. My father plays the piano and in my childhood often played with friends who played the violin and/or the cello, so I have been familiar with a wide range of piano sonatas from an early age. Additionally there was for over half a century a chamber music society in Liverpool called the Rodewald Society which had been endowed in the early part of the century by a local businessman to provide chamber concerts. It is now, alas, defunct but during my youth the Rodewald Society organised six chamber concerts per year, held in the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, at which the leading string quartets and quintets of the world performed. A schoolboy or student paid 5/- (25 pence in modern money but about £3 ($5)in present-day purchasing power) for a season ticket for all six concerts. At the Rodewald I heard, among many others, the Amadeus, Amati, Hollywood and Vlach Quartets. My taste is therefore slightly biassed towards chamber rather than orchestral music (but not seriously so) but I have no taste at all for opera (Bernard Levin would probably have a fit - he's welcome to try and convert me). Being a Catholic (as opposed to having catholic tastes) I do like plainsong.
I am less experienced in Jazz but lean more to Louis Armstrong than to Miles Davis. I enjoy, but probably do not appreciate all the subtleties of, Indian Classical Music and have no taste at all for pop. I enjoy bagpipes from time to time.
The basic purpose of this page is to list a few of my favorite works. When I first met Vijaya (at a wedding in Madras in 1983) we discussed Indian v Western Classical Music. Since we were each ignorant of each other's culture we agreed to swap suggestions and tapes by post. For the next few years I dined out on the question:- "I have an Indian friend who is an expert in Indian music and wants to know about European Classical Music - what should I suggest she listens to?" This never failed to produce a dynamic discussion as everyone propounded the merits of their favorite composers and works. So, to promote something similar, I am listing a few of my favorite pieces of music below and soliciting suggestions of other pieces to add to the list. The first list is NOT exhaustive and it is the music itself that I am discussing - not some particular artist's interpretation, so I will not, in general, recommend one performance over another.
I am looking for the words of an old song "The Darkies' Sunday School". If you can help, please see my "Search Page".
My friend Carol Filleul manages a professional chamber ensemble, The Cotswold Ensemble, which is available for performances at weddings, dinners, parties, business meetings and conferences.
Bach
Brandenburg Concertoes; Great B Minor Mass; Italian Concerto;
B Major Partita BWV826; Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring; Fur Elise;
Wachet Auf; 48 Preludes & Fugues for the Well-Tempered Clavier;
Beethoven
Symphonies 6, 7, 9; Quartet Op 135; Sonatas: Waldstein, Apassionata,
Moonlight, Kreutzer; Trios: Ghost & Archduke; Violin Concerto;
Grosse Fugue Op133
Bizet
L'Arlesienne Suites
Brahms
Variations on a Theme of Handel Op24; Variations on a Theme
of Haydn; Double Concerto; Piano Trios Op8, 87, 101
Bruch
Violin Concerto
Chopin
Piano Sonatas 2 & 3; Impromptus Op29, 36, 51 & 66;
Waltzes
Copland
Appalachian Spring; Rodeo
Debussy
La Mer; Quartet; Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'une Faune; Sonata
for Flute, Viola & Harp
Dvorak
Symphonies 8 & 9; Quartet in F (American); Serenade Op44;
Carnival Overture; Humoresque
Elgar
Enigma Variations
Franck
Sonata in A
Gershwin
An American in Paris
Gounod
Little Symphony
Handel
Organ Concertos Op4; Water Music; Firework Music; Rejoice
Greatly, Daughter of Zion
Haydn
Symphonies - Esp: Military, Clock, Surprise; Quartets Op64;
Lloyd-Webber
Variations on a Theme of Paginini
Mendelsohn
Octet; Violin Concerto
Messaien
Four Little Liturgies for the Divine Presence
Mozart
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; Clarinet Concertos; Sonata K331 (Alla
Turka); Jupiter (& other) Symphonies; Hunt Quartet
Mussorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition
Offenbach
Gaite Parisienne
Prokofiev
Classical Symphony; Peter & the Wolf; Lieutenant Kije
Ravel
Tombeau de Couperin; Valse Noble & Sentimentale; Quartet;
Introduction & Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet & Strings;
Pavane pour une Infante Defunte
Rodrigo
Concierto de Aranjuez; Fantasia para une Gentilhombre
Schubert
Quartet #12 (Death & the Maiden); Trout Quintet; Impromptus
Op90, 92-3
Schumann
Carnival; Piano Concerto in A
Shostakovitch
Piano Concertoes 1 & 2
Sibelius
Finlandia
Strauss (J. Jr.)
Overture - Die Fledermaus; Various Waltzes
Stravinsky
Rite of Spring
Tchaikowsky
Violin Concerto Op35; Variations on a Rococo Theme; Symphonies
2 & 6; Nutcracker Suite
Vaughan Williams
Fantasy on Greensleeves
Vivaldi
Four Seasons
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