Music

I generally go for what is considered Classical music, especially stuff from the Baroque and Romantic periods, and Jazz. I also like Rock and some Alternative. Throw in some Techno and a tiny bit of Folk, and you've roped off my musical pasture. I used to go for larger works, though now I tend to like smaller ones, especially for solo instruments and for string quartets.

For the record (no pun intended), I've continue to struggle with playing piano, guitar, and violin. I compose a little too. All of this is more for personal enjoyment. I have no illusions about becoming anything more than a fumbler in music.

§ Early Music

• Anonymous Four – Many selections from On Yoolis Night, especially "Lullay, lullay: Als I lay on Yoolis night" and "Orto solo serene / Origi viri / Virga Iesse/ [Tenor]."

§ Baroque

• Bach – Goldberg Variations, Brandenberg Concerto No. 3, Sonata for flute in A minor, Partita No. 2 in D minor, Sonata No. 3 in C major, Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, works for solo cello, and many others. The last is one of my favorite pieces of music. The Fugue is especially uplifting. Hilary Hahn's version of Sonata No. 3 is recommended!
• Biber – His Partias, especially the first movement of the First.
• Giovanni Gabrielli – Sanctus a 12. This piece is a vocal, which is unusual for me, though I think it's sublime.
• Pandolfi – Most of his surviving violin sonatas. (There are only twelve known to exist.)
• Rebel – Violin sonatas and "The Elements."
• Johann Heinrich Schmelzer – Sonatae unarum fidium.
• Tartini – The Devil's Sonata and others.
• Telemann – Trumpet Concerto in D Major and Sonata for 2 flutes.
• Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, especially "Autumn" and "Winter," and much of "L'Estro Armonico."

§ Romantic

• Balakirev – Piano works, especially "Islamey."
• Beethoven – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Op. 61, "Moonlight" Sonata, Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Violin Sonatas, Piano Concerto No. 5, and many others.
• Berlioz – "Symphonie Fantastique."
• Borodin – Symphony No. 2.
• Brahms – Solo piano works, both String Sextets, Piano Trios, Paino Quartets, works for solo violin, works for solo cello, works for the viola, symphonies Nos. 3 and 4, Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, and many others. He's probably my favorite composer.
• Bruckner – Symphonies, especially No. 6.
• Chopin – Piano works, course, especially his etudes and preludes. Of the latter, especially Preludes 2, 4, and 24. Of the former, especially Etudes No. 3, 4, 6, and 12 from the first set.
• Dvorak – Cello Concerto, Piano Quintet in A, and Piano Trio.
• Cesar Franck – works for violin, Symphony in D Minor.
• Granados – Piano works, though he can get annoying after a while.
• Edvard Grieg – Almost anything by him, but especially his Piano Concerto in A minor and Peer Gynt Suite No. 1.
• Serge Koussevitzky – Concert Op. 3 for double bass and piano.
• Lalo – Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 for violin and orchestra. Makes me want to get more of his works.
• Liszt – Piano works.
• Mahler – Symphony Nos. 1, 4, and 5.
• Mendelssohn – Piano works, String Quartets, String Trios, and his "Italian" Symphony.
• Niccholo Paganini – works for violin, of course, especially his Caprices.
• Sergei Rachmaninoff – Many of the Preludes, the Etudes-Tableaux, and the ever famous Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor.
• Pablo de Sarasate – Zigeunerweisen Op. 20, Concert Fantasy on Carmen Op. 25, and others.
• Franz Schubert – Solo piano works, especially his "impromptus," such as No. 4 in A flat (D. listing 899) and his "Trout" Quintet.
• Schumann – Solo piano works, especially Fantasy in C, Op. 17, some of his chamber works, and his Symphony No. 3.
• Richard Strauss – "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" and "Death and Transfiguration." The former is sublime, the latter haunting.
• Camille Saint-Saens – Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, "Danse Macabre," parts of the Carnival of the Animals, Symphony No. 3 in C minor.
• Smetana – String quartets.
• Tchaikovsky – Ballets, piano concerti (especially No. 1), and his 1812 Overture.
• Wagner – What don't I like about him? I especially like "Tristan and Isolde," though I prefer the instrumental versions.

§ Other Classical

• Bela Bartok – Concerto for Viola and Orchestra. Some of his solo violin works.
• Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Toccata.
• Aaron Copland – His more famous pieces, especially "Billy the Kid." His music is simple, but playful without being mocking.
• Claude Debussy – Piano works (especially his Pour la piano, Deux Arabesques, "Claire de Lune," and Mouvements from Images, Book 1), his lone string quartet, "The Sea," his "Sacred and Profane Dances," Sonata for Cello and Piano, Violin Sonata, and "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun."
• Gabriel Faure – His music can be haunting and intricate. He combines Romantic and Impressionist sensibilities with flair. I especially like his piano quartets, violin sonatas, and cello works.
• Gustav Holst – "The Planets" is one of my favorite pieces of music. I especially like "Neptune, the Mystic" from it – as you might have guessed. Also, "Jupiter, the Bringer of Joy" and "Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age" are good.
• Pall Isolfsson – Solo piano works, especially"The Feast at Solhaug."
• Fritz Kreisler – Violin works.
• György Ligeti – Parts of Musica Ricercata, II, some of his string quartets, and the choral work "Eternal light."
• Erkki Melartin – This Finnish composer's solo piano works, especially "The Melancholy Garden," Op.52, are full of emotion and memorable.
• Carl Nielsen – Piano works and his works for wind instruments. His famous minuet from Quintet for Wind Instruments, Op. 43.
• Arvo Pärt – "Variations for Arinuschka's Convalescence."
• Francis Poulenc – Sonata for Cello and Piano.
• Krzysztof Penderecki – String Trio, Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra, and some of his choral works.
• Jocelyn Pook– "Masked Ball" and "Migrations." I admit that everything by her sounds gimmicky.
• Maurice Ravel – "Daphe and Chloe," some of his solo piano works, and String Quartet in F Major.
• Ottorino Respighi – "Pines of Rome."
• Dimitri Shostakovich – Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40, String Quartet No. 3 in A, String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147, Symphony No. 7, Symphony No. 8, and many others. He straddles the divide between 19th and 20th century music – dramatic, melodic, yet dark, brooding and modern. He's my favorite 20th century composer.
• Eric Zeisl – His Second String Quartet.

§ Jazz

• Ketil Bjornstad – Parts of The Sea are breathtaking. The River is good too.
• Larry Coryell – Solo guitar works as well as his Fusion stuff.
• Miles Davis – Sketches of Spain is my favorite by him.
• Bill Evans – Solo piano works.
• Herbie Hancock – His stuff with the Head Hunters.
• Kieth Jarrett – I like his later stuff, especially his solo piano concerts, Spheres, and some stuff on Bridge of Light.
• Elvin Jones – An excellent drummer.
• Django Rheinhardt – "Brazil" and a few others.
• Terje Rypdal – "Seasons" off his 1979 untitled CD. He's also on Bjornstad's The Sea.

§ Rock

• The Beatles – Obligatory listing?
• Blink 182 – "Adam’s Song" and "Dammit."
• Bob Seager and the Silver Bullet Band – "Night Moves" and "Still the Same."
• Broken Social Scene – "7/4 (Shoreline)"
• The Byrds – "Eight Miles High" and "Turn Turn Turn."
• Candlebox – "You, Far Behind" and "Cover Me"
• Collective Soul – They might be poppy and formulaic, but it works for me.
• Edwyn Collins – "A Girl Like You"
• Cream – "Tales of Brave Ulysses," "White Room," etc.
• The Decemberists – "The Engine Driver"
• Everclear – "Santa Monica," "Everything to Everyone," and "I Will Buy You A New Life."
• Genesis – The early stuff, when Peter Gabriel was still with them.
• Gong – Progressive Rock with a xylophone thrown in. Can you beat that?
• Jars of Clay – "Flood"
• Jesus and Mary Chain – "Far Gone and Out" and "Teenage Lust"
• Jimi Hendrix – Need I say more?
• Eric Johnson – "Cliffs of Dover" and "Zap." Can't stand his voice, but his quitar work is superb.
• The Kinks – "Sunny Afternoon" and "A Well Respected Man."
• Jens Lekman – "I Saw Her At the Anti-War Demonstration"
• Gordon Lightfoot – "If You Could Read My Mind."
• Live – "Lightning Crashes" and "I Alone"
• Natalie Merchant – Almost every song on Tigerlilly.
• Moody Blues – "Ride My See-Saw," "The Question," and "Legend of a Mind."
• Nirvana – Much of what's on their MTV unplugged album, "Floyd the Barber," "Rape Me," and many others.
• Parliament – "We Want the Funk" says it all.
• Pearl Jam – Mostly stuff on Ten. Their newer stuff is, IHMO, uninspired.
• Pink Floyd – "Breathe," "One of These Days," "Sheep #," "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," "Time," and "Wish You Were Here."
• Radiohead – A lot of their stuff, but especially "Creep," "Karma Police," "Let Down," and "Paranoid Android."
• The Shins – "We Will Become Silhouettes" and "New Slang"
• The Smithereens – "Blood and Roses"
• Sonic Youth – Much of their early work.
• Soul Assylum – "Black Gold" and "Somebody to Shove."
• Soundgarden – Too bad they broke up, but many bands stay together too long. "Burden in My Hand," "My Wave," "Pretty Noose," and "Blow Up the Outside World."
• Sponge – "Plowed"
• Stabbing Westward – "Save Yourself"
• Stars – "Reunion"
• Stone Temple Pilots – "Dead & Bloated," "Plush," "Piece of Pie," and "Interstate Love Song."
• 10,000 Maniacs – "Candy Everybody Wants" and "These are the Days."
• Third Eye Blind – "Losing a Whole Year" and "Graduate."
• Jethro Tull – Terminally overplayed, but I like "Aqualung," "Cross-eyed Mary," "Locomotive Breath," and "Thick as a Brick."
• Toad the Wet Sprocket – "Walk On the Ocean"
• Urge Overkill – "Positive Bleeding"
• The Waterboys – "This Is the Sea"
• Yes – "Starship Troopers," "The South Side of the Sky," "Roundabout," and "Heart of the Sunrise."
• Frank Zappa – His instrumental stuff. Too bad that doesn't get more radio play, but instrumentals aren't popular anyway.

§ Folk

• Leonard Cohen – "The Stranger Song"
• Donovan – Had to throw him in to justify having a category.
• Phil Ochs – It's more the words than the music with him.
• Cat Stevens – "Peace Train" and "Oh Very Young."

§ Ambient/Techno

• Astral Projection – ""Enlightened Evolution" and, especially, "Ambience." The latter is one of the most joyous pieces of music I know.
• Blue Room Released – These are compilations. Don't like everything on them, but enough to recommend most of them. (Anyone starting out on techno should begin with them.)
• Doof – A large portion of Let's Turn On is good for me.
• Brian Eno – Especially Music for Airports.
• Juno Reactor – Can't remember what, but I liked them a lot.
• Psychedelic Ambience – That's an ambient compilation with many good tracks.

"It's for this reason that music can be transcendent. For a few moments it makes us larger than we really are, and the world more orderly than it really is. We respond not just to the beauty of the sustained deep relations that are revealed, but also to the fact of our perceiving them. As our brains are thrown into overdrive, we feel our very existence expand and realize that we can be more than we normally are, and that the world is more than it seems. That is cause enough for ecstasy." – Robert Jourdain, Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination