What are some classical pieces that will blow my mind?

Have there been any Great Modern Classical Record released so far this century?
Ten Classical Albums No One Should Be Without

EARLY MUSIC : So much great stuff here. Give Perotin or Leonin a try. Or any early vocal music chant type thing. Very moving stuff. If you like anything drawn out (drone!) you'll prob find lots of stuff here.

MIDDLE MUSIC : I tend to ignore all things renaissance. Get some Bach, I've always avoided the 'authentic' takes on Bach. The Glenn Gould recordings are great as are any classical guitar or cello recordings. I'd also try St. Matthew's Passion if you want something bigger. I dunno though, larger scale things all sound pretty boring to my ears until a bit later.

CLASSICAL - MODERN : Liszt's piano stuff. Anything by Beethoven that's played with passion and frustration. IMO Beethoven doesn't work as well when its played pretty! Go for Beethoven Symph No. 2 or 4 or 5 fuck it, all of them! Same with Mozart. Saint-Sans Symphony No. 3 is nice. Any of the big Romantic names are worth a try.

Loads of modern stuff worth listening to.. seconded Arvo Part for pretty stuff. Stevie Reich/Terry Riley for your hippy stuff. Cage for your interesting stuff and occasional moments of utter brilliance. La Monte Young's The Well Tuned Piano, do it! Shostakovich string quartets. Any recordings by the Kronos Quartet. Hmm this is pointless, just go out and get what you can!

I was wondering if anyone could recommend something that’s like a mid-point between Shostakovich and Purcell? My ignorance of classical music is profound, but that needs addressing. I want to listen to something that is beautiful and poignant, but also furious and mad. Violin or harpsichord preferred.

Prokofiev's Violin Concertos no 1 + 2 are incredible, not sure if that answers your brief, but Russian enough!

Thank you! Trying it now

feels obvious but Bartok's string quartets?

Schoenberg's Verklaerte Nacht perhaps? The original string sextet version, not the orchestral one

today i've been waking up by listening to the tchaikovsky recordings on the rostropovich box set. cello and not violin but man this "suite for solo cello" is doing it for me this morning.

I really enjoyed the Prokofiev! It is extremely refreshing to suddenly listen to something like that out of nowhere. It was poignant and dark without being too sentimental or maudlin. Perhaps not quite as violent or soaring as I'm searching for, but amazing nonetheless. I'm looking for something that sounds like a landscaped garden on fire! Which I realise might be unreasonably specific/subjective.

feels obvious but Bartok's string quartets?

Nothing is too obvious for me! Listening now.

my favorite for bartok is his second violin concerto.

Schoenberg most on point for ‘burning gardens’ aesthetic so far. I’m listening to the Tchaikovsky solo cello suite now, although not the Rostropovich version, so I’m not 100% sure it’s even the same thing because I still find the title conventions so confusing. But it sounds lovely.

Bartok’s string quartet no.1 was perhaps a little too slow and epic for my current tastes? I’m sure I will return to it though.

Have you ever heard Schubert's Death and the Maiden (aka string quartet no.14). It's the ultimate dying of the light album, and I think he was dying from the syph when he made it iirc. It's an alltime great imo.

This was the absolute best - thank you! Exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. Has a liminal manic tragedy to it. What else is like this? Also, did Purcell ever make anything really angry? I want to know what classical British rage sounds like.

I'd be interested myself tbh. I think ilxer Jon not Jon might have some very good answers to that question.

good question. my cursory search tells me that purcell seems not to be super into the anger thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfU46JTBqXo

I went to this prom when I was in London and this was the most remarkable performance of Beethoven’s 2nd and 5th I have seen. The 5th was particularly energetic and lively

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ec3d2m

If you liked the Schoenberg I'd recommend Alban Berg, a pupil of the former and really the only of that Second Viennese School that resonates emotionally with me. His Chamber Concerto, String Quartet, 3 Orchestral Pieces, Lyric Suite -- flaming topiary all throughout. My personal favorite of his is the opera Lulu but that's probably in scale the polar opposite of what you're looking for.

Also noticed the acclaim for Schubert, maybe my fav after Beethoven and definitely the most "personal" sounding to me. Not violin or harpsichord obv but his unfinished Eighth Symphony really can't be beat, two mere movements that it is. There's also his string quintet and octet; they are looooong. (His "Winterreise" song cycle is one of the most intense things I've ever heard, even if it takes a while to hit you with its slowly droning, cumulative impact. Only piano and voice though.)

And since there was a vague mention of Shostakovich somewhere up there I will specify his Eighth String Quartet.

Oh, speaking of Beethoven and string quartets, his late ones are out of this world. If you want your heart in a knot try his 15th. That third movement is just ... oof. Might feel a bit overly sentimental, like a 90s Lexus commercial or something. It pretty much does me in every time, however. I'm pretty sure God Speed You Black Emperor were born during that movement.

hmm is there perhaps some blogs/magazines on contemporary classical that do monthly recommendations or even Spotify lists? feel like there's probably a whole lot of great stuff there, would be nice to have something to follow

my cursory search tells me that purcell seems not to be super into the anger thing

Haha, I see. Still, I absolutely love the clip you posted! That creepy, beautifully sad chamber sound is perfect, but would be even better with a more spiralling intensity. Wish I had the technical words to explain better...

Schubert's Eight Symphony was magnificent! Shostakovich's Eight String Quartet is about the only thing that I knew I liked prior to this thread, but it was excellent to revisit the whole thing (I tend to just listen to that insane second part).

Listening to all the Beethoven now - it's pretty exhilarating.

another one that was apparently composed in a fug of depression and despair was Mahler's 6th, not his most popular - but it was my "gateway-album" to Mahler, and it is so powerful and tragic sounding!

somebody say depression and despair? late sibelius! seventh symphony and "tapiola", after which he devoted the remaining thirty or so years of his life exclusively to being a morose drunk.

and yeah that purcell piece was great! sometimes one finds the best stuff just looking for things at random.

I loved the Sibelius too!

Incidentally, I have been compiling a Spotify playlist of all your recommendations if anyone's interested: https://open.spotify.com/user/1146669082/playlist/3LJDvKdWKKQkHEtbgihh7A?si=XH8g8_EuRPmDTgk89JoF8w Please, feel free to add stuff! I appreciate this might not be the best way to listen, but it easily serves the purpose of getting to know things from scratch.

Have been listening to a lot to the Tristan and Isolde Overture (as heard in LvT's Melancholia), which is also kind of exactly what I'm looking for tonally, though a big contradiction of having said I didn't want something slow and epic... All of those insane crescendos that appear out of nowhere and recede just as mysteriously are stunning.