Hey Guys!

I'm wondering if you can recommend some nice music to listen to, rather than to play. I love the cello and also viola, (although not so much violin), and prefer melodious, light pieces, (feel-good stuff rather than something more dramatic and less tuneful). Any nice ideas? Every time I get a CD or something from the classics, it turns out not really to my taste, so I thought I'd better ask the experts....

How about 'Abel, Schenck, Telemann - Virtuoso Solos for Viola da Gamba'?

Some of my favourite cello and viola music
Cello music:
Beethoven's 5 Cello sonatas
Dvorak Cello concerto "2nd and 3rd movement"
Tchaikovski variation on a roccoco theme.
Tchaikovski "Nocturne"
Saint saens: The Swan
Elgar Cello concerto 1st movement
Bach 6 cello Suites
Bocherini Cello concerti

Viola music:

Schumann: Marchenbilder

Some more for Viola

The Walton
Flos Campi (Vaughan Williams)
Shostakovich Viola sonata
"Ulysses Awakes" - John Woolrich

Ooh, Maxim Vengerov is playing that in Glasgow next May....; is it a good piece?

Its the last thing Shostakovich ever wrote...he knew he was dying, so it is very emotional. There are hints to Beethoven's moonlight sonata in there as well as his own music.

I already have my ticket for Glasgow in May

Do you think it will sell out? We can get cheap tickets (for £7) on the day, or £15 now. Wonder if we should risk it....

Well if it was London I would say yes it will definitely sell out, but the solo recital in Glasgow a few years ago was not very well attended (but then solo Ysaye is not up everyone's street).

This however is an interesting programme, and his Brahms recital was certainly sold out a couple of years ago.

If you really want to go I would recommend you get tickets now, just to be sure....maybe you could look at the City Hall website and see how fast tickets are going....there is (or should that be are?) still 8 months to go so maybe you can leave it a bit if you are not worried where you sit.

Mmm, that's the 'trouble' with a lot of the classical pieces I've heard - they're just SO emotional and dramatic. I like light, joyous, tuneful/melodious pieces to listen to at home, although I can enjoy the more soulful pieces live. For me, Shostakovich and similar types are 'concert only', not living room music. Anyone know anything that certainly fits into the latter category? I know 'The Swan' and that's along the lines of what I'm looking for.

My favourite cello CD is called "Cello Adagios". Here's a link to it on Amazon where you can listen to samples of the tracks:

Cello Adagios

It's all very light, pretty music; mostly just solo cello with piano accompaniment, but there are few concertos too. You'll probably know some of the pieces as there's quite a few famous ones. "The Swan" is track 1!

Rosie

Quite a lot of Baroque Music is less emotional, altho Bach did write a bit of stuff tht can be interpreted with emotion. Go for summat by Vivaldi..they're usually quite melodious and bright, showing off the players skill mostly.

Frankly, if it's not interpreted with emotion, it's not interpreted at all. Baroque music gets a reputation for being bland through being interepreted pedantically: there seems to be this opinion that romantic music can be made as lush as one can, classical music can be interpreted 'a bit' but baroque music has to be played as flatly as one can get away with. Baroque music can be played full of feeling - pull the ornaments around, make the parts sing, build up tension then finally resolve it, improvise on repeats....

Has anyone heard Andrew Manze and Rachel Podger's recording of Bach's double violin concerto? It puts a big grin on my face every time I listen to it. On the other end of the emotional scale, if you can get hold of a copy, listen to Prelude and Fugue No. 12 from WTC I. I'd advise to skip Gould - I think he missed the point on it - Schiff's take is not at all bad though. It's one of the most moving pieces of music I've heard.

(Sorry, won't hear a bad word said against Bach )

Mmm, that's the 'trouble' with a lot of the classical pieces I've heard - they're just SO emotional and dramatic. I like light, joyous, tuneful/melodious pieces to listen to at home, although I can enjoy the more soulful pieces live. For me, Shostakovich and similar types are 'concert only', not living room music. Anyone know anything that certainly fits into the latter category? I know 'The Swan' and that's along the lines of what I'm looking for.



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Mendelssohn has some very charming pieces for cello and piano. I think this is the kind of "living room music" you're looking for.
Also Chopin and Grieg wrote each a sonata for cello and piano. And Mozart wrote a brilliant Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E flat major, K364. (Hope you don't mind about the violin!)

Oooh yes K364. I love it to bits!

Couldn't agree more. Apart from anything else, recordings don't do some music justice - they lose all the interest and emotional intensity you get with a live performance.

As for the original question on this thread - Viola music to listen to. There's a CD available called, 'Magic Viola'. A joint recording between violist Maxim Rysanov and the ASCH Trio.

Thanks for all your ideas and input, guys! I've bookmarked the 'Cello Adagios' CD on my Amazon Wish list and will look out for Bach more in future. I think I'll get along well with him as I like the couple of pieces that I know. Also, my favourite music, Rondò Veneziano, is based on 18C Italian baroque music, so I think this will work for me.

I was thinking about the whole 'playing with emotion' bit and I think most people seem to equate emotion only with sadness, trauma and other 'negative' emotions. Let's not forget that joy is a valid emotion too and it's certainly possible to play a lively piece with joy!