101 Classical Music CDs

After last week's derisive post on Paganini, I thought I'd shift to a composer who writes difficult-to-play music that doesn't threaten the very health of the musicians who play his works. Chopin. The poet of the piano. Today's Four Scherzi are masterpieces, full of emotion, tension, lyricism and complexity. They were among Chopin's last publications before his untimely death from consumption at age 39. ********************** Maurizio Pollini, piano Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Chopin: 4 Scherzi, Berceuse, Barcarolle Deutsche Grammophon, 1991 ********************** What is a scherzo, exactly? Usually the word refers to one of the middle movements of a traditional symphony; typically it will be a lively dance-like piece in 3/4 time. Unfortunately, the word scherzo also means "joke" in Italian, leaving us to wonder if Chopin was being ironic or serious in using this name for these deeply emotional one-movement works for solo piano: How are seriousness and gra...

Most people, when they want to become more familiar with classical music, tend to focus almost exclusively on symphonic works. This is a big mistake. I think there are a few reasons people favor symphonies. First, everybody's heard of the major symphonic composers like Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, etc; so it's certainly reasonable (and easier) to learn classical music by starting with these guys and their key works. Also, the symphony is seen by many as the pinnacle of the classical music art form. Symphonies are big, they're dramatic, they have gravitas . And when you go to hear your local symphony orchestra, they're typically going to play--you guessed it--a symphony. But there's an entire universe of beautiful music to explore beyond the traditional symphony: solo piano, string quartets, piano trios, and a whole host of other chamber music forms. I'll confess, I had been listening to classical music for two decades before I made a meaningful effort...