There is already a thread for Beethoven, but I'm not interested in merely Beethoven. What I'm interested is in all classical music.

Classical music, currently, is in my opinion underrated. People will choose songs with beats and words over classical. Which I find a pity because often times the most inspirational and soothing music I can find is classical.

So what I would like to hear from you is, who is your favourite classical composer? And why do you listen to classical music?

My favourite classical composer right now would have to be either Rimksy-Korsakov or Vivaldi. The Four Seasons by Vivaldi is absolutely amazing, especially the 4th, Winter. I listen to classical music because I love how they're longer than just 3 or 4 minutes, they don't have words and I can just find myself lost in the music. They find a way to convey emotions like no other way.

P.s. It was Nodame Cantabille they really awakened my love for classical music.

I do love classical music, but I don't know much about it, I'm afraid. If you asked me to differentiate between classical music based on the era of classical music as oppsed to the genre, I would stare at you like you were crazy. I don't know the names of many songs, and I know the names of even fewer composers! What I know is that I like the sound of pianos and violins without voices to drown out their sound, and that I love the way classical music tends to flow and make me feel calm and inspired.

It's nice to not have to think about words when you listen to music. Sometimes I just like to be able to close my eyes and let the music take me and fill my head with images and thoughts. I guess this is kind of reflected in the fact I also really like movie scores and tribal drum songs, but it's the classical genre that owns my heart of all those types.

My city has a purely classical radio station, and I adore it. I listen to it all the time. Just the other day, the lady who talks in between songs came on and asked for some end-of-the-year monetary gifts to help keep the station up and running, and I thought I might send in five or so dollars... Until she said "Please join this organization with your yearly gift of one to ten thousand dollars!" ...That kind of threw me off the donating train. I still might send a few bucks their way, but I wonder how helpful it will really be...

But I digress. So yes, I do love classical music, I just... Don't really take the time to know it very well, if that makes sense?

Don't worry about not knowing the names and different types. I know there are people out there who can do it, but I think it takes musical genius. I also don't believe that is needed to appreciate the music as much, even if you don't know everything down to the minute detail. I can name a few composers, but I don't know anything about style and genres of classical music. So don't worry. ;P

But I agree, I also think it's nice to have music without singing (I know not all classical music is without singing) or a really obtrusive beat, especially if I have a headache or something of the likes and just really want to rest.

So was turned you off exactly? The fact they were asking for so much?

I am much like Iltu; I really don't know anything about Classical music, but I do have a handful of songs in my itunes library.

I know the names of some of my favourites but I don't go much further than that xD I'll usually play classical music when I'm reading because I don't get distracted by the words then, but it's also soothing and I can concentrate on the book that much more.

A lot of the time, surprisingly, I will actually play a classical song instead of some of my other favourite pop/rock/indie (whatever) bands because they just sound nicer and are relaxing.

I think I've waffled a bit, but some of my favourite songs at the minute are Moonlight Sonata, Clair De Lune, Somewhere in Time/Rhapsody on a Theme and River Flows In You (I'm listening to a lot of piano music by Yiruma at the minute - that's classical, right? xD). If the names are wrong, I blame my itunes :P

Some Random Randomness- Pretty much. I can most certainly not afford one to ten thousand dollars- seeing as how I'm a teenager with no job. :P

Spring`Tyme Fresh- Oh, I adore Yiruma! I just discovered him a few weeks ago through YouTube. I don't know about other people, but I do consider his music to be classical...

Now that he's been mentioned, I would like to say that Yiruma is my favorite composer, by a long shot. Geezum, I don't know how I'd forgotten him! Shame one me!

I really love classical music too because it's all instrumental. Classical is fun for me to listen to because I like listening to all the different instruments playing together and sometimes I imagine playing a certain type of instrument in the song. xD; It makes me want to compose a piece. I like that you can imagine different things when listening to classical. You can make up your own story. It's like what you see in Nodame Cantabile in the anime version. xD

I really like the Four Seasons by Vivaldi too. The Summer and Winter pieces are my favorite. <3 I don't like how most people think that classical music is all slow, too calm, and boring... It can be very exciting too if you take the time to relax and listen to it. I'll have to look into Yiruma. I've never heard of him before. I don't really know the names of the composers too. xD; I really like Chopin though. I used to play piano when I was younger so I played a lot of his pieces. I need to continue playing piano someday...

I love classical music as well although it isn't my favorite era which would probably be impressionistic and then a tie between romantic and baroque...that's probably because I like to play classical music on the pian the least but if I really thought about it classical music is very nice to listen to. Mozart is just harder for me to play then most for some reason.
Nodame Cantabile is my favorite anime. I loved the music as well as the story line...how much better could it get?
Yiruma is amazing. I've been playing his music for a couple years now. It's always fun when I want something else to play if I'm working on a hard piece. His music does have a classical feel to it but obviously it isn't connected with the era at all. And his music is more emotional then most of the classical period anyways.
My favorite composers are VERY popular but there is definitely a reason for that. Debussy, Ravel, Chopin, J.S.Bach, and Mozart are some of the classics. I also think Khachaturian has some very interesting works.

I've always loved classical music, Mozart especially. My secret dream is to be an opera singer one day...well, sort of. I want to be an artist really, but if I can sing opera on the side I'd like to do that! (not likely =3)

So I think not a lot of teenagers like classical music, and I think that's a shame...it's really relaxing to me, and so beautiful! I don't only listen to it, I like a lot of different genres (I think metal is my favorite :O) but ionno...I think classical music is under appreciated. Thoughts?

I am a professional violinist, and I currently teach and perform regularly. I love my life in the world of classical music. I would encourage you to keep listening and to keep expanding the music you listen to. You listen to a lot of Mozart, you said. Which of his works do you particularly enjoy? His symphonies? Piano works? Operas? I think that Mozart's greatest triumphs were his operas.

I love listening to the chamber works by Brahms. I also really enjoy a lot of 20th century classical music, such as George Crumb, Schnittke, and Arvo Part.

i'm not a big fan of plain, instrumental music, but i do love the sound of violins. there is one japanese singer, Kanon Wakeshima, she doesn't do classical, but she plays the cello, and it sounds beautiful.

I've merged your thread, Devilfern, with our preexisting classical music thread in the Music forum. :)

I would say my favorite composer of all time is Wolfgana Amadues Mozart. I know that is so easy to say that but his music is so songful and full of simple melodic yet complicated musical structures that flow so well! My favorite piece that he did was the Requiem Mass for the Dead, very dark and gothic sounding. I also liked his Double Piano Concerto in E Flat Major K365! My favorite piano sonata was the K333 in B Flat Major. Like many composers he died at a young age and would he have even lived a few more years longer, I'm sure he would have gotten the full credit for the starting the beginning of the Romantic Era in music. Listen to his Fantasy and Sonata in C minor!

I like Brahms, Beethoven, J.S. Bach, Hadyn, and Tchaikovsky. It would be nice if other people liked more classical music than they did. I might get to hear it more...
I don't usually go for the calming classical music, that's why I like Beethoven. His String quartet Op. 18 No. 4 in C minor, Allegro is one of my favorite pieces. (No, I didn't know the title off the top of my head, I had to grab my CD)

While I'm not actually sure what my favorite musical style is, I have recently had a great interest in classical music, but I have mostly been focusing on a specific composer. I'm talking about Frederic Francois Chopin. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I initially became interested in him after playing a video game called Eternal Sonata, which was based on parts of his life. I had always loved his music, but unfortunately, I had heard many of his songs and I never knew who made them. However, since learning about him, I actually specifically have studied him for a few months, and I have even bought a few books about him, one of which is a rather fascinating collection of letters he wrote, but I'm getting off topic.

While it may be a rather popular piece and I wish that my favorite composition of his was more obscure, I can't deny that I adore Étude Op. 10, No. 3 (Tristesse). It's such a soft and gentle song, and yet it's so full of power and feeling at the same time. I know that much of Chopin's work is like that, but it seems so obvious just how special that particular song was to him when you're listening to it.

I love Instrumental/Classical music, though I do love listening to other stuff, when ppl ask me what my favorite type of music is, it's always classical.
I agree with you Ryuko Akari, Tristesse is Beautiful!! But I personally am constantly switching what my favorite piece is, currently it is Salut d'Amour by Edward Elgar.
Oh and thank you for starting this thread Randomness, good topic :)
Lettuce

My all time favorite has to be Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. I'd love to see the ballet someday. I came across the Gymnopedies for Satie through anime actually, and that's nudged itself towards the top of my list. I especially like the first and third one (to play and to listen).

Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony...best ever..brings me to tears every time.

sorry about all those extra posts, i have no idea how that happened....

i listen to movie soundtracks with classical music on them dose that count? other than that i like piano music, it calms me down some how, that and i listen to some celtic intremtal music, they make me happy some days