I can't find any classical music that Truly moves me. Can you please make intelligent recommendations??

Question

I've been trying to like classical music for about 10 years, but I've rarely found anything that truly moves me. Most of what I found falls into two categories:

You have classical music that is unnecessarily technical. No desire to express anything substantial. These composers seem to be the majority -- disconnected from suffering of the world, no sincere humanity.

The average Film Score: melodramatic and predictable. No mystery involved. No awareness of the actual complexities of human emotion. Tend to bore me and sometimes even make me mad because they seem so simplistic.

La Mer, Debussy = nice soundstage, inconsistent and too 'entertainment'
Barber's A. for Strings = good. but not looking for clones
Satie = I like his sincerity and darkness. if only symphonies like this..
Love Ca Ira by Roger Waters, 2005 & Pink Floyd in general
What would I like of Bach, Btvn, Mozart?
P. Glass?

any 'Art Nouveau' composers?

Specific Works Please!
Thank You So Much!!!

Answer 1

Well, here's a list of good starters for classical music:

Bach
Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (for organ)

Mozart
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Symphony No. 40

Beethoven
Any of his symphonies (1-9)
Piano Sonatas 8 (Pathetique), 14 (Moonlight), 23 (Appassionata)

Chopin
Ballades Nos. 1 and 4
Really, any of his piano music is excellent

Dvorak
Symphony No. 8 (English)
Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)

Shostakovich
Any of his symphonies (especially No. 5)

Rachmaninoff
Piano Concertos 1-4
Symphony No. 2

Keep in mind that truly "classical" music (i.e. from the classical period) did not have much emotion, as did the Baroque period. Anyone from Beethoven on could be considered part of the Romantic movement right up until the early 1900's. This is the period you'll want to investigate more on your own.

Oh, here's another piece that's definitely worth investigating:

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

Good luck!

Answer 2

Try Holst's "The Planets" suite. "Mars, the Bringer of War" is just magnificent, and sounds just like its title. The entire suite is quite good.

Another composer to consider is Aaron Copland - especially love his "Rodeo," "Appalachian Spring" and "Billy the Kid."

Someone else mentioned Mozart. I would have to agree. For a good overview, try the soundtrack from the film "Amadeus." (And watch the movie, too - it's great!) The opening piece from the soundtrack is the first movement from his Symphony No. 5 in G minor, and it's quite stunning.

Good luck. Another piece of advice I'd give you is to find you local classical radio station and listen a little each day, to get yourself accquainted with various composers and genres. I'm sure with some time, you'll find music that moves you. There's a reason why people have been listening to some of this stuff for hundreds of years, you know what I mean? :o)

Answer 3

Try Michael Nyman. He's certainly not from the classical or romantic periods, but he's an astounding composer. Try the soundtrack from 'The Piano.' He also did a great soundtrack for 'Ravenous' with Damon Albarn, which is definitely not classical.

Answer 4

anything Mozart