More Dumb "Classical" Stereotypes

vivaldi, la primavera (spring), from the four seasons is one of the most uplifting pieces of music i know. for relaxation, i prefer adagios; e.g., albioni giazotto, adagio in g minor ( cisco has a marvelous version with gary carr on cello and harmon lewis on pipe organ). for an energy boost, you might try some of the overtures by franz von suppe (a great disc for these is chas. dutoit's on london). happy listening -kelly

I have a CD of pieces by C.P.E. Bach, Quantz, Telemann and Vivaldi. All of the music is performed on period instruments and it is very relaxing. If I had to I would guess that the music style is Baroque with all of the trills and such. The CD was realeased by MHS (Musical Heritage Society, Inc.) and the recording is OK to good.

Most Baroque period music is relaxing, Pachebel Canon for those comotose moments, Handel’s Water Music, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Bach, too many to name, Vivaldi, Mandolin Concerti (VERY relaxing). For uplifting without feeling the need to concentrate, but you can without penalty if you want, try a Mozart piano concerto maybe #20 or 21 or 24, you get the picture. But then again maybe I'm prejudiced. With Mozart you can listen as background music but also to the unforced, elegant depth of his music and never tire of the freshness that it evokes upon repeated listening. Alfred Brendel does it right for me.

I find the above posts, particularly Tubegroover's, to be excellent recommendations. I might add for an uplifting Baroque piece Bach's Brandenberg Concertos, particularly Nos. 4 and 6. Although it's not a great recording, the Archiv recording with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert is my favorite performance of it, very upbeat and well-played. Also, check out the Correlli Concerti Grossi, with McGeagan and the Philhamonia Baroque on Harmonia Mundi--uplifting at times, relaxing at others, and a superior Peter McGrath recording, if I remember. Like Tubegroover, I find I can either relax to Mozart or get engrossed in it--it's funny how I might not initially feel like listening to Mozart, but once I start I'll spend the night listening to his music. I find it almost impossible to listen to Bach as background music, though, as it fascinates me and I wind up following all the musical lines. Another suggestion on the Suppe overtures would be the Mercury recording with Paray and the Detroit Symphony, I think, a very dynamic and well-recorded performance, though a little bright, as are many of the Mercs.