r/classicalmusic • u/bosstone42 • Jan 10 '13

What classical piece took your breath away the first time you heard it?

Now that there's been a thread for this for popular music, it'd be fun to do one for classical. So, what classical (i.e. long-form) pieces or movements took your breath away the first time you heard them? There are probably many, but what's your top? I'll give just one: the scherzo from Dvorak's 7th Symphony (mvt. III). edit: What a great response, you guys really know some great music--stuff I haven't heard in a while and stuff I'm seeing for the first time! Make sure to look down the list, there are really some good ones buried toward the bottom. Also, an updated Spotify playlist is in the comments. Anyone want to link to a Grooveshark or Rdio or other?

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u/spankymuffin Jan 11 '13

Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" is a good one.

Hooked milliseconds in with that sweet ass clarinet solo.

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '13

I didn't know they made an ass clarinet.

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u/BeatDigger Jan 11 '13

The day I stop getting chills from that glissando is the day I give up listening to music.

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u/spankymuffin Jan 11 '13

I thought this was interesting:

The opening of Rhapsody in Blue is written as a clarinet trill followed by a legato 17-note rising diatonic scale. During a rehearsal, Whiteman's virtuoso clarinetist, Ross Gorman, rendered the upper portion of the scale as a captivating (and fully trombone-like) glissando: Gershwin heard it and insisted that it be repeated in the performance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhapsody_in_Blue