Postby Tancos » Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:20 am
It would take a book to adequately answer the question, and a lifetime to listen to everything.
Some miscellaneous favorites, emphasizing piano music:
Domenico Scarlatti: well, everything. His brief sonatas sound good both on harpsichord and on piano
Schubert: "Wanderer" Fantasy; "Trout" Quintet
Chopin: Polonaises, Ballades, Waltzes, Etudes, Preludes ... everything, actually.
Schumann: Fantasy in C; Kreisleriana
Liszt: Hungarian rhapsodies (they may be musical junk food, but they're fun); Sonata in B minor; the Mephisto Waltzes.
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit; Le Tombeau de Couperin
Prokofiev: Toccata; Sarcasms; Visions Fugitive; Piano sonata #7 (Prokofiev was the first head-banger); the suites from Lieutenant Kije and The Love for Three Oranges
Bartok: Allegro Barbaro; Roumanian Folk Dances; Sonata; "Out of Doors" suite (or perhaps Bartok was the first to write heavy metal); Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste; Dance Suite
Debussey: Preludes
Scott Joplin: piano rags. William Bolcom called him America's Chopin, and perhaps he is. Also look for rags by James Scott and Joe Lamb.
Szymanowsky: Mazurkas
Chabrier: Espana; Bourree fantastique; Dix pieces pittoresques
Scriabin: Piano sonatas #7, 9 & 10; Vers la flamme; Flammes sombres. This, and not the noise emanating from San Francisco in the '60's, is true psychedelic music.
Another approach would be to look for recordings by Alfred Brendel and Maurizio Pollini. Both are excellent performers, and neither plays junk.
Re Pachelbel's canon: the next time you are subjected to it, try singing "Puff the Magic Dragon." It works.