Hey everyone, I need to talk about something infuriating happening in the online classical music space because I'm watching a close friend spiral over it.

My friend is 15 and plays piano. He was tuning into a livestream of a creator he really admired and looked up to. In chat, he left what any normal person would consider an incredible compliment, he compared her playing/style to Josef Hofmann and Sviatoslav Richter two of his absolute idols.

Instead of taking it as praise, this creator went on a 30 minute rant berating him. She called him "ignorant," "unworthy to be a musician," and basically said he was a "stain on this sacred artform." Because he said something (ONE comment) about her playing and she took it to offense.

I actually watched the whole thing myself, and it was genuinely sickening. She literally spent 20 minutes doing a smug "I'm right, you're wrong, you're not going to win because I'm brilliant" victory lap after the 30 minute argument over probably 2 comments he wrote and banned him from the yt stream so he couldn't even say a word.
I get that she’s a top conservatory student but doing this is completely uncalled for
Now my friend has severe rejection sensitivity and is spiraling, saying he feels like an "object to be berated" and that he can't even enjoy or play classical music anymore.

How did classical music streaming get so wildly insecure and fragile? Tearing down a 15-year-old fan for 30 minutes over a compliment, boasting about your own "brilliance," and banning them just to protect your fragile ego is gross behavior.

Has anyone else noticed this level of toxic gatekeeping with classical creators? How do I help him realize that she is the unhinged one here, not him?

The main theme from “Jaws” is instantly recognizable, but it’s not terribly hard for musicians to play.
For double basses, the true test of mettle in this John Williams soundtrack is a cue called “The Shark Cage Fugue,” which comes during the climax of the film. They lead off with a light-stepping, rhythmically intricate melody: no easy feat with such a rumbly instrument.
Last year Michael Banks, a double bassist who is now 25, played a 30-second snippet of the “groove-based” fugue during his audition for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in addition to standard classical fare like Mahler and Mozart. He ended up winning the job of assistant principal bass, a position that comes with a six-figure salary and fireproof tenure once he completes a probationary period.
The Pittsburgh Symphony might play more Beethoven than it does Williams, but a serious mistake in “Jaws” still could have cost Banks the job. It was a critical part of the process.
Orchestra auditions, like coding assignments for software engineers or simulator tests for airline pilots, are meant to be meritocratic performance assessments. Unlike in those other fields, though, the audition is not part of a larger interview process; it’s the whole enchilada. Hiring is based pretty much exclusively on it.
At professional orchestras, there are typically multiple rounds of auditions. They include solo repertoire, like concertos and sonatas, and a dozen or more short excerpts. Members of the orchestra, and sometimes the music director, select the excerpts to test technical skills, for example rhythmic precision or control in the high register. They are specific to each instrument.
Some excerpts are common. For trombones, Wagner’s blazing “Ride of the Valkyries” appears regularly; for harpists, one mainstay is the glittering solo in Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” from “The Nutcracker.”
Orchestras have increased their programming of both popular film music and living classical composers, and auditions are evolving to match. More and more of those selections are appearing on excerpt lists. These days, 30 seconds of music from “Star Wars” or “Harry Potter” can make or break a player’s chances of winning a job...

I was listening to a program about Brahms piano concerto and the principal horn player (of the LPO) said he thought Brahms wrote particularly well for horns. I was wondering if the same is true for particular composers and other instruments? I don’t mean writing a concerto for that instrument so much as writing interesting orchestral parts that those musicians look forward to playing

Sibelius is known especially for his orchestral works, but in my opinion, he has some very beautiful piano pieces and also choral works that are not very well known. I really like, e.g. this Impromptu Op. 5, No. 5 for piano (Presented here by Leif Ove Andsnes)

Edit. Love also e.g. this Romance, Op 24 No 9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G048GQNLJI , but there would be many more examples, too

Operalia 2026 in Shanghai - Semifinal

I've come across some unusual instruments recently, here's a few examples:

A rusty chain in the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, you can see it at 26:17 here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBrfV5DKlXs

Wind machine, used here in the Peer Gynt shipwreck at 36:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kpqALC8IbI

Cannons in the 1812 Overture, this version even has a belltower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUpuAvQQrC0

Anvil, this version of Feuerfest never fails to make me smile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVS6vwf8cGM

Give me more!

Tchaikovsky conducted it himself in St. Petersburg. Nine days later, on November 6, he was dead. Cholera is the accepted cause, though some suspected suicide even at the time.

Years ago I chose the third movement for my younger brother's wedding video, for the part about how he and his wife met at work. Under last year's post, readers heard the same movement very differently: as a defiant rage against fate, or as a happiness trying to forget what comes next. That gave the music another layer for me.

Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique" (Mravinsky, Leningrad Philharmonic, 1960; third movement from 25:46)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czAVhmKmDS8

*Portrait of Tchaikovsky, 1893

i've been cycling through this one debussy prelude for like two weeks straight and i swear every time i notice something new. is that normal or am i just broken. does anyone else get obsessed with a single piece for a while or do you try to keep things varied

I'm Bart. I'm from the Netherlands, I live in Thailand, and I make apps. I built RadioStation myself, so yes, this is self-promotion, and it's a one-time post here.

These eight classical stations were live when I checked each stream today, and you can find every one of them in the app:

• BBC Radio 3 (UK)
• WQXR (New York)
• France Musique (France)
• NPO Klassiek (Netherlands)
• Klassik Radio (Germany)
• Radio Swiss Classic (Switzerland)
• Venice Classic Radio (Italy)
• ABC Classic (Australia)

To find one, type its name in the search on the Discover tab. Typing just "classical" gives you a list of classical stations, and you can also open a country and scroll through all of its stations.

What helps when you listen to classical music:

• From the moment you tune in, the app keeps up to 30 minutes of what you heard. If you pause in the middle of a movement, it carries on from that exact point when you press play, as long as you're back within those 30 minutes. You can also drag back to hear a passage again. One honest caveat: BBC Radio 3 and ABC Classic send a stream that only keeps the last 30 to 60 seconds, so with those two you can only go back that far.
• A sleep timer that fades the music out, for concerts late in the evening.
• AirPlay to your speakers.
• Your favourites sit on a dial, and you swipe along it to switch between them.

The app is free and needs no sign-up. It has no ads of its own, though some stations run their own. It works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. If you're in the US, the App Store lists it as FMStation.

https://apps.apple.com/app/id453459897

Which classical stations should I check next? If your favourite is missing or won't play where you live, tell me its name and country and I'll check it.

- Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor for piano four hands
- Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1
- Mendelssohn’s Octet
- Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (the devil itself!!!)
- Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor

And probably a lot more Mozart once I get to know more of his works.

Literally if I listen to any of them on my commute to work, they’ll get stuck in my head all day long.

Edit: I completely forgot to mention this contemporary piece - MacMillan’s Viola Concerto. I once woke up in the middle of the night with this piece blasting in my head. It’s cursed

I started composing around 16 years ago, and due to bad timing with my undergrad orchestra director leaving, COVID-19 killing reading, and lack of opportunities post-masters I've never had the chance to write for orchestra. This year I finally got the chance that chance: I ended up writing this piece, Great Beams of Steel and Shadow, for a friend's Master's conducting recital. I'm over the moon with how well it turned out. I hope you'll give it a listen :)

I am a jazz composer and arranger. I wrote a string arrangement of My Funny Valentine to back up a jazz vocalist performing a live concert a few years ago.

I am not a classical composer but organically used a few traditional composers as influences. I'm not sure who. The A section I would say is Classical in nature and the bridge is more Romantic. Can any composition experts further ID who my writing sounds like?

If this were jazz, I could use my analytical mind, but would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance!

Obviously, talking about those who wrote more than one, so don't get all cute with Bizet :)

So what are the weakest entries in the cycles of those who were significant composers of symphonies?

For Beethoven, it's rather obvious conventional wisdom that #1-#2 are his weakest ones, as he just kept getting greater and greater as he went on. It seems logical that #1 would be his "worst," although I'd say it's still a really good symphony.

But for others, the relative misses may come later in their oeuvre: Mahler, for instance. The CW is that #7 is his weakest, or at least his least-attractive work. Too weird, and the finale seems unconvincing to many. Although, I've definitely known some who dislike #8 most. For me, though, it's #4. Just bores me, which is quite unusual for Mahler.

Brahms might be the most difficult to pin down a weakest one, as all four of his symphonies are so tightly-constructed and are masterpieces, each in their own way. Probably #3 is the least-loved overall.

Okay, so what's your take?

What "great" work did you never enjoy until you heard a particular recording--and it made you say "Oh! I get it now!"

For me it was Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. Never disliked it, but it never did anything for me. Then I heard Macelaru's live recording with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, and thought "Oh, that's lovely!"

I feel that there should be more curated channels on YT that make original content and visuals for these types of genres. If you know any other channels, write them down 🤙

This is a piece of music I recently composed for classical guitar. The form is A:||B|| Da Capo al Coda (so modified ternary form I guess?)

This piece doesn't have a specific tonal centre other than the Cmajor#4 as the "tonic" but it's not really tonic, I wasn't thinking in terms of functional harmony. I personally love major chords with an added #4 I think they sound super sweet, so this piece is based on that.

The title "Ballad of the Awoken" the "Awoken" are those who have realized that true creation requires total dedication to the creative process and who have acknowledged that authenticity in art has absolutely NO shortcuts. It represents the artist who wants to express emotion and humanity, and views art as a shared experience of the human condition.

I hope you can enjoy this short piece just as much as I enjoyed composing it and recording u/InternationalHope678 's performance of it.

Audio/Video: u/RaiseTLT (me)

Composition: u/RaiseTLT (me)

Performance and Interpretation: u/InternationalHope678 (my wonderful partner)

Over the past decades, starting in the 70’s, I ended up with 1,200 or so classical LP’s, single albums and box sets. They are on shelves at the back of a closet and I no longer have a turntable. A similar situation with hundreds of cds.

Is there anyone who would want them? So far I haven’t found anyone.

I took these photos in my last trip to the Lakes of Covadonga. I can’t really find a song that exactly describes the serenity I feel here.

My best shout is Reverie from Debussy.

There was a classical radio station (DAB I‘m sure) I came across in 2020 / 2021 ish, I loved it, then found it had closed down cos of lack of funds. I can’t remember the name of it. It wasn’t Scala - that’s what keeps coming up when I try and search.

Can anyone remember the name?

I remember there wasn’t much talking, mostly back-to-back pieces. I really enjoyed it and was gutted when I saw it had closed.

Played piano as a kid. We had one of the yamahas that came preloaded with recordings of each piece "50 greats" book, which toddler me loved listening to. When I got older I switched to playing jazz saxophone, so I stopped listening and playing classical, but I still hold a love for it in my heart. Reminds me of my mom ❤️

My ears aren't sensitive to things that aren't "accessible" (whatever that means 😆 ) but I'm looking for some must listen pieces, ideally piano solo stuff but anything will do. I just love music!!