Classical Music For The Muse Enthusiast

Sunday, January 1, 2012

So you like Muse or some other musical group that has some piano backing. I mean, Muse is the obvious example that comes to mind, but there's plenty of musical groups that use piano in their music, so. Anyway, here's the point of this: today we're going to talk about the music that influences people like Muse (and myself, but that's beside the point here).

First off, I'd like to start this off by saying that classical music is not boring. If you think it is, you should be punched in the face. Well, maybe not punched, but you should at least learn to appreciate it. If it didn't exist, your music today wouldn't exist, so it's really important that we have it. As I mentioned earlier, it's inspired a ton of today's musical artists. So without further ado, here is The Official Romantic Piano Playlist For The Muse Enthusiast, compiled by yours truly.

1. La campanella in G-sharp minor (from Paganini) - Franz Liszt. The fact of the matter is that Liszt makes pretty much every playlist ever because he's my favorite. Anyway, this song here is usually played a little bit slower than it is in the example I found, but you can play Liszt at any speed you want because he's brilliant.
2. Fantaisie Impromptu in C minor - Frederic Chopin. There's a very strong influence from Chopin on Muse, definitely. I mean, you can hear it really strongly in this piece, which is probably my favorite of Chopin's to play. It takes a lot of technical skill, though.
3. Minute Waltz - Frederic Chopin. This isn't actually one minute long, but it's fun to try to play it within a minute. It's really closer to two minutes. Of course, Victor Borge had to try.
4. Liebestraum - Franz Liszt. Yeah, more Liszt. But that's 'cause Liszt is so damn good.
5. Fur Elise - Ludwig Van Beethoven. It's an older piece, but it wasn't found and published until 1865, so to me it was a new thing when it first came out. It's also a classic of early romantic piano...and pretty much everyone recognizes it, too.
6. Piano Concerto No. 3 in A Minor - Sergei Rachmaninov. The version I've linked to is actually Rachmaninov playing - it's a really old recording, but you get to hear the composer playing his own work, something you don't normally get with older musicians. It's a nice treat. You might also want to hear his more famous Concerto No. 2.
7. Clair de Lune - Claude Debussy. This is one of the most relaxing songs you'll ever hear in your life, seriously.
8. Consolation No. 3 in D-flat Major - Franz Liszt. Again, Liszt is better than you.
9. Mazurka in A Minor - Frederic Chopin. This is another quieter one, but then again, Chopin was a quieter person. Liszt was far more dramatic.
10. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 - Franz Liszt. I had to finish with this because it's my all-time favorite piece of music. It's fun, complex and beautiful, and playing it is proof that you're a true master of the piano (or you're like me and are just really, really good at playing back what you hear).

So there you are, some pieces that you ought to listen to if you're interested in where Muse's ideas get their basis/inspiration from. Maybe next time I'll do a discussion of arpeggio or something else piano-related, since I actually feel pretty comfortable talking about piano stuff.