Stone Spiral and Boat.

Bridge at night in Niigata, Japan.

The common backyard sculpture.

Stormy Sea Coast.

Sakura Cathedral.

Means to no end.

Fractal Tree Branch at Sunset.

The Universal Language.

The ambiguous texture.

The mysterious, forboding, and colorful street.

The Disruption of Symmetry.

Cupid, Death, and Beyond (Etching and Aquatint by Max Klinger).

Periods, Composers, and Recommended Pieces of Classical Music:

'A bit too busy to be posting the usual photos and drawings, so I thought I'd post this list, recently sent to a friend, of pieces of classical music I'd recommend.

The following is definitely not an exhaustive list of excellent music. The pieces listed are just a quick overview of works I have personally found quite satisfying. I could easily add many more and have probably forgotten a few that are better than some of those listed.

note: some of the more obscure composers (i.e. Stenhammar, Berwald etc.) can be found on the Naxos label -- a recording company that has recorded some excellent music that was previously difficult to find.



Baroque :

Bach – Concerto for two keyboards in C minor (harpsichord or piano versions both sound good even though there were no pianos when Bach wrote the piece). The best recording I know of this piece can be found on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's aesthetically pristine film; "Barry Lyndon" (the other music on the soundtrack is good also, particularly a piano trio by Schubert).

Bach – Cantata # 21. Only the one directed by Karl Richter – Deutsche Gramophone Archive label -- is worthy, in my opinion. Other recordings, in the interest of sounding authentic to the time the piece was written, lack the drive of Richter's interpretation.

Bach -- Magnificat (again, I think that Karl Richter conducting is best)

Classical:

Franz Berwald – All four of his Symphonies (wrote in the Romanic Period, but in the Classical style). This guy is grossly underrated! Because he continued to write in the Classical style, he was no doubt seen as not being "innovative" and had been less appreciated for the beauty and form of his compositions then his works actually merit.

Beethoven – His grandiose works are well known and definitely masterpieces of Romantic profundity but Symphony # 8 is a gem of absolute perfection -- a rather "retro" piece in the style of his teacher, Haydn.

Romantic:

Brahms -- A German Requiem.

Wagner – The overtures to, Die Meistersinger, Tannhauser, and Parsifal

Anton Bruckner – Symphonies # 4 – 6 – 8 – 9. Symphonies number five and seven have some rather majestic moments as well. These are very difficult pieces that require several listening but are absolutely awesome once you "get" them. Bruckner will probably always be an acquired taste.

Nationalist:

Sibelius – Violin Concerto, and Symphony # 5 (the finale is superb).

Stenhammar – Symphony # 2. Way underrated! This is a first class masterpiece of technical and aesthetic brilliance.

Glazunov – Symphony # 2 and virtually all of his other works. His many suites are akin to small symphonies in beauty and perfection. It should be noted that he was Shostakovich's teacher.

Modern:

Stravinsky – The Firebird and The Rite of Spring (of course).

Vaughn Williams – Symphony # 5

William Walton – Symphony # 1 (the introduction is among the most spectacular in the symphonic literature).

Ravel – Piano concerto in G (especially note the nostalgic melancholy beauty of the middle movement).

Hindemith – Symphony in E-flat.

Shostakovich – Symphonies # 4 – 5 – 7 – and 11 (the finale to the 7th is magnificent). The 4th is extremely modern, abstract, and difficult, and it wasn't performed till decades after it was written because communist governments will lock you away for writing music they don't like - it wasn't accessible to "the people" (typical of what we know of "political correctness" – i.e. leftwing political extremism).

Copeland – Symphony # 3.

Howard Hanson – Symphony # 3 (A beautiful work of neo-Romanticism).

Gorecki – Symphony # 3 can easily be listed as among the most beautiful pieces of music ever written (in my opinion). His other two symphonies are completely different and aren't very impressive. His Keyboard concerto is quite interesting.

Sakamoto – Almost all this guy's film score music is fabulous particularly the themes written for the film, "The Last Emperor." -- best to find a compilation of his music.

Ligeti – "Atmospheres" and "Requiem" (both can be found on the soundtrack to the film, "2001: A Space Odyssey"). Don't be fooled into initially thinking these pieces are just gimmicks with ambient sound. They have all the structural integrity of a Beethoven symphony and are brilliant in using washes of Harmony rather than traditional melodic lines. The flux between harmony and dissonance in these works is fascinating.

John Corigliano – Symphony # 1. On first hearing, don't be deceived into thinking this is just noise – it's actually a beautiful masterpiece skillfully structured and awash in complex harmonies. Also, the film score to, "The Red Violin" by this same composer is a quite beautiful (and accompanies a movie of equal beauty and drama).

Minimalism :

Phillip Glass – Film Scores to, "Koyannisquatsi" and "The Fog of War."

Steve Reich – The Four Sections and Music for large ensemble. Hypnotic minimalism that's never mechanical (as some may think of minimalism in general). Repetition in these pieces is a mere illusion, as they both grow in an organic way akin to fractal patterns in nature.