Do you prefer "classical" classical or romantic classical music?

Well, I'm a Romantic person myself. Although Classical and Romantic are two of my favorite periods. Most of my favorite composers hail from the Romantic era. I think I love it because so much amazing cello music came from that era and I'm a cellist. But Classical does have this amazing charm that grabs one's attention. I always try to keep myself open to anything under the label 'classical' (as long as it really is classical and not just movie music or whatnot, which I also enjoy).

However, I absolutely cannot listen to any art/classical music to relax. I can be at peace in my mind, but I can't relax. For me, listening requires mind and body. It's very distracting. I'd rather listen to pop/rock stuff on the radio for that. I'm strange I know.

~Lisa

Edit: I have a pet peeve. On this response, except for those blatantly disrespecting classical/art music, there should be no thumbs down! There are humble opinions of listeners. We need a wide variety of listeners. Everyone gets a thumbs up for me if you answered honestly!

I prefer romantic classical music. It can be jarring, but that is what I like about it. I guess I want to be jarred!

My late father was a classical-classical man. Growing up, there was a lot of Mozart, Haydn, and early Beethoven playing in my house. The cross-over stuff that we both liked was Tchaikovsky and Berlioz.

A visiting uncle was an excellent pianist, and we were treated to lots of Chopin. My first self discovery in romantic classical was the Chuck Jones/Warner Bros. cartoon, "What's Opera Doc", which was all Wagner. I was mesmerized, I was excited, and I was moved. I asked my father who composed the music in that cartoon and he very calmly replied, "Wagner". In exasperation, I replied, “Do we HAVE any Wagner in the house”? From Wagner, I moved on to Mahler, then Richard Strauss. My love and knowledge of Berlioz grew as well.

I don’t listen to music when I am resting/thinking/relaxing/contemplating.; I can’t. I am too passionate about music. If the music is something I like, I’ll start concentrating on it, get wrapped up in it, and next thing you know, I’m no longer concentrating on the task I need to do. If the music is something I dislike (if there’s a radio playing at work), I’ll gripe and moan, and wonder, “How can people stand this crap?” Once again, I’m no longer concentrating on the task I need to do.

My issue with Haydn and about 50% of Mozart is that I almost always know what the next note or chord will be. I guess I could listen to classical-classical while thinking/relaxing, but I prefer my own “internal radio”, which I have gotten quite used to. I have stored in my head large portions of music which start playing (in my head) when my mind does not need to be fully engaged. When I need to concentrate, the internal DJ automatically stops. Neat, huh?

I really cannot tell which one I enjoy more. It really depends what I want to listen to. I also enjoy listening to the Baroque (Bach, Pachelbell, Hadel, Lully, et. al) and Renaissance (De Prez, Palestrina, Lasus, et. al) music a lot to. I compelely agree with you that much of the music from the Romantic era tends to be intentional "jarring." However, there are many compositions from that era that I think you would like, especially certain earlier works from 1803-1850. Although I love classical music, the problem that I have with it is it can become so boring after a while just because you get tired of hearing IV-V-I, simple substitutes of IV-V-I, or any other excessive circle progression type motion. You should really check out Baroqoe and Renaissance if you haven't already.

Well, there are four main periods of classical music

Baroque

Classical

Romantic

Modern

The people in between

I personally like the people in between

Between the classical and romantic: Beethoven

Between the Romantic and Modern: Debussy

Other wise, Modern: Rachmaninoff

Romantic: Chopin, Liszt

Baroque: Vivaldi, personally I don't like Bach

Then classical: Mozart, Haydn

Taste is taste. A lot of life experiences go into constituting one's taste. I'm sure glad you didn't ask "which is best": I get so tired of questions like that.

Subjectivity is subjectivity. What am I trying to say? Bottom line: I guess it depends mostly on one's "bent of personality", if that makes sense.

Some people are what is called "hopeless romantics": maybe that's me. I enjoy the "classics" at times(Bach, Mozart, Beethoven); but I most often will opt for the very heavy romantics. For me, no composer's music is more transcendentally uplifting than that of Richard Wagner's. I seem to never tire of his operas.

Alberich

I cant really choose i love both periods.. but i really enjoy playing romantic classical music on the piano.. maybe a little bit more than classical classical.

"None. I find that type of music boring. Unless I need it to put me to sleep."

The question was which of the two do you prefer, not IF you do. And trust me, without classical, no modern music would exist. Think about it for a moment.

I love Romantic classical, I'm mainly a pianist, and Liszt has to be one of my favorite composers. I feel more of the composer's soul in the music than in classical. But, Classical music is probably better for your technique, Romantic is for putting passion the music (just, in my opinion).

I do enjoy a lot of Bach's violin sonata's (I get them transcribed a fifth lower for viola) and piano preludes.

I like both.

Here are my specific preferences:

1.) Bach's music (in order):

a. Passion music and Organ music

b. other religious music

c. Orchestral and Keyboard music

d. Chamber music

e. Secular vocal music and songs

2.) Music of other Evangelical (Lutheran) musicians from ca. 1500-1950s

3.) Keyboard and Orchestral music of Catholic-territory (Italy, southern Germany, Austria, and France) musicians from ca. 1650-1800

4.) Bohemian and other natiolistic music from ca. 1800-1920

5.) Orchestral and other music from 1800-1920

6.) Rakhmaninov

7.) the great French Organists from 1800-1950s

8.) Beethoven and Schubert

9.) Franz Joseph Haydn's minor-keyed Symphonies and Masses

and

10.) Mozart's Fantasia in f for Organ KV 608, minor-keyed Piano works, the two Symphonies in g, the Piano Concerti in d and c, Movement II from the Clarinet Concerto in A, the Motet "Ave verum corpus", and the Masses in c (2), d, and the Requiem in d.

My favorite is J:S: Bach..After him, Classical classical...oh yes

I'll have to go for romantic. So much more raw emotion! The whole idea of the romantic artist appeals to me. You have to love Beethoven.