Can you name some classical compositions which would make good novelties?

Question

Recently, there have been a couple of questions along the line of "How can we get people interested in classical music?"
Then in another question, someone mentioned something about Rossini's cat duet.
Then I put the two together and figured that novelty compositions would be good for that purpose.
After all, many people think that classical music is all Gotterdammerung.

Musical dice games could be good audience participation stunts.  Mozart--or someone signing Mozart's name--wrote a minuet in which each measure is determined by a roll of two dice.  After the volunteer finishes rolling the die, the performer will say "I will now perform the minuet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and [name of audience volunteer]."

The Library of Congress also has such a piece written for piano trio and signed with Haydn's name.

A pianist who relates well with children could ask a child to play a piano duet in which one part is a simple ostinato.  Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Liadov, and Cui got together and wrote a collection of pieces in which the child repeats FGFGEAEADBDBCCCC.  Any one of those pieces ought to get a good applause.  "Exploring the Piano" by Alexander Tcherepnin consists of short pieces in which the child's part is easy enough to demonstrate to a child selected from the audience.

Any other ideas?
Or any other examples of the ideas already suggested?

[operatic stock character] · Accepted Answer

I'm not sure I agree that novelty compositions are the best way to encourage medium to long-term interest in classical music.

However, off the top of my head:

-Satygraha (opera) by Philip Glass.  An opera in which the vocal lines consist entirely of scales!  Not to mention the subject matter, and the fact that the libretto is in sanskrit. 

-Lulu (opera) by Berg

-Etude Op. 10, No. 5 by Chopin aka "Black Key Etude"

-Jerry Springer: The Opera

-Piano pieces written for the left hand alone, such as "Concerto pour la main gauche" by Ravel

? · Answer

I think just having young people explore Disney's Fantasia while someone knowledgeable of Classical Music explaining/annotating along will be just fantastic.  The hardest thing about getting youngsters ( include anyone under 20 one lol) is keeping interest - we're much more visual beings that aural.  As time goes on, we will only become more visual.  Look at how many people multitask while listening to music. . . 

Sorcerer's Apprentice and Night on Bald Mountain are excellent visual representations of the music!

Peter and the Wolf.  Disney, years ago, put out an album/book combo that I not only wore the record out but destroyed the book just reading it over and over and over.  And for the most part, needs no one to really help translate it.

Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Britten would, IMHO, be another along this vein.

For those a little older, I think Berlioz's March to the Scaffold from Symphonie Fantasique would keep their attention - 'specially when you tell them the soft 2 bass notes near the end represent the head falling off into the basket after being executed.  (gruesome I know - but teenagers would probably get a kick out of it)

Pictures at an Exhibition - there is a DVD floating around out there that shows each individual art piece that each movement is modeled after.  The promenade is pretty nice too as it resembles him (Mussorsgsky was really heavy during this time period)  lumbering from work to work, kinda waddling, kinda swaying,  . . 

I know what I'm suggesting is more along the lines of "music appreciation" rather than the percipitory pieces you've outling above.  I've rubbed elbows, over the years, with folks who teach young children music  (which would just blow my mind)   For the most part they don't use music from the classical period - they'll use percussive type intruments and such that keep them active.

I watched a class full of first graders play a tune with something called (and my memory is weak since it was years ago) i think were called "whackers".  They were basically color coded plastic pipes that when struck the ground would produce a pitch.  The score was a color coded concoction that the student would hit when they saw their color come up . . .   hard to explain  but it was really kinda cool.  Kinda like what the blue man group do.

steever · Answer

Congratulations, @Nils! You beat me by potential of 13 minutes. id wasn't made any much less complicated by potential of the reality that each and all of the text fabric on the YouTube link pertains to Sarah Biasini, and none of it to the music. (Krebs-geborene = born under the sign maximum cancers - in her case, 21st July.)

toutvas bien · Answer

there is always the musical labor strike Haydn's Farewell Symphony and the Toy Symphony always amuses

Trending News

Can you name some classical compositions which would make good novelties?

4 Answers