Question:
Classical music's most over-exposed pieces?
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Classical music's most over-exposed pieces?
Twenty answers:
brian777999
2008-04-16 11:18:57 UTC
As much as we dislike listening to these pieces now, I still come across young people who have NEVER heard them before.



Imagine what it must be like to hear it for the first or second time ?



I think you have just about covered everything. I cannot think of any to add to that list
?
2008-04-16 18:09:27 UTC
Allen (aka Arthur de Lulli) - "The Celebrated Chopsticks Waltz, arranged as a Duet and Solo for the Pianoforte.", 1877



All the following are lovely pieces, but have been subjected to far too much overexposure:



Bach - Minuet in G

Bach - Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring

Bach (attr.) - Toccata in D, BWV 525

Beethoven - Fifth Symphony (first 10 seconds)

Beethoven "Ode to Joy" (again, first 10 seconds ... enough for a sound byte)

Elgar - Pomp and Circumstances #1

Mozart - Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550

Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker suite ... (usually sick of it by the second of November)



... Carmichael - "Heart and Soul"
udgs3s
2008-04-16 15:48:54 UTC
I think the worst case is "Fur Elise"!!



However, why do rude people put thumbs down for no reason at all? Crazy attitude, don't you think? No need for that nonsense here..!
Lisa
2008-04-16 13:29:21 UTC
Strauss- Blue Danube

Tchaikovsky- Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake (admittedly I still love the last two)



Beethoven- only the first mvmt of the 5th when it isn't live. Live its still pretty amazing.



Bach- Prelude from the GMajor suite. So many cellists say they play the 'Suites' and all they've played is that prelude!



Pachelbel- I have to repeat it. It's a cellists NIGHTMARE. Two repeated measure over and over and over and over....



Mozart- Eine Kleine's first movement. The other's people are blissfully unaware of it seems. I quite like the Rondo



Mozart- Queen of the night aria. (sorry I don't know the proper name)



Among cellists I'd say the A Major Beethoven Sonata. EVERYONE plays it. It's as if no one knows the existence of the others.



Gerswhin- opening of Rhapsody in Blue



The use of the word 'song'. I know its not a piece. But it must be mentioned. It shouldn't annoy me as much as it does, but I think I've developed a twitch...



Wagner- Ride of the Valkyries out of context. Like in apocolypse now....oi...



Oh yes, and people saying "I LOVE the cello. It's my favorite instrument. That's the big violin right?" Along with that goes S. Saens The Swan. Talk about butchery of a piece.



~Lisa
random.classmate
2008-04-16 12:53:50 UTC
I'm surprised that no one's mentioned Beethoven's 9th yet. Fourth movement, choral finale, "Ode to Joy." And since we're not talking simply about just classical composers, because you've definitely added a handful of romantic and impressionistic composers, Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite (Dance of the Reed Pipes especially) and 1812 Overture. I'm sure there are plenty more, but these are the leading offenders.
VivaldiS
2008-04-16 12:48:11 UTC
The introduction of Beethoven's 5th makes me cringe now, I've heard it in so many movies/television shows/commercials/etc.
hfrankmann
2008-04-18 01:35:35 UTC
Pachabel Canon without a doubt - it was banned from a public radio station here because the people who worked there were getting suicidal from hearing it played over and over again at pledge breaks.
Alberich
2008-04-17 17:02:07 UTC
I've seriously debated on whether to respond to this question or not. For I've been afraid if I do, it will only underscore my already evolved distaste for them.



And I already feel a certain poignancy with regards to this loss. But then, it may just be the result of natural evolution: human growth, becoming jaded by life's experiences; or just plain growing old - who knows? Anyway------



The Ride of the Valkyries(never thought this would happen).



Opening notes of Beethoven's 5th(symphony).



Grand March from "Aida".



Lecuona's "Maleguena".



The Evening Star from "Tannhauser"



I really don't want to continue with this; forgive me.



Alberich



P.S.-The scope of words contained in the "Check Spelling" program, is so limited: really exasperating for me.
Allison
2008-04-16 17:24:16 UTC
Wow, you got most of the ones I can think of.



Chopin - Prelude No. 15 in D flat major (Raindrop)

Rachmaninoff - Prelude in C Sharp Minor, Op. 3 No. 2

Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (and also the 9th)

Mozart - Sonata in C major K. 545 (1st mvmt)

Bach - Brandenburg Concerti

Ravel - Bolero (not really over-exposed, just that when you do hear it, it repeats itself so much that it has the same effect)

Bach - Prelude of Suite No. 1 for unaccomp. cello

Debussy - Arabesque No 1.

Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker Suite



Mozart is overused. Alot. I have discovered that I really like Clementi - it seems to have more substance than Mozart.



I don't get why certain pieces are played so much - there's so much great, obsure repertoire out there.



Good question.

<3
nkosi2uk
2008-04-16 14:13:53 UTC
Ravel's Bolero. If I never hear it again it will be too soon. And the percussionist's equivalent of the Pachelbel Canon, I should imagine.
Mikey :)
2008-04-18 06:01:55 UTC
Well, del_icious_manager, brian777999, i. jones, Lisa and Alberich have the list all sewn up!



Like brian777999 says, there are still young people who are just now discovering these pieces!



There's a list that includes most of these at http://www.kickassclassical.com/most-popular-classical-top-100.html
Pianist d'Aurellius
2008-04-18 20:15:19 UTC
First I would add the love theme from Tchaikovsky's setting of Romeo and Juliet. The whole suite is not overplayed, but that one theme is found in the Hercules cartoons and in every kind of commercial you can think of.

Also by Tchaikovsky; the Nutcracker suite. Almost every piece in this set is one most people recognize, such as the March, the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Trépak, the Chinese and Reed-Flute dances, and the Waltz of the Flowers.



Another piece by Beethoven that's sort of iconic is the opening bars of the 8th piano sonata, the Pathétique. The whole introduction is pretty familiar to everyone. Also, the opening bars of the 5th symphony and the theme from the finale of the 9th. This last is actually the anthem of the European Union.



Of course, there's always that mighty organ prelude by Bach, the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565. This is, unfortuntely, permanently associated with a haunted house or some such thing in most people's minds.



Holst's planets are his only popular piece; 'Mars' is pretty overplayed.



Chopin's C Sharp minor prelude of Opus 72 is used too much , but I still love it.



A few by Grieg; the opening bars of the Piano Concerto, and the character piece 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'. Almost anyone can sing this piece, but no one can say who wrote it. Along with that last, I should mention Dukas' suite l'Aprenti Sorcier, which was greatly popularized, and subsequently degraded, by Disney's pictoral setting of it in Fantasia.



Rossini's overture to Guilliame Tell is one that few people recognize from the opening, but they say 'Hey, isn't this the theme from the Lone Ranger?' as soon as it hits the finale.



Venturing into the lesser known, I would suggest the fourteenth song from Rachmaninoff's opus 34, the Vocalize. This was set in tons of different arrangements, some by the composer himself. I don't know how many people would know it on hearing, but it is a little more popular than it should be.



Among musicians, the most overused piece is Paganini's 24th Violin Caprice in A Minor. Among those who have arranged it or written variations on it; Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Witold Lutosvafski. Even more modern versions have been produced by Benny Goodman and A.L. Webber.



Somewhat lesser known are Ravel's Boléro and his Pavane. They are both great pieces, but the former really doesn't deserve it. Even Ravel admitted that it was a sort of joke, saying that he wanted to just build one phrase and one rhythm to a singleminded climax. I immagine it is a percussionist's nightmare, as well as a conductor's. On the other hand, it has trombone glissandos.



Saint-Saens' suite, Le Carnaval des Animaux, is probably his best known and least-deserving piece. He said that it was strange that this little trifle should become so popular. He didn't even assign it an Opus number, and I believe he banned its performance during his lifetime. They're fun little character pieces though, especially ones like 'Kangaroos', 'Bones' and 'the Elephant'. 'Aquarium' and 'Cuckoo Bird Deep in the Woods' are some cool pieces also.

Of course, Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre is also pretty overrated, but still exciting.



I don't know how much this applies outside of the musical community, but I would say that Mahler's Adagietto from the 5th symphony gets a bit too much attention, overshaddowing the rest of the symphony.
2008-04-16 21:01:28 UTC
Pieces of music are only over exposed if you allow them to be. The Moonlight Sonata is a marvelous composition, a work of tremendous genius. But there is more to it than the first movement. Similarly, there is more to Mozart's A Major Sonata than the Turkish Rondo ... another two movements more. Listen to one part over and over and over and you will tire of it.



It is true that some pieces are over exposed by certain radio stations ... Classic FM is an example ... and, even more so by television advertising where a fraction of a classical piece is used to advertise things as unrelated to them as motor cars and foreign holidays. Even worse are call centres where you are asked to wait in a queue while the first movement of Eine Kline Nachtmusik crackles down the line.



If a piece of music once meant something to you don't just write it off because it has become a bit jaded through repeated listenings. Give it a rest for a time and then go back to it with a different pianist/violinist/conductor etc.



Most importntly ... always broaden your horizons. Explore music and composers you are not familiar with. The more music you have in your collection the less you will repeat certain pieces
Song bird
2008-04-17 19:59:10 UTC
Del,

You have gotten a wonderful response, which doesn't leave much room for uniqueness. So let me give you my list of over-exposed classical music in Shakespearean plays:

Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Romeo and Juliet and love theme, "A Time For Us."

HenryV: Opening and Closing Titles.

Otello: "Ave Maria" and Final Scene from Act IV.
Legandivori
2008-04-16 12:44:01 UTC
Pachabel Canon is a definite....also:



Chopin MInute Waltz



Waldteufel: Skaters Waltz



Ride of the Valkyries_ Wagner
Tabithia Rose ♥
2008-04-17 00:43:26 UTC
Ride of the Valkyeres by Wagner....



And probably Habenera from Carmen
kucletus
2008-04-16 11:32:05 UTC
Only two to add:



Barber - Adagio for Strings

Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra, introduction
mozartmusic
2008-04-16 11:34:59 UTC
I am only 15 but I have heard all of them like a gazillion times !
cantilena91
2008-04-16 10:26:41 UTC
ANY piece by Wagner & Verdi, as well as any opera aria sung by Pavarotti!
suhwahaksaeng
2008-04-16 12:07:22 UTC
I can add a couple more:



Elgar, "Salut d'Amour"

Schostakovitch Waltz


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