#Classical

Dec 17, 2021
1 min

Mistaken identity (Hall of Fame #69)

Für Elise might be the most recognisable piece in the countdown so far (which, by the way, looks set to continue for about 5 years if I...

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Andy Lowe

Nov 5, 2021
1 min

Textural genius (Hall of Fame #70)

"Daddy, when does it get fun?" my youngest daughter asked recently when the music I was listening to caught her attention. My reply - "it...

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Andy Lowe

Oct 1, 2021
2 min

Godfather of guitar (Hall of Fame #71)

I like guitar music - rock, folk, acoustic pop, you name it. If you include electric guitars, it's hard to imagine any instrument being...

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Andy Lowe

Sep 17, 2021
1 min

Chopin's second/first; seventy-second (Hall of Fame #72)

I know you're confused. The latest piece in this increasingly elongated blogging countdown is Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, which was...

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Andy Lowe

Aug 13, 2021
1 min

Ma Vlast is a blast (Hall of Fame #73)

And if that title wasn't corny enough for you, here's a joke: I know a Slovakian sound technician, and a Czech one too, a Czech one too....

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Andy Lowe

Jul 2, 2021
1 min

Guts, fireworks and sorcerors (Hall of Fame #74)

There's nothing subtle about Music for the Royal Fireworks, Handel's bombastic piece that ranks 74th in the Classic FM chart. Apparently...

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Andy Lowe

Jun 11, 2021
1 min

Hilary Hahn interviews a fish (Hall of Fame #76-75)

We'll get to the fish, but you'll have to bear with me. Ranking at 76th place in the hall of fame is Chopin's Nocturne in E flat major....

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Andy Lowe

May 27, 2021
1 min

Mozart's bangin' tunes (Hall of Fame #77)

It's been a while since I wrote a blog post, mainly because of working on and releasing my own music. As I returned to Classic FM's top...

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Andy Lowe

Mar 25, 2021
2 min

Orchestral Explosion (Hall of Fame #79-78)

I've been surprised by how many pieces were new to me in this top 100 countdown so far. You hardly expect a Classic FM ranking to include...

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Andy Lowe

Feb 26, 2021
2 min

The redemption of Sibelius (Hall of Fame #81-80)

Ask any music student what they think of Sibelius and I'll guarantee most won't be thinking of the Finnish composer. Instead, they'll...

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Andy Lowe

Feb 12, 2021
1 min

Too many notes? (Hall of Fame #82)

Emperor Joseph II supposedly made the criticism "too many notes" about one of Mozart's new pieces. I'd love to hear what he thought about...

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Andy Lowe

Jan 29, 2021
1 min

Composers need to go outside (Hall of Fame #84-83)

A couple of quick ones today. Ludovico Einaudi's I Giorni (#84) is probably the least classical piece of music in the countdown so far....

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Andy Lowe

Jan 22, 2021
1 min

Beautiful or Creepy? (Hall of Fame #85)

Bach's St Matthew Passion ranks in 85th place in Classic FM's Hall of Fame, being described as one of the greatest masterpieces of...

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Andy Lowe

Jan 15, 2021
1 min

When worse = better (Hall of Fame #86)

After a hiatus, I'm diving back into my countdown through Classic FM's top 100 popular classics. Handel makes his first appearance at 86...

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Andy Lowe

Dec 17, 2020
1 min

Bringing the drama (Hall of Fame #88-87)

#88 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - John Williams In my last post I mentioned the orchestral instrument libraries I compose with. One of...

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Andy Lowe

Dec 11, 2020
1 min

On the verge of disintegration (Hall of Fame #89)

YouTube comments on classical music videos are often quite helpful, and I've titled this post with some words from one of them. John...

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Andy Lowe

Nov 27, 2020
1 min

Fishing for pearls (Hall of fame #90)

Maybe I'm a sucker for punishment but this is the second opera on the top 100 list and again I decided to watch the whole thing on...

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Andy Lowe

Nov 17, 2020
2 min

Unleash the feet! (Hall of Fame #92-91)

#92, Organ Symphony No. 5 in F major - Charles-Marie Widor Feet are the most underutilised body parts in music. Drummers, pianists and...

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Andy Lowe

Nov 9, 2020
1 min

Mutter the Shredder (Hall of Fame #93)

It's been said that in previous centuries violinists were the rock stars. Paganini was melting faces with four strings long before...

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Andy Lowe

Nov 5, 2020
2 min

Profound Sorrow (Hall of Fame #94)

For a long time I didn't understand why some people were drawn to sad songs. Mystified by an advert for the 'Greatest Tearjerkers'...

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