The romantic composers thrill me mostly, and Camille Saent-Saenz amazing work delights many others as well, to this day. Camille left a huge treasure trove of compositions to explore. Of course my favorite was the first bit I heard by Saent-Saenz, Danse Macabre, mainly because it is so vastly different from most other classical music. In a new performance soon to be aired on BBC Radio 3 on 28 March, conductor Maxim Emelyanychev and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment they say we will be reminded of his musical genius and delight in the sound. "Saint-Saëns is among the most paradoxical of composers. A classicist and self-styled eclectic, he nevertheless drew on the musical language of the Romantic era in which he lived, but eccentrically insisted that personal emotion should ideally play no part in composition, a curious stance that his own work predictably more than once contradicts. Gabriel Fauré once described him as “the most complete musician we have ever possessed,” though others, notably Debussy, disparaged him as conservative and had doubts about his worth. After his death, aged 86, in 1921, his reputation fluctuated wildly, and much of his colossal output remains in limbo." Captured in the concert are performances of the Organ Symphony (No 3), Danse Macabre, Phaeton and the First Cello Concerto. This is just the first of many things of interest still happening in the Classical Music world.
From Wikipedia: The Romantic era of Western Classical music spanned the 19th century to the early 20th century, encompassing a variety of musical styles and techniques. Part of the broader Romanticism movement of Europe, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert are often seen as the dominant transitional figures composers from the preceding Classical era. Many composers began to channel nationalistic themes, such as Mikhail Glinka, The Five and Belyayev circle in Russia; Frédéric Chopin in Poland; Carl Maria von Weber and Heinrich Marschner in Germany; Edvard Grieg in Norway; Jean Sibelius in Finland; Giuseppe Verdi in Italy; Carl Nielsen in Denmark; Isaac Albéniz in Spain; Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar in England; Mykola Lysenko in Ukraine; and Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák in what is now the Czech Republic. A European-wide debate took place, particularly in Germany, on what the ideal course of music was, following Beethoven's death. The New German School—primarily Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner—promoted progressive ideas, in opposition to more conservative composers such as Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.
How about linking to some of the music or posting videos of live performances? That would make the posts more interesting.
