The Madman's Librabry By Edward Brooke-Hitching

The Madman's Librabry by Edward Brooke-Hitching

This has to be one of the most amazing and interesting books i own. Please buy it! It is an incredible introduction to the most extraordinary books in the world with fabulous pictures.

One of the most beautiful classic literature editions 🧡💛💚💙💜

If you are interested in beautiful editions of classic Literature, check out the Penguin Drop Caps series! They have a book in every color of the rainbow for every letter of the Alphabet.

Penguin Drop Caps - Penguin Classics - Because what you read matters. - Penguin Group (USA)

Penguin Drop Caps by type designer Jessica Hische - Penguin Group (USA)

Penguin Drop Caps is a series of twenty-six collectible hardcover editions of fine works of literature, each featuring on its cover a specia

If you like art - You must hear pictures at an exhibition by Mussorgsky - he literally wrote music for art works imagening how they would sound!

Classical music to listen to based on your interests

(yes, I made another list.  sue me.  i’m all for spreading classical music awareness.  feel free to add to this list.)

If you like facts and logic - literally anything by Bach

If you like roasting people - “Leck mich im Arsch” by Mozart

If you like politics - Sinfonia Eroica (Symphony No. 3) by Beethoven

If you like invading other countries - “Ride of the Valkyries” by Wagner

If you like showing off - “Caprice No. 24″ by Paganini

If you like nature - “Finlandia” by Sibelius

If you like dancing - Slavonic Dances by Dvorak

If you like art - anything by Debussy

If you like reading - Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov

If you’re classy - “The Blue Danube” by Strauss

If you like history - The Water Music by Handel

If you’re religious - A German Requiem by Brahms

If you like Star Wars/Star Trek - The Planets by Holst

If you like “All By Myself” - Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninoff

If you like crying your eyes out - “Nimrod” by Elgar

If you like the zoo - The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens

If you like jazz - Jazz Suite No. 2, “Waltz No. 2″ by Shostakovich

If you’re patriotic - New World Symphony (Symphony No. 9) by Dvorak

If you like satanic rituals - “The Rite of Spring” by Stravinsky

If you like the burning flames of hell - Requiem in D Minor by Mozart

If you like New York City - “Rhapsody in Blue” by Gershwin

If you like sleep - “Sicilienne” by Faure

If you like Halloween - “Danse Macabre” by Saint-Saens

If you didn't already see it please watch "The Hollow Crown" it is one of the best Shakespeare adaptations out there. The acting is phenomenal!

Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch in The Hollow Crown

For Shakespeare Day (April 23)

When Jane Austen said, "And sometimes I keep my feelings to myself, because I could find no language to describe them in," I felt that

Amadeus is such a great movie for learning the deep meaning of and the appreciation for Mozart's music

how to get into classical music?

this post is inspired by the great twoset violin video which you can watch here. Their tips are good, but I just wanted to add something based on my experience!

Listen to the compilations - I think everything works in this case, seriously - playlists on spotify, "the very best of " albums. You can just search for example "the very best of Vivaldi" and listen to whatever the hell is there.

Ask your classical music enthusiast friend what's their current favorite piece - that's the best question you can ask. Questions like "what are your 5 favorite pieces" or "what pieces would you recommend for a beginner" can be confusing for someone, who has hundreds of favorite pieces and knows thousands of them. If you ask about their current favorite piece, you can discover something completely new and complex.

Watch Amadeus - it is a movie about composers Mozart and Salieri and it's based on a play, so not everything there is true, but the soundtrack is just 100% classical music and like 99% of Mozart's compositions. How the soundtrack is combined with the atmosphere of this film is indescribable. And here's an important information - this movie made me loose my fucking mind and fall blindly in love with classical music. I didn't give a shit about classical music before watching Amadeus.

You already know some pieces but you're still too confused - search for other interpretations - the best thing about classical music is that you can find your beloved performance of your favorite piece and cherish it like it's your own treasure. So, for example, you know The Four Seasons and you like it, but you feel like something's missing? Search for other recording. btw - check out this Spring.

Find your favorite musicians - you find your favorite musician, you want to hear more of their work, you automatically check their other recordings and wow, suddenly you know more pieces! Even if you like this musician only because they're pretty and you want to watch them play! Go for it, there's nothing wrong about it!

WATCH performances - there's something hypnotizing about watching a perfectly synchronized orchestra, the work of a conductor, a violinist making funny faces, a pianist waving a hand in a weird way. Seeing it makes you feel more connected to the musicians and finally - to the music.

Go see a free classical music performance - even if it's something you don't know. Even if it won't be so great, because it's for free or something. Just take your friend and spend a nice evening. Or maybe it's free opera performance online? Then buy some chips or wine or whatever, read the synopsis to prepare yourself and go for it! I mean, if it's for free you can just leave or turn that off, you won't loose anything.

The very last thing - watch Twoset Violin. Even the silly charades videos or Ling Ling workout. You can't escape from exploring new pieces when you watch twoset. Their channel shows that classical music is for everyone and lots of their videos are very educational.