Pure breathtaking sorrow

After a blogging pause of almost exactly one full year (not counting my beloved soup, of course), out of a special request I'll add one more post to my music (upload) category, however for this one time not dealing with the new hot shit in terms of noisecore and consortia, but rather some more classic tunes.

YT's quick tip: The following mp3s are best savored alone with a bottle of delicious red wine.


Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) - one of the most influential (German) composers of all time. The saddest and possibly most well-known fact about this outstanding character of the Classic - Romantic era is his tinnitus and resulting loss of his hearing during his 30ies. He died at the age of 56, leaving 138 (numbered) opi behind - the last one of these being published 20 full years before his death (besides this, 205 additional composings where discovered, not numbered by the composer).
Out of this wonderful spectrum of some of the best music ever written, surely the 2nd movement (Allegretto) of his Symphony No. 7 in A Major, op. 92 is simply heartbreaking.

Let me therefore provide you with this wonderful piece of art:
Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, performed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by the great Leonard Bernstein
d/l from mediafire

Also, let me bring the 2nd part of this recording to your ears: his
Symphony No. 1 in C Major, op. 21
d/l from mediafire


Another work I'd consider one of the most important ones, or even more so, its composer who certainly was a main influence in his era and leader of the scene of Romantic composers and musicians, is Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) and his 'Ein deutsches Requiem' (A German Requiem) - unlike other missae pro defunctis written to texts from the Lutheran bible (in German), picked by Brahms himself. Of all the requiems I know and ever heard of, this *one* example does not pity the death of the deceased, but tries to alleviate the sorrow and buoy up the bereaved. It is not only from a musical standpoint, but also judging by its theological views, a true masterpiece.

So here it is, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, conducted by Otto Klemperer:
d/l from mediafire


In case none of these works made you turn off your stereo drowned in tears or choke by the sheer overwhelmingly breathtaking delight brought to your ears yet, I will now break my secret of the most depressing, eyewatering piece of music ever:
Gustav Mahler's (1860 - 1911) Adagietto (4th movement, 'Sehr langsam') from his arguably most famous piece, the Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor.
If you have ever seen Death in Venice, the 1971 film adaption of Thomas Mann's homonymous book directed by Luchino Visconti, you know what I'm talking about.

Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 5, New York Philharmonic, conducted (once again) by Leonard Bernstein (and please, please note his unequaled expressiveness in the Adagietto)
d/l from mediafire

If this wasn't all way too sad already, I would've stated I'd go listen to Linkin Park now.