Here, the Cello Concerto is performed by Yo Yo Ma kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bdiGipeLnJa4lnk.html

Thanks! Just asked for this actually! Haha

My favourite piece ever

yup, each of these italian words indicate the speed, or tempo. it's measured in bpm (beats/minut), and since you can't just say say "this piece's tempo is 87!" because of different interpretations (musicians playing the piece slower or faster according to how they think it sounds the best), one word doesn't indicate a tempo but a range of tempo, to allow diversity. Here's a copy-paste of wikipedia page "tempo" : Larghissimo - extremely slow, slowest type of tempo (24 bpm and under) Adagissimo and Grave - very slow, very slow and solemn (24-40 bpm) Largo - slow and broad (40-66 bpm) Larghetto - rather slow and broad (44-66 bpm) Un Adagio - slow with great expression (44-66 bpm) Adagietto - slower than andante or slightly faster than adagio (46-80 bpm) Lento - slow (52-108 bpm) Andante - at a walking pace, moderately slow (56-108 bpm) Andantino - slightly faster than andante, but slower than moderato (80-108 bpm) (although, in some cases, it can be taken to mean slightly slower than andante) Marcia moderato - moderately, in the manner of a march (66-80 bpm) Andante moderato - between andante and moderato (at a moderate walking speed) (80-108 bpm) Moderato - at a moderate speed (108-120 bpm) Allegretto - by the mid-19th century, moderately fast (112-120 bpm) Allegro moderato - close to, but not quite allegro (116-120 bpm) Allegro - fast and bright (120-156 bpm) Molto Allegro or Allegro vivace - at least slightly faster and livelier than allegro, but always at its range (and no faster than vivace) (124-156 bpm) Vivace - lively and fast (156-176 bpm) Vivacissimo and Allegrissimo - very fast, lively and bright (172-176 bpm) Presto - very fast (168-200 bpm) Prestissimo - extremely fast (200 bpm and over 208) (At this tempo, cut common time is often used) ps: this is approximative

No, K is only for Mozart. Several composers were catalogued by someone other than themselves (Mozart, Debussy, Liszt), and their catalogue numbers use different letters (K for Mozart, L for Debussy, S for Liszt) which like Mozart are the cataloguer's initials; the vast majority use opus. Some composers, confusingly, have both opus and a different cataloguer (Schubert, Chopin); I wouldn't worry too much about them.

It's the Cello Concerto by Edward Elgar.

@@hape3862 thanks, much appreciated

​@@evans3254 The Elgar Concerto is one of the most beautiful Cello Concertos. While discovering Elgar, don't miss out on his "Enigma Variations", his Violin Concerto and the "Pomp and Circumstances Marches" and you'll be hooked with classical music forever! But there is sooo much more to discover than just Edward Elgar, enough for more than a lifetime.

@@hape3862 I've been into classical music for about 14 years now. I haven't dove into Elgar yet

I love your enthusiasm and also will check out the pieces you recommended.

I think something that always confused me was the fact that a whole title would say "symphony no. 5" and then "in C minor" as if I had the choice to look for "symphony no. 5 in D," for example. and also learning up the letters and numbers drives me crazy cause they really don't give me any extra info, it's just a letter or a number. while the title "pastoral" does mean something to me

For instruments that play a semitone lower, the written music that will read a semitone higher. So in the end they make the intended noises after all.

@@marktow9895 I know; that's not what I mean. (Thanks anyway.)

Very interesting question, I've often wondered this myself. There's no way to measure this, all we can say is that it just sounds at a lower frequency, even all these keys he said in this video with F major being quite mellow, F major in beethovens time was a bit lower than today's f major so it's hard to say. But the fact that a piece is played higher or lower might move us in a way that if it's lower, it might sound a bit more dramatic or scary, but if it's higher it might sound a bit more energetic, these things come from evolution.

@@Composer_ Interesting, thank you; I'd assumed that it must somehow be something more profound than overall pitch, albeit that overall pitch seemed, to me, to be the only variable involved. It's reassuring, too, to learn that I'm not the only one who wondered about it! Cheers :)

In the early 18th century the "major/minor" system of tonalities had been established but the system of equal temperament had not yet become standard. Therefore, the different keys were unique in a way they no longer are today. In those days theorists such as Johann Mattheson wrote about the emotional differences among them. At later periods and up to the present, despite equal temperament, people still hear differences in mood among the different keys (that is, among major keys and among minor keys, not just the difference between major and minor). I'm sure you can find articles about this phenomenon somewhere on the internet. Happy searching! This is a very interesting topic.

Just wondering what are your favorite classical artists/ pieces? I’m only 19 and recently got into classical (enjoyed it since a kid too but only recently really got into it) and think it’d be cool to hear an opinion from a man who’s listened for 7 decades. My favorites so far are Tchaikovsky and Ravel. Beethoven too