
drexl said:Beethoven's 9th - Molto Vivace in particular, so bombastic and dramatic...

Must hear stuff.
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But throughout my studies I've come to really like the Chopin waltzes and nocturnes, nearly everything by Debussy and Ravel- although learning and polishing them up to concert performance/examination standard is something completetly different. Swan Lake and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy are probably some of my favourite compositions by Tchaikovsky; I was never really fond of Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues... didn't help that most of them are very difficult to learn musically and theoretically, but I do like Bach's Cello Suites 
I've been playing cello for about 12 years, and I used to play piano, so my favourites run along those veins. I'm shocked that nobody's mentioned Dvorak or Vivaldi though! They're both so dramatic and wonderful. Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his concertos for cellos are amazing. As for Dvorak, he wrote what is considered to be the single most challenging and beautiful piece of music for the cello, his Concerto in B Minor. He also wrote the New World Symphony, which is just... no words to describe. For anyone who wants to kick off their classical music experience with a bang, go for Dvorak.
I also love love LOVE Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony.Nice list Dior_Couture1245! Theres some works you've got there that I don't think I've heard yet, but I'm writing them down! It's always exciting to listen to other people's choice of music in a certain genre.
I tend to work better with Classical music on rather than a song with lyrics (so no, no Operas, Recitatives or Arias etc when I'm studying either). The lyrics begin to distract me sometimes, because I tend to start singing along, funnily enough, humming a tune of a work helps me remember things more easily.
if I'm doing anything that requires my concentration, on goes my classical playlist, and it doesn't include anything with vocals. (oh, except for Nessun Dorma, the tenor aria. BEAUTIFUL.)