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A new release documents the entire 1,200 year history of classical music, over 24 CDs. What if you listened to it all in one go?
There's an epic new box set just out on Deutsche Grammophon. 24 CDs that span classical music history from c800 to the present day. Those CDs are packed full of the finest recordings from the yellow label's peerless catalog, with artists like Leonard Bernstein, Martha Argerich, Claudio Abbado and Wilhelm Kempff. (more about the set here)
Meet our Social Media Editor, Kyle Macdonald (with Beethoven). Notice his smile. It may fade.
We thought we'd challenge Kyle to listen to the set - the history of classical music - in one epic sitting. That's right, 1,200 years of music, in one 24 hour session. And just to add to the challenge, we're adding a few complete operas and an epic mass in there. Because who doesn't want to hear Wagner's Parsifal complete, without a break, when you've been listening to music for 15 hours? (Answer: no-one.)
Friday 13 November:
7am: Disc I Music of The Middle Ages (Pérotin, de Machaut)
8am: Music of the Renaissance (Anonymus, Dufay, Desprez, Dowland, Byrd)
9-10am: Bach B minor Mass
11am: The Classical Symphony (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven)
12pm: The Classical Concerto (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven)
1pm: The Romantic Symphony (Schubert, Brahms)
2pm: Cycles and Songs (Schumann, Beethoven, Schubert)
3pm: The Virtuoso I (Chopin, Brahms, Liszt)
4pm: The Romantic Cello (Dvorák, Elgar)
5pm: The Virtuoso III (Schumann, Rachmaninov)
6pm: Big Voice, Big Orchestra (Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, R. Strauss)
7-9pm: Verdi: La Traviata
9pm Get Your Program (Sibelius, Smetana, Holst)
10pm-2am Wagner: Parsifal
2am: New Currents (Prokofiev, Bartók, Shostakovich)
3am: A World Re-Arranged (Barber, Britten, Ives, Stravinsky)
4am: Lasting Impressions (Ravel, Debussy)
5am: 12 Points of View (Berg, Webern, Schoenberg)
6am: Minimalism (Rihm, Adams, Glass)
Two equally important box sets... #Classical24 pic.twitter.com/SGhEmgFKkj
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Now in my #Classical24 challenge, the complete B minor Mass. And I've got my score. #MassiveNerd pic.twitter.com/WYMQfl3TBl
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Now it's Mozart and coffee. #Classical24 going wonderfully well. @DGclassics @LennyBernstein pic.twitter.com/ky7T8dVCPm
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
9 hours in & the arrival of Lieder gives a perfect opportunity to use this lovely one. #Classical24 @Boosey_London pic.twitter.com/Q7g5a6BSYW
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Loved the Lieder, now to hour 10: virtuoso piano. Feeling quite shattered now - but 14 hours to go. :'( #Classical24 pic.twitter.com/7cbHP62Y5H
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Yep - it looks like he might be done for. Too much good music.
14 hours to go. I want the music to stop... (no offence, Dvorak) ...I’m not going to make it.
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Rach 2 is proving to be quite a struggle. :-6 #Classical24
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Time to call in a secret weapon: SNACKS AND BEER. #Classical24 pic.twitter.com/FDsCIh266J
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Damn you, Snacks and Beer, and your magical powers...
12 hour selfie. Halfway there. La Traviata coming up now, complete. #Classical24 pic.twitter.com/HF19xadqaH
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
The brass is loud, and I’m not in the mood. Sorry, Wagner… #Classical24
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Struggling with Parsifal. Confused at what’s going on. There’s a king, and a spear? Lots of bass-baritones …not really into it. #Classical24
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 13, 2015
Actually, got to say, this is sounding rather fantastic. :-0 #Classical24
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 14, 2015
AGGGGGHHHHH. What. An. Ending. Just divine. #Classical24
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 14, 2015
At the end of the Wagner, things are getting messy. #Classical24 pic.twitter.com/llLq0yjU5G
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 14, 2015
Dawn from Britten’s Four Sea Interludes. All I can think is, I WILL NEVER SEE DAWN AGAIN. IT WILL NEVER COME. #Classical24
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 14, 2015
23 hours selfie. #Classical24 #JohnAdams pic.twitter.com/EHgtof89YU
— Kyle Macdonald (@KHRMacdonald) November 14, 2015
He's never been the same since. In a good way. Fancy taking the challenge yourself. Grab the set here, and press play.