Mozart and Beethoven may be long gone (RIP, my good friends), but classical music is here to stay. There is a new genre in a town called contemporary classical. This is the space that classical artists now work within, creating classical compositions in the modern-day, and it is an amazing genre.
As much as I love pop music and respect the genre most of the time, contemporary classical offers a much better soundtrack to people's lives than Cardi B ever will in my opinion. Imagine the workings of the complex, classical music of someone like Mozart, but now with more sound clarity, more instruments to work with, professional recording studios, and much more.
Classical music is amped up for the modern-day, and it is time to get back into it.
1. Ólafur Arnalds
Arnalds is an Icelandic composer that I am pretty much in love with. It sounds pretentious as Hell when I bring him up to my friends, but I don't care. His music is so beautiful and relaxing. It's a mix of ambient, modern classical, piano, strings, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Ólafur Arnalds has my whole heart.
2. Vitamin String Quartet
OK, OK, if you aren't quite ready for intimidating sounding Icelandic composers Vitamin String Quartet is what you need. A vast majority of the songs they put together are covers that the group has styled for a string quartet. You can find a lot of your favorite pop songs done by this groups like "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga or "Chandelier" by Sia or "Take Me to Church" by Hozier to name a few.
3. Hans Zimmer
Zimmer is one of the top film composers of the modern day. He created the main themes for Interstellar as well as Inception, both of which were unbelievably successful movies. If you're into film scores, Hans is your guy.
4. Audiomachine
If you want music to listen to you as you are preparing for battle, here you freaking go. Audiomachine is a collaborative music company that produces songs that make you feel like a princess warrior. That is the only way I can describe this music honestly.
5. Helen Jane Long
Helen Jane Long's music is all primarily piano solo pieces with the occasional addition of strings as background harmonies. In other words, her music is pretty, like super pretty. This is great for an early Sunday morning when you are pretending to be way more relaxed for the upcoming Monday that you actually are.
6. Balmorhea
Wikipedia defines Balmorhea as "a six-piece minimalist instrumental ensemble." I am using Wikipedia's definition merely because I don't actually know how to give this group the recognition it deserves. The music can be kind of out there, with random, ambient noises echoing in the background of certain songs, but Balmorhea deserves to be on this list. It somehow takes the noises of everyday life and weaves it into beautiful songs.
7. Eric Whitacre
Just watch the video linked above because it will show you what Eric Whitacre is capable of. "Lux Aurumque" has been one of my favorite compositions ever since I played in my high schools's wind ensemble. The video above is instead the original choir version performed by people from all over in the form of a virtual choir. Whitacre takes the cake for innovation.
8. Max Richter
Max Richter has been in the contemporary classical game for some time. His songs and compositions are recognized by people who have no clue who he actually. His music is every where for good reason.
9. Hammock
Hammock is an ambient, classical group that loves to make me fall asleep. The music is hauntingly beautiful and works as amazing background music as you clean or cook or fall asleep. Seriously, if you have trouble sleeping, try this group out.
10. Ludovico Einaudi
Ludovico Einaudi not only has a super cool name, but also super cool music. All of his music is based around his solo piano work, which is absolutely impeccable. He plays the piano with such ease that you can help, but listen in wonderment.
11. Two Steps From Hell
OK, here's the finale: Two Steps From Hell. Angry? Listen. Sad? Listen. Ready for war? Listen. This is fight music, the soundtrack to your most aggressive days. Listen to Two Steps From Hell instead of punching a wall. Fantastic alternative, if ya ask me.
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