Cheerful fast paced pieces

[Moe]

Hey, once again, GMG :-)

It's time for me to explore some new music and I would love to get some recommendations on a couple of fast-paced and cheerful pieces!

Anything is welcome, as well as any instrument of course.

Cheers!

[mc ukrneal]

Hey, once again, GMG :-)

It's time for me to explore some new music and I would love to get some recommendations on a couple of fast-paced and cheerful pieces!

Anything is welcome, as well as any instrument of course.

Cheers!

Some of the dances from Dvorak's Slavinic Dances will fit the bill (I love Kubelik here, but there are other good ones too, try #1 and #8 from the first group as an example). Lots of stuff by Offenach fits that bill too. Gaite Parisienne has some sections that are fast (I like Fiedler here). Rossini overtures usually start slow, but are happy and generally end fast. You could try the Orpheus Chamber Orhcestra (but there are literally dozens of good ones). Khachaturians' Sabre Dance is well known for this too. But there are so many: Flight of the Bumblebee, part of the Polovstian Dances from Prince Igor, Russian Sailor's Dance from the Red Poppy, Screamers (a bunch of short marches conducted by Fennell), etc.

[Karl Henning]

Hardly gets more cheerful than the final movement of the Prokofiev Classical Symphony.

http://www.youtube.com/v/nC0CElZVYg8

[dyn]

Papa Haydn practically codified fast & cheerful. Here's one of approximately 104* examples from his symphonies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SFXEDJOMAY

* Give or take the "Farewell" and a few others in the mid 40s

[Moe]

Some of the dances from Dvorak's Slavinic Dances will fit the bill (I love Kubelik here, but there are other good ones too, try #1 and #8 from the first group as an example). Lots of stuff by Offenach fits that bill too. Gaite Parisienne has some sections that are fast (I like Fiedler here). Rossini overtures usually start slow, but are happy and generally end fast. You could try the Orpheus Chamber Orhcestra (but there are literally dozens of good ones). Khachaturians' Sabre Dance is well known for this too. But there are so many: Flight of the Bumblebee, part of the Polovstian Dances from Prince Igor, Russian Sailor's Dance from the Red Poppy, Screamers (a bunch of short marches conducted by Fennell), etc.

You gave me a lot to check out, thanks!
I already know a few of the Slavinic Dances from Dvorak, and they're great.

Hardly gets more cheerful than the final movement of the Prokofiev Classical Symphony.

http://www.youtube.com/v/nC0CElZVYg8

Cheers!
I love Prokofiev and it's just in the right mood :-)

Papa Haydn practically codified fast & cheerful. Here's one of approximately 104* examples from his symphonies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SFXEDJOMAY

* Give or take the "Farewell" and a few others in the mid 40s

And who doesn't love Haydn?
I'm already listening to a couple of his symphonies, but I have no idea which number they have, haha.
It's a used CD I got from my grandmother and she doesn't have the labels that followed anymore.

[Ten thumbs]

A little offbeat maybe but this is really fun:

Beach's Piano Concerto, second movement (Perpetuum mobile).

[Lisztianwagner]

I would strongly recommend the polkas-schnell of the Strauss Family; such incredibly playful, brilliant and delightful pieces.

[listener]

WEINBERGER's Polka and Fugue (might be a round dance too) from 'Schwanda'  - my favourite is the Kempe/Royal Philharmonic - and the accompanying dances from "The Bartered Bride" (SMETANA) too.
The 3rd movement of the GLIÈRE 3rd Symphony ('Ilya Murometz') is a cheerful one too, and you'd enjoy 'The Red Poppy' too.
Overtures by SUPPÉ and WEBER are usually frowned upon by 'serious' concert goers as too positive and enjoyable.

[Sean]

Glass's Dance No.1, 1979. Blow your head off.

mc ukrneal Kubelic's Slavonics is among the most totally amazing and transcendent recordings of all time.

[mc ukrneal]

WEINBERGER's Polka and Fugue (might be a round dance too) from 'Schwanda'  - my favourite is the Kempe/Royal Philharmonic - and the accompanying dances from "The Bartered Bride" (SMETANA) too.
The 3rd movement of the GLIÈRE 3rd Symphony ('Ilya Murometz') is a cheerful one too, and you'd enjoy 'The Red Poppy' too.
Overtures by SUPPÉ and WEBER are usually frowned upon by 'serious' concert goers as too positive and enjoyable.

Suppe! Of course! Outstanding recommendation!

mc ukrneal Kubelic's Slavonics is among the most totally amazing and transcendent recordings of all time.

A couple others have been universally recommended here (Neumann is one of them I think, the other Harnoncourt?) that i have been considering trying. But Kubelik gets the atmosphere spot on, so I have been slow to acquire others.

[Cascade]

[Brian]

Yup! Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, Suppe's overtures, and Chabrier's Espana.

[Horowitznut]

Fast-paces and cheerful? OK, for a start:
Orchestral: Beethoven-Symphony No. 7; Mendelssohn-"Italian" Symphony; Copland-Hoedown; Grieg-In the Hall of the Mountain King; Rossini-William Tell and The Barber of Seville Overtures; Suppe-Light Cavalry Overture; Offenbach-Can-can; Mozart-Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Flute: Bach-Badinerie; Mercadante-Rondo Russo;
Guitar: Albeniz-Sevilla; Falla-The Miller's Dance; Sagreras-El Colibri;
Violin: Wieniawski-Scherzo-Tarantella; Brahms-Hungarian Dance No. 5; Monti-Csardas; Paganini-La Campanella and Capriccio No. 24; Vivaldi-The Four Seasons; Dinicu-Hora staccato
Piano: Tchaikovsky-PC 1; Chopin-"Revolutionary" and "Black Keys" etudes; Falla-Ritual Fire Dance; Gershwin-Rhapsody in Blue; Liszt-Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 2 and 15; Rachmaninoff-PC 3 and Paganini Rhapsody

[Tapkaara]

Much by French composer George Bizet would fit the bill. His Symphony in C and the two L'Arlesienne Suites contain many moments of fleet cheer.

Even the overture of Carmen would qualify until it takes its ominous turn toward the end.

[RJR]

Much by French composer George Bizet would fit the bill. His Symphony in C and the two L'Arlesienne Suites contain many moments of fleet cheer.

Even the overture of Carmen would qualify until it takes its ominous turn toward the end.

That's right. The fourth movement of Bizet's symphony is a treat. He should have stayed a symphonist rather than become an opera composer, he might have made more money and lived longer.

[The new erato]

Much by French composer George Bizet would fit the bill. His Symphony in C and the two L'Arlesienne Suites contain many moments of fleet cheer.

Even the overture of Carmen would qualify until it takes its ominous turn toward the end.

Add the orchestrated Jeux d'Enfants suite.

[jochanaan]

Hardly gets more cheerful than the final movement of the Prokofiev Classical Symphony.

http://www.youtube.com/v/nC0CElZVYg8

Interesting choice of recordings, though: Maestro Giulini is not known for fast tempos, and I've heard faster recordings (including, if I recall, one by Bernstein that was nearly airborne!).

[Karl Henning]

Aye, my sense is that Giulini doesn't wish speed to impede the melos.  And (hard to judge from audio on a YouTube vid, of course) it sounds like something of a reverberant space.  Nor does this account sound to me at all slow.

The Ančerl may be the briskest I've got, wrapping up that final movement in 3:55.

[Karl Henning]

No wonder, those will do the job, Annie.

[0spinboson]

Bartok's Romanian folk dances (performed by Johanna Martzy & Jean Antonietti here):
http://www.youtube.com/v/GwKfvh7KiRU