Musicologists usually break up the great Ludwig van Beethoven's career into three periods: early, middle, and late. But to add a touch more flavor, you could call them the "I'm young and getting my feet wet" period, followed by the "Since I'm going deaf, I'm gonna get wacky and break some rules" peri

Dramatic, Manic, Moody, Pathos, Romantic music, Sublime

As both a conductor and a virtuoso pianist, Daniel Barenboim approaches each of his projects from a dual perspective: he sees a piece as both a physical, sonorous expression and as a structural whole. For Barenboim, integrating the two perspectives is essential to making good music. "The element of p

20th-century music, Eclectic, Elegant, Pathos, Sophisticated

The Verve was a modern British pop band with a tinge of psychedelia and more than a bit of melancholy. They were, as their biggest commercial hit so aptly puts it, a "bittersweet symphony." Their music does emit a certain energetic quality supported by strong, echoing guitars. But it's wrapped in a r

Brit-pop, Depressive, Pathos, Pop, Tragic

Radiohead's musical gestures are grand, even spacious, but they are neither airy nor light. Indeed, the space of this music is dense. Beneath the stupendous angst of their songs Radiohead creates a minute, complex texture, a flexible network of distortions and modulations. The band's angst turns in o

Brit-pop, Epic, Grand, Lush, Melancholy, Moody, Pathos, Progressive rock, Smarty arty pop, Voluminous