Maryland's Classical Music Station

I love Fall. Let me just state that categorically… To me, Fall is the colors of the changing leaves, a smell in the air of crispness, baked apples and campfires, the snuggly feel of  flannel clothes and the taste of pumpkin pie. It feels like the start of things, getting back to school or getting busy at work.

October is my favorite fall month because of Halloween! As a kid, I loved dressing up as a pirate or a devil (nope, I never was a Princess) and watching scary movies… and I still love all things dark and spooky!

With “spooky” in mind, my October playlist always features the obvious picks like Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre and the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. The Dies Irae has been used so much in classical music, you could fill a whole day with it! I’ve just now added Liszt’s Totentanz to my list.

I’d be negligent if I didn’t add the Allegro from Raff’s Symphony No. 5 “Lenore” for it’s nightmare hallucination/horse-ride. Also, Bach’s Cello Suite no. 5 makes my Spooky List because it was played throughout an anime horror series, Blood+ (to great effect!). Sometimes a movie or show can make an indelible impression with carefully chosen music (Bach’s Toccata and Fugue, I’m looking at you!) 

We’ve just scratched the surface of scary classical music… So tell help me fill in my Halloween Spooky Classical Playlist. Post a comment below and tell me your picks!

Cheers!~

Diana Ross

Membership & Operations Assistant, Web Admin

Lover of Spooky Things

Here’s some pics of my recent solo-camping excursion…