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Meditative Music for Quiet Concentration

There are a number of threads on music for different occasions, but here is a tricky one for me:

What music helps you concentrate, or get through difficult tasks at home or depending on your job - at work?

There are few things in life that can ruin my weekend more than gathering receipts for taxes, opening bills, writing boring but necessary letters, reading legal documents etc.

So it would be great to put something on repeat - not too loud and not too engaging, but still something worthwhile to absorb while tackling the nightmares in the "inbox".

I found Keith Jarret Facing You perfect for falling asleep years ago, but never for working. Something was a little TOO hypnotic about them for me.

I thought the Bach 1 and 2 part inventions might hit the spot - but there is something a little distracting adn tinkly about them.

Beethoven symphonies I love but they are far too varied - I would much rather STOP working and just listen.

Mozart and Vivaldi might work in some cases, if they hadnt been played to death in Starbucks all over the world which irritates me and therefore increases my stress. So please, no coffee shop compilations!?

Some Miles Davis ALMOST works, except what I really want to do within about 3 notes of Kind of Blue, for example, is go out on the Upper West Side and eat and drink until well past midnight.

So what can you listen to, when you need to stay calm, really focus and crank through a mountain of work?

Of course, and as usual, EXTRA CREDIT for particularly good recordings.

Thank you.
cwlondon
jburidan
803 posts
 
Bach unaccompanied suites for cello performed bt, e.g., Anner Bylsma, Jap ter Linden, Perenyi, Yo-Yo Ma.
Bach unaccompanied sonatas and partitas for violin peformed by Nathan Milstein on Deutsche Grammophone label (not the later version on EMI.)
Beethoven piano sonataa performed by Emil Gilels.
Mozart piano sonatas performed by Mitsuko Uchida.
Haydn string quartets - there are many good versions, but avoid Emerson Quartet like the plague.
Mozart and Beethoven string quartets performed by Quartetto Italiano.
Mozart string sextets on Philips.
Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven piano trios performed by Beaux Arts Trio.
Haydn piano sonatas performed by Alfred Brendel or Glenn Gould.
Schubert piano sonatas performed by Stephen Kovacevich.



centurymantra
133 posts
 
Try one of the more minimal recordings of the amazing Australian ensemble, The Necks. Probably 'Aether' or the new one 'Mosquito/See Through'. Their masterworks, 'Hanging Gardens' and 'Drive By' are a little too swirling and energetic perhaps, but highly recommended. A jazz musician, Tony Scott, did a record called 'Music for Zen Meditation' that looks like it may be an exercise in kitsch, but is really a truly excellent recording of Eastern influenced jazz...relaxing and laid back but not at all fluffy. Their's some excellent ambient electronica out there, but it's quite a task to wade through the immense amount of material. I personally don't really dig the majority of what is labelled New Age, but there is some electronica Which straddles the edge and is much more texturally compelling. I'm not an expert in the field, but Biosphere make some great ambient recordings. Try 'Shenzou' or 'Substrata'. Some other artists in that genre that provide 'audio-wallpaper-with-substance' which jump to mind are Harold Budd, Thomas Koner, Jon Hassell and, of course, the grandaddy of the scene, Brian Eno. Perhaps some of the works of Arvo Part...or Terry Riley?

WARNING: Shameless plug for friend's music follows...!!

A friend of mine who I play more traditional music with has for years created experimental and very richly textural ambient music. The music is mostly self-released and quite well received in the scene.

Go to www.mattborghi.com and reference the link to his music.
pmotz
412 posts
 
Perhaps some ambient music such as that done by Brian Eno or a host of others whose names I can't recall.
rcprince
3,068 posts
 
I agree with the above suggestions on the Mozart and Schubert piano music. I find it hard to ignore Bach in the backround, too much going on makes me focus on the music. I'd suggest trying the Corelli Concerti Grossi and Handel Water Music, plus the Ref Recordings Vivaldi for Diverse Instruments and Reveries discs. Telemann is another composer whose music lends itself to the background, such as his Divertmenti. I think in general Baroque music is what you might be looking for, up to the early Classical period (Mozart, Haydn and early Beethoven), but after that music gets a lot more complex and less able to stay in the background.
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