Classical Music Album Covers: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We all know that first impressions are important, and this is especially true when it comes to classical music album covers. In this blog post, we take a look at some of the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to album covers.

The Good

Many times, people will judge an album by its cover. The same goes for classical music albums. A lot of thought and care goes into the design of each album cover. The good ones willfeature the musicians on the front cover, while the bad ones will feature random images or clip art. The ugly ones will be so poorly designed that they’re actually funny. Here are some examples of each.

Mozart – Symphony No. 40

The Good:
Mozart – Symphony No. 40 is clean, professional, and attractive. The photo is well-composed and the cover design is classic and elegant.

The Bad:
Mozart – Symphony No. 40 is a little too safe. The photo is nice, but it doesn’t really Grab your attention and the design is a little too understated.

The Ugly:
Mozart – Symphony No. 40 is just plain ugly. The photo is poorly composed, the design is amateurish, and the overall effect is just depressing.

Beethoven – Symphony No. 5

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is one of the most popular and well-known pieces of classical music. It was composed in 1804-1808, and first performed in 1808. The symphony is in four movements, and is approximately 30 minutes long.

The opening of the symphony is probably the most famous part, and features a short, memorable motif that is repeated several times. The entire symphony is based on this motif, which represents Fate knocking at the door.

The first movement is in sonata form, and the second movement is a scherzo. The third movement is a slow movement, which features a solo cello playing the motif. The fourth movement is a triumphant finale, which builds to a powerful climax.

The Fifth Symphony was dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz and Count Rasumovsky, two of Beethoven’s nobles patrons. It was very well-received at its premiere, and has been popular ever since.

Bach – Goldberg Variations

This is one of the most iconic classical music album covers of all time. The image is simple but elegant, and it perfectly represents the music inside.

The Bad

While some album covers are iconic and become part of popular culture, others are… let’s just say, not as successful. In this article, we’ll take a look at some examples of classical music album covers that miss the mark.

Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake

One of the most popular classical music pieces, Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, has had some interesting album covers over the years. From good to bad to ugly, let’s take a look at a few of them.

The Good:
This album cover features a traditional illustration of swans on a lake. It’s simple and elegant, and it perfectly represents the piece of music it’s accompanying.

The Bad:
This album cover features a bizarre Photoshopped image of a swan with human arms reaching out towards the viewer. It’s weird and off-putting, and it does not accurately represent the music it’s supposed to be promoting.

The Ugly:
This album cover is just plain ugly. It features an amateurish drawing of a swan that looks more like a duck, and the overall design is chaotic and unappealing.

Brahms – Violin Concerto

It’s not often that you see a classical music album cover that features a squirrel, but that’s exactly what you’ll find on this recording of Brahms’ Violin Concerto. The artwork is colorful and eye-catching, but it’s also completely out of place for a classical album. This is certainly one of the more unusual covers in this collection.

Dvorak – New World Symphony

On the classical music album covers: the good, the bad, and the ugly, this one falls into the bad category. It’s not that it’s a terrible photo, but it’s just not very interesting. We see Dvorak sitting at a piano with what looks like sheet music in front of him. He’s wearing a suit and tie and has a serious expression on his face. There’s nothing really wrong with this photo, but there’s nothing particularly special about it either.

The Ugly

As much as classical music lovers would like to deny it, there are some ugly classical music album covers out there. We’re not talking about the album covers with classical musicians on them – those are usually fine. No, we’re talking about the covers that feature strange graphics, weird colors, and just overall bad design.

Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries

Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries, released in 1970, is an album of classical music by Wagner, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by André Previn. The album’s artwork caused some controversy due to its depictions of nude women riding horses, which many felt was in bad taste.

Verdi – Requiem

The Verdi Requiem is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Italian writer and patriot Alessandro Manzoni, who died in May 1873. The first performance, at La Scala in Milan on 22 May 1874, conducted by Leoncavallo, was marred by protester‐throwing students; theRequiem did not achieve widespread popularity until the early 20th century.

Requiem masses had been performed in Vienna and London before Verdi’s setting; indeed, Verdi’s contemporary Franz Liszt had composed one (in 1849), as well as a Messa per Rossini some years earlier. However, outside of Europe, these works had not been performed since the deaths of their composers (Liszt’s in 1886 and Rossini’s in 1868).

Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition

Modest Mussorgsky’s orchestration of his piano suite Scenes from an Exhibition, composed in 1874, is one of the most popular works in the classical repertoire. The work was inspired by a viewing of an art exhibition featuring the paintings of his friend Viktor Hartmann. Mussorgsky sought to capture the spirit of each work in music, and the result is a highly evocative and varied work that has become a staple of the orchestral repertoire.

While the music is well-known, the original album cover for the composition is less so. The artwork, created by famed artist Igor Stravinsky, is actually a series of nude sketches set against a drawn backdrop. It’s not exactly what you’d expect to see gracing your local symphony’s CD rack!