Michael Hartl


Music & singing

I enjoy music of all types, though do I have a special fondness for "classical" music (symphonic, orchestral, chamber, and choral music), and I'm an unrepentant fan of Broadway musicals. Some favorite artists include The Beatles, Queen, Billy Joel, Elton John, and Sting. I'm also a long-time fan of Enya.

I also enjoy making music: over the years I've been a member of various singing groups, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, the Caltech Glee Club, and a kick-ass pop-rock a cappella group called Ecphonema (from an obscure Greek word meaning (roughly) "a loud crying out").

Here a couple of music lists, sort-of in order.

Top Ten Favorite Classical Music Pieces*

(My apologies to Jeremy Martin, who, if he ever sees this list, will never forgive the omission of Johannes Brahms.)

  1. Beethoven's 7th
  2. Beethoven's 9th
  3. Mozart's Requiem
  4. Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola
  5. Bach's Brandenburg Concerti
  6. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier
  7. Dvořák's 9th Symphony (From the New World)
  8. Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major
  9. Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
  10. Barber's Adagio for Strings

*This list really should have a separate entry for "everything Mozart ever composed".

Top Ten Favorite Musicals

  1. Les Misérables
  2. Wicked
  3. Phantom of the Opera
  4. Jesus Christ Superstar
  5. The Music Man
  6. The Sound of Music
  7. Beauty and the Beast
  8. West Side Story
  9. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
  10. The Little Mermaid