[ZepFloyd]

I am interested in getting a classical music greatest hits cd. i'm not the biggest classical music fan, but i do enjoy listening to some every once in awhile. can anyone recommend a cd with basically the most popular symphonies, composers, etc all on one disc? thanks.

 

[ZepFloyd]

nobody??

 

[scompton]

Your request is not easy. Most classical pieces are long, so one disc might have 2 or 3 pieces. Beethoven's 9th, which is probably the most popular piece, is a full CD usually. Probably few people here have what your asking for. You'd be better of getting a boxed set like 100 best classics or the Ultimate Series which is a good deal at $19: Ultimate Classics or Ultimate Classical: Chill Out. I have Ultimate Opera, and its very good.

I've seen Heavy Classix metioned in the forums before as single discs with excepts of the "Heavy Metal" of classical music

Edit: What your asking is like someone asking, I don't know rock. Tell me what single disc to buy that gives me the most popular rock.

 

[ZepFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your request is not easy. Most classical pieces are long, so one disc might have 2 or 3 pieces. Beethoven's 9th, which is probably the most popular piece, is a full CD usually. Probably few people here have what your asking for. You'd be better of getting a boxed set like 100 best classics or the Ultimate Series which is a good deal at $19: Ultimate Classics or Ultimate Classical: Chill Out. I have Ultimate Opera, and its very good. I've seen Heavy Classix metioned in the forums before as single discs with excepts of the "Heavy Metal" of classical music Edit: What your asking is like someone asking, I don't know rock. Tell me what single disc to buy that gives me the most popular rock.

fair enough

EDIT: i see what you mean, i went out to the store tonight, ended up getting some beethoven and mozart. both have 5 discs with em for about $10 each. i got something called the 9 symphonies for beethoven, and a set called 250 years wolfgang amadeus mozart

 

[vcoheda]

the EMI 100 Series is great.

 

[gilency]

you could try some blend of classical with modern interpretations: Don Dorsey: Bachbusters or Beethoven or bust come to mind. Perhaps listening to them will help you appreciate and love classical music.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your request is not easy. Most classical pieces are long, so one disc might have 2 or 3 pieces. Beethoven's 9th, which is probably the most popular piece, is a full CD usually.

Did you know that the reason a CD holds 74 minutes of music is because of Beethoven?

Fergus Cassidy » ETHOS 23 OCTOBER 2005

As to the OP, you can find snippets of classical here and there on sets, but those really don't do justice to the music. I'd recommend going for inexpensive ($5-$7) classical CDs. Or get some used ones. Or even get a turntable - you can usually get classical LPs for less than $1 each and they're not as hotly collected as jazz and rock LPs are.

 

[scompton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did you know that the reason a CD holds 74 minutes of music is because of Beethoven? Fergus Cassidy » ETHOS 23 OCTOBER 2005 As to the OP, you can find snippets of classical here and there on sets, but those really don't do justice to the music. I'd recommend going for inexpensive ($5-$7) classical CDs. Or get some used ones. Or even get a turntable - you can usually get classical LPs for less than $1 each and they're not as hotly collected as jazz and rock LPs are.

The boxed sets aren't too bad because they have entire pieces, except for some opera extracts.

 

[dr dougie]

I have a bunch of the "Listener's Choice" CDs from the 90's. It's annoying that they give no credits for the recordings but they're all good to great.

You can get them used for cheap these days.

Here's an example.

 

[dodsonbs]

I started buying classical CD's about 10 years ago by getting a lot of "Best Of" type collections for cheap. Today, I probably have over 500 classical CD's and the only ones I find that I NEVER listen to any more are those original compilation purchases. The overall quality of most (and I stress most, not all) generic box sets isn't anywhere close to as gratifying as a truly masterful performance/recording of a piece. I highly suggest seeking out the best recordings you can find, as you'll almost definitely like and appreciate the genre so much more.

Here are some different ways I recommend getting started:

1. Check out the Grammy Award's history for "Best Classical Recording" on wikipedia.com. All of these recordings are pretty much guaranteed to be inspired and you'll get a great variety of composers and works.

2. Buy a 1-year membership to the Naxos (a major budget recording label) website for about $20. This is a great way to be able to stream virtually all of the great repertoire. The audio quality won't be very gratifying, but it will be enough to serve as a point of departure for locating great recordings of pieces that catch your ear.

3. Use amazon.com to find good recordings at great (used) prices. Most of the CD's I buy now come used from individual dealers linked to Amazon. But the best part is if you search for recordings of a specific work, you get them in order of "Bestsellers," which means some people have already done some sorting before you begin; then you just read editor and consumer reviews of the first page (or more, depending on how frequently recorded the work is) to find one that suits your interests.

These methods could be criticized for putting a bit too much emphasis on a recording's popularity, but they certainly will point you in the right direction and help build confidence in your future classical CD purchases.

I'd love to talk shop and recommend some specific stuff, but only if you ask, of course.

 

[mbhaub]

For $10 you can get a disk on the RCA label called "Classical Music for People Who Hate Classical Music". Try it -- you'll like it!