[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alai /img/forum/go_quote.gif All previously mentioned are great, but my personal favorites are Beethoven 40th and 41st Symphonies.

I'm assuming you mean Mozart's symphonies... which would both be good recommendations.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkweg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here are some I consider must haves. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons Pachelbel - Canon in D Holst - The Planets Mozart - Requiem Orff - Carmina Burana Bach - Brandenburg Concertos Handel - Royal Fireworks + Water Works Moussorgsky - Pictures At An Exhibition Brahms - Piano Quartet Op. 25 and 26 Grieg - Peer Gynt Dvorak - New World Synphony Beethoven - Symphony N0.5 + 9

X2 - This is actually a very good list for starters

 

[DC2]

I'm afraid I can't read music. But I used to read a lot of Colin Dexter Inspector Morse mysteries. To that end, see "The Very Best of Inspector Morse"

Amazon.com: Inspector Morse Collection: Various Artists: Music


Claude Debussy is good. The Arabesque found on the 3rd cd above is something I like to listen to after a hard day at work. You might also like to try some of Ralph Vaughan Williams's music. He incorporates a lot of early English folk tunes into his works.

Although the fictional Morse was a great lover of Richard Wagner's music, that's something you might wish to leave til later-but not too much later

.

 

[milkweg]

One piece of classical muisc I've always loved is Handel's Sarabande that was used in the movie Barry Lyndon but the downside is that it is only just over 2 minutes long. Why write such a great piece of music and only make it last just over 2 minutes?

 

[jonathanjong]

^ Does looping it help?

 

[compuryan]

Here are a few of my personal favorites not mentioned yet:
Dvorak - "American" String Quartet, Op. 96
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 3
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture, Marche Slav
Ravel - Tzigane
Liszt - Reminisces de Don Juan
Barber - Adagio for Strings
Beethoven - "The Tempest" Sonata
Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain
Saint-Saens - Piano Concerto in G minor

 

[Feather225]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rlynn /img/forum/go_quote.gif A few more days left to download these 10 symphonies: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f9/fre...ds-rco-378105/ RCO= Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Awsome, THanks ^ ^

 

[milkweg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathanjong /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Does looping it help?

I'll try that the next time I play it.

 

[hanalei mike]

I'd try garage sales. My son and I check out garage sales every Saturday morning. I usually come home with at least 1 classical cd, sometimes many, for .50$ -1$. I don't know why, but it is the genre I see the most.

 

[hawat]

I also love the Bach - Cello Suites played by Paul Tortelier, the other versions I have heard, just didn't sound right after I have heard his version, they are either too fast or lack the emotions we get when we listen to this one.

 

[ukrneal]

I would suggest the following:

Beethoven:
Symphony No 3: Bernstein on Sony. He talks about the piece for about 10-15 minutes. This was the piece where Beethoven starts to really break from the past and the commentary is interesting if that attracts you. Excellent version too!
Symphony no 5/7: Kleiber on DG. This, in my opinion, is one of the best discs ever made in the history of recording. No5 has the famous begnning and both have glorious melodies.
Symphony no 6: Beautiful music. Walter conducting is a popular choice.
Symphony No 9: Lots of choices here. I like Karajan (the 63 version), but there are many good versions.
Piano sonatas: Lots of good stuff. You could choose something famous to start like the Moonlight. Again, many good versions including Schiff, Brendal, Kempff, and Rubinstein
Piano Concerti: There are 5, but the last two are particularly good, I like the version with Haitink conducting Parahia.

Brahms:
4 Symphonies. Lots of good versions, including from Karajan (not the last one in digital, the one in ADD), Abbado and Mackarras.

Bizet:
Carmen and L'Arlesienne Suites: Tuneful. Dutoit is excellent.

Chopin:
There is a one disc of Chopin played by Rubinstein. It is excellent. Of course, you can buy all the piano music for about $20-25 as well.

Dvorak:
Sym No 9: Kubelik or Mackarras are good (as are many others).

Grieg
Peer Gynt Suites. SUch melodies! I like version with Jarvi on DG (but don't mix up with complete piece). This version includes other suites that are also great!

Handel:
Water Music and Royal Fireworks: Always liked the Kubelik version, but many others too.

Mozart:
So much here. I'll let others suggest their favorites. You might want a type of 'Greatest Hits' to see what you might like.

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade. Wonderfully beautiful at times and powerful as well. Mackarras on Telarc is excellent.

Rossini: Overtures. Many good versions. Would suggest Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. The overtures are a good introduction as you may recognize some music used in cartoons and they are short pieces.

Tchaikovsky: You may be familiar with the Nutcraker, and that may be a good place to start. Mackerras is good.

This barely begins to touch the surface. Some other pieces you may like:
Hadyn: Later symphonies.
BAch: Keyboard concertos.
Rachmaninov/Tchaikovsky Piano conertos (usually #2 and #1 respectively).
Schumann/Grieg Piano Concerto (often paired together).
Elgar Cello Concerto (DuPre is heart rending).
British Light Music, Hyperion (volume 1, there are 4). This is just happy music, well played. Lots of pieces and different composers.
Dvorak Slavonic Dances (Kubelik is good here). Very catchy music. I always sing it after I hear it.
Brahms: Both Piano Concertos.

And for opera, I'll recommend two accessible works:
Puccini, La Boheme. Version with Pavoratti and Karajan conducting is ideal starting place. 4 acts, 30 minutes each. You may recognize some of it.
Humperdink: Hansel and Gretel. You know the story already, and music is great.

 

[milkweg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hanalei mike /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd try garage sales. My son and I check out garage sales every Saturday morning. I usually come home with at least 1 classical cd, sometimes many, for .50$ -1$. I don't know why, but it is the genre I see the most.

Some years back I was selling my complete music CD collection because I was moving abroad. I took a list of what I had down to a store that sold used cd's and they were not even interested in my classical collection even those are what had cost me the most.

 

[smashing]

I spend quite a bit of time on internet radio like Classic FM and Contemporary Classical Internet Radio to start off. Another good place to start will be Disney's Fantasia. You will usually find a lot of gems from these places.

 

[hightreason]

I never understand why people recommend symphonies and other large scale works to people who are looking to delve into classical. I think that you should listen to some chamber music (string quartets , piano trios and the like .) With only a few instruments playing it's much easier to follow what's going on.

While I can't recommend THE one classical CD that you must purchase, I'd definitely suggest that you visit Pandora.com and start a classical station. With the three composers that you mentioned (Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Beethoven) you should get lots of great things to buy.

Also try you're local public library before you buy (if possible ) they usually have pretty decent classical collections

 

[ukrneal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hightreason /img/forum/go_quote.gif I never understand why people recommend symphonies and other large scale works to people who are looking to delve into classical. I think that you should listen to some chamber music (string quartets , piano trios and the like .) With only a few instruments playing it's much easier to follow what's going on. While I can't recommend THE one classical CD that you must purchase, I'd definitely suggest that you visit pandora.com and start a classical station. With the three composers that you mentioned (Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Beethoven) you should get lots of great things to buy. Also try you're local public library before you buy (if possible ) they usually have pretty decent classical collections

Interesting. I would almost NEVER recommend a chamber work. Although it is easier to hear the individual voices of a chamber work, they are usually harder (in my experience) for the neophyte to understand. Large scale works are easier in that sense, in that you can often follow a melody. By this logic, it would be easier to recommend a piano piece, but some can be very difficult if you don't understand enough.

Most recommended symphonies have lots of recognizeable melodies and are large scale (read: loud) and this sometimes is an entrypoint. And there is no rule you have to listen to the whole symphony at once (or in order for that matter).

Incidentally, I partly agree (shorter pieces), which is why I think Rossini overtures are one of the ideal ways to get familar with classical music. IN fact, I should add some Verdi overtures from Naxos to my list!