[LevA]

also just want to add, Youtube is your best friend. you can usually find classical pieces uploaded by various users. granted the sound isn't the best and may not be a good interpretation but it will help you discover what pieces and kinds of classical music you tend to lean towards.

 

[bigshot]

You missed Rimsky Korsakov and Bartok.

An easier way to do it is to pick up the Living Stereo box set at Amazon. 60 CDs, $150, binaural audiophile sound, conductors and orchestras performing at their absolute peak. It's a tremendous value and it covers pretty much all of the core repertoire.

 

[Cdis99]

Wow! Thanks for the all the wonderful info guys!
 
Trying to "get into" classical music can be very difficult. There's so many different choices and you can get overwhelmed.
 
It's going to take me MONTHS to sort threw all the recommendations you guys have given me. Keep them coming!!!!

 

[otterhouse]

Quote:

also just want to add, Youtube is your best friend. 

And youtube has left the 10 minute upload limit, so complete pieces can be heard.
Combine that with the HD (=192kbsAAC) sound and youtube has become a replacement for radio...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iskfKi5Tog&hd=1
 
(DGG Lp of Schubert's trio op 100, rare Trio de Trieste record)
 
Rolf

 

[Cdis99]

WOW
 
Quality is GREAT. I'm liking this Schubert

 
Quote:

Quote:

also just want to add, Youtube is your best friend. 

And youtube has left the 10 minute upload limit, so complete pieces can be heard.
Combine that with the HD (=192kbsAAC) sound and youtube has become a replacement for radio...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iskfKi5Tog&hd=1
 
(DGG Lp of Schubert's trio op 100, rare Trio de Trieste record)
 
Rolf

 

[prozach1576]

That top 100 list is an excellent starting point, but skip the Wagner operas at first. They are not accessible to a newcomer to classical music. Mozart is the best introduction to opera. Anyway, here are my recommendations for a new library, about six months into my classical music obsession.
 
- Beethoven's Symphonies (Kleiber for 5, 7; I really like Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for a complete set)
- Beethoven's Piano Concertos (Zimerman and/or Kissin)
- Bach's Mass in B Minor (either the new release with the Dunedin Consort on Linn Records or Herreweghe's on Harmonia Mundi - both excellent)
- Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (Pinnock)
- Bach's Goldberg Variations (both Gould recordings and Angela Hewitt's is also nice)
- Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor (Rostropovich/Karajan)
- Mozart's Symphonies 38-41 (Mackerras/SCO - best Mozart I have ever heard)
- Mozart's Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi Fan Tutte (Rene Jacobs)
- Brahm's Cello Sonatas (Rostropovich, Serkin)
 
There is so much more, but those are all pieces that blew me away immediately.

 

[Confispect]

Yeah the quality is great....it also has a sort of happy feel to it.  Hmmm..

 

[qwer9107]

John Williams.
 
Especially recommend "Once Upon A Time in America" played by Yo yo ma.
 
Also, OSTs from the asian movie "The Secret" is very good.
 
"Opening" is very intense orchestral music! My favorites!

 

[Mong0]

Could anyone recommend me some classical music with female vocals in it, opera i guess it is. I would love something which sounded alike, or something that sounds the closest to Tarja Turunen/Old Nightwish's vocals and "epic" feel you get when listening to it.

 

[bigshot]

Not sure what you mean, Mong0. Does this fit the bill....

http://www.animationarchive.org/?p=1606

 

[khaos974]

Mozart's magic flute? It probably has one of the best known arias. And in my opinion, it is a very approachable for people who do not listen to classical often.
 
Look up "The Queen of the Night Aria" in Youtube.

 

[yifu]

The Halvorsen's adaption of Handel's Passacaglia for violin and cello/viola is a good way to get introduced to classical music. It was my first classical piece that i loved and now finally im studying it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNsxXued784

 

[rroseperry]

Mozart operas have a lot of great arias for women. This duet from Marriage of Figaro even made it to pop culture through The Shawshank Redemption.  I love Bartoli and Fleming, but I think they're taking this a little slow.
 
Epic, though is the Strauss trio from Der Rosenkavalier. This one has one of the greatest Octavians ever, Fredericka Von Stade. Battle and Fleming are also quite wonderful. The sound quality is pretty poor, sorry.

 

[potatoos]

Apassionata. If that sonata doesn't move you to tears, you aren't human. (little bit of sarcasm there, but really is my favorite piece.)

 

[OneSec]

Beethoven is a no brainer to recommend -
 
Beethoven Symphony No 3.5.7.8.9
No introduction needed here... Karajan is the copy I love the most so far, but if SQ matters then you should look for recordings pass 1980s, but I gotta tell you... SQ isn't everything. The cycle I seek for most now is George Szell though.
 
Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major
This is the one 1 only violin concerto ever written by Beethoven, and one of the most beautiful melody. Often an underdog, but not to be missed.  Itzhak Perlman perhaps play it best among my collections.
 
Beethoven Sonatas - Every Beethoven's sonata is gem by itself. But some of them might be 'too deep' for beginners. But the 3 listed below should be easier to digest.If you are buying CD albums, try to look for those with these 3 sonatas together:

• Piano Sonata No.14 C Sharp Minor Op.27 No.2 Moonlight - Possibly one of the best 2nd Movement, minus the violin sonatas / violin concertos that is. 3rd movement's power and intensity is unmatched and is often a challenge on the piano itself  lol... I always imagine someone will / HAD AREADLY slammed the keyboard off the piano! 1st Movement might be boring to some, but if you enjoy it... you will be deeply moved.
• Piano Sonata No.21 C Op.53 Waldstein - Very positive and energetic start - you can't stop once you start listening to it! Beautiful 3rd movement.
• Piano Sonata No.23 F Minor Op.57 Appassionata

 
If you find these too intense and you wanna go on the light side, try some Chopin Noctures, Bach (don't go for solo instruments it will bore you to death), Mozart (i.eiano sonata No.16), Johann Strauss. These should go easy on you.
 
You want something folk like, you can go for Antonín Dvorák
 
You want more spice, Brahms, Sebelius, Mahler and Shostakovich.
 
You want the spiritual stuff - Bach solo violin sonata and partitas / cello sonata  - You have been warned!
 
Just to clarify - I love the Bach Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas myself so much, I used to listen to them everyday for at least 6 month or more - and I still listen them to like once 1 week at minimum. But I find it hard to recommend for people who stepped in to the classical genre...