[bmclaurin]

Thanks to you kind folks here at Head-fi, I've recently dropped some significant cash on hifi headphone equipment. And it's great. But I've discovered the so much of the rock music that I listen to (which makes up more the 80% of my entire music library) is often poorly recorded and mastered. As such, it doesn't really show off the full potential of my audio equipment. I'd like to try something new...classical music. Well, it's new to me anyway. Can someone recommend some easy-to-find (and easy-to-listen-to) classical music to someone like me that doesn't (yet) have an appreciation for it? Right now, I'm looking for the classical music world's equivalent of Top 40--something that can appeal to the masses and is easy to get in to. I'm afraid that at this point in my listening experience the more sophisticated pieces would be lost on me. I'm hoping for some selections that will show off the capabilities of my hifi equipment, while at the same time helping me get into and appreciate the classical genre. Thanks in advance.

 

[PSmith08]

Try Pachelbel's Kanon und Gigue (Hogwood's recording on L'Oiseau-Lyre), Barber's Adagio for Strings on the Universal Classics American Masters disc, and Beethoven's 9th with Herbert von Karajan conducting (the 1977 version).

You have probably heard all or part of these recordings at various times, and - thus - you will be familiar with them. Get comfortable and then move out.

 

[Bunnyears]

Moussorgsky's Picture's at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain (Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra) always pleases newbies to classical.

 

[Bobby B.]

Yepp, just when I read the thread title I was thinking of Beethoven's symphony No.9.

I was in the same situation as you about a month ago and decided to concentrate on classical a bit more. The 9th symphony is easy to listen to and great to start with.

 

[AudioPhobe]

Musical tastes vary inside classical too, but try Bruckner's 8th Symphony with Boulez conducting Vienna on DG (289-459-678-2). It was the first time I ever replaced an existing CD because Boulez' version was so much better.

I've been searching around looking for best classical recordings too, because my CD collection has never been as large as what I used to have on tape or even vinyl in the old days. (I went backwards: Lots of jazz and classical starting in college and had to get older to appreciate a lot of rock.) LOL So this would be a great thread.

sb

 

[PSmith08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioPhobe Musical tastes very inside classical too, but try Bruckner's 8th Symphony with Boulez conducting Vienna on DG (289-459-678-2). It was the first time I ever replaced an existing CD because Boulez' version was so much better. I've been searching around looking for best classical recordings too, because my CD collection has never been as large as what I used to have on tape or even vinyl in the old days. (I went backwards: Lots of jazz and classical starting in college and had to get older to appreciate a lot of rock.) LOL So this would be a great thread. sb

As much as I love Boulez's Bruckner 8, I am not sure that Bruckner is where a new listener needs to start. Eventually, everyone ends up in Mahler and Bruckner, but they should take it easy. They can be intimidating.

 

[Jahn]

Seeing as how you're coming from Rock, I think it would make sense to check out some performances by Paganini. After all, as mentioned in Wikipedia-

Perhaps the most famous employment of tapping is the short piece "Eruption" on the first Van Halen album, which features very fast tapping triads and formed the blueprint of heavy metal lead playing throughout the 1980s. While Eddie Van Halen is generally credited with inventing tapping, the practice had existed in some form or another for centuries; Paganini utilized similar techniques on violin.

 

[AudioPhobe]

Some other standards, though I can't swear my versions are best:

1. Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto's 2 and 3
2. Tchaikovsky 6th symphony, 1812 (Overture for fun)
3. Mozart clarinet and horn concertos
4. Copland Appalachian Spring
5. Dvorak Symphony from the New World
6. "Chill to the Chant" A great intro to some of the earliest music
7. Stravinsky's Firebird Suite
8. Gershwin Concerto in F
9. Respigi's Pines of Rome

TIP: Exploring a new genre like this is where an online music service with unlimited listening comes in handy. I use Rhapsody.

EDIT: Also Rodrigo's "Concerto de Aranjuez" though the jazz versions (Miles or Hall) are even more fun

 

[AudioPhobe]

PSmith08, your comment came thru while I was posting the 2nd message. As you see from my list of standards, I mostly agree with you. As a kid I was force-exposed to classical from a very early age. But bmclaurin and others will find their own pace. One way to do that is with a few challenging pieces.

As I said, I went backwards. I didn't understand Miles until I listened to enough Mozart; Morrison after Bach; and Rachmaninoff after Eric Carmen(jeez).

Also, I think the best way to appreciate Beethoven's 9th is to take a run-up starting with his 3rd.

 

[AudioPhobe]

By the way, did you know that women used to crowd the stage and throw their undies at Franz Liszt?

 

[saint.panda]

I second Dvorak's 9th symphony (conducted by Kubelik) for an excellent starter into classical music.

Beethoven 5th symphony conducted by Kleiber would be a great start, too. Very, very intense and everybody ends up owning this particular CD sooner or later anyway.

 

[seacard]

Pictures at an Exhibition is a great recommendation. Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade is another good one, as well as the Holst's The Planets. All three are easily accessible, flashy, fun, and would show off your equipment wonderfully. Scheherazade has a tremendous dynamic range (from powerful low brass moments to tender violin solos).

I would check these out before moving on to the world of symphonies. As for symphonies, the ones I found most easily accessible when I started were Dvorak Symphony No. 9, Sibelius Symphony No. 2, Tchaikovsky Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 5, Beethoven Nos. 5 and 9. Mahler (I'd start with 1 and just go up from there if you enjoy it) and Bruckner (#4 and #8) are great and I think you would enjoy them even as a beginner -- and these can truly hook you in.

Finally, I would look at some solo instrument works. Piano has never sounded so good as it does on the HD650's, for example. I would grab some Beethoven sonatas, or even something like Chopin or Rachmaninoff solo piano works).

 

[bmclaurin]

Thanks, everyone, for the great recommendations. You guys are great. I'm heading to my favorite record store tonight after work, and I'm taking a printout of this thread with me! If anyone has anything else, keep 'em coming. Otherwise, I've already got a great start with what's here already. Thanks again.

 

[AudioPhobe]

One more: Borodin's Prince Igor (esp. Polovtsian Dances), which really rocks. Would have been a great stadium show with lights and smoke.

 

[iamdone]

Not a classical recommendation but a headphone one: Get a pair of Grados. If you listen to rock, get a rock headphone. Iems (check my sig) don't do rock justice. None of my rock, even punk rock sounds bad with my RS-1.

Oh, kinda of weird classical recommendation would be Frank Zappa's "Yellow Shark". I normal don't like Zappa but this is a live classical styled album done with a full orchestra and no singing . It's an interesting segway into classical especially coming from a rock background.