This Christmas I’d like to get a couple of classical music CD’s for my brother, but I have no idea what to look for. Any help from anyone who knows more about classical music would be greatly appreciated.
Are there any good compilations of some more recognizable pieces? Any specific composers that you’d recommend?
Please and thank you!
-Stacy
RCA/Victor has a bunch of great compilation CDs. For a guy I’d reccomend their “Power Classics” compilation. A whole bunch of recognizable clasical pieces that are very “energizing”. They have many more compilations tho’, so I’d suggest looking for them.
Look in the music section of a big book store.
I would also recommend the Classical Tnunder cds. Though I haven’t heard of Power Classics before now, I’m guessing they’re pretty much the same thing.
Hmmm, that’s kind of a wide open question. It depends on what he likes. Classical music is as varied in style as any other kind of music. Some nice starters might be:
Any of those compilations from TV.
The Magic Flute or Requiem Mass, by Mozart
The Four Seasons, by Vivaldi
Aida, by Verdi
Ring des Nibelungen, by Wagner
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Faust, by Liszt
Hmm, that should be a good start. I’m sure some real afficianados will be along shortly to add to it.
Good luck on your noble plan.
Get 'im Anton Webern’s Samtliche Werke fur Sopran und Instrumente, with Dorothy Dorow, the Schoenberg Ensemble, and the Niederlandischer Kammerchor. On the Koch-Schwann Musica Mundi label.
Don’t fuck around with Bach or Beethoven or Brahms or any of those other dime-a-dozen crowd-pleasers. Throw your brother right into the deep end!
You realize, Uke, that you just bought yourself a first class ticket to hell with that statement, don’t you?
Well, you can’t go wrong with:
Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos as performed by the wonderful Musica Antiqua Koln. Wonderful in their execution, and with memorable harmonies that will stick in his head, he’ll find himself whistling or humming them all the time.
Does he already listen to classical music, or is he just getting interested? What does he like?
Instumental solos (piano? guitar?)?
Orchestral?
Vocal?
Opera? (Is he used to listening to opera?)
Fav of mine:
Vocal collection- “Tears from Heaven” [RCA Victor 09026-68606-2] - two CD (#1 - Tears from Heaven/ #2 Voices from Heaven) collection of various classical vocal solos and choruses with Katheleen Battle, Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballe and Bryn Terfel.
Two Christmas favorites off the top of my head:
Handel - “Messiah” (actually it’s a two parter - Christmas and Easter sections)
Benjamin Britten - “A Ceremony of Carols” - choir (usually performed by women’s choir, but originally for boy’s choir) and harp.
Bach - Brandenburg Concertos
Beethoven - If you don’t want to shell out for the whole 9 symphonies, #6 (Fantasia), #5 (dah-dah-dah-dummmmm), #9 (Ode to Joy [used in “A Clockwork Orange”]) are a good start.
Criminey, now I gotta think! Gimme a few minutes to go through the collection and check out the compilations.
(I just previewed!)
OHMYGOD UKULELE IKE, NOOOOOOOOOO!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?! DO YOU WANT TO START AN IN-FAMILY CIVIL WAR!!! BITS OF saucy potato EVERYWHERE!!! OH THE CARNAGE!!! I COULD BARELY GET THROUGH THAT IN 5TH YEAR THEORY CLASS!!!
(Although I have to admit is it a nice piece.
“Der/Die Frau ohne Schatten”, anyone?
Start?
The greatest music in the entire world a start?!
The reason opera exists a start!?
Argh!
You can’t go wrong with Holst’s Planet Suite 
“Mars, The Bringer of War” is certainly one of my favorite classical pieces ever.
And yes, Liszt’s “Faust” is great, as well as the stage production! 
Yeah… don’t screw with THOSE amateurs… go with some Ives or Stravinsky. Give him some REAL music.
Seriously, I’d recommend some Copland. It’s great music, and he probably recognizes a lot of it already. Music soundtracks are another good idea.
Robin
Shameless Prokofiev Plug
Just about anything by this genius is great, but particular favorites (in order of preference) are:
Symphony No.5
Alexander Nevsky suite (aka. The Greatest Film Score ever)
Romeo and Juliet ballet
Symphony No.1
Lieutenant Kije suite
Peter and the Wolf
The Love of 3 Oranges opera
…and that’s just for starters.
In general, you can’t go wrong with the Russians: Stravinsky, Glazunov, Shostakovich, Mussorgsky, Glinka, Khatchaturian, and (sigh) I suppose Tchaikovsky if you’re desperate.
Gershwin. Any compilation, as long as Rhapsody in Blue is on it, because he’ll probably recognize it. The CD I have is the premiere performance of Dayful of Song, as performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra - but any old CD will do
I would recommend:
J.S. Bach’s The Brandenburg Chronicles
Maurice Ravel’s “Pavanne for a Dead Princess”
Dmitri Shostokovich’s Fifth Symphony
Mozart’s Concerto No. 20 in D Major for piano and orchestra
Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Holst’s The Planets
George Gershwin’s Symphony in F Major for Piano and Orchestra
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue.
Oops. I guess I should actually read the thread before I reply.
Any Karajan-conducted Beethoven symphony, especially no 5, is wonderful. Alfred Brendel’s takes on Chopin and Beethoven are nice as well. Schumann’s Fantasiestücke are excellent little piano pieces. Yehudi Menuhin’s performance of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto in E minor is beautiful. Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony is very recognizable. And I can’t get enough of Mozart’s Divertimento in D, K. 136. I think he was like 10 when he wrote this fabulous orchestral piece. The recording of it I have I got at Best Buy for like $2, and I can’t find the case, which is the case with most of my classical CDs. David Helfgott (yes, I know he’s overrated) has a CD out called Brilliantissimo (or something) and it has a lot of great piano tracks.
For the more casual listener, you can’t go wrong with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, or Bach’s Inventions. Or Chopin’s nocturnes. Sorry I can’t be more specific on recordings, but, like I said, any piano recording by Brendel or Horowitz or Andre Watts is automatically good, as are Menuhin’s violin performances and Karajan’s conduction.
Ahh… so many to go look for now. Thank you all.
He’s just getting interested, so even he’s not sure what to look for. I thought it would be nice to get him started.
Thanks again!
Lots of good stuff (and not to mention all the ones I was going to suggest) already posted. I’ll add The Red Violin soundtrack and the Schindler’s List soundtrack.
I’ve also got a cd entitled “Mad About Cartoons,” which is a compilation of various classical pieces that have been used (or somewhat distorted) in cartoons (mostly Warner Bros.)
And yes, they’re the original pieces, not the ones with the words “Kill the wabbit!” and such.
I also happen to be partial to Rimsky-Korsakov. “Procession of the Nobles” is great, and somewhat similar to some of Copland’s stuff (who I also highly recommend).