I want to start listening to more classical music, but don't know where to start

Cafe Society
41

ok so I thought I would post my “shopping list” (there are only a few I am actually going to buy right off the bat, I am going to the library for most of them).

Let me know if you think anything blindingly obvious is missing, or if there is a good recording of a particular piece I should track down. I am staying away from a lot of opera for now as that seems to be a whole seperate list. But there are a couple of things on there.

Thanks again for helping me get going.
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Handel: Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks

Monteverdi: 1610 Vespers (Vespro Della Beata Vergine)

Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Requiem, Symphony’s #38, #40, #41, The Magic Flute, Don Giovani

Beethoven: Symphonies #5, #6, #9 (by Cleveland orchestra conducted by George Szell), Piano sonatas #14, 23

Brahms: Symphonies #3, #4, 2nd piano concierto

Dvorak: Symphony #8, Slavonic Dances, Stabat Mater, Symphony #9 “New World”

Tchaikovsky: 5th & 6th Symphony, 1st piano concerto

Rachmaninov: 2nd Symphony

Schoenberg: Moses und Aron, Pierrot Lunaire

Schubert: 8th and 9th symphonies

Bartok - Concerto for orchestra and Music for Strings Percussion and Celeste

Mahler Symphony #1

Bach: Goldberg Variations, Cantata #140, Sonata in E major for Violin, Concerti #1, #2; for 2 violins

42

I don’t know if anyone else took your advice, but I did. And, boy am I glad I did. I haven’t listened to the whole thing, yet. But the bits I have were incredible.

43

That’s a pretty decent list you have there.

If you end up liking The Goldberg Variations, I’d recommend his Art of Fugue - preferably done by a string quartet (I have the Emerson Quartet recording and it’s great, and much warmer for me than a keyboard instrument rendition. It is a highly technical piece and is apparently very clever, but I lack the musical background to explain.)

Two favourites of mine I’ve not seen mentioned:

The two suites that Edvard Grieg composed to accompany Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt - very Nordic and Dwarvey, and

Henryk Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3 Sorrowful Songs - very beautiful and sad. I have the Dawn Upshaw recording.

44

Por nada. :cool:

45

Add the Deutsche Reuquiem on there.

Also, get yourself some Strauss (Richard) tone poems. Also sprach Zarathustra (the beginning of which is better known as the theme to 2001) is a good place to start.

46

The Planets are fantastic. I started getting sick of them when several TV stations at home started using then for their newscasts. A daily dose of Jupiter can make the best fans sick.
NAF, I notice you didn’t include any Arvo Part in your shopping list. Allow me to suggest “Sanctuary” as a good introduction to him. It includes pieces from several albums with a fair balance of his orchestral and choral work. Think of it as “Part for people who don’t like Part” (God, I hate that series)

47

I have added Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan
Part: Sanctuary
and
Holst: Planets

To my list.

As well as the recommended addition to Brahms.

I am heading to the library tomorrow to see what I can find.

I am ordering the Goldbergs from Amazon, and will probably buy some Dvorak and Eine kleine Nachtmusik right off the bat.

48

If you have the choice, then Tabula Rasa is a better piece.

ETA although this is all entirely subjective

49

I love all sorts of classical music, including much of what has been recommended so far. And since I don’t think anyone has mentioned him yet, I’ll recommend some Camille Saint-Saëns. I absolutely love his **organ symphony ** (No. 3 in C-minor). One of my all-time favorite pieces of music. **Danse Macabre ** is catchy, as is the bacchanale from Samson and Delilah.

He’s really good.

50

The whole thing is far more interesting than you might think. The famous part is just a tiny fraction.

I just listened to the Brahms Fourth Symphony. Didn’t do anything for me, which shows that it is all subjective.
Lots of people love Carmina Burana. In fact, it seems almost everyone does except me.

51

True. It is a piece, at least. Sanctuary is a “best of” album with pieces from all over, including one from Tabula Rasa. I just thought that it would be better for someone trying to broaden his horizons on the classical scene.

52

Don’t worry, you’re not alone :slight_smile:

53

I’m not sure if that was directed at me, but I’m well aware of that, and never indicated otherwise.

54

And this is why I am only buying things from people who’s work I know I like. But I am going to hit the library hard.

55

Yeah, life is too short to pay for stuff you don’t like. Listen before you buy. And listen to two different versions before you decide you don’t like something. There is plenty of crappy budget classical music out there.

56

Ok, so a couple more quick questions.

What does everyone think of Karajan and the Berlin PO. His name came up a lot when I was looking into Richard Strauss and the amazon reviews of Motzart’s A Little Night Music were very good, but he seems to be a somewhat controversial conductor. Many people seem to only like his interpritation of Strauss.

The other thing, if I want to delve into just a little Opera, what do you all think of Highlight CD’s. My initial reaction was to avoid them, but maybe since I am just starting out it would be a better way to go?

My local libray’s selection of Classical Music was terrible, so I am going to a better one next weekend. I am told the library in Pasadena has a killer music collection.

57

Karajan has some of the best Beethoven and Shostakovich symphonies ever recorded. In fact, the only comparable Shostakovich I’ve heard is Haitink’s recording of the Fifth. You can’t go wrong with him for operas, either.

In regard to Carmina Burana, it has to be seen as well as heard. I found the recording underwhelming beyond the initial five minutes. Then I saw it at the Hollywood Bowl last summer. It was really nifty, with a staggering, belching ‘drunk’ baritone toward the end. His facial expressions alone were worth the price of the ticket.

58

I would say, in general, that Karajan can be terrific in Late Romantics like Strauss. Conversely, look to others for Mozart, Beethoven.

Opera Highlight’s would be fine. Another option is to rent DVD’s: Opera is a visual feast and you’ll get into the emotion of the scene when you see the setting and the translated sub-titles.

59

Although, there is also plenty of non-crappy budget classical music out there. I’ve bought quite a few budget or cheapie CDs that I enjoy very much, and in some cases that I like better than more expensive or big-name versions when I’ve had the chance to compare them.

60

Shostakovich is (perhaps the) one case where I say Go Russian. The intensity to be found on Kondrashin’s recordings, for instance, far overrides the technical imperfections. And if you want brand-new, then Gergiev is gradually recording them, which I’m very tempted by even though buying them as they come out will cost a fortune.