I’m just kind of in the mood for it. My roommate last semester was a piano major and there was usually something entertaining on… Any suggestions for a beginning listener?
I’m also kind of a beginner. I don’t really know anything other than the commonly known melodys by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Wagner, etc.
But I can pick out a Tchaikovsky, even if I’ve never heard the particular selection before, and I love it. I rarely listen to classical music, but if I do, I want it to be something by Tchaikovsky.
So, that’s my recommendation. To add my own question, does anyone who’s more knowledgable know of a good CD collection of his work?
What style of music do you normally listen to? If you are a “heavy metal kid” or punk, as is suggested by your Toadies links, the choral movement from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is both something you might have heard in a bland and insipid version that doesn’t tell you that the man was deaf AND had a very clear understanding of head-bangingly loud. After the break it explodes and is purest rock and roll. Electronica fans (and math majors) are naturals for Bach or anything (especially Bach) played by Mr Roboto himself, Glenn Gould. Mozart is rich and lush without being overstuffed and especially interesting after viewing Amadeus and getting a context (though one that may not be entirely true). I stay away from most of the 20th century stuff (except Satie, Shostakovitch and ANY electronica and of the weirder avant-garde composers) because I’m a crank. And the Romantics don’t do much for me.
I’m not a hardcore listener of anything, I just have a few songs that I know I like.
Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and Rite of Spring
Saint-Saens Danse Macabre
Mozart’s Requiem Mass (Now while listening I can imagine Nightcrawler rampaging through the White House, which actually kind of ruins it)
Of course Imperial March and also Duel of the Fates (John Williams)
Holst’s Mars God of War (Never heard another Planets I liked as much, I won’t recommend buying the CD for it)
And the usual othe rstuff you think of when you think classical (O Fortuna, Ode to Joy, Hall of Mountain King, Night on Bald Mountain, Ride of the Valkyries, misc other Beethoven and Bach stuff)
Well, by “Classical” do you mean the actual Classical period (about the 18th century) or anything orchestrical.
Classical:
Mozart is usually a good time. I recommend the 41th symphony. I’m sure you’ve heard it before (De da-da De da-da de da-da DA. De da-da De da-da de da da da.)
Anything Orchestrical:
Beethoven’s 3rd.
anything from Wagner’s Ring cycle (where “Ride of the Valkyries” comes from)
I’m drawing a blank. I’m sure others will be along.
Yngwie Malmsteen’s Concerto Suite For Electric Guitar And Orchestra In E Flat Minor Op. 1 is one of my favorite neoclassical pieces.
Mark Twain assured us “Wagner’s music is better than it sounds.” Personally I’d have to disagree - ew.
A Little Night Music by Mozart is nice, but most of Mozart’s work is a sure thing, hard to go wrong.
There are some decent compilations with pleasant stuff from a variety of artists. You might browse some classical appreciation type compilations to sample and find out what you enjoy.
I highly recommend Franz Schubert; he is simply amazing.
One of his that you might have heard is Ave Maria. But most things by him are pure wonderful.
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos
Nothing else is necessary
Yes, the Brandenburg Concertos are absolutely brilliant. Plenty else is necessary, though. I also love the Magnificat and the suites for solo cello.
Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto (“Emperor”) is great.
Like solo piano? I’d suggest Beethoven’s piano sonatas. The ones with names (Pathétique, Appassionata, Waldstein, Hammerklavier) are the best known, but they’re all wonderful. Try listening to a few different pianists performing them; Alfred Brendel and Wilhelm Kempff are among the more renowned.
Beethoven’s symphonies, Beethoven’s string quartets…you know, come to think of it, Beethoven flat-out rocks.
Generally, you can’t go wrong with Haydn’s symphonies or Mozart’s concertos.
All my suggestions are pretty mainstream and conservative. Don’t forget to stretch your ears: while you’re browsing the classical CD section, check out something unusual that looks appealing. (Medieval music will sometimes throw a few interesting curveballs, and often sounds more “modern” than you’d think.) There’s always Kronos Quartet.
Happy listening! Let us know what you end up liking.
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem.
He ain’t just for lullabies anymore.
Have to agree with the suggestions for Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. They’re perhaps not ‘the only thing necessary’ but they are an extremely soulful and VERY skillfully composed collection of pieces. Played in order they feel like a kind of musical story.
If you wanted, after you try some of the excellent suggestions found above this post (and probably below it as well), to hear something a little bit ‘out there’ try a composer called Ligeti. Good stuff. Some of my friends, who like classical music as much as I do, really hate this guy, but every now and again someone is just blown away by the stuff. It’s a little wierd, but I have grown to love it. 
Enjoy your newfound taste for the classical!!
Perhaps your roommate was playing some Chopin - I think it’s his 2nd piano concerto that’s just wonderful, full of variety and passion and not too fussy. Emanuel Ax would be a good choice for the performer.
Also love the Glenn Gould recordings - the soundtrack for “32 Short Pieces” covers a wide range of musical periods & you can hear him humming along.
And if you want something raucous, you’ve got to check out Peer Gynt, which is by Grieg. When I haven’t known which orchestra or conductor to choose, I’ve had good luck with the Deutsche Grammophon label (although I also like Eugene Ormandy’s work).
Re: Tchaikovsky, I love the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s recordings of Capriccio Italien and the 1812 Overture, conducted by Erich Kunzel (although I see at Amazon that the CD version is apparently of lousy quality - I’ve got it on vinyl).
Handel, Bach, Telemann, Tallis … a whole new world awaits you. I’d suggest you stay away from opera as there are far too many screechy bits.
Try the CD ‘Coronation Anthems’.
BTW classical music is often used in advertisments: tell us which ads you like.
Chopin’s Nocturnes are pure bliss. (Go out right now and get Nocturne #1 in B Flat Minor. Aaaaahhhh!)
Josef Suk’s Epilogue for orchestra, large and small mixed choruses, soprano, baritone and bass.
[sub]…and the very next person who repeats that friggin’ Mark Twain quote about Wagner, I swear ta god I’ll bite him right in the ass.[/sub]
Johan Strauss Jnr : Blue Danube, Tritsch-Tratsch polka, Annenpolka, Thunder & Lightning, etc.
Rimsky-Korsakov : Scheherazade
Sibelius : Finlandia, Karelia suite.
Gershwin : Rapsody in blue, American in Paris
Rossini : William Tell (You know you are an intellectual if you can hear this without thinking of the Lone Ranger), Barber Of Seville
Mendelssohn : Fingals Cave, Midsummer Night’s dream
Mussorgsky : Night on bald mountain, Pictures At An Exhibition (go for the full orchestral version, rather than the piano solo)
Gilbert & sullivan : The Mikado
If you like piano music, you absolutely cannot go wrong with Chopin. I also recommend Rachmoninoff. His Piano Concerto Nos. 2 & 3 are lush, beautiful, and romantic (in every sense of the word).
All of these posts are very good, and you’ve taken all of my ideas, but the one piece that hasn’t been mentioned that I must put a plug in for is Dvorak’s Fifth Symphony, the New World Symphony. It is the best symphony I have ever heard, and it is my favorite piece of classical music. Second is Beethoven’s Pathetique Piano Sonata, and then after that is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, definitely the orchestral version. Ravel’s Bolero is also a great piece of music, even though it is the same thing over and over again for twelve minutes. Somehow, that makes it even more beautiful.
Looking through the posts, I take this all back… Sibelius’ Finlandia is the greatest piece of music ever written, and then everything else comes in after that.
Wolfian, are you sure you aren’t thinking of the 40th?
I can’t let this thread go by without mentioning Prokofieff (especially his 3rd piano concerto and his Romeo and Juliet music), Mahler (especially his 1st and 5th symphonies), Dvorak (New World Symphony and lots of other stuff)… and speaking of Beethoven, I was rocking out to his 8th symphony last night, which is underrated, overshadowed as it is by some of his others.