Ready to leap into Classical..need suggestions.

eclein · « **on:** 5 May 2010, 10:41 pm »

I love classical music I just have no clue what is good, what is not, I like full orchestra stuff, modern wild stuff would be nice. I have no classical CD's at all..is there like a top 100 list somewhere..LOL!!
If you could only have say 5 CD's of classical music what would they be????
Thank you in advance...Ed L.

rajacat · « **Reply #1 on:** 5 May 2010, 11:14 pm »

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=57156.0

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #2 on:** 5 May 2010, 11:16 pm »

Modern and wild eh? For those parameters you'll need to own Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps), and some Shostakovich (Symphony 5 is his most famous but I find 11 to be quite a ride!), Mahler Symphony 2 or 5, Orff's Carmina Burana (with chorus and soloists!). Those would be good starting points for modern and wild full orchestra stuff

mark funk · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 May 2010, 11:39 pm »

Here are a few that I like,

Telarc-Moussorgsky:Pictures at an Exhibition

Telarc-Stravinsky:The Firebird

Telarc-Gershwin:Porgy & Bess " Catfish Row "

Telarc-Ralph Vaughan Williams:Symphony No. 2 A London Symphony

eclein · « **Reply #4 on:** 6 May 2010, 12:13 am »

Exactly what I was looking for, a place to start, thanks gents!! I'll report back with a haul from my local library and start getting edumacated!!
Thanks guys..Ed L.

Rajacat- Great link, thank you very much.

etcarroll · « **Reply #5 on:** 6 May 2010, 05:50 pm »

Ed -

I did the same thing as a New Years project. If I remember, you're up by Allentown, so print out the first 5 or 6 pages of Tyson's sticky - head over to Princeton NJ and stop into PREX, and start buying used CDs, they have a ton. Give yourself an hour minimum, as they're not alpha order.

Also, read last few pages of the 'What Classical Music Are You Listening TO Luv' thread, I listed some of my discoveries, you may enjoy them as well.

Edit: Rajacat has already posted the link to Tyson's thread above.

eclein · « **Reply #6 on:** 6 May 2010, 05:54 pm »

Thanks Gene!

woodsyi · « **Reply #7 on:** 6 May 2010, 06:08 pm »

This Telarc recording escaped Tyson's list. I would list LP, SACD then CD in the order of sound quality. CD is still good.

Beware, Polovtsian Dances will test your speaker's bottom end.

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #8 on:** 6 May 2010, 11:54 pm »

Regarding Stravinsky's Firebird; I have several recordings of the abridged Suite. One day I found a used recording of the entire ballet (~45 minutes) for CHEAP. It was Pierre Boulez conducting the NY Phil on CBS Masterworks. I haven't listened to the suite since and it's been 10 years now. The piece is incredible whole and this recording is to die for. It's been one of my references since first listen. I have no clue why he made a 'medley' suite out of it!

Some of my other favorites that are full orch but maybe not so modern and wild are:

Holst "The Planets" I have Dutoit/Montreal on London
Gorecki Symphony 3 - Upshaw/Zinman/London Sinfonietta. This is great late at night with the lights off.
Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem. With full chorus and soloists. I have Gardner/ORR on Philips
Barber Violin Concerto. I have McDuffie/Levi/Atlanta on Telarc. Which is OK. I think there probably are better performances out there.
Ancient Echoes on RCA Victor. This is an Acapella (voices only - no instruments) Male Russian choir. It's a great recording and really cool music.

Let us know your impressions once you've heard some of these!

eclein · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 May 2010, 12:03 am »

I'm off to the library tomorrow...got a great list from you
guys. TY

Randy · « **Reply #10 on:** 7 May 2010, 01:27 am »

One of my favorite works is Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. The Telarc Slatkin performance is very good. If you want wild and modern, check out the orchestral works of Michael Daugherty.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=Michael+daugherty&x=0&y=0

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 May 2010, 04:05 am »

I'll second Holst - "The Planets"....but I really like the Sir Adrian Boult version...

http://www.amazon.com/Holst-Planets-Elgar-Enigma-Variations/dp/B000002S4Z/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1273204812&sr=1-24

etcarroll · « **Reply #12 on:** 7 May 2010, 11:04 am »

Ed -

just realized you wanted a personal top 5, so far I've bought aprox. 25 classical CDs since New
Years, my top 5 would be;

1-3: Beethovan "Symphonies 3,5 & 6", all by The Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer conducting, on EMI Classics.
4: Vivaldi "The Four Seasons", the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Itzhak Perlman, on EMI Classics. Trust me, you'll instantly recognize the opening movement.
5:This one keeps changing as I get more familiar with the music, of late it's been Brahms Sym. 1-4, by The Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer conducting, on EMI Classics. THis is a multi-CD set, even used it was a little pricey at $21. In counterpoint I bought a different version, on Telarc, for only $10, which though a better technical recording, doesn't sound as good to my ear as the Klemperer version.

Happy Hunting!

lt5dude · « **Reply #13 on:** 7 May 2010, 12:07 pm »

Even when you're not sitting listening to a cd, keep a good classical station on (for example, http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kmfa/ppr/index.shtml if you don't have a local one). When something catches your ear, jot it down.

There's so much classical music that I also got a lot out of listening to this set of cds to put it all in context:

http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=700

I have to warn you though, that if you buy anything from The Great Courses, it's like subscribing to a magazine- a new catalog shows up about once a week it seems. On the other hand, they have some interesting stuff.

eclein · « **Reply #14 on:** 7 May 2010, 02:09 pm »

I went to the library and here's what I got:
1) Holst-The Planets-Charles Dutoit,Montreal Symphony
Keep in mind I have no clue as to what is what, LOL, Dutoit is conductor I'm assuming, Montreal Sym is self explanatory

2)Mussorgsky-Pictures at an Exhibition (2 different recordings-actually I think 2 collections of stuff--which is better??)
a)Berliner Philharmoniker, Stravinsky-The Firebird, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra--Carlo Maria Giulini (SONY Classical)
or
b)Les Tableaux D'une Exposition-Bilder Einer Ausstellung, RAVEL-Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales La Valse-Dallas Symphony-Eduardo Mata (RCA Victrola)
I have no clue what all that means, except the Dallas part...

3)John Adams-Century Rolls, Lollapalooza, Slonimsky's Earbox

4)Richard Strauss-Don Juan, Metamorphosen, Tod und Verklarung-Wiener Philharmoniker, Christoph von Dohnanyi (London Digital)
All these are CD's and I'm popping on "The Planets" first as it was mentioned several times to me, the rest afterward...will report back.
Thanks for your help on selections I think??

PhilNYC · « **Reply #15 on:** 7 May 2010, 02:35 pm »

Check out the 30th Anniversary Sampler from Reference Recordings:

http://www.amazon.com/30th-Anniversary-Sampler-Various-Artists/dp/B000ILYYSU/

eclein · « **Reply #16 on:** 7 May 2010, 04:43 pm »

The Planets-very nice a bit too mellow but very beautiful.
Pictures at an Exhibition is playing now and I'm loving it, listening to Carlo Maria Giulini conducted piece.

By the way-I took a list made from all your posts with me today and it was extremely helpful. I can take 10 at a time and got sidetracked
in the Jazz section--oops. Thanks again folks.

woodsyi · « **Reply #17 on:** 7 May 2010, 04:50 pm »

Quote from: eclein on 7 May 2010, 04:43 pm

The Planets-very nice a bit too mellow but very beautiful.
Pictures at an Exhibition is playing now and I'm loving it, listening to Carlo Maria Giulini conducted piece.
By the way-I took a list made from all your posts with me today and it was extremely helpful. I can take 10 at a time and got sidetracked
in the Jazz section--oops. Thanks again folks.

You found, "Mars: Bringer of War," too mellow?

I will have to recommend some Wagnerian Operas for you.

eclein · « **Reply #18 on:** 7 May 2010, 05:00 pm »

Mars was awesome, almost blew my head off at one point, I'll acquire a taste for this. This type of music is new to me...I grew up on R&R.
I'm really enjoying "Pictures.." this is stuff I can most definitely get in to!!

Tyson · « **Reply #19 on:** 7 May 2010, 05:15 pm »

Shostakovich is your man. First violin concerto, first cello concerto, string quartets (all of them, but #8 in particular). Also check out Bartok's piano concerto's #1 and #2. And from Rachmaninov there's the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Symphonic Dances. Beethoven's Piano Concerto #5 is also quite good, as is the Brahms Violin concerto and two Piano Concertos. There's also Prokofiev's Piano Concerto's, especially the 2nd. Others like Tchaikovsky's Symphony #4 are also worth checking out.