[JoshK]

Ok, so the sad commentary thread inspired me to want to learn more about classical music.  We had a thread a while back that tried to come up with a definitive jazz list.  The thing that is so hard for me (and most others I presume) is where to start.  What performance, what work, what composer, director, etc? I usually love a great piece of classical when I hear good stuff. 

So for those of you who are into classical music, what are some of your definitive selections for someone who is really interested but doesn't know where to begin, is just starting out and wants to start with accessible pieces.  Easy low hanging fruit is just fine, stuff like Mozart, Bach and Beethoven are ok suggestions, but what performance to buy for these?

My wife's favorite is Beethoven's 5th piano concerto IIRC.  I'd have to look it up.  I generally like piano and violin more than some other obscurities of instrumentation.  I like powerful orchestral, whereas my wife likes more romantic concertos.

So far my best finds, thanks to the NY audio rave, are things like 'Dance of the Tumblers' on Ref Rec with Eiji Ouei, which has a number of shorter pieces (not 45-60 minute works) that displays works of a number of composers. 

I am just looking for some essentials.  Please list away. 

[Orf]

Here is one of many places you might begin:

http://www.classicstoday.com/features/100cds.asp

[Daygloworange]

Not the easiest question to answer Josh. Are you looking for orchestral works, solo instruments, vocal, choir, opera, chamber ensemble? Also, what style? Renaissance, Medieval, Baroque, Classical, Romantic?

Probably the easiest way would be to listen to the radio (internet radio is great) and discover what genres in particular appeal to you. Some people very much dislike Baroque, while loving the Classical era.

Cheers

[Dan Banquer]

Not the easiest question to answer Josh. Are you looking for orchestral works, solo instruments, vocal, choir, opera, chamber ensemble? Also, what style? Renaissance, Medieval, Baroque, Classical, Romantic?

Probably the easiest way would be to listen to the radio (internet radio is great) and discover what genres in particular appeal to you. Some people very much dislike Baroque, while loving the Classical era.

Cheers

An excellent idea for Josh; that way you hear it before you buy it. Last I knew there was no shortage of classical music on the radio in N.Y.C.
           d.b.

[Thebiker]

A painless and pleasant step into classical might be Vivaldi's "Four Seasons".
 
It will give you pleasant music and if you sit down and just listen, you may actually feel the seasons.

My personal favorite features Gil Shaham as the violin soloist.  He is one of those musicians that really gets into what he plays.  I have seen him live and he can barely keep himself from dancing across the stage.

Good luck, you may enjoy it, you may hate it, but at least you will know.

[brj]

Both the Penguin Guide and Gramaphone Guide have a 100 recommended recordings type list.  I've purchased both guides and tend to cross-reference between them when buying classical CDs.  The only problem is that they both tend to overlook the smaller vendors (Reference Recordings, Mapleshade, etc.)

I also think that Tyson started such a thread on AC at one point, although I don't have time right now to hunt it down.

The challenge with classical music (and Jazz and a few other types) is that you have so many recordings of the same piece that it becomes a real challenge to find a release that comprises both a good performance and a good recording.  The other issue is that "classical" really encompasses a whole range of types - quartets to symphonies, romantic to baroque, etc..  Personal preference rules again...

[Bill Epstein]

Every 'Help Me Get Started with Classical' post answer I've ever seen immediately goes off in the wrong direction.

Why do we love the recorded music we do listen to?

I'm glad you asked.

Because either we've heard it live or it evokes memories of the circumstances, romance, life events or just listening with friends,  in which we heard it.

Go get yourself some circumstances and attend a live performance of the
_  _ _ _ _ _ _ Symphony Orchestra playing anything.

[woodsyi]

Josh,

Do you still have your TT up?  I have a bunch of those Time Life or Reader's Digest collections of classical music LPs.  I can send them with the other LPs you requested. 

[PhilNYC]

I recently started to pick up this series of re-released classics by EMI:

http://www.emiclassics.com/groc.php

I've found them all to be nothing short of stunning.  Specifically, I've picked up:

Mozart Symphonies 29, 35, 38, 39, 40 & 41
Otto Klemperer (1885 – 1973)

Mozart : Don Giovanni
Carlo Maria Giulini (1914 – 2005)

Mozart: Symphony 41/Wind Concertos
Sir Thomas Beecham (1879 – 1961)

Bach: Solo Sonatas & Partitas
Itzhak Perlman

In addition, also on Emi Classics, but not listed on that website is

Tchaikovsky & Mendelssohn Violin Concertos (Itzhak Perlman and the London Symphony)

Anne-Sophie Mutter also has two Mozart CDs that I really like, released by Deutsch Grammophon this year:

Mozart: The Violin Sonatas
Mozart: The Violin Concertos; Sinfonia Concertante

She also has a recording of Carmen Fantasie with the Vienna Philharmonic that I really enjoy (and this recording has been played at a few Raves)

[JoshK]

Josh,

Do you still have your TT up?  I have a bunch of those Time Life or Reader's Digest collections of classical music LPs.  I can send them with the other LPs you requested. 

It will be set up again soon, so LP is perfectly fine.   I'd appreciate that. 

[JoshK]

Anyone have any good St Saens or Arvo Pärt recs?

I appreciate the feedback so far, the difficulty isn't lost on me which is easily why it is inaccessible to get into as well. 

How about some of your favorite but accessible recordings and what genre/type they are. 

[Daygloworange]

The interpretation of well known pieces is something that you have to factor as well.

Even though the feeling is, "just play the dots".......it goes much further than that. Hearing the same piece, be it a solo work, or orchestral or whatever, sometimes it comes across quite differently. Some versions are terrible, some versions are sublime. Sometimes a good performance is poorly recorded, sometimes a poor performance is well recorded. Some people go more for the sonics, some go more for the performance.

Someone could recommend Bach's "Tocatta and Fugue in D min." and not recommend the soloist, and you would get wildly varying interpretations of this Baroque classic. Some people absolutely butcher it. ( Harry Grodberg is my favorite BTW).

Andres Segovia is heralded by many as the be all/end all classical guitar player. I think he's awful. I much prefer John Williams.

Glenn Gould, same thing. Many people love him playing Bach. I don't.

I would try and find pieces that I like, and then do some homework on finding out which particular recordings/players are the most well respected. Someone that owns a small record store that is a classical buff could help steer you in the right direction.

It can be a full time job though. As if audiophilia wasn't hard enough! 

Cheers

[Tweaker]

Ralph Vaughn Williams symphony No. 3 and symphony No. 4, Andre Previn conducting the London symphony, RCA Victor Gold Seal. This is a gorgeous recording and No. 4 especially is my all time favorite orchestral piece.

[Premuda]

Searching for a classical music is beautiful adventure,but must know that you'll need lot of time and patient. 
Rarely you'll be satisfied with one performance,cos someone will have a better adagio,someone sherzo,someone alegro,...
After a few month's will realize that you became a collector and that you have a few performance of Beethoven symphony No.9,Dvorak 9's,Bruckner 9',Mahler 9',...(strange number?! take 9 and you'll never ever have a problem; don't know what Mahler whant with 10th,or Shostakovich-ha-ha,someone must stop them).
There is a lot of author(composer),lot of their works(smphony,piano ,violin,cello concertos,...),a lot of performance(dirgent-orchestra's) for each work.A lot of combination.
 That's why is interesting.
Start as a teenage-rampage with punk,than hard rock-heavy,alternativ-undreground,than slow to jazz and finaly classical(pop rock was allways somewhere around). Every part of life(music) is interesting in it's own period (of growing).Where to start? Start(myself) with music from Stanley Cubrick/Copola film's(2001,clockwork orange,apocalipse now with Beethoven(9sym.),Mahler(5 sym.),Bruckner(7sym.),Strauss(Zarathustra),Wagner(walkire),...
 Bon voyage
 

[JohnR]

Get the three-disc set of Jacqueline DuPre. I don't think it's even expensive.

If that doesn't turn you, nothing will

[JoshK]

3 disc set of what?  She has a lot of discs out, that doesn't narrow it down. 

[JohnR]

Cello music?

J/K! Sorry, I mean this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-Pre-Favourite-Boccherini-Saint-Saens/dp/B000002S1F/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0477061-2639305?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1176299042&sr=8-1

[goldlizsts]

Ok, so the sad commentary thread inspired me to want to learn more about classical music. ................... 

To begin, should get those workhorses first because they're popular, usually because they contain great melodies that everyone can enjoy.  Beethoven's 5th piano concerto, wow, you're beyond even that.  Nobody wouldn't like that one.  My favorite Beethoven's 5th concerto was one actually by Vladimir Perlmuter.  I'm not sure of the spelling.  It probably is not available on CD since it's an older recording.  Besides its grandeur and melodiousness, the way he plays the opening of the slow 2nd movement is the best.  The yearning, the lamentativeness (is there such a word!?) of his slow movement I have not heard anyone playing it better.  Try the 4th conccerto also.  Then, there's his 5th symphony which is also indispensable (have we forgotten his 9th?.......).  Get the Kleiber recording on DG, one of the best.  It's availabel in hybrid SACD too, which will add to your pleasure.

While time permits at this writing, try Janine Jansen's Vivaldi 4 Seasons on Decca (also available as Hybrid SACD now).  She rearranged it for a smaller ensemble, which makes it that much more enjoyable because of the intimacy of it.  The sonics are excellent too.  With SACD, it should be most enjoyable.

There are tooooooo many what they call "basic repertoire" classical gems one can get to showcase his/her audiophile equipment.  Too lititle space perhaps.

[PhilNYC]

I'm by no means a classical music expert, and am probably only a little bit ahead of those folks who are just starting to take an interest in it in terms of knowing what to look for in performances and recordings.

That said, the way I approached first getting into it was to identify a couple of well-known performers (eg. Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Iztchak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Midori, Hillary Hahn, Wynton Marsalis, etc), and pick up a couple of CDs that are on the "must-have" lists for these artists at Amazon.com.  The reviews on Amazon can give you a decent description of the type of music being played on each CD (eg. quartet, symphonic, etc), and these "name" players are famous for a reason....

[rajacat]

This album will give your rig a real workout. Better turn off your noisy refrigerator for the quiet sections and warn your neighbors for the loud parts.




Raj