Classical music newbie needs your suggestions

I think some of the best Orchastra music is in soundtracks from movies.

Britten: Violin concerto

Rameau: Platée

Lutoslawski: Symphony nr 3

 

Right now I'm on Qobuz enjoying pianist Theo Fouchenneret do the Beethoven Waldstein and Hammerklavier Sonatas. If perhaps not the most outstanding performances I've ever heard, they are passionate, intelligent and virtuosic. Big round tone. If you got Qobuz, it's worth queuing up.

Beethoven  nine symphonies (Gardiner), Vivaldi Double Concerto (Chandler), Telleman Orchestral Suites (Berlin Academy), Mozart symphonies 38-41 (Scottish Chamber Orchestra), Hovaness Guitar Concerto #2 (Calderon), and Corelli Complete Concert Grossi (Amadine Beyer).

Many good suggestions. However, I would like to offer a different approach.

You say you already own 600 Classical music recordings; half of which are opera. That’s a lot of music. Start out by listening to what you already have before spending a lot of your time and energy searching for and buying more recordings which you may or may not like……initially.

You also say that you want to “understand” as well as enjoy Classical music. To me, and not meaning to be presumptuous, this tells me something about you as a listener. There is a great deal to “understand” in Classical music, just as in any serious art form. This does not mean one has to get into any kind of heavy analysis. Understanding is sometimes the path to enjoyment.

Just as in Jazz, one of the most interesting aspects of Classical music which is worth having at least some understanding of is its history and evolution. From the Renaissance era to the Baroque and all the way to the present, the music composed in any one period builds on what came before. The music of the great composers in any one historical period was influenced by the music of composers who preceded them. Some understanding of this, if only by way of simple familiarity with the music, is particularly helpful for a newbie because music from the music’s earlier historical periods tends to be more accessible than that from later (more recent) periods. Some familiarity with the music from an earlier period helps with the appreciation of the music from a later period which tends to be more challenging to listen to.

I would start by reading the liner notes of recordings that you already have and do a somewhat casual cataloguing by the date of the music’s composition. Liner notes are a great source of info about the composer; historical and otherwise. IOW, as has been suggested, perhaps start with Bach, then Handel or Mozart before tackling Stravinsky or Alban Berg.

The world of Classical music is huge and is truly a wonder. Have fun and keep an open mind. Enjoy!

 

My personal favorite composers (in no particular order) are Mahler, Bruckner, Beethoven, Bach, Copland, Berg, Bartók, Stravinsky, Debussy, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert, Shostakovich, Mozart, Hindemith, Glass, Schoenberg, Prokofiev, Haydn.

If I'm not listening to orchestral works, then I'm usually listening to string quartets or solo piano (I don't care much for harpsichord (very limited dynamics for my taste) or "historically accurate" pianofortes (these sound like out-of-tune19th century whorehouse pianos to me)).

Occasionally I'll listen to operas by different composers, or lieder by Schubert.

My favorite recordings:

George Szell - Beethoven Symphonies cycle

Jenny Lin - Shostakovich: 24 Preludes And Fugues, Op. 87 (Vladimir Ashkenazy does a pretty good one, too)

John Wilson, BBC Philharmonic - Copland: Orchestral Works, Volume 1 - Ballets

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra - Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, WAB 109

Carlo Maria Giulini, Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Mahler: Symphony No. 9 In D

Glenn Gould - Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1954 recording)

Boston Symphony Chamber Players - Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale (with John Gielgud, Tom Courtenay, and Ron Moody); Octet For Wind Instruments; Ragtime

Claudio Abbado, Vienna Philharmonic - Mahler: Symphony No. 4 In G (with Frederica Von Stade)

Claudio Abbado, Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé - Symphonic Suite, Op. 60

Diogenes Quartet - Schubert: Complete String Quartets

Neeme Järvi, Scottish National Orchestra - Prokofiev: The Complete Symphonies

Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra - Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition, Night On Bald Mountain, Khovanshcina (MFSL)

Aram Khachaturian, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Khachaturian: Spartacus, Gayaneh; Glazunov: The Seasons

Herbert Blomstedt, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra - Hindemith: Orchestral Works

Jeroen van Veen - Glass: Complete Piano Etudes

Etc. etc. etc.

If you'd like a little more info about musical works and their composers, you can't go wrong with The Vintage Guide to Classical Music by Jan Swafford.  A very easy read to get you grounded in classical music.

(If you prefer more detailed information, try getting the latest edition of Grout's History of Western Music as a used book (it's a fairly technical college textbook though). Another great reference for classical music of all kinds is the Harvard Dictionary Of Music.)

If you stick with it, I think you're in for one of the greatest adventures of your life. Have fun and good luck.

By now I'll bet you're googling the recommendations here and then zooming them through your system. Have at it! Go for it!

Subscribe to this guy.  You can start from the beginning if you like.

 

remember there is always the contrast between recording quality and performance quality. this said, these are my go-to-performances [i value performance quality over recording quality] but there is some overlap described below-

Fritz Reiner/CSO rca red seal 1960 recording of "Scheherazade." if one has Stendhal's Syndrome at all, this one will rend your heart when you hear the violinist's [Sydney Harth] solos. this is a lean-sounding vividly up-front recording but with tremendous liveness, you are virtually atop the podium here, you can hear the musician's clothing rustling, breathing, chairs and music stands creaking, sheet music shuffling, you can hear REAL MUSICIANS at work here playing at the peak of their abilities, with Reiner leading them with controlled fury. this performance is among the most brisk of all the recordings of this work i've heard [over a dozen], and stands head and shoulders above the rest. 

Neeme Järvi's [RSNO] performance of alexander nevsky cantata opus 78 is cinematic, vivid, it brings something akin to a real war between and around your loudspeakers. also a bit thin-sounding and a bit distant, a bit veiled, but the visceral rendition is what matters here. this is a fair aural document of a thrilling performance that is emotionally involving. the 1975 Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orch. version has richer sonics with good clarity but it is IMHO, relatively speaking a leisurely reading, less a war than a collegiate argument. 

gustav holst's "the planets" suite is a tougher nut, in that there is a wide variety of performances and recordings to choose from, highly variable in performance quality and recording quality, i really can't choose well among them, but have settled on ones by Sir Georg Solti/LPO 1978, Stokowski/KAOI 1956, [1971] Zubin Mehta/LAPO - this last one is breathtakingly hypnotically visceral esp. on "mars, the bringer of war" with those low brasses grabbing one by the ears and not letting go. unfortunately, this one is also a bit thin-sounding in the bass range [otherwise a very "rounded" sound here], needed more low end. the Solti version has less violence but more suavity. there is some tape overload audible in "mars" and "uranus" esp. on the cymbal crashes, the noise floor seems artificially low and the quiet parts are VERY quiet which seems to make the brasses stand out brightly. this recording has good body/low end. the Stoky version seems to both be idiosyncratic in the way of many of Stoky's recordings but also seems to draw a line between the suave extreme of the Solti version and the violence/menace of the Mehta version. the 1956 Stoky recording has pretty good [if thin] audio quality for its day, recorded up-front with strong presence/studio sound more than hall sound, it being a very early stereo recording.  

there are other recordings of these 3 pieces that have much more sumptuous sound but the performances IMHO [your mileage may vary] just aren't quite up to the required intense feeling that these pieces need to be conveyed as fully as their composers likely intended. 

 

Rather that rattle off a list of my favorite pieces of classical music (we’d be here all day), I would advise you to do a couple real-world things to inform yourself so you can figure out what you like (of music on-hand now) and what might thrill you in future purchases:

1 - Take the time to read the liner notes. With classical it matters greatly who the composer is (of course) and who the performers are (of course, again) -- but in the larger sense, it matters what era of classical music you’re hearing (ie, baroque style vs classical style vs romantic style vs things that came in w/the 20th century).

2 - And when you hear something that thrills you, note what instrument it is (or instrument grouping: chamber vs symphonic). If you find yourself loving the cello (for example), there were fabulous pieces written for it all over the past 300 years

3 - And finally, note any composers whose works appeal to you, and any performers who impress you most. You can later on pick up more recordings based on those factors.

A friend was here yesterday and really liked a classical recording I was playing (an orchestral piece by Frederick Delius). I don’t know him to own any classical, so I asked, "If you like this so much, why don’t you own any of it?" His answer baffles me: "Because I don’t know enough about it to know what I would like."

All he has to do is spend some quality time youtubing classical of various types and eras--and pretty soon he’d have a very good idea what he likes. Your 300 recordings are the equivalent of that.

Dear rvpiano, Horowitz and Gould are definitely my two favorite pianist of all time along with Martha Argerich and Rubenstein who played Chopin like no other. 

You are in for a musical experience  you never dreamed of - especially when listening on a good sound system!  I strongly recommend that you sample the extensive classical selections on YouTube,. The sound quality is surprisingly good with a quality headphone pair, and you will discover many vintage recordings from the golden era of classical stereo. There will be occasional annoying commercials - but the quality and variety of the music is fascinating.

Of particular interest are live recordings posted from Germany and Japan by the YouTube classical community, usually supplemented by worthwhile comments.  I have been particularly impressed with the performances by Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony of works from the French repertoire.  Also noteworthy are the amazing live performances of the Bruckner 7th and 9th Symphonies by Sergiu Celibidache and the Münchner Philharmoniker. Happy listening; your musical adventure is just beginning.

@thomas_vick 

Funny you should such disparate pianists as Horowitz and Gould in the same article. Usually not paired, they’re my two favorite pianists in the world.

I admire your quest. This forum may be a bit overwhelming, as most people are listing their personal favorites which you may or may not connect with. 
 As somebody has suggested, you might take a Music 101 or adult education music class to get you started. A good teacher will inspire you with his or her enthusiasm, and guide you on a path of well known classics that have connected to many beginners.

Schubert’s C major string quintet may well be the most powerful, absorbing, ..., piece of chamber music ever published.  It is tops on my desert island list.

I was a rock n' roll kid- Bob Seger and Uncle Ted Nugent. The first classical tune that caught my ear was Pachelbel's Cannon in D. I was 18 yrs. old then. Mozart came next and as a student of music (piano and trumpet) I began to slowly mature into more and more complex classical music. At 60 years old I find my greatest joy listening to the old masters- Handel, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. I prefer the composers that tried to emulate God by composing purer, higher, nobler music.  I also like French vanilla ice cream and hate butter pecan so there's that. 

I had a college friend share his appreciation of classical music with me. Since it sounds you’re beyond that, I’d now say to find a copy of Ted Libby’s NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection. (Ignore the “CD” part of the title.) The greats are the greats, and Libby is informed as well as accessible. Opera, too. Just organize your collection in your favorite manner (I use composer’s birthdate, which gives you a visual timeline of eras) and read the liner notes and Libby’s commentary as you listen. 

@clearthinker  ... £1  Maybe you got them all in the UK?  : )  Apologies if your comment was sarcastic this comment is based upon taking your statement literally.

I am near a US West Coast major metropolitan area.  I find great classical vinyl all the time (maybe not near mint with a perfect sleeve ... but after a good clean, very nice with some gems along the way ... plenty of London blue backs).  I pay way less that £1 per disc.  More like a £1 ($2) for 10 albums.  Sometimes I get 100s for just the price of loading them up and taking them away.  You just have to keep your eyes out and explore methods other than Discogs or eBay.  In my case it helps to be within a hours drive of ~ 8.5 million potential sellers.  In America at least, there is a YouTube vinyl collector with a  store front (Noble Records) that refuses (based upon his comments on past Youtube videos)  to even take in classical records at any price.  So yes, though if vinyl popularity keeps up, it will be tougher to find good deals, they are still out there.  Especially in America.

So there.

Some great suggestions, but I'm not going to add any more as they've already bust your budget two times.

@drawding   I bought up all the used golden period classical vinyl in the late 80s for £1 a disc or less.

It's all being sold at collectible money now as many have come to realise a lot of digital recordings suck and are going back to vinyl.  The market is streaming vs. vinyl now.  But most current vinyl has nothing on the Deccas etc of the late 50s and 60s.

I also would suggest going to a used record store or craigslist and buying a bunch (2 or 3 movie theater movies worth... or a week of Starbucks worth) of used classical vinyl or CDs ... and explore.   IMHO it is a fun (and relatively inexpensive way) to discover new music.

I second the support of Mozart symphony works.  Also Bach Goldberg.  Good starting points

Glen Gould playing the Bach Goldberg Variations;

the first recording ! Also someone recommended Gershwin’s rhapsody in blue. Listen to the Dallas Symphony recording with Andrew Litton. I was the principal clarinetist at that time & it is I playing the opening glissando.

Took Music Appreciation 101 while at community college decades ago where, among other music, we studied Mozart's Symphony #40 in G minor as mentioned above. It is still one of my favorite pieces of music all these years later.

I highly recommend sitting in on a class.

Dear edcyn , I agree Marta Argerich is excellent. She's one of my favorites.

It is Rock'n Roll.

See Newbie to classical, with all these recommendations, You will enjoy what's been suggested. Just pour a drink and  sit back and relax and enjoy in the heaven sent music..

I've got an update concerning my Jones for Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto. Try the performance by Marta Argerich on piano and Claudio Abbado conducting the Berlin Phil. Modern sound. Anger, energy and spirit to spare.

Don't forget Vladimir  Horowitz, the greatest classical pianist of all time and the best natural pianist of all time Glen Gould who said he only practiced once per week and when he was asked what he thought of Jazz, which I enjoy, he said it was a waist of some very good notes.

Yes I enjoy the Guarneri Quartet also. Especially Mendelssohn string quartet #3. 

I've been into classical music for decades and love it. Some personal favorites include pianist Sviatoslav Richter, and the Guarneri Quartet, especially their late Beethoven set that came out on Philips. A whole level beyond anyone in insight for me. Sandor Vegh and the Camerata Salzburg have a 10-CD set of Mozart serenades and divertimentos that's great. Bernstein's Schubert 9th and Unfinished (#8) symphonies with the Concertgebouw are special. Haydn quartets with the Auryn Quartet are wonderful.

You might enjoy owning Mahler’s 2nd symphony "Resurrection" conducted by Gilbert Kaplan. The story behind the man’s determination to conduct a symphony orchestra is rather interesting.

See

 

There are lots of good suggestions above which I will try not to repeat. Here are some I highly recommend:

• Bach - Brandenburg Concertos
• Bach - organ music, especially Toccata in F (BWV 540), Prelude & Fugue in A minor (BWV 543), and Prelude & Fugue in D major (BWV 532). Since this is an audio forum, you have to test your woofers with some really low bass, and only the pipe organ can really do that (16 Hz). 😁
• A Bach Festival, Empire Brass and Douglas Major, organ
• Music for Organ, Brass, and Percussion, Empire Brass and Michael Murray, organ (Telarc).
• Handel's Messiah
• Saint-Saens - Symphony No. 3
• Charles-Marie Widor - Symphony 5 for organ
• Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, all four piano concertos, 24 preludes for piano.
• Holst - the Planets (especially the Charles Dutoit/Montreal Symphony performance).
• Basically anything by Tchaikovsky.
• Sibelius' violin concerto.
• Smetana - Ma Vlast, especially the Moldau.

I'm sure I can think of more if I look at my CD collection, but that's a good start. Have fun!  Some of these will take multiple listens to really understand, but they're all great music.

Aaron Copland- I call it frontier music.  Rodeo, Billy the kid suite and Appalachian spring. The music brings to mind any western movie and a nation bursting into west.  

After more than fifty years of trying to educate myself about classical music and listening to thousands of records and cd's on fairly good stereo systems, I had the time to listen more seriously during the pandemic. I intuitively began to focus on one composer: Mozart. I learned that I loved his chamber music the most, and eventually branched off to others.

I actually found some of Mozart's works difficult to listen to at times because of the sheer emotion that arose in me when I began to appreciate them. This surprised me, incidentally, because there is also a lot of humor to be found in Mozart's works: this is what initially attracted me to Mozart when I "rediscovered" him.

I have a nice beginners collection of Mozart that I return to when I get the urge, but lately my journey led to rediscovering Beethoven's piano sonatas (specifically Alfred Brendel's interpretation), and recently Hayden and Scarlatti. The latter artist took most of the fifty years for me to begin to fully appreciate. 

That said, I found that my classical music journey resulted in what I could only describe as a spiritual one as well when I devoted myself to Mozart. My advice it to forget about all the rest do the same. 

The symphonies of Carl Nielsen.

 

I’m a newbie as well! Slowly, very slowly learning... It’s a vast world, with many periods / styles / composers, then of course you have the many interpretations / directors / orchestras (they can be VERY different) modern instruments vs ancient instruments...

Without going into the various interpretations, here are some works I really like; mostly vocal / choral works but not only. Choral works are also a good test for your system... you may believe your system sounds good until you hear Mozart’s Requiem and it sucks. Beware! ^^

So:

Mozart: Requiem (of course)

Mozart: Exultate, jubilate

Beethoven: piano sonatas

Bach: cantatas (there are many)

Bach: magnificat

Pergolese: Stabat mater

Vivaldi: Stabat mater

Vivaldi: opera arias (I mostly don’t have the patience for a complete opera, yet - I do, if I see it live)

Rossini: Petite Messe solennelle (no idea how you’d translate that in English)

Orff: Carmina Burana (I really like the 1968 Eugen Jochum recording)

Handel: Messiah

Rachmaninov: Piano concertos

 

Non exhaustive list, of course, and I’m sill learning myself, so... and yes, a lot of religious music, and I'm not religious at all myself but, those pieces are splendid and would - at least- keep your spiritual side, no matter how big a place it takes in your life, alert ;-)

 

@edcyn That’s awesome!  Most people I mention it to look at me like I have two heads.  Thanks for sharing. 👍🏼

@jdougs  I've had a full on passion for Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto ever since I was about ten years old and my dad gave me a William Kappell/Antal Dorati mono LP of it in an attempt to get me to pay more attention to the piano in the living room. It didn't help my piano-playing motivation much but it did make me an intense fan of the piece. I've never stopped listening to it. It's been surging through my being for about sixty years now. It's still the performance I listen to the most.

My number one favorite is Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto, and Ashkenazy and The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andre Previn is the best I’ve found.  Also, Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, Munch and The Boston Symphony Orchestra RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2608 if you can find it.  A great thing about classical is there is little demand so prices are reasonable and they’ve usually been well cared for.  Enjoy!

If you have any Mozart Opera by the Drottningholm Opera company, listen to it. If you don't, look for it.

 

Hey 1111art,  How are you? It's me again with A superior suggestion For enjoying opera again. It's a recording called "Puccini Gold". It's recorded with some of the Greatest opera stars of all time!!! Believe me it will re-stimulate your opera senses. As far as  I know, It's only available on streaming and CD. If you system is good, you'll be transfigured and sent straight to heaven.

I like classical music because it can bring people together to solve Riddles and provide a sense of enjoyment and relaxation.

I got into Classical about half a century ago, and some of the stuff that hooked me in does do much for me now, perhaps due to over familiarity.  The OP is retirement age so I am not sure what appealed to me as a teenager would work for him.  Again, the radio is your friend…

@frogman - glad you weighed in, I was kind of waiting for a post from you here. Happy Schwanzsa!

Puccini is a great place to start with opera.  Btw, the opera “Carmen” is by Georges Bizet,  not Puccini.  For Puccini I would start with La Boheme.  

Again thanks everyone. Let the journey begin...

For superior sonics, Stereophile and The Absolute Sound magazines have a “records to die for “ list .  Not sure if you can look online.

maybe Google “most popular classical music” where I got this link:

You can also look at Discogs for album reviews

 

Don't be too hasty in discarding the opera. 

I was of the same opinion regarding classical music versus opera and now I listen to opera exclusively.

@thomas_vick Is correct. Start with Puccini and enjoy the ride.

 

Has any of you out there ever listened to Malcolm McLaren's album Fans.