10 Great Classical LP's

Rather than a tired old subjective account of someone else's taste, ask this question:

'what are 10 great aspects of classical music that can be investigated'.

I'll begin:

1. Pre-baroque composition (such as consort music)
2. 12-Tone/serialist composition
3. Large scale baroque works
4. Solo instrumental work
5. Choir arrangement
6. Electro-acoustic music
7. Chamber music (after the 17th century)
8. Influence of popular folk forms
9. Influence of political movements
10. Visionary and eccentric composers

Part of the fun is asking yourself why these terms are used, and if they are valid. I must admit, I made some of them up.

Gramophone has just put all their issues on line, no charge to sign up and use them. I would start there.

Scheherazade - Rimsky-Korsakov - Fritz Reiner
(listen and than you could die cause life would be complete)
Four Seasons - Vivaldi

If you've just started listening to classical music, you would not be concerned terribly with what performers give "the best" or "greatest" interpretations. Besides, that's always a matter of opinion. The same is true for the greatest lps or the greatest individual pieces of music. Even a list of 10 great (if not THE greatest) pieces will vary to some extent among classical lovers. Let's say that I recommend you listen to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which many consider to be at the pinnacle among great works. Hopefully, you would make a good effort to hear it through to its finish. It typically takes at least an hour to perform, so prepare yourself for "an experience". You might begin by trying an overture to get a briefer taste for what's to come, maybe Rossini's Barber of Seville, Brahms' Academic Festival or Wagner's Tannhauser. If you like the violin, try Mendelssohn's Concerto. For the piano, either Tchaikovsky's First Concerto or Mozart's Concerto No. 21. Then there's Dvorak's Cello Concerto, a wonderfully musical piece. When it comes to other symphonies, you might want to explore Brahms' Second, Rachmaninoff's Second, Tchaikovsky's Fourth and Dvorak's Eighth. Finally, Cerot(above) mentions Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, a charming and dynamic work. And if you're fascinated by or curious about a particular title, go for it. Good luck and good listening!

15 years ago i was getting 'back' into vinyl after 15 years away....and i wanted to get into classical music for the first time. so i had no knowledge of the music and especially of the best Lps to purchase. in some ways i was lucky. at that same time Classic Records were doing their reissue series of RCA 'Living Stereo' shaded dogs.....both in 33 rpm and 45 rpm. there was lots of discussion in the magazines then (the internet was in it's infancy and there was no AudiogoN or Audioasylum) about whether these reissues were as good, better or not as good. Anyway, i bought most every one of those Classic Records reissues (in both 33 and 45) and that turned out to be a great entry into classical Lps both from a sound quality and performance perspective. 15 years later these RCA's are still some of the best Lps i have heard.

i would strongly recommend trying to find these RCA reissues as they will be consistently excellent and are very 'accessable' in terms of the music.

another source of great Lp recordings is the recommended lists on Acoustic Sounds. along the left side of the page is a 'Browse' section and underneath that is 'Absolute Sound Recommended'.....which is a pretty good list of great sounding Classical Recordings.

I love my Classical Lps and play them often. i'm still not much of an expert on the music but i have learned quite a bit.

enjoy.