Music Recommendations

If you want something of moderate scale that is offbeat, but very listenable try Stravinsky's Octet for Wind Instruments and the Ebony Concierto. Not at all obnoxiouos like the Firebird Suite. I've go them on the Netherlands Wind Ensemble Greatest hits, which as an added bonus is very well recorded.

There are certainly many fine suggestions already.

I'd add:

Respighi - Feste Romane
Shostakovich - light scores (The Bolt, Moscow-Cheryomushki, e.g.)
Virgil Thomson - The Plow that Broke the Plains (film score)
Holst - Suites 1 & 2 for Concert Band
Stravinsky - Firebird, Rite of Spring
Hindemith - Mathis der Maler
Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Orff - Carmina Burana
Copland - Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Red Pony (RP is a film score)
Kodaly - Hary Janos

Although it's from the 19th century, it's still hard to find a piece that's more fun than Grieg - Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2.

What we call classical music was in many cases popular music in its day. Beethoven also became a weathy man from his compositions.

All of the old Operas at The Met were the "show tunes" of their day..

EXACTLY - Classical was intended to be fun and exciting - not the "pompous" way it is treated today where we all have to dress up in suits to go out. I blame some of the conductors for taking the whole classical thing and themselves WAY TO SERIOUSLY.

A Beautiful Mind was james Horner not john Williams. My mistake.

Try Bernard Herrmann. He did the film scores for alot of Hitchcocks movies from Vertigo,North by Northwest,Marnie, The Man Who Knew to Much, Psycho and others.Esa-Pekka Salonen with The L.A. Philharmonic does an admiral job on their Cd but their is Herrmann conducting his own stuff on Cd and Vinyl out there too.