interested in exploring classical

thank you everone for you posts so far. i can't wait to get started!!!

as your playback is cd you cant really go wrong .paying too much for the wrong vinyl pressingswill not be an issue.buy a copy of the classical good cd and dvd guide and you cannot go wrong.do not forget cd reissues in mono from companies such as naxos when virtuosos were really superstars and not puppets of commercialism,and when top orchestras numbered 150 top players and not 20!

Internet radio is the way to go to listen a wide variety of classical music ........ Either directly through your computer or if you have a wireless network stream it to your main system with an airport express (simple and cheap) ..... I love classical music and this is what I do ... It is a great way to go...

Chuck

Someone on another thread recommended going to see live performances. I think this was a great recommendation. I think the physical presence of sound is an integral part of most music. One has to see a performance live to feel it.

Find a way to learn about the structure of music from a listening/theory standpoint. I recommend the Teaching Company website. They offer a superb series on various kinds of music (series dedicated to Mozart, opera, Beethoven etc.). You really can learn a great deal and begin to appreciate the skill and creativity behind classical music. Getting the Beethoven set and watching it changed my life---or at least it made me move Beethoven's symphony #3 up to the top of my list. BTW, I've been listening to classical music all my life and played piano and violin in an orchestra through HS and still I learned something. It will also expose you to a whole gamut of composers and you may find yourself gravitating to one or another composer or period (Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Stravinsky etc.).

Or: start with Mozart piano sonatas, Beethoven symphony no. 3 (Furtwangler is good, sound is not so good). Bach Goldberg variations, Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 for an overview.