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[JimH]

We've had a couple of threads lately on the shortcomings of media players in general, and uhmm, MC specifically, concerning the tags and categories of classical music.

This thread is not about that.

This thread is a humble request for guidance on what to purchase.

I like Beethoven's 9th.  Who doesn't?  I like Satie.  I enjoy Mozart.  I like piano.  I like Julian Bream and Roderigo's Concierto de Aranjuez.

Did I mention that I played the French Horn in 7th grade?

I would be very grateful, if you would be so kind, for a list of pieces to sample.

[John Gateley]

Strangely enough, I didn't play french horn in the 7th grade, sort of. I played drums, but the director made a plea for french horn players and looked at the over-full drum section, so I attempted to play for a couple of weeks but I sounded terrible.

Also in 7th grade, more or less, one of my favorite cassette tapes was Van Cliburn's "The World's Favorite Piano Music". It's still available, I think, and is a nice sampling of piano music.

The rest of my classical tastes are pretty mundane, I imagine. Beethoven's 3rd is very good, and not as well known as his 9th or 5th. Ann loves his 6th (Pastoral). Bach's Cello suites are one of our favorites (actually our wedding music). Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (which I have transcribed to guitar), Holszt's The Planets, Dvorak's New World Symphony, the stuff everyone knows.

There's always Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Or another of my 7th grade favorites, Switched On Bach.

j

[jkrzok]

If you'd like to try something a little more modern without being modern_{the kind that scares people away} music may I suggest some Sibelius. His Violin Concerto and Symphony #2 seem to be his most popular works but Symphony #5 is my favorite. Look for recordings from Colin Davis conductiong the Boston Symphony for the Symphonies.

[darichman]

I'd second Sibelius. I also like anything by Handel. Music for the royal fireworks is great. You can't go wrong with Chopin for piano (his Etude in E is one of my favourite pieces ever). Bach is great, but he did so many types of music you mightn't know where to start. If you want to get a feel for what types of classical you might be interested in and aren't sure where to start, try an album that brings together lots of composers... i got a Reader's Digest: 150 of the World's Most Unforgettable Melodies. It was great! It gives you an idea what composers you might want to search out more works from and just gives you a good starting point in general.

and...

We've had a couple of threads lately on the shortcomings of media players in general, and uhmm, MC specifically, concerning the tags and categories of classical music.

Well actually I've probably participated in most of those threads, and MC offers much more than most players I've come across! At least I can make custom tags to deal with any possible classical info I want to tag, whether it's there by default or not. <Inserts shameless bump for relational database, which would make dealing with classical works a million times easier>

[ThoBar]

Suggestions above are good, I'd also like to chip in with

1) If you like Beethoven and Mozart, chances are you'll like Haydn also
2) Anything that John Williams plays -- Vivaldi etc (guitarist, very good, and if you enjoy Rodriguez, you'll like most stuff that he plays)
3) Carmina Burana by Carl Orff - Everyone knows O Fortuna, but thats not the best bit (IMHO)
4) Delibes for piano
5) The rest of Beethoven's works - my favourite composer (his music resonates with me) (eww I think I just made myself sick)
6) Tchaikovsky - can strike a chord with most people with the right piece
7) The rest of the russians - I like the passion and melodies in their music (and their sacred chants - awesome)
some scared music can also be mind-numbingly beautiful

Its very hard to give accurate reccomendations, and normally I shy away from doing so. It's so personal as to taste (and mood), and the music varies so much (even by a single composer) that at the end of the day you've really just got to jump in and try a few things - as darichman says.

And then you may even get into opera - which is another world again!

[Cmagic]

Jim,

I only know how to play acccordion. My Dad had a great taste for classical music and Jazz. Most of all that I know in this genre, I owe him. I personnally switched to the Rolling Stones during my teens in 1970 !

Here are some of my personal favorite pieces:

I really like Rachmaninov, the title of your post attracted me for that.
Rachmaninov - Piano concerto no 2
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini
Chopin - Polonaises (No3 & No6 are the most known)
Tchaikovsky - Concerto No1 for piano and orchestra
Mozart - Laudate Dominium
J. Offenbach - Les Contes d'Hoffman, Barcarole
Richard Addinsell - The Warsaw Concert
Smetana - "La Moldau" (Poème Symphonique)
Vivaldi - Concerto pour Mandoline en Do majeur (That's C# in the english key system right )
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
Grieg - Norwegian Songs op33 (no2 varen - last spring is my favorite)

My personal favorite Beethoven Symphony is No6 - Pastorale (remembers me a lot of my late Dad)

Also classified in Jazz:

Maurice Ravel - Concerto For Piano And Orchestra In G, 2nd Mvt ( check the interpretation by Herbie Hancock on its Gershwin's World album, a great piece)
Bach by Jacques Loussier (the playbach albums)

Have a nice Sunday,

Christian

Listening to: 'Polonaise No 3 Op 40 No 1 en la majeur' from 'Chopin - Polonaises' by 'Samson Francois' on Media Center 12

[Frobozz]

NPR has a listing of Performance Today's 50 essential classical music CDs.  A great list for exploring the more common classical works.  It also includes audio links.

Second on the PT 50 list is Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1.  If you like piano concertos that is one to get.  I personally like Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 better.  Fortunately their suggested CD has both works on it.

Another great classical repertoire list is at Classical.Net.  They have a listing of recommended pieces for different musical periods.  A great resource for exploring.

Find what you like and branch off from there based on the basic repertoire recommendations.

[Vulcan]

This is a great topic... 

I've been wanting to get more into classical music.

[JimH]

This is a great topic... 

I agree, and thanks to everyone who's posted.  It's what I was hoping for.

I'm going to borrow a French Horn tomorrow and see if John Gateley can really play it.  He has an active imagination.

[Alex B]

Amazon has a very good price for Karajan's 5-disc box set of all Beethoven's symphonies:

http://www.amazon.com/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-9-Symphonien/dp/samples/B000001GBQ/ref=dp_tracks_all_5Beethocen

[ThoBar]

I'm going to borrow a French Horn tomorrow and see if John Gateley can really play it.  He has an active imagination.

Video of the attempt please

[John Gateley]

I'm certain I can play just as terribly tomorrow as I did back in 7th grade
(my dad told me I was not allowed to practice inside the house)

j

[GrumpyNick]

If you're unsure what to buy and don't yet want to commit any dollars, then you might like to look at http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/psorecordings and http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/pcorecordings. There are many good recordings here of the Peabody Symphony and Concert Orchestras which are completely free to download.

Hope this is helpful

Nick

[Listener]

General advice: Try different things.  When you find a work you like, try more a) by the same composer, or b) by other composers of the same period and/or nationality or c) performed by the same soloist/conductor/orchestra.

A list of works to sample from:

Handel: Royal Fireworks Music
           Water Music

Vivaldi: four seasons

Haydn, F.J.: symphonies No 76-84,86-104
     There are a dozen more first rate symphonies in the range No. 1-75.
     try those later if you like Haydn
    Trumpet concerto
     2 cello concertos
     piano concerto in D No 11
     lots of excellent string quartets and piano trios too

Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 14-27
     Piano sonatas K. 310, 330, 331, 545
     Sym. 25,28,29,31,33,34,35,36,38,39,40,41
     Violin Concertos 3-5

Beethoven:  Septet, Op. 20
     Piano Concertos 1-5
     Violin Concerto
     Symphony No. 1-9
     Overtures, Leonore 2,3, Fidelio, Egmont, Coriolan and more

Schubert: Symphony No. 5,8,9

Mendelssohn: Music for Midsummer Night's Dream
     Violin Concerto
     Symphony No. 3,4

Brahms: Symphony No. 1-4
    Violin Concerto
    Piano Concerto No. 1,2
    Double Concerto
    Haydn Variations
    Overtures, Academic festival, Tragic

Dvorak: Slavonic Dances
    Cello Concerto
    Symphony No. 8,9
    Carnival Overture
    and more

enough from me.

Bill

[datdude]

I'm a big fan of Claude Debussy particularly 'Prelude to to the Afternoon of a Faun'.

[ThoBar]

I'm a big fan of Claude Debussy particularly 'Prelude to to the Afternoon of a Faun'.

I wrote Delibes... I meant Debussy 

[Frobozz]

One of my favorite elective courses at college was a music history class covering classical music.  A great way to get familiar with classical music.  Some of the homework consisted of listening to music and going to live classical concerts.   

The Internet hasn't been a good source for substantive classical music info.  Classical.net is one of the few sources, but even that is thin.  The better sources are books.

Three of the books I use for reference are:
Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and their 1000 Greatest Works by Phil Goulding
The Vintage Guide to Classical Music by Jan Swafford
The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection: The 350 Essential Works by Ted Libbey

I don't have those books because they're necessarily the best, but because I found them all used at various book stores.  They've been good to me though.  I can recommend them.  Better than relying on hunting around on the internet for info.  And more entertaining to read than my old music history book from college.

[gappie]

im not really 'into' classical music. but there are some pieces i stumbled over that i really like.
when i was about 13/14 i heard hoketus from louis andriessen, i was totaly fascinated by it and it changed my musical interest. funny enough i bought the cd 20 years later. turned out the whole piece was still in my head (not that it has so many notes, lol)

ofcource i love the cello suites form bach.

my favorites 
...den 24. xii. 1931 from Mauricio Kagel
Three Tales from Steve Reich
Civilization Phaze III from Zappa

[4BYE]

Amazon has a very good price for Karajan's 5-disc box set of all Beethoven's symphonies:

http://www.amazon.com/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-9-Symphonien/dp/samples/B000001GBQ/ref=dp_tracks_all_5Beethocen

This is indeed a must to have!
If you like Satie (as I do) these are great albums:
Reinbert de Leeuw - Gnossiennes & Gymnopédies (real slow performed pieces)
Aldo Ciccolini - Oeuvres D'Erik Satie

I "collect" all kind a Gymnopédie No. 1 versions and have some cool versions. Orchestral, Flute, Jazz versions etc.
John Hackett & Steve Hackett made a great album: Sketches of Satie.

If you like I can send you some versions.

One of the best "Four Seasons" version I know, is the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields version from 1970.
Overtures from Mozart: Naxos - Capella Istropolitana
Wagner: Orchestral Music - Philharmonia Orchestra (Otto Klemperer)
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Berliner Philharmoniker (Shura Cherkassky on Piano)
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture (with real canons and carrellion) Mercury label
Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals (WITH Danse Macabre) Decca label 1980
Various - English Chamber Orchestra - French Connections
Grofé: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - Orchestral Works, 2 CD's from NAXOS label
Scott Joplin - Piano Works - Dick Hyman
Something Extraordinary: Mozart in Egypt - Bulgarian Orchestra
John Williams - The Guitar Album (1994?)
Veracini: Complete Overtures & Concertos 2 CD's NAXOS label
Various (Wind) concerti by Vivaldi, Corelli
Albinoni: 6 Oboe Concerti - I Solisti Italiani DENON label (great recording)
Locatelli: Concerti Grossi NAXOS label 2 CD's
Bach: Complete Orchestral Works & Brandenburg Concertos - Le Concert des Nations - Jordi Savall on "old" instruments. (great recordings)
Mozart: Piano Concertos - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields - Marriner
Beethoven: Piano Concertos - Capella Istropolitana - Barry Wordsworth on Piano, NAXOS label

ETC ETC ETC

Did I mention I owned a CD store in the time there was no fast internet connection?


Regards,


Theo

[Alex B]

Aldo Ciccolini - Oeuvres D'Erik Satie

I agree with this. It is also known as Satie: Piano Works by Ciccolini

http://www.amazon.com/Satie-Piano-Works-Erik/dp/B000002SBP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1208772445&sr=1-1

It's a two disc set and once again Amazon has a bargain price: $ 9.97. I wouldn't hesitate if I wanted to buy Satie's music.


However, if I had to take a single piano album to a desert island I would probably take Horowitz: The Last Recording. I just listened through it and it is amazing. Vladimir Horowitz was 86 years old when these sessions were recorded at his Manhattan residence. The last session was recorded only a few days before his sudden death.

http://www.amazon.com/Horowitz-Haydn-Liszt-Wagner-Chopin/dp/B000009IG6

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4DA153EF931A15757C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,317232,00.html

[JimH]

Thank you, everyone, for these great tips.  I'm sorry not to have said so sooner. 

I've bought a new CD, and I plan to explore more.

Thanks, again.  Great advice!

[jgreen]

While posting to forums is a time-honored method of getting music recommendations, I might point you to some new developments from a company called JRiver.  Their product, Media Center 12, has evolving technology for getting music suggestions based on playcounts and listening habits of others.  I suggest you download a trial copy and try it out. 

[Frobozz]

I should say thanks as well.  This thread got me to explore some Satie.  I bought the Aldo Ciccolini CDs and read some about Satie.  Interesting music.  The piano works were strangely familiar even though I can't recall hearing them before.

I found I had two of Satie's works in my collection already.  They were orchestral versions orchestrated by Debussy on a CD containing other composers.  The Satie works were just a minor part of the CD.  I had never bothered to find out more about this Satie character till now.

[modelmaker]

I have a couple more to add:

Aaron Copeland: Appalachian Spring (play it loud!)

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5

If you like Beethoven's Pastorale, you'll like these.

[Catch 22]

Just thought I would chime in with a couple more you could take a listen to.
Karol Szymanowski - Concerto for violin
Joseph Canteloube - Songs of the Auvergne (Chants D'Auvergne) especially Bailero
Alternatively for a modern take on Classical, try Philip Glass - The Civil Wars.

Ciao
Catch 22