# Where to begin listening each day.



## beetzart (Dec 30, 2009)

Because classical music is so plentiful and relatively cheap to buy online these days, and including streaming websites, I don't know where to begin, I don't know what to listen too. I wish I could listen to more then one piece at a time in each ear in each hemisphere but I can't. If I'm listening to Beethoven I think I should be listening to Bach and if I'm listening to Beethoven's Eroica I think I should be listening to those Dvorak Quartets I brought yesterday. I feel blessed that we live in an age of virtually limitless listening possibilities but I do find myself overwhelmed. 

Surely others have this problem. Sometimes I have to listen to a certain piece because it is rattling around inside my head say that might be a Schubert quartet but then I think I really should be concetrating on Bach's cantatas. 

I feel like I am in the donkey standing between two equally appetising bales of hay analogy, and yes it is a 'terrible' 1st world problem, I get that, too!


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

This got me thinking.

If one were to try to construct a daily listening cycle, one (that is, me), world likely go:

Classical in the morning (for a peppy start);

Baroque during the working day (to the extent possible, for focus and precision);

and Romantic in the evening (blow off excess steam by listening to wretched - but beautiful - excess).


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

No pun intended whatsoever, but I really dig early music first thing in the morning. It's a great way for me to ease into the day. Plus I love early music. 

-09


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

The first question I ask myself is what I have time for. There are lots of times when I cannot devote myself to a 3+ hour opera but have time for a relatively quick symphony or waltz.

Next, I ask myself what I am in the mood for. Everything on my "to be heard" list is something I would be glad to hear, whether it is a new piece or a new recording of one I've already heard, and I don't have a high priority listening project going on.

I try to listen to something classical and non-classical each day, but beyond that, I go where my heart tells me. Nobody is going to judge my listening but me. If you are having a hard time deciding, maybe try some kind of randomizer, or let another person guide your decision.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

One of the first things I do each morning is get to the computer, click on NML and look at the day's new entries. I select one of them and start listening. Real easy.


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## Schumanniac (Dec 11, 2016)

Oh, yes, i often feel this way too. Right now im utterly infatuated with beethoven symphonies, they will not leave my poor mind alone, yet i just begun warming up to Brahms orchestral works, something i been trying for a long time. To top it off i found some amazing and moving Handel works, a recent thread had me checking some late mozart rarely mentioned, that began transforming my perception of him as well. So now, having focused primarily on romantic in the 3 years of classical listening, a door is opening to two entirely new eras while beethoven keeps knocking my hands off the handle.

Systems is the way to go, i think, structure  I personally use a while to let spontaneous, manic needs guide me and when my daily hunger is sated, its easier to to let curiousity guide me. Once i have truly explored all the greats, its gonna get problematic however, for as OP pointed out the digital age does provide a maddening breadth of choices.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Schumanniac said:


> Oh, yes, i often feel this way too. Right now im utterly infatuated with beethoven symphonies, they will not leave my poor mind alone


Be careful not to listen to them too much...you don't want to wear them out and get tired of them!  I always try to ration my favorite works, including Beethoven symphonies, so that they never lose their magic. I constantly have to restrain myself from binge-listening to my favorite music.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

When I choose to listen to works I already own, I do have this problem of deciding what to hear from an enormous amount of wonderful music. For the past couple of years I have spent almost all my listening time on new (to me) works. Most of these are modern or contemporary, but some are from other eras. 

I have a file with a very long list of composers or works that are new to me. Many of these I have found on TC and some come from various websites. Generally I scroll to the part of the file with these new works or composers and just start with the next one on the list. After listening to the work or perhaps several from a new composer, I decide if I'm interested enough to add that work or composer to my list of works to investigate further on whether to purchase them (or to definitely purchase it).

So most times I don't have much of a problem deciding what to hear.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

beetzart said:


> If I'm listening to Beethoven I think I should be listening to Bach and if I'm listening to Beethoven's Eroica I think I should be listening to those Dvorak Quartets I brought yesterday.


Wow, I thought that was just me. That's kind of reassuring.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I tend to listen to music chronologically: baroque in the morning, classical for lunch, romantic in the afternoon and 20th century and 21st century at the dinner hour and evening. And I tend to listen to music thematically: Russian one day, French another day, German another, English another, or one composer all day. And I try to listen to a variety of genres during the day: big orchestra, Concerto, chamber music. 

From my collection I'll pull out five or six CDs first thing as a listening playlist. In fact there might be two or three piles of these short stacks of CDs set aside as future playlists. 

I don't always do this, but often I do.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

My problem is finding which music will fit my mood. If it sounds really good, I know I've chosen the right music, but most times it's a trial-and-error process. Which music is the catalyst for my psyche? I remain a mystery to myself.

Right now, Paul Dessau sounds really good, and I am very receptive to it, but it's a beautiful Spring day, and I thought I was in a bright mood, but this music is rather dark and dramatic. Go figure...


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I get into certain phases, including with non-classical. I focus on a certain era and genre, and keep exploring familiar and less familiar works till I want to move onto something else. Curiosity is my guide.


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## Vox Victoriae (Oct 6, 2016)

It sounds like you are suffering from mild anxiety due to the myriad of possibilities ahead of you. Speaking for myself, I know I do suffer from the same problem  I think the only way to solve it is to choose something to listen to and then compromise with and accept your choice. Again from my experience, I prefer to always choose at least one piece per day that I am sure I already like. This way, I can still explore new music I'm not acquainted with, but I'm never completely overwhelmed by it.



Bettina said:


> Be careful not to listen to them too much...you don't want to wear them out and get tired of them!  I always try to ration my favorite works, including Beethoven symphonies, so that they never lose their magic. I constantly have to restrain myself from binge-listening to my favorite music.


I can relate to that! That's why I rarely listen to Beethoven nowadays, but when I do, it's all the more rewarding. I like Mozart so much, however, that I always find myself listening to him way more than I should.


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## beetzart (Dec 30, 2009)

I have found the Czerny symphonies have been a fine tonic of late especially No. 1 in C minor. So powerful and bombastic and has the balls to at least try and take on Ludwig and Franz (so many years first name terms now seem the norm  )


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Bettina said:


> Be careful not to listen to them too much...you don't want to wear them out and get tired of them!  I always try to ration my favorite works, including Beethoven symphonies, so that they never lose their magic. I constantly have to restrain myself from binge-listening to my favorite music.


I don't have that problem with many works. Some lose their freshness over time for sure.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I never feel over-whelmed, although a look at my CD library in itself would be rather over-whelming.

I tend to be a comparative listener, concentrating on one composition with many performances of it.

Currently I am comparing performances of the Beethoven Violin Concerto.

Life is sweet!


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Sometimes I know what I want to listen to, but sometimes I just go up to my CD collection and pick whatever speaks to me that day. I don't have the luxury of listening to classical music all day so it's mainly just a thing to do on weekend evenings. Sometimes I do listen to light classics or favorite movements that I have ripped to the PC after work during the week to help unwind in situations where I don't have a lot of time to listen.

I usually try to listen to the entire boxset when I buy one. This takes a few weeks to finish though in some cases. I usually start with the newest works in the set and go backwards towards the oldest. Sometimes listening to too much of one composer's work consecutively can cause problems. Sometimes I don't remember whether I heard something I liked in one symphony or another as an example. Thus, I usually re-listen to those boxsets over a much more spread out period of time later on.

I like to lay down on the sofa, close my eyes, and really focus in on the music when I listen to classical. The combination of laying down, closing my eyes, and listening in the evenings means that I do sometimes fall asleep and take a 5-15 minute nap early on in listening sessions even if I like the music. Yeah, I admit to it! So what I do is pick a "warm up" piece to listen to first. It's usually something I'm familiar with so I don't miss out on anything I haven't heard before if I do doze off. Then, I put the main piece I want to listen to on after that when I'm feeling good and ready to go. Sometimes I read the liner notes for the "main" piece while I listen to the warm up piece.



Vox Victoriae said:


> I can relate to that! That's why I rarely listen to Beethoven nowadays, but when I do, it's all the more rewarding. I like Mozart so much, however, that I always find myself listening to him way more than I should.


I find that listening to Mozart (or Haydn even) is like drinking an energy drink. It's very refreshing and invigorating! It puts me in a good spot when I need a little bit of a boost.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I have certainly stumbled across the problem mentioned in the OP. But I'm usually capable of narrowing it down.


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## lluissineu (Dec 27, 2016)

hpowders said:


> I never feel over-whelmed, although a look at my CD library in itself would be rather over-whelming.
> 
> I tend to be a comparative listener, concentrating on one composition with many performances of it.
> 
> ...


I'm a comparative (sometimes compulsively) listener as well.

Is Francescati still your best option?

I also try to stop myself from listening to my favourite works in order to keep their magic. Sometimes It's dificult Bettina


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

lluissineu said:


> I'm a comparative (sometimes compulsively) listener as well.
> 
> Is Francescati still your best option?
> 
> I also try to stop myself from listening to my favourite works in order to keep their magic. Sometimes It's dificult Bettina


Rachel Barton Pine is very fine too. She has created her own cadenzas which are wonderful, instead of using the usual Kreisler cadenzas, which so many violinists have used, including Francescatti.

I recommend Ms. Pine's performance enthusiastically. I love it!

However my name definitely is not Bettina. :lol:


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

I read a lot about music and frequently dictates what I choose to listen to


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Triplets said:


> I read a lot about music and frequently dictates what I choose to listen to


Same here, but for me it tends to happen in a more roundabout way. After listening to a piece several times, I often decide to read about it for further context and insight. In the course of reading about the original piece, I frequently come across references to other pieces and I end up listening to those several times as well...and so the cycle goes on and on!


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## Jacred (Jan 14, 2017)

Bettina said:


> Be careful not to listen to them too much...you don't want to wear them out and get tired of them!  I always try to ration my favorite works, including Beethoven symphonies, so that they never lose their magic. I constantly have to restrain myself from binge-listening to my favorite music.


Ugh, yes! Happened to me once with Beethoven symphonies. Had to set them down for a few months. Now, if I ever listen to them again, I do a mental checklist: don't listen to any one symphony a second time until I've completed a full round of the 9. I find that helps somewhat.


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## Schumanniac (Dec 11, 2016)

Bettina said:


> Be careful not to listen to them too much...you don't want to wear them out and get tired of them!  I always try to ration my favorite works, including Beethoven symphonies, so that they never lose their magic. I constantly have to restrain myself from binge-listening to my favorite music.


Schumann sends his regard from his little corner 

But in beethoven specifically, the way he builds upon themes and melodies troughout entire works, something about the structure of his work makes my love and understanding only deepen the more i listen to it. I dont grow tired of him, i just feel a spark to try new things eventually. He is magic, now and forever, dear.


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## chesapeake bay (Aug 3, 2015)

Triplets said:


> I read a lot about music and frequently dictates what I choose to listen to


This is an excellent approach. Choose a composer or period, read about it(him/her) and listen to everything mentioned  Also join in realoldblues Saturday symphony thread's, its a nice way to listen to something (usually) new to you.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

When I have a day that I can listen to a good deal of music, I always make a point of starting with something I have not listened to for a long time.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Omicron9 said:


> No pun intended whatsoever, but I really dig early music first thing in the morning. It's a great way for me to ease into the day. Plus I love early music.
> 
> -09


Early music (and Bach Cantatas) are for Sunday morning.


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