# Advice for a classical music newbie



## Supernovice (Jun 13, 2009)

I'm new to classical music and am looking for a little advice. I'm looking for some suggestions on a few good pieces to start with. My tastes tend to run to more up tempo, aggressive music. (I grew up in the 80s and 90s, I can't help it.  ) Please keep that in mind with any suggestions.

I plan on expanding on that over time but I doubt I could appreciate a deeper, more subtle piece with my limited experience. My idea was to stick with something close to what I already know I like at first then branch out over time. If that's a bad idea, I'm open to suggestions there as well.

Hopefully this makes sense. If this is the wrong forum/board, just let me know and I'll go somewhere else and bug them.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

I don't know if it qualifies as 'aggressive' music (others may be better in giving you advice on classical music's equivalent to Pearl Jam or Ice-T ), but it's energetic.....

Prokofiev's piano concerto No.3 by my favorite girl:
















The dance of the 7 veils from Richard Strauss' opera Salome...






Tell us how you like these and we may be able to advice you further based on that.


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## Frasier (Mar 10, 2007)

Supernovice said:


> I'm new to classical music and am looking for a little advice. I'm looking for some suggestions on a few good pieces to start with. My tastes tend to run to more up tempo, aggressive music. (I grew up in the 80s and 90s, I can't help it.  ) Please keep that in mind with any suggestions.


Slightly difficult in that if you were a complete beginner we'd all suggest one or more of the sets of CDs that go under "100 best classical" or "Classical Hits". The performances aren't always the best (though "best" is always an opinion - here, I mean sometimes the orchestral playing is scruffy and things like that). But you want a particular type and haven't expressed any particular genre or composer.

Ok, what about Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" (go for the Abbado); Holst's "Planets"; Shostakovitch 10th Symphony (the Scherzo - third movement); Tchakowsky's 6th, also the scherzo (3rd movement, I think) If you like a primitive-sounding choral work, try Orff's Carmina Burana.....
and there are thousands of others. Maybe someone else will add to the list. And you'll find a good few 30" samples on Amazon and places.



> I plan on expanding on that over time but I doubt I could appreciate a deeper, more subtle piece with my limited experience.


No worry about that. Classical music is full of snobbery and elitist stuff like "profundity" - and that's good - there's nothing wrong with people having something to be elitist about. All arts are not equal! So just wade in and if a piece bores you, move on to something else. Remember what bored you, however - there's a chance that at a later date in a different mood you might like it.


> My idea was to stick with something close to what I already know I like at first then branch out over time. If that's a bad idea, I'm open to suggestions there as well.


That's a perfectly good idea. Why not listen to Classic FM where you'll hear most of the hit pieces including your favourites but giving some kind of broadening out as you go?

Classical music has become a right quagmire to wade through - mainly because of the huge amount of recordings of the same work. So...grab onto anything you can and set out from there!


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

I agree with a previous poster who mentioned Holsts Planets.. though not all the movements may be aggressive enough for you - Mars or Jupiter are probably what you are looking for.

Then this is one symphony I cannot recommend enough, others may roll their eyes at me for this because it is so popular and mentioned all the time.. but Dvoraks 9th symphony is my all-time favorite. Easy to get into due to all the melody and 3 of the 4 movements are fast-paced and quite aggressive, the 2nd is slow and really tremendously beautiful but you may not enjoy it. 

A lot of 20th century stuff is very aggressive.. have you tried anything by Penderecki (i.e 3rd symphony) or Stravinsky Rite of Spring? They are surely aggressive enough.. but its up to you if you can cope with the dissonances and general oddities that crop up in comparison with whatever 80s music you enjoyed.

Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition is also aggressive in most parts.. choose whichever version you prefer (again i might get eye rolls here)


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## Ciel_Rouge (May 16, 2008)

Supernovice said:


> I'm new to classical music and am looking for a little advice. I'm looking for some suggestions on a few good pieces to start with. My tastes tend to run to more up tempo, aggressive music.


I guess this is the key here. I suppose that means prestos and perhaps the baroque ones:






But we won't be able to give you any more hints until you check those pieces on youtube and tell us which ones you liked.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I always think the Shostakovich Cello concerto No. 1 is a good pick for aggressive. Give this video until about 1:25 when it really gets into some serious intensity.


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## Yosser (May 29, 2009)

Supernovice said:


> I'm new to classical music and am looking for a little advice. I'm looking for some suggestions on a few good pieces to start with. My tastes tend to run to more up tempo, aggressive music. (I grew up in the 80s and 90s, I can't help it.  ) Please keep that in mind with any suggestions.


I agree with many of the previous suggestions eg. Le Sacre, Shos 10 Symphony, Prok 3rd Piano concerto ..... which are, if one will, 20th century 'aggressive'. The second movement of Shostakovich 10 is the most savage piece of music I know.

If one interprets 'aggressive' a little differently, to mean drama, assertiveness and strong rhythm then you may be pleasantly surprised by Beethoven's 3rd Symphony. It's 200 years old, but is still one of the most immediately impressive orchestral works in the literature. Don't skip the funeral march just because it starts slow. Hang with it, catch the beat and you'll find yourself carried along into one of the most harrowing climaxes in all of music.

In a different genre, you might try the Piano Quintets of Schumann or Brahms. These are at once immediately likable, but also contain some very clever and profound writing. I've never tired of them.

And if you're into solo piano there is a massive list of fast and furious pieces e.g. Bartok's 'Allegro Barbaro', De Falla's 'Ritual Fire Dance'...... If you want to try something modern, you might not do too badly with Lowell Liebermann's 'Gargoyles'.

You can find a lot of this stuff on the web but I'm not posting links because of the limitations of the media. Sound quality is crucial and if you can't get to a live concert, get yourself a high quality CD player, a good pair of earphones and start a collection.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I agree that if you want something aggressive, get into the C20th modernist repertoire that people have talked about above. You can't go wrong with Bartok, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Britten, Penderecki, Bernstein, Varese, etc...


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Don't limit yourself to aggressiveness. If you've hear very little classical before, try out everything- you might be surprised at what you like. Borrow a classical music guide from your local library (NPR's 350 Essential Recordings is a great one) and subscribe to a streaming music service like Rhapsody. Listen to everything you can; don't restrict yourself to uptempo music.


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