# Pieces Every Classical Music Fan Should Own



## newbie (Oct 15, 2010)

I'd like to see a canonical list of classical music pieces so that a person knows how to build their collection. Which pieces--including the particular recording--should every aficionado own?


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

Aram Khachaturian - the Sabre Dance. Any performance where they don't cut themselves too badly should do.

But generally, I would start with anything offered for free at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...igital-music&field-keywords=classical&x=0&y=0

The Beethoven's Fifth by Analekta is a mind blower!


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## vamos (Oct 9, 2009)

i'll cover some piano music. bolded the ones you _need_ to have

PRE-MODERN (don't have much knowledge yet, i need some)
Bach -Goldberg Variations - Gould
Bach -*Well Tempered Clavier* (100% essential for all)
Chopin (*etudes*/preludes/nocturnes)
Beethoven - Sonatas

FAVORITE MODERN!:

*ravel - total piano music* (walter gieseking)
scriabin - sonatas (also etudes/preludes - i think i even like the etudes more than the sonatas)
schoenberg - piano works (i feel this is very important - mainly the suite for piano - gould)
debussy - preludes (michelangeli)
cage - sonatas and interludes
satie - after the rain... (pascal roge) [this isn't my favorite but it's recommended]


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## vamos (Oct 9, 2009)

other things

Igor Stravinsky - Rite of Spring
JS Bach - Brandenburg Concertos
Mozart - Symphony 40 / 41
Messiaen - Quartet for the End of Time


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Beethoven - Symphonies 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 (probably von Karajan)
Mendelssohn - The Hebrides Overture (Abbado, LSO)
Liszt - Les preludes (also von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic)

I could go on for 100's of entries, but I'll stop there. Any list like this is never going to be canonical. There is no such thing. The scope is too broad.


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

As far as repertoire goes Classical Net has a good list of the Basics - this is their list of the essential repertoire for the Classical period and you can navigate to view their selections for Baroque and Modern periods, etc.:

Classical Repertoire


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2010)

Weston's right.

And I'd just like to add that since there's so much, you cannot really go wrong.

I know the "so much" seems intimidating, but it's not. The so much means that you could listen happily for years and never reach the end of it. 

My advice is to just listen and not take anyone's advice! Well, except for mine. You can take my advice.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

I think a good way to start is with a top 100 list of greatest works ever. Of course any such list is subjective, but you can bet that the top 40-50 are must-listen-to's. Of the ones I've seen, this is my favorite:

http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best-classic-wks.html

As someone who's been listening to classical seriously for several years, I found it a great pleasure to go through this list. I encountered many new types of sounds and ways of composing that I had never seen before. I highly recommend it.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Stockhausen, _The Helicopter String Quarter_. Essential to every collection.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Yep... can't go wrong with that.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I can't even start with this subject. GET EVERYTHING ever written by all the great RUSSIAN COMPOSERS, Romantic to 20th Cent.

But, to exclude my own taste, everyone _should_ have Beethoven Symphony Cycle, Brahms Symphony Cycle, Bach Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral Suites, and Mozart Symphonies 39, 40, 41, to complete your Symphonic Collection.

I actually have none of those, but I'm just happy listening to radio.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I can't even start with this subject. GET EVERYTHING ever written by all the great RUSSIAN COMPOSERS, Romantic to 20th Cent.
> 
> But, to exclude my own taste, everyone _should_ have Beethoven Symphony Cycle, Brahms Symphony Cycle, Bach Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral Suites, and Mozart Symphonies 39, 40, 41, to complete your Symphonic Collection.
> 
> I actually have none of those, but I'm just happy listening to radio.


I don't think everybody needs the Orchestral Suites, of all things. The essentials are the Goldberg Variations (Gould 1955 and another by somebody else), the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Brandenburg Concertos, the Mass in B Minor and the St Matthew Passion.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I can't even start with this subject. GET EVERYTHING ever written by all the great RUSSIAN COMPOSERS, Romantic to 20th Cent.
> 
> But, to exclude my own taste, everyone _should_ have Beethoven Symphony Cycle, Brahms Symphony Cycle, Bach Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral Suites, and Mozart Symphonies 39, 40, 41, to complete your Symphonic Collection.
> 
> I actually have none of those, but I'm just happy listening to radio.


I agreed with everything you said until the Brahms Symphony Cycle. Surely you can't recommend such painfully dull music.


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## JSK (Dec 31, 2008)

I have two Brahms cycles (kind of by accident)! Blasphemy!

Probably the best way for somebody new to classical music to expand a collection, I think, would be to listen to classical radio to see what they like, and be sure to explore a few of the major works by the "great" composers (Brahms, Handel, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Schumann, Etc...) before investing a lot of money into random recordings that you may not like.


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## afterpostjack (May 2, 2010)

Ravellian said:


> I think a good way to start is with a top 100 list of greatest works ever. Of course any such list is subjective, but you can bet that the top 40-50 are must-listen-to's. Of the ones I've seen, this is my favorite:
> 
> http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best-classic-wks.html
> 
> As someone who's been listening to classical seriously for several years, I found it a great pleasure to go through this list. I encountered many new types of sounds and ways of composing that I had never seen before. I highly recommend it.


I find this list a little strange. If you look at the greatest works list, and then limit yourself to what symphonies that are listed there, and then compare it their greatest symphonies list, you will find significant differences. For instance Tchaikovsky's last symphony.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Does it really make a difference whether Tchaik 6 is listed at #3 or #4? Anyway, these lists are simply meant to give you an idea on what's considered to be the best music out there. I find it a valuable resource, but some may not.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

That list is more than strange.


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## Nicola (Nov 25, 2007)

Nuukeer said:


> I find this list a little strange. If you look at the greatest works list, and then limit yourself to what symphonies that are listed there, and then compare it their greatest symphonies list, you will find significant differences. For instance Tchaikovsky's last symphony.


That's because the various lists on digital dream door were done at different times, and the odd inconsistency may appear.


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## Nicola (Nov 25, 2007)

Ravellian said:


> Does it really make a difference whether Tchaik 6 is listed at #3 or #4? Anyway, these lists are simply meant to give you an idea on what's considered to be the best music out there. I find it a valuable resource, but some may not.


I couldn't agree more. I found the various lists on that site to be extremely useful, together with the discussions surrounding their construction. Far more so than this place which I find is 99% useless chat.


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## Nicola (Nov 25, 2007)

correction: 99.9% useless chat


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Nicola said:


> That's because the various lists on digital dream door were done at different times, and the odd inconsistency may appear.


But even so, Pictures at an Exhibition above Beethoven's Fifth? Holst above everything by Schubert? The Four Seasons above Don Giovanni? No Well-Tempered Clavier? The list is completely insane.


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2010)

Nicola said:


> correction: 99.9% useless chat


It only got the extra .9 because of this post of yours, though!:lol:

Anyway, you know how to solve this "problem," right?

Otherwise, to make another contribution to the .01%, maybe help get it back to its .1% robustness, you may find that there are pieces that most classical fans _do_ own. But are they essential? Possibly. Are they the pieces that the people who own them listen to most? Less likely.

You see (you have already seen if you've been following your own thread), once people start to listen for themselves, the lists start varying wildly. Even music by Bach and Brahms doesn't get on everyone's list.

And that's as it should be.

Short answer to your question is "There are no pieces that every classical music fan should own."

And, for free, the long answer: "There are some pieces that get talked about a lot; there are some pieces that a lot of people consider important, historically or aesthetically or influentially. You should probably be familiar with those, so that you can have conversations with other fans. Things like Monteverdi's _Vespers,_ Bach's _St. Matthew Passion, Goldberg Variations,_ and _Brandenburg Concerti._ And opera or two by Mozart, along with some symphonies and piano concerti. Symphonies by Haydn. Beethoven's 9. Berlioz' first. Some chamber works by Dvorak and Schumann. It's all good. Some symphonies by Bruckner and Tchaikovsky and Mahler and some ballets by the Russian, too. Ives' symphony no. 4 and _Three Places in New England._ Some ballets by another Russian, too, named Igor (and I'm not referring to Markevitch), and another one, named Sergei Sergeyevich, along with a symphony or two, probably #s 1, 5, and 6. A few prepared piano pieces by Mr. Cage, along with the _Concert for piano_ and orchestra and _Atlas Eclipticalis_ and _Cartridge Music._ Feldman's _Crippled Symmetry,_ Ferrari's presque rien pieces, a "cycle" or two by Dhomont--_Foret Profunde,_ probably."

Now, what's the first thing another classical fan will notice about the list I just made. Exactly. All the pieces (and composers) that aren't on the list. And there are a lot. That's because the sheer amount of music covered by the word "classical" is enormous. The second thing will be the composers and pieces that few if any people will have heard of. What's up with that? That's because the sheer amount of music covered by the word "classical" is enormous. So enormous, that you could spend a lifetime exploring this world and not even scratch the proverbial surface.

Good times!!


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## Nicola (Nov 25, 2007)

some guy said:


> It only got the extra .9 because of this post of yours, though!:lol:
> 
> Anyway, you know how to solve this "problem," right?


 I obviously included all your brilliant posts in the 0.01% of material which is worthwhile reading here. In fact, I drool over every word you write and take it all to bed with me for further consideration. Hardly a morning goes by lest I'm nose-tight up against my PC screen to check whether you have written anything further that I might ponder upon and brighten up my day.

Among the other material, I was more thinking about the "name that tune"; "how to cook an egg"; "rate this piece of rubbish and post another"; "am I too old at 86 to take up the cello?" "I wannabe a conductor but ain't got any qualifications, anyone got any ideas how I might con my way in"; "how do I start a classical CD collection", same request for the umpteenth time in a week? and those absolutely mind-blowingly moronic threads where you add and subtract points endlessly.

Apart from that it's great here.


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## Nicola (Nov 25, 2007)

Webernite said:


> But even so, Pictures at an Exhibition above Beethoven's Fifth? Holst above everything by Schubert? The Four Seasons above Don Giovanni? No Well-Tempered Clavier? The list is completely insane.


The digital dream door list posted earlier in the thread is the MK 1 version produced over 6 years ago. It has been updated since then but hasn't yet been posted onto the public access part of the digital dream door website, as it would appear they are still working on it. You can view it on their classical music forum but you now have to register to gain access. All your concerns have been dealt with it, so it would seem. The list seems pretty good to me. It's based on their top works by the greatest composers.


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2010)

Given the apparent controversy over where Digital Dream Door ranks everything, might I humbly suggest where I got my start - www.classicalcdguide.com

I'm not going to say it is the end-all-be-all of basic classical collection lists, but it does what many of these others don't - breaks it down nice and simple. It gives top 10, then 11-20 overall, then also gives top picks for various musical periods, as well as top picks for a few of the better known composers. This website introduced me to quite a few of the essentials that usually end up on quite a few peoples' lists. After that, I also utilized www.classical.net to branch out to other composers and works, and it also gives a few more recommendations of recordings for each work. I would say it is superior to classicalcdguide, but classicalcdguide is much simpler for someone starting out. It won't, though, expose you to some of the less famous, though no less worthy of collecting, composers.

After that, I go to www.classicstoday.com and look at latest reviews to see what is hot. This helps once you have a better idea of what composers and works you like, and want to find different recordings. I like to see what gets the top reviews.


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2010)

Nicola said:


> Among the other material, I was more thinking about the "name that tune"; "how to cook an egg"; "rate this piece of rubbish and post another"; "am I too old at 86 to take up the cello?" "I wannabe a conductor but ain't got any qualifications, anyone got any ideas how I might con my way in"; "how do I start a classical CD collection", same request for the umpteenth time in a week? and those absolutely mind-blowingly moronic threads where you add and subtract points endlessly.


I couldn't agree more!


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

I find it essential to hear _everything _at least once - you'll know what you like, and what you deem as essential for your collection. Fortunately these days the internet makes that fairly easy.


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## Listener (Sep 20, 2010)

I found classical.net very useful, especially the basic repertoire section.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I'm disappointed there's nothing on the list before the Baroque, especially since early music research is turning up a lot of exciting music. 

At the least, I think Palestrina's Pope Marcellus Mass ranks as essential. Also, anything by Josquin Desprez. Of course, I'd vote for Monteverdi's Vespers also.


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

Ok ...

J.S. Bach, _The Great 18 Organ Chorale Preludes, BWV 651-668_
Richard Wagner, _Orchestral Overtures & Preludes_
Edvard Grieg, _Lyric Pieces_
Gabriel Fauré, _13 Nocturnes_
Claude Debussy, _Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune_
Maurice Ravel, _Rapsodie espagnole_
Igor Stravinsky, _Symphonies Of Wind Instruments_
Béla Bartók, _6 String Quartets_
Richard Strauss, _Four Last Songs_
Anton Webern, _Symphonie op.21_
Karlheinz Stockhausen, _Gruppen_
György Ligeti, _Piano Études_


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

JMJ said:


> Ok ...
> 
> 1. J.S. Bach, _The Great 18 Organ Chorale Preludes, BWV 651-668_
> 2. Richard Wagner, _Orchestral Overtures & Preludes_
> ...


Specific recordings Nos. 1 - 6 :









1. Bach, Michel Chapuis (Valois)









2. Wagner, Various (Deutsche Grammophon)









3. Grieg, Emil Gilels (Deutsche Grammophon)









4. Fauré, Doyen (Erato)









5. Debussy, Jordan (Warner Apex)









6. Ravel, Martinon (EMI Classics)


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

JMJ said:


> Ok ...
> 
> 7. Igor Stravinsky, _Symphonies Of Wind Instruments_
> 8. Béla Bartók, _6 String Quartets_
> ...


Specific Recordings Nos. 7 - 12 :









7. Stravinsky, Boulez (Deutsche Grammophon)









8. Bartók, Juilliard SQ (Sony)









9. Strauss, Isokoski (Ondine)









10. Webern, Boulez (Sony)









11. Stockhausen, Eotvos (BMC)









12. Ligeti, Aimard (Sony)


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