# Beginner/Newbie to Classical Music



## footaholic (Jan 14, 2013)

Hello fellow forum members and classical music enthusiasts. My name is Mark and I chanced upon this website whilst searching for information on classical music. I am glad that I had the good fortune to do so as this site seems to be a treasure-trove of knowledge. 
About me: I am a 28 year-old medical student. Never in my life have I picked up an instrument, learned to read a note, or studied music. In short, I am completely ignorant on the subject. That said, I love music. To me, it is one of the blessings of life. One of the gifts that makes our existence more pallatable (alongside other favorites such as wine, natural beauty, and sport. I listen to all types of genres but one that has always piqued my interest is under the massive umbrella "classical" music.
What I seek: I have joined this site because I would like guidance in initiating my journey into the world of classical music from those who have tread the path before me. I am concerned because I don't know where to start. I know little-to-nothing of the myriad composers, styles, or periods. Whilst I know that I could probably study about it I don't have any time and, quite honestly, I don't want to turn something I enjoy into work. All I know is that I appreciate instrumental music and I am particularly fond of the solo piano works and string instruments such as the cello & violin. I know that doesn't quite narrow it down but I DO know that I tend to enjoy more melancholic music. 
P.S. Thank you all for taking the time to read this. I look forward to learning from you all.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

Footaholic, welcome to Talk Classical.

You will meet many here whose taste in classical widely diverge. You will meet those who are devoted to Mahler, those who are devoted to Wagner, those who are devoted to Bach, those who are devoted to Stravinsky, etc.

Try them all: don't let the personality of Wagner prejudice you against his music, don't let the worship of Beethoven make you hesitant to criticize his music. In short, whatever you come to enjoy is fully justifiable.

Cello music: Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, Elgar's Cello Concerto, Dvorak's Cello Concerto, Beethoven's Cello Sonatas, Brahms' Cello Sonatas, Schumann's Cello Concerto, Haydn's Cello Concerti, C.P.E. Bach's Cello Concerti.

Violin music: Violin sonatas of: Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Schumann, Schubert [sonatinas], Mendelssohn, etc.

String quartets: Haydn, Cherubini, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Faure, Ravel, Debussy, etc.

Explore, enjoy, and welcome!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Try these two famous French piano pieces.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

These:


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Something like the following list is what you may like to strive for in the next few years. Initially, I suggest orchestral, such as Vivaldi Concerti, JS Bach Brandenburg Concerti, Haydn Symphonies, Mozart Symphonies and Piano Concerti, Dvorak Symphonies, Tchaikovsky Symphonies. Happy listening. :tiphat:

Bach: Brandenburg Concerti Bach: Goldberg Variations 


Bartok - String Quartets (Complete)

Beethoven: Symphonies 3, 5, 9
Beethoven: String Quartets (Complete) 
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (Complete)

 
Brahms: Symphonies (Complete)
Brahms: Piano Quartets
 
Bruckner: Symphonies 4 - 9
 
Chopin: Piano Cti. 1 & 2 
Chopin: Solo Piano

Debussy: Orchestral Works 
Debussy: String Quartet
Debussy: Solo Piano

Dvorak: Cello Concerto
Dvorak: Symphonies 5 - 9
Dvorak String Quartet Op. 96 "American"

Elgar: Cello Concerto 
Elgar Violin Concerto
Elgar: Enigma Variations 

Fauré: Requiem
Faure: Piano Quintets

Franck: Symphonie in D minor
Franck: Piano Quintet

Grieg: Piano Concerto
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites 
Grieg: Lyric Pieces

Handel: Concerto Grossi, Op. 6 (Complete)
Handel: Suites for Keyboard
 
Haydn: Paris Symphonies
Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76 (Complete)
Haydn: Late Piano Sonatas

Hindemith: Orchestral Works

Holst: The Planets 

Janacek: String Quartets 1 & 2

Janacek: Piano Music

Liszt: Piano Cti. 1 & 2
Liszt: Faust Symphony 
Liszt: Solo Piano

Mahler: Symphonies (Complete)


Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 & 4


 
Mozart Violin Cti. 1 - 5
Mozart: Piano Concerti 19 - 27
Mozart: Symphonies 35 - 41 
Mozart: Figaro, Cosi, Don G, Flute (Highlights)
Mozart: Requiem

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Nielsen: Symphonies 1 - 5

Orff: Carmina Burana 

Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos 
Poulenc: Solo Piano

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos 1 & 2
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos 1 & 3
Prokofiev: Syms 1 & 5

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerti 2 & 3
Rachmaninov: Symphony 2
Rachmaninov: Solo Piano

 
Ravel: Piano Concerti
Ravel: Orchestral Works
Ravel: String Quartet
Ravel: Solo Piano Music 

Resphigi: Roman Trilogy

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade 

Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto 3
Saint-Saens: Symphony 3

Satie: Piano Works 

Scarlatti D: Keyboard Sonatas 

Schoenberg: Violin Concerto
Schoenberg: Piano Concerto
Schoenberg: Variations for Orchestra, Transfigured Night
Schoenberg: Solo Piano

 
Schubert: Symphonies 4, "Unfinished", 9
Schubert: Piano Quintet "Trout"
Schubert: Late String Quartets
Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata 
Schubert: Late Piano Sonatas 

Schumann: Piano Concerto 
Schumann: Symphonies (Complete)
Schumann: Solo Piano 

Scriabin: Symphonies (Complete)
Scriabin: Solo Piano

Shostakovich: Symphonies 4 - 11
Shostakovich: String Quartets 3 & 8
Shostakovich: Solo Piano

Sibelius: Symphonies (Complete)

Strauss R: Tone Poems 


Stravinsky: Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1947)
Stravinsky: Rite of Spring

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto 1
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies (Complete)

Vivaldi: "Four Seasons"


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

Vaneyes, your list is impressive, and I agree wholeheartedly with it.

Except I must have the complete of Haydn's symphonies, string quartets, piano sonatas, masses, etc. Likewise with Mozart's symphonies, string quartets, piano sonatas, opera, etc. Surely too much to begin with though.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Ligeti-Sonata For Solo Cello


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## footaholic (Jan 14, 2013)

Thank you all so much! More specifically though, could you point me towards sad/melancholic pieces? I don't know why but I just feel that these tend to stir up the most emotions in me.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

^^^^
That's why I chose the two piano pieces I uploaded from YouTube.

A couple other pieces I can recommend are:

Ase's Death by Edvard Grieg
2nd movt from Beethoven's symphony no. 7


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## footaholic (Jan 14, 2013)

@starthrower: I just listened to the 1st 2 now. They were quite beautiful! Thank you. Will listen to the cello one next.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

The best tip you'll ever get...

Go to Amazon and search the MP3 store for "Rise of the Masters". These are huge collections organized by composer for a few bucks. Hours and hours of great performances in wonderful sound. Get tem all and sample them. They will point you in a direction to follow,


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

footaholic said:


> ...All I know is that I appreciate instrumental music and I am particularly fond of the solo piano works and string instruments such as the cello & violin. I know that doesn't quite narrow it down but I DO know that I tend to enjoy more melancholic music. ...


*Chopin *is good (as mentioned above). Melancholic is the word for him, and he mainly wrote for solo piano. The Nocturnes and Mazurkas are imo good things to start with. Also, his waltzes - even though a lighter genre, these don't only convey the glamour of the ballroom, but also the sadness there - not everyone gets the girl!  For longer works, try his piano sonatas, the second one has that famous funeral march movement. Also, his four ballades have bittersweet feel too.

Another one in the piano sphere is *Rachmaninov* (who Vaneyes also mentioned above in his long list). I'm sure there are more knowledgeable members here re Rach's solo piano output. But some of his preludes are quite popular and essential solo piano listening:
Prelude in G minor
Prelude in C Sharp Minor
Prelude in C Minor


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## footaholic (Jan 14, 2013)

Thank you all so very much! That should keep me busy a while 
@Starthrower: I really enjoyed the first 5 minutes of that Ligeti piece. After that it got a little too wild for my taste. The Cello is just amazing. It has such raw energy. I feel like it is like a deeper darker version of a violin (that's my completely uneducated interpretation at least).


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## footaholic (Jan 14, 2013)

BTW, I have this clip of an "oud" player (essentially a middle-eastern lute) that I would like to share with anyone who is interested. It is by Farid Al-Atrash who is aptly nicknamed "the king of al-oud". I hope you enjoy this as much as I do (make sure to listen to the end):






I wasn't sure if I should create a thread on this, and if I did whether to do so in the "other instrument" or "string instruments" section.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

footaholic said:


> Thank you all so much! More specifically though, could you point me towards sad/melancholic pieces? I don't know why but I just feel that these tend to stir up the most emotions in me.


*Maurice Ravel* is _the_ master of melancholy. 
This piano piece is called "Sad Birds" (from a major suite for solo piano called "Miroirs"): 



 (played masterfully by the composer himself there)
That piece made a huge impact on me that still remains. I didn't know that music was capable of expressing such strong and devastating emotions.
From the same suite, "La Vallée des Cloches": 



Another terribly and devastatingly sad and melancholic piece (that chord at 3:14 always makes my day ).
At the big scale, the piano concerto for the left hand: 



For the cello, definitely *J.S.Bach*'s Cello Suites: 



, 



 (just some of my favorite movements from those suites).


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

Here's a couple relatively well-known suggestions I hope you like, to get you started. Since you mentioned you prefer more melancholic music, a couple links I posted are just of the slow movements to larger pieces, so I urge you to listen to the rest as well! (It's usually easier to find single movement links as opposed to entire works also) Classical works are often divided up into different movements that come together to form a whole work in case you weren't sure. In general I typically like the more melancholic works also, so hopefully you'll enjoy some of these!  Also I usually recommend looking at the lists located on this forum to familiarize yourself with some different composers/styles, it's located here: http://www.talkclassical.com/17996-compilation-tc-top-recommended.html. It has it's pros/cons but overall I think it's an excellent list to get you started! Not to mention all of the excellent suggestions in this thread!

Ravel: Concerto in G (mvmt 2): 



Strauss: Metamorphosen: 



Strauss: Tod und Verklärung: 



Arvo Part: Spiegel Im Spiegel: 



Arvo Part - Fur Alina: 



Beethoven: - String Quartet 16 (mvmt 3): 



Beethoven: Hammerklavier (mvmt 3): 



Bach - Chaconne from Partita #2: 



Sibelius: Symphony 4 (mvmt 3): 



Sibelius: Swan of Tuonela: 



Vaughan-Williams: Lark Ascending: 



Schubert: Piano Sonata D960 (mvmt 2): 



Marcello: Concerto for Oboe and Strings (mvmt 2):


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## Ralfy (Jul 19, 2010)

You can try a book that looks at the genre historically and combined with short points and examples in visual art, literature, and philosophy, such as John Stanley's _Classical Music_, then listen to any recommended works or excerpts found online.

From there, you can select a site or book that looks at recommended works and recordings (like the _NPR Guide_) and see if they are on sale in local stores or online. As you listen to more than a basic library, then you can look at sites that give reviews or references like the _Penguin Guide_.

If you want to jump straight to a list of recommended works plus historical background and a working knowledge of various musical elements, then consider textbooks like Kamien's or those by others, especially those that come with CDs or online access to referenced music.

Also, all of these books plus CDs may be available used in online sites or in nearby libraries. There may also be free concerts or performances nearby, broadcasts on television and radio, etc.

Finally, what I do is to combine classical music appreciation with literature, philosophy, visual art, and other aspects of the humanities. I also like documentaries or books that do that.


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## TheVioletKing (Jan 9, 2013)

For Melancholic Music, I would recommend Bach, his music is all over the place emotionally, but I feel that he does melancholy well.

Best ones, IMHO, are:

Passacaglia and Fugue




Though his others are just as good.

Matthews Passion





Art of the Fugue


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