# New Member just getting in to classical music



## HardBall (Sep 30, 2010)

G'day,

I wasn't much of a fan of classical until I got hooked on my local NPR station's news programing about five years ago. From 9:00am until 3:00pm they play classical music. I would listen because I hate the commercials on other radio stations and got sick of the pre-recorded, un-maned radio stations in my area. At first it was just to have some background music in the office until the NPR news programs came back on but their music programing started growing on me.

I don't have much but am adding recordings with sort of "hit or miss" success. I've got a copy of Beethoven's 5th and 7th symphonies with Carlos Kleiber conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. I really enjoy this one.

I have a smattering of other stuff; 

Rachmaniov Piano No.2, Tchaikovsky Piano No.1 by Sergey Rachmaniov 

Bach's Six unaccompanied cello suits by Yo-Yo

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Bach's Partitas for Solo Violin by Hilary Hahn

Schoenberg and Sibelius violin concertos by Hilary Hahn along with her new Higdon and Tchaikovsky violin concertos CD.

I also have Pachelbel's Canon and Fasch concerto for trupet performed by the Jean-François Paillard Chamber Orchestra

So far, I know I like Beethoven's 5th, Pachelbel and all the Bach stuff that I have, with the cello suits played by Yo-Yo Ma being a particular favorite. 


Can anyone make some suggestions as to what I should try next? The world of classical music seems a bit overwhelming with so many works done by various conductors/orchestras. Thus far I've just been ambling about Amazon.com reading reviews and randomly trying things.

Any suggestions for a new guy to classical would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Sean

...


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

HardBall said:


> G'day,
> 
> I have a smattering of other stuff;
> 
> ...


That's a nice start, Hardball. Seeing that you like violin and cello music, I feel confident in recommending Haydn's string quartets, and the Peterson Quartet to play them. You can't go wrong with any of the opuses (there really isn't such a word, but my spell-checker doesn't object). I also highly recommend Heinrich Schiff's take of Bach's solo cello suites; available used fairly cheap. Much different than Yo-Yo's.

 It is a fine thing, and amusing - as you will learn - to see that you enjoy Pachelbel's Canon


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## HardBall (Sep 30, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> It is a fine thing, and amusing - as you will learn - to see that you enjoy Pachelbel's Canon


Okay, I give up... Why is it amusing?


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

HardBall said:


> Okay, I give up... Why is it amusing?


I think it's because you seem to like cello music, and the cello in that piece is very... exciting. :lol:


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

HardBall said:


> G'day,
> 
> I wasn't much of a fan of classical until I got hooked on my local NPR station's news programing about five years ago. From 9:00am until 3:00pm they play classical music. I would listen because I hate the commercials on other radio stations and got sick of the pre-recorded, un-maned radio stations in my area. At first it was just to have some background music in the office until the NPR news programs came back on but their music programing started growing on me.
> 
> ...


Thats some pretty cool stuff you got there for starters and good recordings by the look of it too! .
For a next step I would recommend getting a book about Classical Composers so you can get some ideas for key Composers and repertoire to seek out next - that and being a member of a good classical forum like this one will help of course! :tiphat:.

As for the Pachelbel's Cannon reference there is/was a member here who made a lot of jokes about that piece so that may be what Hilltroll is referring to or Jan may be right also? - nothing to worry about in any case! :lol:.


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## HardBall (Sep 30, 2010)

Jan said:


> I think it's because you seem to like cello music, and the cello in that piece is very... exciting. :lol:


Oh, I see... sort of like Angus Young's guitar chords. ...cool sounds for the simple minded


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## HardBall (Sep 30, 2010)

Conor71 said:


> For a next step I would recommend getting a book about Classical Composers so you can get some ideas for key Composers and repertoire to seek out next - that and being a member of a good classical forum like this one will help of course! :tiphat:.


I do have the NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music... and wikipedia.

I've got Heinrich Schiff's Bach's cello suite, that Hilltroll suggested, in my "cart" but currently looking for something else to add. There's, uh, more than a few Haydn quartets, I was thinking about opus 20 since I read an article about that one being somewhat transitional or influential?


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

*Re Pachelbel Canon*



HardBall said:


> Okay, I give up... Why is it amusing?


I little history is in order. Sometime in the early 1970s a mail order subscription service for classical music recordings named the Music Heritage Society (MHS, still in business) advertised in magazines and on radio a free recording of Pachelbel's Canon as a come-on for membership. The recording was also sent to radio stations in the Northeast. MHS mentioned to prospective members that the stations were getting call-in requests for 'Paco Bell's Canon'. The music became quite popular, including among non-classical listeners. Popular enough, and on the radio enough, to become seriously over-exposed. Many people expressed a wish never to hear that work again.

I don't really remember, but the Paillard recording may even have been the one MHS used.


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

HardBall said:


> I do have the NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music... and wikipedia.
> 
> I've got Heinrich Schiff's Bach's cello suite, that Hilltroll suggested, in my "cart" but currently looking for something else to add. There's, uh, more than a few Haydn quartets, I was thinking about opus 20 since I read an article about that one being somewhat transitional or influential?


Yes those Cello suites will be good.
Haydn's Op. 20 "Sun" Quartets are fine works but probably his most famous are the Op. 76 Quartets so maybe you could start with those ones?.
For Symphonies to try next I suggest Beethoven 9, Mozart 40/41 and maybe Tchaikovsky 4,5 & 6. Beethovens Piano Concertos 4 & 5, Mendelssohn/Bruch Violin Concertos and Grieg/Schumann Piano concertos would be good to get too .


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2010)

HardBall said:


> ...ambling about ... and randomly trying things.


This is the best way to go about it, whether you're a beginner or not, I'd say.

'Course, I'd also advise against frequenting classical music boards. Once you've listened to a lot of different things, that's when a board like this can be (usually isn't, but _can_ be) a place to chat with people who have similar interests.

But for beginning? You want to get a lot of other opinions _after_ you've formed a few of your own, not before.

Really. I can't think of a better way to go about it than randomly trying things.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm guessing you have the Van Cliburn recording of Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninov.. excellent choice! For other excellent piano concerti I recommend Rachaminov No. 3 with Ashkenazy, Rachmaninov No. 4 with Michelangelo, Mozart concerti Nos. 20-21 with Uchida, and the Grieg and Schumann piano concerti. 

I also highly recommend the Max Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, and anything by Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky is known for creating wonderful melodic music that is both sophisticated but very easy to enjoy.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

HardBall said:


> Oh, I see... sort of like Angus Young's guitar chords. ...cool sounds for the simple minded


...or simple sounds for the cool-minded? God bless you, Angus.

Your fledgling classical collection looks OK to me - more quality control in evidence than there was with mine at a similar stage. Hope you carry on enjoying it - I've found the last ten years of listening and learning as much fun as when I first got into rock music 20-odd years before that.


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## HardBall (Sep 30, 2010)

Ravellian said:


> I'm guessing you have the Van Cliburn recording of Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninov.. excellent choice!


Don't I feel stupid. The recording I have has Sviatoslav Richter performing, not "Sergey Rachmaninov" as I stated earlier.

I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-P...r_1_7?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285894695&sr=8-7

I also have this one in my "wish list". I assume this is the one you were referring to: http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-C...r_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285894966&sr=8-1


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

Greetings and Welcome HardBall - good to have you here.

All of Rachmaninovs piano concertos are great, and look more into Beethoven. The pieces that Ravellian suggests are a great place to go next. Ashkenazy is fab.

Also - never feel stupid if you make a mistake on here, we all do it.

Barry


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

some guy said:


> This is the best way to go about it, whether you're a beginner or not, I'd say.
> 
> 'Course, I'd also advise against frequenting classical music boards. Once you've listened to a lot of different things, that's when a board like this can be (usually isn't, but _can_ be) a place to chat with people who have similar interests.
> 
> ...


Nothing wrong with this method either (or continuing to use it!) but not everyone is happy to go on a journey of discovery without some boundaries and/or people to help them.

I do agree that it is a lot of fun finding your own way and learning from your mistakes in order to form your own opinion's about music and what appeals to you personally - this is pretty much the way I did it for the first year or so I was listening and I was happy to do this .


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## Very Senior Member (Jul 16, 2009)

Every now and then an aspiring classical music fan comes along and asks for general advice on what to listen to. This generally sparks off a list of responses, some of which are questionable because of their partial and idiosyncratic nature. For example, longer-standing members may be bored stiff with the topic, having seen it many times previously, and don't respond to the latest request.

In other words, it's all been done before, so the question arises why keep on re-inventing the wheel? It would be sensible if this Board could be re-organised in some way so that it was easy for newcomers to find previous threads related to this same broad topic. Perhaps one of the moderators might consider tackling this task by setting up a sub-section called "Recommendations for Those New to Classical Music". That way, there should be an obvious place where newcomers can look to see what's been recommended before, instead of having to raise a new thread each time.

My view on the notion that one shouldn't bother seeking advice from Boards such as this, but instead should try all sorts of classical music at random, is that it is unlikely to be a successful strategy. There is far too much unsuitable material out there for classical newbies. I also think it dicey taking "pot-luck" on responses concerning specific works as suggested on threads like this one. It's generally better to stick with the tried and tested, and then branch out from there based on tastes and knowledge acquired.

With this in mind, I'm sure it must have been recommended before on this Board but a good starting point for a classical newbie is THIS, and would draw particular attention to the section "top 10 by composer". Another good source of advice is THIS. The latter, if you explore the Arkiv site in its entirety, contains a mine of information on the most popular works of all the main classical composers, which should be more than adequate to keep most people well-informed.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

*Same theme, different variation*

Beyond argument, reputable lists of essential repertoire are clearly useful- 
and many of us (including me) have benefitted from such lists over the years.

It's true that boards frequently receive opening posts that say little more than "I'm new to Classical Music- I'd like some listening recommendations." When contemplating such an open-ended request, my first instinct is _always_ "well, what have you heard, that you've liked, so far?!"

In this case, we don't need to ask this question, because *HardBall* insightfully 
gave us some opening impressions about what he appreciated.

Most notably, *HardBall*, it seems that Bach is your early front-runner for "favorite composer." Fortunately, Bach is frequently cited as one of the most _consistent_ composers- so you're probably on safe ground combining *some guy*'s advice with some Bach specificity, sampling random pieces from Bach's output. My own instinct to recommend a _Goldberg Variations_ (on either Piano or Harpsichord) and a good compilation of J.S. Bach Organ Masterworks probably says more about my own Bach preferences than anything else material, but I'll throw them out there, anyway!

The next most obvious recommendation are Beethoven Symphonies 3 (Eroica) & 9 (Choral). 
I suspect you'll like 3 more than 9 (and we'll differ that way)- but this is about YOU, not about me.


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## Comus (Sep 20, 2010)

The internet is a good way to introduce yourself to music because you can find a ton of recordings on youtube or other sites. That way you can know what your getting into before you commit to a purchase. That said, a good piece for beginners is Penderecki's _Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima_.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

Pachelbel's Canon seems to be a running joke on these forums. Not sure why - never makes me laugh!


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

bassClef said:


> Pachelbel's Canon seems to be a running joke on these forums. Not sure why - never makes me laugh!


I agree, it's no joke; for what seems a long time it was a form of torture.


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## HardBall (Sep 30, 2010)

First off, I'm grateful to all those who took the time to offer suggestions.

I was a bit busy at work today so I didn't have as much time to goof off as I would have liked but the sampling I did last night and the reading I did on the throne this morning has helped clear up a few confusing issues I've had.

It would seem, a concerto is often used to "show case" a particular musician and/or their instrument. This would explain some of the confusion I've had following the violin concertos, performed by Hilary Hahn, that I have. I was looking for an overall meaning to the piece not realizing that, often, the musician's talent _is_ the meaning. So, I'm going to stay away from concertos for a while since they seem a bit hard to follow, for me.

As for symphonies, I really like the "knock the dust off your woofers" attribute that Beethoven's 5th offers and his 3rd and 6th symphonies, that I've sampled, seem to posses at least some of this ability.

I'm also convinced I will continue to enjoy Bach, particularly his chamber music (if that's what you call it).

I am also continually drawn to the smooth, mellow sound of the cello and have no reservations about buying more copies of Bach's suites for solo cello performed by artists other than the works by Yo-Yo that I currently have.

I'm still sampling various quartets by Haydn and Mozart's quartets dedicated _to_ Haydn but haven't entirely decided on which which works by which artists.

I noticed that no one, unless I missed something, has suggested Brahms. I've sampled his symphonies and they all seem appealing. I read that Brahms 1st symphony pays some homage to Beethoven's 5th, which is particularly appealing to me.

So off I go... I'm going to get Bach's solo cello suites performed by Schiff, and probably by Rostropovich, Beethoven's 3rd and probably 6th symphonies by, I know not who, and Brahm's 1st symphony, probably by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Thanks again for the suggestions and guidance.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

For Brahms try his Violin Concerto or for solo piano his op 76, 79, 118 and 119.

Also, Dvorak's 7th, 9th and Cello Concerto, as well as Elgar's CC, Strauss' Alpensinphonie, Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade, Vaughan-Williams Fantasia on Thomas Tallis, the Rite of Spring (obviously), Glass' Koyaanisqatsi, Part's Tabula Rasa, Reich's Different Trains, Partch's Delusion of the Fury, Ligeti's Atmospheres, Xenakis' Tetora, Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! and finally Stockhausen's Stimmung.

I'd advise to listen in the order listed as I've arranged them from easiest to hardest to get into to for a new classical listener. That's only going off what you've menioned so far.


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## ozradio (Oct 23, 2008)

I'm fairly new to classical music, having just listened for a couple years. Symphonies I enjoy and which get regular rotation include Beethoven's nine (as you've discovered), Mozart's later ones (he wrote 41 so the 30s up to 41 get regular play time), Brahms' four, Tchaikovsky's six (4 - 6 are the most popular but I enjoy all six), Schubert's (especially the last couple), and Bruckner's nine. I also have Schumann's and Haydn's complete symphonies but they don't get as much attention from me though they're very good. I very much like Dvorak's and Mahler's symphonies as well but don't own any sets yet. Owning these works you'd have a pretty good selection of the core symphony repetoire. I won't recommend particular recordings; to my inexperienced years most versions sound fairly similar.


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## JMJ (Jul 9, 2010)

I wouldn't recommend an aimless uninformed random approach to anything, and be weary of the sources you consult and the majority of critics ....unless you want to waste a lot of time &-or money. Seek the guidance of deep & informed authoritative musicians-composers based on the results they themselves achieve ... not talk.

Here are few of the main works/composers that really got me into 'art music' (aka western classical compositional tradition) in the first place ...

Stravinsky, _Agon_
Stravinsky, _L'Histoire du Soldat_
Stravinsky, _The Rite Of Spring_
Bartók, _Piano Concertos Nos. 1-3_
Bartók, _6 String Quartets_
Bartók, _Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta_
Webern, _5 Movements for String Quartet op.5_
Webern, _Symphonie op.21_
Webern, _Passacaglia op.1_
Bach/Webern, _Orchestration of the fugue no.2 from the "Musical Offering"_
Wagner, _Orchestral Overtures & Preludes_

And any J.S. Bach recorded by the genius Glenn Gould, perhaps start with the _English Suites_ or the_ 6 Partitas_.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I noticed that you expressed some interest in Brahms 1st, HardBall. While I'm even more of a newbie than yourself when it comes to classical music, I can say that it's my favourite classical composition and I have listened to some versions of it. Thus far, I like Daniel Barenboim's version best, so I'm going to recommend that one to you.


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