Someone recommend me some good classical CD's.

comfortablycurt

Hi there...I'm getting ready to make a trip to the store here in a while...and I was thinking about picking up some new Cd's. I've never really been a big classical listener...but I've always loved classical music. Unfortunately, I don't know Bach from Mozart...lol...Could anyone recommend me some good classical Cd's to check out? I was probably going to pick up 3 or so...so what are some good ones I should check out?

Motzart

Wagner is good if ya get the musical part.
Ride of The Valkyries comes to mind.
Holst The Planets is a great work also.
Symphonic music of almost any kind is good.

Many don't like Violin...Piano....or Vocals.

LaserLight Label was good for beginners but dunno if it's around anymore.
They were cheap and pretty good to get you into Classical.

thall

You can never go wrong with Mozart. The old XM Fine Tuning channel used
to play a group called The String Quartet that does tributes to rock bands
with a classical twist. Really liked when they did The Who's Tommy.
Another favorite is the California Guitar Trio.

If you have a library in your neighborhood, that is a great place to borrow
some music to see/hear what you like. If you really like it and it is in good
shape, you can even burn a copy of it.

jflail2

Good starting suggestions from Motzart there. For piano specifically , I'd recommend most anything Chopin. The man was a genius....

John K.

Curt, you didn't mention what store you're going to and many of them don't have a very good selection of classical CDs. It isn't a good idea to just buy a CD which happens to have a particular classical composition on it because many compositions appear on dozens of different CDs which vary greatly in performance and sound quality. Probably 90% of my buying is from online dealers rather than locally, since I'm looking for a specific recording which the local store doesn't have.

I furnished some Amazon links in the "classical collectors" thread here which you might look at. I'd especially suggest for a start that you consider the Mehta performance of Holst's The Planets and Lanchbery's selections from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

comfortablycurt

I went to FYE to get them...they seemed to have a pretty good selection of classical music. At least to my un classicaly trained eyes...lol

I went ahead and picked up...
Mahlers Second Symphony by Claudio Abbado,
Holst "The Planets"
and Mozart:The Violin Concertos:Sinfonia Concertante: Artist:Giuliano Carmignola


Haven't given em a listen yet...I plan to tomorrow though when I can crank it up without disturbing the neighbors.:D

I'll let ya know what I think of them.

I think I'm gonna check out the Mozart disc first...I love the violin...and the idea of being both a symphony and a concerto sounds like a really cool concept. I can't wait to check them out.

Motzart

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I went to FYE to get them...they seemed to have a pretty good selection of classical music. At least to my un classicaly trained eyes...lol

I went ahead and picked up...
Mahlers Second Symphony by Claudio Abbado,
Holst "The Planets"
and Mozart:The Violin Concertos:Sinfonia Concertante: Artist:Giuliano Carmignola


Haven't given em a listen yet...I plan to tomorrow though when I can crank it up without disturbing the neighbors.:D

I'll let ya know what I think of them.

I think I'm gonna check out the Mozart disc first...I love the violin...and the idea of being both a symphony and a concerto sounds like a really cool concept. I can't wait to check them out.

I dunno if you'll like your 3rd purchase?
But the 1st two......if your gonna like Classical they will determine it!
The 1st two are a excellent "feeler" if you will for Classical.
Yes please let us know!

george daniel

"Pictures at an Exhibition",, the classical version by Mussorgsky, although the ELP version isn't bad.

John30_30

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I went to FYE to get them...they seemed to have a pretty good selection of classical music. At least to my un classicaly trained eyes...lol

I went ahead and picked up...
Mahlers Second Symphony by Claudio Abbado,
Holst "The Planets"
and Mozart:The Violin Concertos:Sinfonia Concertante: Artist:Giuliano Carmignola


Haven't given em a listen yet...I plan to tomorrow though when I can crank it up without disturbing the neighbors.:D

I'll let ya know what I think of them.

I think I'm gonna check out the Mozart disc first...I love the violin...and the idea of being both a symphony and a concerto sounds like a really cool concept. I can't wait to check them out.

The concerto format just implies the piece was written for violin with plenty of orchestral backing. Sometimes the lead violin or piano gets lost in it.
I don't know about Carmignola, but Abbaddo and the Sinfonia are very good performers.

String quartets and quintets give the violin much more space, they're a much more natural structure for it. There is a legendary performance of Schubert's Trout Quintet, not available as a cd- possibly in VHS format- entirely on youtube. All the performers are superstars, and it goes rehearsal with them like a documentary, their clowning, performance, etc.
Here's part 1 of maybe 6, I forget.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKbK5inlHlU

Malcolm G

You mean classical music like Dark Side of the Moon?

I prefer smaller groups where you can hear the individual players.

Several James Galway and Jean-Pierre Rampal discs would be nice (they're both fluteists, flautists, whatever). "The Best of Jean-Pierre Rampal" is good, although I prefer Galway's playing... Galway's "Dances for Flute", "Mozart: Flute Concertos; Concertos for Flute and Harp" are very good. Galway has a discontinued disc of flute with classical guitar that's fantastic if you can find one used.

YoYoMa has some great albums too. L.A. Guitar Quartet put out some interesting stuff. I don't know, the bombastic full orchestra stuff just never did it for me. See if you have any local groups with albums out too!

My best advice: get onto Amazon.com and look at peoples' lists and ratings. Order half a dozen discs and enjoy. If you get one you hate, donate it to your local library or stash it away in case your musical tastes change in the future.

Happy Listening! Malcolm

ps- thanks... now I feel like shopping for music too

Motzart

Malcolm G wrote: »

ps- thanks... now I feel like shopping for music too

Yeah all this talk about Classical has prompted me to get back to work on my Collection!
It's only been 10yrs since I added any Classical.
I think I've made up for lost time since these threads! :rolleyes:

comfortablycurt

Well, I just got done giving all of these a good thorough listening to...

Holst "The Planets"-This CD was awesome...I think my favorite selections on it were Mars, and Jupiter. This Cd had some great depth. Overall I found it to have somewhat of a "calming" affect. Definitely gonna be listening to this one fairly often.

Mahlers Second Symphony by Claudio Abbado- This was another very good one. When it started out...I was struck by how "dark" it sounded. This disc had ton's of emotional impact. As it went on it progressed to a more calming sort of progression...at it's peaks this album packed a ton of emotion into the music. Another one I'll definitely be giving another listen to.

As for the Mozart Violin Concertos, this one I had a little bit more trouble getting into, which is weird because I thought it was the one I'd like the most. I don't know if it was just the performer on this recording though...or what it was. I haven't listened to this one all the way through yet, so I'm gonna give it a couple more listens before I write it off. I'm definitely going to check out some other Mozart though.

I think next on my list is some Bach...I've always loved Bach, despite how few of his works I've ever really heard.

Thanks for the advice on the albums though, I'm definitely going to be buying some more classical music in the future.

Motzart

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I'm definitely going to be buying some more classical music in the future.

Kewl.....now you can relax and enjoy!

.

Music Joe

Lesser known artists not 'A' list performances. Brilliant Classics box sets a hundred disc taste of their label.

or another Classical Top 1000 [75 cds]


The major composers collections are below. Way-cheap-way to sink your teeth into what you may or may not like. Meat and taters Classics plus the lesser knowns. 60 disc Beethoven, 155 cd Bach, 170 cd Mozart (you may find somethin' you like in a set this big)

nadams

I like the William Tell overture - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3vLQ7iCz94

John K.

Curt, yes The Planets is about as sure-fire a classical composition as there is. Which CD did you get? I have six of them, and the Mehta disc which I linked in the "classical collectors" thread is my favorite.

Since you enjoy the violin, I'll suggest this recording which includes the Sibelius and Korngold concertos and the Sinding Suite. I suspect that it might be more to your taste than the Mozart work.

daboyz

As said earlier,if you have access to a library in Dixon(?) then check some out before buying. Up here there is a large selection and has saved me lots of coin in seeing if I like it or not.

comfortablycurt

John K. wrote: »

Curt, yes The Planets is about as sure-fire a classical composition as there is. Which CD did you get? I have six of them, and the Mehta disc which I linked in the "classical collectors" thread is my favorite.

Since you enjoy the violin, I'll suggest this recording which includes the Sibelius and Korngold concertos and the Sinding Suite. I suspect that it might be more to your taste than the Mozart work.

This is the version that I got.
http://www.amazon.com/Gustav-Holst-Planets-Op-32/dp/B000003CU0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1232245454&sr=1-5

I'll have to check out the one you suggested to.

daboyz wrote: »

As said earlier,if you have access to a library in Dixon(?) then check some out before buying. Up here there is a large selection and has saved me lots of coin in seeing if I like it or not.

Yeah actually, I have a library about two blocks away from me. I'll have to head over there sometime next week and see what kind of selection they've got. It would be nice to be able to check them out before I buy them.

Motzart

comfortablycurt wrote: »

This is the version that I got.
http://www.amazon.com/Gustav-Holst-Planets-Op-32/dp/B000003CU0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1232245454&sr=1-5

This was a great choice....
Years ago CD Review gave this copy a editors choice from what I remember.

comfortablycurt

Motzart wrote: »

This was a great choice....
Years ago CD Review gave this copy a editors choice from what I remember.

Well that's good to know...there were a few different versions of it there. I ended up picking this one cuz it had the coolest looking cover...:p

Got a great deal on it too...it was used for 6 bucks. Not a scratch on it.

is=to lumpy

Beethoven symphony #9 or a best of cd by him
vivaldi the four seasons
tchaikovski the nutcracker or a best of cd
Aaron Copeland - rodeo suite
search for a series called dts clasical collection Dts entertainment - multiple artists - plays on dvd players that support dts - surround mix as well. The Tchaikovski and vivaldi discs are very good.

daboyz

Hey, can you burn me those cd's?:p:D

comfortablycurt

daboyz wrote: »

Hey, can you burn me those cd's?:p:D

Absolutely not. I'll let you borrow them though...err...wait...Yeah, I guess I'll burn them for you...lol

arkaig1

Curt,

Here's one paragraph of intro, and a bunch of pretty universally recommendable pointers.

Classical is orchestral, chamber, solo, vocal, and choral. Orchestral is symphony and concerto (as detailed above). Chamber is by type of instruments (strings, winds, and solo instrument with whatevers), and by number (implies certain ones per type). Vocal is usually accompanied (by a single performer, or orchestra), while choral is acapella or accompanied (orchestra usually). Sonata is a particular type of composition, but is also used as the term for that by a single-instrument or single-instrument accompanied by a piano (yes, that's dumb). Classical also technically is a particular style and era (1750 to 1800), followed by Romantic (19th) and modern (20th & 21st century) styles. It was immediately preceded by Baroque (which includes Bach and Handel and Vivaldi, but goes back to 1650 or so), Renaissance styles, and Medieval styles.

For Mozart, try the later symphonies, 31-41 (25, 29, and 31 are brashest), and later piano concertos (major stars on major labels). His "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" stands out as more casual smaller-symphony work (serenades and sinfoniettas). His wind music is also pretty uniformly recommendable. For Beethoven: Symphonies 9, 5, 6, 4, 7 & 3 (all of quality and uniformly recommendable, ordered by recognizability and accessability), piano concertos 5, 4, & maybe 3, and violin concerto. For Haydn (older than the above two): Sturm&Drang symphonies, and his later (Paris & London series) symphonies (concertos too, but only as a maybe). All three wrote great string quartets, etc., but they are more individual to recommend or not. Schubert's symphonies sit between Beethoven and Mahler. (After two minor accidents, I no longer listen to Mahler while driving.) The above are of the Classical into Romantic symphonist style.

Bach is tougher, more dependent on what you find you like. Goldberg Variations for keyboard (piano) are the one uniformly recommendable piece I'd have to pick. For Vivaldi: Four Seasons (major stars on major labels), but there are so many others, perhaps pick by solo instrument (perhaps not).

Holst is as you found (yay!), likewise Mussorgsky, as above. Holsts suites are interesting, as are Grieg's. Besides Chopin (above), Liszt's piano works are worth a listen, but get a specific pointer here. His Hungarian Rhapsodies are fun orchestral works. Brahms Hungarian Dances (orchestral or piano versions), all four symphonies and his concertos are all recommendable. Tchaikovsky's symphonies are good (later better), and his ballet music is very instantly recognizable. Sibelius was old-school in this arena (can I put him near Mahler and get away with it?), but also doing "tone poems" (non-symphony non-soloist orchestral works on a non-musical idea).

Also perhaps try Naxos for Guitar music (Sor is easy, Tarrega is more toward proto-Flamenco), or anything off the beaten path (Vanhal, early classical folks, etc.). But go with the odds, with budget releases from the major labels, for mainstream, despite your Mozart violon concerto eperience (which may grow on you, good works, but I don't know your soloist, other than as a name). So many people, so many recordings, so varied. (See Penguin Guide or AllMusic) in the record stores for their recommendations. (Used to kind of work for Jazz too, but harder there.)

Early music (on period instruments or replicas, using original arrangements or playing styles) is the best (IMHO), but it's harder to hit your stride on these with such umbrella recommendations as here. [I'm big into Lute music, and medieval vocal/choral.]

Who I omitted or what I said, these are all flammable material, but to others, take this all as it was meant, please, and don't meta-discuss this list as anything more than it was meant. I'm still kind of new here anyway.

comfortablycurt

Wow, thanks for all that info. That cleared up several things I was wondering actually.

Also, for the record, I gave that Mozart Violin Concertos another listen a little bit ago. I actually do like it quite a bit. It was just different than what I was expecting. It's actually pretty good though. I have to say that I definitely like the other two selections that I got more, but I think this one will be around to stay for the time being.

I can't wait until I can get some more classical though. Right now my moneys tied up in a couple other deals I've got going for some equipment though...so it may be a little while. I've also still gotta feed my addiction to my other musical styles as well...I'm still working on completing my Pink Floyd collection, and my Beatles collection is badly in need of some improvements too...Hopefully I'll start accumulating some more classical music soon too though.

arkaig1

No problem. Sorry to whine; it was 3am. I just meant to keep things focused. I forgot one big omission too: Tchaikovsky 1812 overture is a great starter piece. So many good recordings. I like the RCA Yellow label one (BSO? or Reiner? I forget). It is atypical however, as they added a choral part to it. (I also like "Bernstein in Berlin", although that is its own story, and "Paganini for Two", another one that.)

This classical stuff grows on you. They often say it takes more than one listen, but I raise the bar a bit an usually like ones that start out of the gate, as well as finish, well. Good luck, email me if you want specifics.