Classical music for Dummies....

OK, so I'm an uneducated newbie to Classical music, I admit it. I really have just shown major interest in it during this past year. The problem is knowing what to buy since there is such a vast library of material to choose from.
I currently own about 40 Classical LP's(all but 5 are re-issues). That's the format of choice for me so I don't consider any of the digital formats. I need help in choosing albums that suit my taste which seems to lean toward large Orchestral pieces. I really enjoy the dynamic swings of these pieces but I only own a few to date.
Could someone recommend titles that are no brainers to a newbie like myself. Your help would be much appreciated, my turntable awaits.

 

Wow, thanks Steve for all the helpful advice.

There is one issue I have with used classical LP's and that is background noise. When there are quiet passages, the noise can become distracting to say the least, that's why I've been buying these re-issues.

 

I always direct people to Holst's The Planets. It's nice and heavy to start (Mars) so it grabs your attention quickly....the whole thing is amazing....I think it's parts of Venus that make me cry......grab it if you can!

 

And unlike other radio formats, classical radio almost always tells you, both before AND after a piece, what you just heard or are about to hear, who the composer is, and who the performer is.

 

That "political" thread! Ebay?Remember?

 

Steve said,

Luckily we have a decent classical station in SF Bay area so I listen daily, 102.1 on the dial. The money I spent on the Magnum Dynalab tuner a few years ago has definitely been worth it.

Daved64 said,

Thanks Dave, I'll look for it.

 

I second everything Steve said, and would add that I found my local library a really valuable resource when I was first getting into classical music -- they had a lot of classical recordings. Also, here are a few of the big orchestral works that grabbed me when I was first starting out:

Bartok: Concerto For Orchestra, Music For Strings Percussion & Celesta
Beethoven: symphonies (especially 1,3,4,5,6,7,9)
Copland: Rodeo, Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring
Dvorak: Cello Concerto, Symphony 9, Slavonic Dances
Grieg: Piano Concerto, Peer Gynt Suites
Holst: Planets
Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition (orchestral version)
Rodrigo: Concierto De Aranjuez, Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre
Stravinsky: Petrushka, Rite Of Spring, Pulcinella
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, Nutcracker/Swan Lake suites, 1812 Overture, Marche Slav
Wagner: miscellanous excerpts from the Ring (Szell on Sony)


Interestingly, I don't listen to most of these much anymore -- my taste in classical music has turned to more small-scale (eg, baroque) and quieter (chamber music) stuff...

 

Thanks Peter!

 

I will strongly advise getting the following lectures from theTeaching Company They are taught by Prof Robert Greenberg, and they are the best lectures I have ever heard. Get them at your local library, or buy them (not that expensive for the rewards reaped). He has other fabulous courses on opera, bach and beethoven.

I regularly thank my friend who introduced me to these lectures!


Swami

 

Name some of the works, composers or solo instruments you like so far and it would be easier for us to make a suggestion close to what you might really enjoy.

Most of what I bought on vinyl was Classical - Romantic - 20thCentury orchestral

but my tastes changed in grad school so that most of my CDs ended up Early to Baroque, stuff I could never have endured before I like now.

But if you like big Romantic orchestra try some Mendelssohn or Berlioz

 

I advise anyone looking to explore classical music to find a store that sells the Naxos budget line, Amadis. (You can also use "Amadis" for a label search on a good music website, like towerrecords.com.) They're all of $2.99. You can't get used or record club CDs that cheap! Yes, their CDs have a jewel box, artwork, and notes.

Naxos is an inexpensive, high-qualty classical music label that pays cash up front for recording sessions, usually with cheaper, but no less accomplished, East European musicians. Their discs are favorably reviewed alongside those from the majors in the serious classical journals, for sound and performance.

Naxos does not like stocking duplicate repertoire, however, and having recorded a new interpretation of one of the warhorses, they'll drop the older version to the Amadis budget line. And if Amadis doesn't have the work you're looking for, the full-price $6.99 Naxos line does.

 

Naxos has had a wonderful effect on the industry -- it forced the big record companies to cut prices, expand their budget lines, etc. But if you're looking for standard orchestral works -- Beethoven or Mozart symphonies, say -- I think you'll generally find better performances for the same price on Sony Essential Classics, EMI's budget lines, etc. Where Naxos really shines is in offering good performances of less well-known works, particularly chamber works. Over the years the cheap Naxos price has motivated me to pick up recordings of some great pieces (eg, Brahms clarinet sonatas, which I listened to just last night) that I probably wouldn't have gambled on if I had to pay $15.