Intro to Classical Music*

How about this for the introduction to string chamber music?

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

 

NPR has done several introduction to classical music programs and books. They're a great resource.

NPR has a list of the Performance Today 50 essential classical music CDs. (The web page is crashed right now, hopefully it will be up and working again soon)

Also search Amazon for books with "NPR" and "classical" in the title. Books like "The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music". There's other similar books, and not just by NPR.

Books that give an introduction to classical music are a great source. They'll give you some history of the music and the composers. A explanation of the various styles, time periods, and types of works. Having some background on music history greatly helps in understanding classical music and finding what you like.

 

Someone's done amazon lists for them

http://www.amazon.com/NPR-Performance-Today-s-PT-50-1-25/lm/39WXLPSKIZM2B/ref=cm_srch_res_rpli_alt_1

http://www.amazon.com/NPR-Performan...0/lm/20VTG3OHTWHD6/ref=cm_srch_res_rpli_alt_2

 

Until recently, you could get a MOG account without linking to Facebook, although they certainly made it difficult. Try searching for MOG on this forum as it was discussed.

 

The reason I didn't use Spotify is that they have a poor licensing arrangement with UMG (meaning London/Decca and DG for classical music). You can't stream long tracks, which means many classical works cannot be streamed in whole or in part.

 

The Janis is also available from HDTracks (derived from the SACD) for much less than the SACD goes for these days.

 

I started with the RCA Living Stereo SACD's. Especially the Dvorak Symphony No. 9 is wonderful.

If someone is just getting into Classical music now, I would recommend to get one of the nice box sets which are available at the moment. The RCA Living Stereo box set is nice (althouth some might want to get the SACD versions). The Mercury Living Presence box is nice also. Or the Decca Sound box set. These are really good values, feature classic performances and recordings, and give a good overview/introduction for a very reasonable price. And maybe most important: Even if you continue to buy more Classical music in the future, these box sets will be a nice part of any larger Classical music collection also.

 

I think the Mercury set has a little to much odd ball stuff for a beginner like the circus music disc and two Civil War discs. I can also live without the Sousa discs that both boxes have. The Decca box is another good choice.

 

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

Beautiful! So far, I seem to enjoy Brahms a lot more than I expected, given what I had read about his musical style. .

 

Of course! and here is a sample before buying

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj0JFMU7ZLk

 

Thanks for this. I've been listening to a lot of classical music lately (mostly from Tchaikovsky on MOG, but I will delve into other artists) due to my Western Musical Appreciation class. The latest section is on Mozart and Beethoven and all I've heard so far is a few select pieces (Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, Piano Sonata in C Minor, etc.).

 

Brahms published 24 works of chamber music, and in my opinion they range from quite good to magnificent. My favorites include his clarinet quintet (which for me defines autumnal music), his piano trio Op. 8 and both his cello sonatas, but I have multiple recordings of all 24.

 

The sextet represents a melancholia side of the composer. If you like it, plz try his clarinet Quintet, Symphony No.3, first piano concerto, late piano works, etc. You won't be disappointed.

 

Will do--I've already heard and absolutely loved the first piano concerto (the version with Freire and Chailly). I think it may indeed be the melancholia that I am responding to.

 

Sounds like I have a lot of exploring to do! Thanks--I'm especially intrigued by the clarinet quintet. I love autumnal music.

 

In 1890 Brahms announced his retirement from composing. But that was before he heard Richard Muhlfeld play the clarinet. That spurred him back to work. He composed four chamber works for clarinet (of which the quintet is the best known) plus some lovely music for solo piano (and several other works).

p.s. - listen to the third movement of Brahms' Third Symphony and then listen to "Love of My Life" from Santana's "Supernatural."

 

great time to delve into classical with budget sets like these (in good sound) Leon Fleisher plays Beethoven and Brahms Concertos
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383511&pf_rd_i=915398

 

Good start. I'd add a few more:

Debussy: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Dvorak: Cello Concerto
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Rachmaninov: Piano concerto #2
I'd toss in a Vivaldi Four Seasons too.

 

Just wanted to pop by to say thank you for the list. My attempts at "getting into" classical have mostly failed but, rather than abandoning the idea, I retain a sense that there's something "out there" that I would really enjoy if only I could find it.

This will, hopefully, give me a more random way of testing the waters.

Cheers all.

 

That music appreciation class is really going to help you understand classical. I took a music history and appreciation class as an elective during college. It covered classical from Gregorian chant through 20th century. It was my favorite college class. Homework involved attending local concerts. Midterm studying involved listening to classical music to be able to identify short sections played back during the midterm.

I still have the text book from that course. I continue to refer back to it. I also have an NPR book on classical and some other similar books. They're all helpful. Just jumping in to listening to classical without having knowledge of the history, styles, and components that make up the music would be like jumping into the deep end to learn how to swim.

 

Hard to see how Schubert's Quintet in C and Brahms Double Concerto didn't make this list, and both have many excellent performances from which to choose.

 

I will going to suggest what classical composers would be good to start with based on your musical preferences (for example if you love the Beach Boys and/or the Beatles, certain Mozart and Schubert works would be ideal, if it's Pink Floyd, maybe some Debussy and Ravel, and if you dig King Crimson and/or Zappa, then some more modern stuff like Bartok and Stravinsky) but you haven't put that into your profile so I can't help you there.

 

Yeah, that's exactly what my class is. I've always loved classical music (I own a bunch of it) but I'm not an authority on it by any means and I have no idea who the composers are or what the songs are called. I just like listening to it.

 

Just in case anyone's interested, here's a Pitchfork article on the new indie classical music style composers (with links):

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/8778-indie-classical/