Good Classical Music to get the feet wet

[Rollerd9]

Hello all,

 

CA newbie and first time poster here :0) So Ive been into computer audio for a few years now and music has been a huge part of my life as long as I can remember, I've always enjoyed listening and discovering new bands or artist as well, there's nothing better than hearing an album or artist for the first time and it doesn't disappoint.

 

As far as taste goes I'd have to say my true love is Rock, Classic Rock and even Metal but I really have been getting into allot of Jazz over the years, all types really, but where I'm trying to go with this is, I really love the soundtracks to all of the (Pirates Of The Caribbean)movies composed by Hans Zimmer, and I believe Klaus Badelt had done one of the movies as well.

 

Anyway, I have zero experience with Classical Music,Composers,etc,so I guess that's why I'm using that at as an example but I really love the dynamics of these soundtracks and it gets me just as pumped up as a good hard driven metal album chalk full of fat guitar riffs and some good double bass drums. I would really appreciate maybe some suggestions of some good dynamic recordings and it could be other movie soundtracks or specific composers, orchestra's, it doesn't really matter, I'm just wanting to get steered in the right direction.

 

Oh yeah,I though I would also add, CD's,and high res files are all welcome formats. I have been on HD Tracks and looked around on there and I'm sure there are other great places to extract this type of music from as well. Good recordings are a plus too!!

 

Any and all suggestions would be much appreciated:0)

 

 

Thanks.

 

Dave.

 

[jiminlogansquare]

I would suggest you dip the toe in with Reference Recordings. They do a great job putting together classical collections with an emphasis on rhythm and big dynamic range that I think will really appeal to you (me, too!). They also have what I think are the best-sounding recordings of Stravinsky that provide that percussive, knock you on your ass effect. And, they are available through HD Tracks. Also, try out Classics Today for reliable classical reviews ... a 10/10 rating from them is prima facie evidence of a great recording ... especially if so rated by Jed Distler or Dave Hurwitz, IMHO.

 

[Mark Powell]

As a toe in the water, try listening to a few pieces found on YouTube before buying any CDs or downloads. I have done this often to find out if I liked something before buying it.

 

For a film soundtrack, the German music below was thought to be so good that the British filmmakers actually used it as the opening music for the film 'Battle of Britain'. A nice example of open-mindedness, I felt.

 

 

For 'pure' classical, try and find Christopher Hogwood conducting The Academy of Ancient Music playing Handel's Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks. the best introduction to 'classical' there is, IMHO.

 

[Brian A]

I think your instincts are good regarding where to start. Mark's YouTube suggestion is a good one too.

 

A compilation of overtures is aways a good first classical CD.

 

A gem regarding movie music is Telarc's 'Time Warp' (theme to 'Star Wars' etc).

 

This thread got mysteriously revived last night; lots of good ideas, although many more esoteric than a 'first classical CD":

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Best-Classical-downloads-rock-guy

 

 

[Audio_ELF]

I can reccomend a Society of Sound subscription (http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Society_of_Sound/Society_of_Sound/Music) as a way to access some good recordings from LSO at (slightly) high resolution 24/48 FLAC.

 

About £35 / $60 for a year with 12 monthly LSO recordings and 12 additional recordings from other genres (more Jazz / World Music).

 

Eloise

 

[Rollerd9]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I did some exploring last night and found some really inteeresting stuff.

 

There really is something to be respected about the way these pieces are composed, even someone like myself who is primaraly rock and jazz guy can appreciate the magnatude at which these are put together.

 

I'm looking forword to new discoverys as I've needed a spark in my music to keep me excited, I mean thats why we love the hobby in the first place ;0)

 

Thanks a bunch!!

 

Dave.

 

[Dirgen]

I am not sure if I fully understand your needs but if you are interested in learning about "classical" music, I would recommend a chronological approach, starting with more simple pieces.

 

The baroque period is a good place to start:

Bach (JS) - violin concertos 1&2; concerto for 2 violins

Vivaldi - The four seasons; L'estro armonico

Handel - Messiah (highlights should be enough)

 

The excellent examples of the classical period would include:

Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; symphonies 40&41

Haydn - Nelson Mass;

Beethoven - symphonies 5&6; piano sonatas 8,14,21

Schubert - symphonies 8&9

Mendelssohn - midsummer night's dream, symphony 4

 

The romantic period is much more diverse but you might want to try:

Brahms - symphony 1, piano quintet

Dvorak - slavonic dances, symphony 9

Grieg - piano concerto in A, Peer Gynt suite

Saint-Saens - symphony 3 (organ)

Tchaikovsky - piano concerto 1, nutcracker suite

 

It's a bit of a random list but I tried to keep to the more "dynamic" music, which I think might transcribe well into rock or heavy metal. Also I haven't recommended any specific recordings as I think it would complicate matters too much at this stage. Any fully priced CD's should be sufficient to get the message across.

 

[bakufu]

a list i recently sent to a friend with the same question.

 

my selections, limited as they are, represent a compromise between sampling

the maximum number of distinct categories and works which stand a chance of

being intrinsically interesting to someone unfamiliar with the terrain.

 

i've tilted the selection somewhat in the direction of "sonic blockbusters",

although a few of my recommendations are of older recordings. it's a sad

fact that while technical prowess has increased with time, interpretive

depth has declined. in some cases this doesn't matter. in others it surely

does.

 

for convenience, i've included links to the cds at amazon. it may be that

some of them are available somewhere as hi-res downloads. nevertheless, on

my equipment, and to my ears, they all sound perfectly fine.

 

it goes without saying that these are highly personal and no doubt idiosyncratic

opinions. and i've probably forgotten some, but my phone is ringing off the

hook from work this afternoon!

 

1. monteverdi

 

http://www.amazon.com/Monteverdi-Vespro-Della-Beata-Vergine/dp/B0000057DL/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326224022&sr=1-1

 

on balance, my favorite recording of this monumental work. gardiner has two

recordings. the older one is somewhat more spontaneous, the latter better

recorded and technically better. i picked the latter. an astonishing work,

it never fails to lift the hairs on the back of my neck.

 

2. bach

 

my favorite interpreter of the keyboard works is glenn gould. you have a choice:

 

http://www.amazon.com/State-Wonder-Complete-Goldberg-Variations/dp/B00006FI7C/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326224688&sr=1-1

 

made at the beginning and end of his life. nothing illustrates better the

potential for creative interpretation, or why enthusiasts own multiple recordings

of great pieces.

 

bach's greatest work for keyboard (and in my opinion the greatest piece of music

ever written):

 

http://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-Bach-Well-Tempered-Clavier/dp/B0000028NI/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326224770&sr=1-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-Bach-Well-Tempered-Clavier/dp/B0000028NJ/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_b

 

the bach work i play most frequently is the set of english suites. they are

beautiful beyond description:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-English-Suites-BWV-806-811/dp/B0000028NK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326224850&sr=1-1

 

3. beethoven/brahms

 

this is where it gets tough. there are so many wonderful recorded performances

of works by these two composers.

 

in my opinion the greatest performances on record were made in germany during ww2

by wilhelm furtwangler:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Furtwangler-Conducts-Beethoven-Symphonies-Overtures/dp/B00001W09Z/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225140&sr=1-1

 

i find the sonics to be more than acceptable. i warn you though: if you get to

know these symphonies through this recording every other performance will leave

you cold. i believe the same must be said of music&arts' edition of furtwangler's

brahms recordings:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Furtwängler-Conducts-Brahms-Complete-Symphonies/dp/B00002062I/ref=pd_sim_m_5

 

the 1951 hamburg performance is miraculous, a once-in-a-lifetime event.

 

4. bruckner

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Symphonie-No-8-Anton/dp/B000001GNS/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225515&sr=1-1

 

this and giulini's equally profound reading of the 9th are essential.

a contemporary critic once described bruckner's symphonies as "giant

boa constrictors". they are vast, slow-moving, monumental, dark,

glorious, intensely spiritual. perhaps an acquired taste, although for

me it was love at first listen.

 

5. mahler

 

all of mahler's symphonies are wonderful, and klaus tennstedt is my favorite

interpreter. i had the good fortune to attend several of his concerts in ny,

of mahler and bruckner. i'll recommend this live recording of #2:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symphony-No-2--Resurrection/dp/B00361DRBY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225669&sr=1-1

 

the bbc recordings tend not to stay in the catalog for very long, so snap it up

before it disappears.

 

i'm also a big fan of the conductor giuseppe sinopoli, although i don't care

for most of his mahler recordings, but this one is an exception:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Gustav-Mahler-Symphony-Philharmonia-Orchestra/dp/B00000E533/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225844&sr=1-1

 

both #2 and #8 are sonic spectaculars, mahler's largest-scale symphonies. #8 will

lift the roof off your house and deposit it several counties over.

 

6. berlioz

 

forced to choose, i would pick berlioz as my favorite composer. i'll recommend two

works:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Berlioz-Symphonie-Fantastique-Hector/dp/B000E6EH1S/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226999&sr=1-2

 

there is no perfect recording of this piece (i have at least a dozen!), but this

one is probably the best.

 

the Requiem is probably my favorite berlioz piece, and here the choice is difficult.

this one is a true sonic blockbuster:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Berlioz-Requiem-Boito-Prologue-Mefistofele/dp/B000003CTJ/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227061&sr=1-6

 

the Tuba Mirum section is truly terrifying.

 

this one, in addition to containing the Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale, is more

idiomatic and "berliozian":

 

http://www.amazon.com/Berlioz-Requiem-Symphonie-funèbre-triomphale/dp/B000GYHZ6M/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227152&sr=1-1

 

still, i'd go for the first.

 

ok, into the world of the moderns:

 

7. sibelius

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Symphonies-Nos-2-3/dp/B0000016PI/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227242&sr=1-6

 

sibelius #2 is just simply gorgeous, and osmo vanska is easily my favorite sibelius

interpreter. great sound!

 

8. prokofiev

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sergey-Prokofiev-Piano-Concertos/dp/B0024JQNF6/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225954&sr=1-2

 

i love these works. they are the most *physically* exciting piano concertos,

and here they are beautifully played and recorded.

 

if you enjoy them, continue on to the symphonies, also conducted by jarvi on

chandos.

 

9. bartok

 

his most popular orchestral work:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bartók-Concerto-Orchestra-Orchestral-Pieces/dp/B000001GJ7/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226070&sr=1-3

 

the reiner rca living stereo recording is popular with audiophiles, but i've

never cared for reiner's dry and emotionally restrained approach to this piece.

boulez/chicago is my current favorite.

 

the piano concertos are also wonderful, but i will skip them to recommend his

only opera:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bartók-Bluebeards-Castle-Kertész-Ludwig/dp/B00001IVQX/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226254&sr=1-1

 

someone has described this work as "an emotional volcano", and i think that's

true. this one of those once-in-a-lifetime recordings. opera is an acquired

taste, but i think you might find this one fascinating.

 

10. strauss

 

i love richard strauss. Also Sprach Zarathustra is famous, and you probably know

it, but i'll recommend this recording, which contains in addition his Death and

Transfiguration, imo a better piece of music:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Strauss-Zarathustra-Verklärung-Philharmonic/dp/B00000E400/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226372&sr=1-1

 

sinopoli is always my first choice in strauss, and this is one of his finest.

 

i'll also recommend his recording of Elektra:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Elektra-Richard/dp/B000001GYL/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226478&sr=1-1

 

the peak of german expressionist music, and a real sonic spectacular.

 

11. puccini

 

since the beecham La Boheme is currently out of print, i'll recommend this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Puccini-Tosca/dp/B002N4DZ30/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226577&sr=1-2

 

i am also very fond of sinopoli's Tosca, but this one is pretty close to being

perfect. of course, the story is ridiculous and over-the-top, but i find that to

be one of the most attractive aspects of italian opera. the characters in these

works are creatures of pure emotion, without a single thought in their heads.

puccini never heard of irony, thank god.

 

12. ravel/debussy

 

the only chamber pieces i've included are these by ravel and debussy:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Ravel-Streichquartette-Claude/dp/B000001GNA/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227361&sr=1-1

 

they are, quite simply, gorgeous, and the emersons play like nobody's business.

 

13. messiaen

 

last on this list, but it may be the first recording you'll want to get, is this

huge, crazy, amazing piece by the french catholic mystic olivier messiaen:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Olivier-Messiaen-Turangalila-Symphonie/dp/B000001GF6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226783&sr=1-1

 

i won't even attempt to characterize it. but all of messiaen is wonderful, and if

you like this, there's lots more.

 

14. stravinsky

 

http://www.amazon.com/Pierre-Boulez-Stravinsky-Petrouchka-Cleveland/dp/B000002A2M/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326233882&sr=1-1

 

this is the second of three (i think) recordings of these works by boulez.

the latest one is a bit too analytical for my tastes, though very well

recorded and well played. i prefer this one, with the NYPO. the sonics

are fine, if not perfect, and the NYPO isn't technically up to chicago,

but the sheer ferocity of this performance captures the the spirit better

than any other.

 

having said that, you really should also own this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stravinsky-Conducts-Petrushka-Printemps-Spring/dp/B0000026GJ/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326234048&sr=1-3

 

stravinsky was a great conductor of his own music, and his performances

sound like no one else's. his Petrouchka really conveys the world of

wind up mechanical birds and marionettes, and demonstrates how a large orchestra

can be as sonically transparent and detailed as a a group of four or five

players.

 

15. varese

 

http://www.amazon.com/Boulez-Conducts-Varèse-Edgard-Varese/dp/B00005KBJS/ref=sr_1_8?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326234208&sr=1-8

 

of all the recordings i've listed, varese's Arcana is probably the most

spectacular in terms of sonics. a VERY large orchestra, often with everyone

playing as loud as they can.

 

--

 

equipment:

 

mac-mini 8gb

spatial computer

prism orpheus

wyred4sound 250,500,1000

emerald physics cs1.3

spatial computer "black hole"

purepower 2000

cabling: the usual suspects

 

 

[Rollerd9]

I really appreciate all the feedback you all have given me. I have plenty to keep me busy for sure.

 

Thanks again everyone !!

 

 

Dave.

 

 

[GoldenEar]

Good selection Dirgen!

 

Let me add a few favorites:

 

Pachelbel - Canon (not a whole disk, but very nice)

Mendelssohn - Symphony #3 (Scottish)

Dvorak - Cello concerto

Beethoven - Violin concerto

Beethoven - Piano concertos 4, 5

 

Regards

Kay

 

 

[coot]

This is just one place to get it:

 

http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Keeping-Score-MTT-on-Music/70031381?strkid=1165172218_0_0&strackid=1f382f69c76d2d05_0_srl&personid=20014404&trkid=222336

 

 

The rest of the Keeping Score series is excellent also. Try the Beethoven one second.