priapus Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 I listened to a friend of mine's setup the other day and all he had was some classical symphony on hand. I absolutely fell in love with it. What would you folks recommend, say 5 discs, for the absolute must haves, a starter set if you will, into classical music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Search the forum on "Classical" -- lots of good info. You could start with this: Help with Classical Music choices. Some recommendations: Bach Toccatas & Fugues -- include the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Toccata and Fugue in F major, and the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. The lowest, pedal notes (played with the feet on large pedals resembling a giant keyboard) reach down to 33 Hz. Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez -- the Rodrigo concertos are the most famous for guitar and orchestra, very Spanish in character. Listen for the crystalline clarity and reflective mood of the guitar throughout, as well as the remarkable woodwind (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon) detail. Get either Pepe Romero or John Williams on guitar. Bizet: Carmen Suites 1 & 2 -- orchestra-only selections from the opera Carmen, extremely tuneful and attractive for everyone. Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, Organ -- THE work for organ and orchestra. The organ appears in the slow, or second movement, and again in the fourth, or finale movement. The finale closes with a spectacular descending C-major pedal scale that ends on the low C. The symphony has great momentum and enthusiastic, spirited playing throughout, and there is a remarkable variety of string, woodwind, brass, and percussion (tympani, cymbals) orchestration. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, played by Van Cliburn -- this is an outstanding release of the most famous classical recording made in the late 1950's because Van Cliburn had won the Tchaikovsky prize in Moscow at the time that Russia seemed to be overtaking us in space, science, and art! Listen for the remarkable clarity of the piano and the instruments, and the power of the performance. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 -- a work of genius. Listen to the third movement: during most of it, only the strings play, and they only play pizzicato (plucked). Listen for the strength of the mass plucked strings from the treble clear down into the bass. Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade -- a famous, very attractive work, full of tonal and melodic beauty, every movement a sensuous jewel. Get the Reiner Chicago Symphony recording; the violin ending is from another world. Orff: Carmina Burana -- A remarkable 20th-century work full of driving rhythms and primitive (12th century) texts and melodies that sound medieval rather than modern, yet lots of 20th century percussion and vocal effects. Get the Ormandy Philadelphia Orchestra performance. Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 -- ANY Beethoven is a winner. While his most famous symphonies are the 5th and 9th, this one is also inevitably well-liked by everyone. A rhythmic masterpiece will keep your attention right to the end of the frenetic finale. Hope this helps. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Assuming you are certain it was a symphony you heard ideal start points are: Beethoven : Nos 3,5,6,9 Mozart : Nos 35, 39-41 Haydn : Anything from 90-102 Dvorak : 9 (sometimes refered to as 5 on older vinyl pressings) - The New World Symphony. There are a lot of options out there. These are just a tiny selection - most of which you will actually be familiar with from TV / film etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 A few other staples for symphonies: Brahms 4 Holst: The Planets Mahler 4 (easily approachable) or Mahler 6 (awesome, not using the word lightly) Tchaikovsky 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 (Sigh) this thread has stagnated at 26 views for a few hours now. 2-channel seems to be a little better place for classical music. Priapus, please let us know what you get and what you think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 I'm basically a novice when it comes to classical but I can definetly second Holts, Saint-Seans and good old Ludwig B. I've been fortunate to hear Holst on Khorns and Saint-Seans on my own Cornies and I am mucho impressed. By the way Larry, I can't find the Sony version of Saint-Saens in my local store, but there are releases by other orchestras/labels. Should I hold out for for the Sony or will the others do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Gee, I'll bet they discontinued the Sony, which I assume you wanted for the Marche Militaire Francaise as well as the Symphony. I can't find it on Amazon, sorry to say. For the symphony, absolutely get the RCA Living Stereo CD with the Boston Symphony conducted by Charles Munch, No. 09026-61500. That's one of the best performances around, probably more energetic than the Ormandy. Get the CD version if you don't have an SACD player and if you can, as the CD version may sound more balanced on a strictly 2-channel CD player. I think you'll like the other things on it, Debussy's La Mer and Ibert's Escales (Ports of Call). Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 I second (or third?) Scheherazade, The Planets and Beethoven's 5th, 7th and 9th (for starters). Beethoven's Triple Concerto is also amazing and you can get it on DVD with an all-star cast including Yo-Yo Ma on Cello, Daniel Barenboim on piano and Itzhak Perlman on violin. I really enjoy watching a performance, especially one with such a fabulous cast and soundtrack. There's a lot to learn and you'll be suprised how much you'll pick up by watching. Thanks to Larry, I've become a classical fan over the past few years. A couple others that really grabbed me early on were Mendelssohn's "Fingal's Cave" and "Italian Symphony." Also, get an LP or CD of Rossini Overtures. You'll probably recognize most of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Larry, that is a FINE list! Beethoven's 9th is a must have. Covers all the territory. I would add some MAURICE RAVEL (deutche grammophon) "La Valse" or "Daphnis et Chloe" (orch. w/massed choir) for some dynamic sparkle and splendid recordings. And my fav, Faure & Durufle, "REQUIEM" (one from each), TELARC. Pipe organ, orchestra and massed choir, this one's a keeper. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Thanks, D-man! Your "Daphnis et Chloe" is a very fine recommendation. Another that hasn't got much play here as yet is Richard Strauss's "Alpine Symphony," a very powerful work. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomac Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 My two cents: Beethoven: Concerto for Piano & Orchestra No. 3 Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 Form The New World Grieg: Peer Gynt Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 My favorite piano concerto is Rachmaninov #2 (I only have a bad recording), but there are MANY composers that I also enjoy - this is a genre that is FULL of excellent work. When I asked the cd guy for Rachmananov Piano Concerto # 2, his response was, "do you want the best performance, or the best recording?", and I took the best performance. Why does it have to be that way?! Next time, I'll take the best recording...if you can't see the fire because of the smoke, what good is it? DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 My favorite classical pieces of all time are: Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 Mahler's Symphony No. 7 "Tragic" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Mahler 6 is the one sometimes called "Tragic." Mahler 7 is sometimes called "The Song of the Night." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Hello Priapus - it looks like a journey is about to begin. You mentioned suggestions for classical music and the answers have ranged from Baroque to the Romantic eras. This is why the question is a difficult one. I would suggest a trip to the library and simply try sampling from the different eras (Baroque, Classical & Romantic) to start with. I would also try different formats (symphonic, concerto, & chamber music). One source of advice comes from National Public Radio. They have put out some lists on the "essential 100) etc. These are pretty good. Good luck, but be forewarned: it's addictive, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 ---------------- On 7/19/2005 7:45:58 AM LarryC wrote: Orff: Carmina Burana -- A remarkable 20th-century work is full of driving rhythms, and primitive (12th century) texts and melodies that sound medieval rather than modern, yet, lots of 20th century percussion and vocal effects. Get the Ormandy Philadelphia Orchestra performance. ---------------- I am in search of of a good copy of this myself as I've always loved the power of this performance. Like others have already mentioned, I'd also like to add Holst: The Planets. In fact, I am listening to it right now. I found a copy at the Salvation Army store for something like $1. It is the performance by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Geoffrey Simon. Interesting that this copy also includes a piece by Paganini: "Introduction and Variation on a Theme by Rossini". Was also insteresting that when I went to the Salvation Army store, there were literaly boxes of CD's, nearly all of the classical! My guess is that somebody passed away and the family gave all those CD's away to the SA. There was a ton of Mahler, and of course plenty from the "three B's" (Beethovan, Bach, and Brahms). Took me a good hour to go through all of those, but alas, no Carmina Burana, nor Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Hmmm - may have to go back and see if any of those CD's are still around - may look again to see what I can find, given the suggestions here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sputnik Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Your profile shows that you are on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN right?) You may not want to hear explosions but if you're in the mood, the Telarc recording of the 1812 Overture is incredible for the digital cannons alone. Play it on good (Klipsch) speakers though. My dad flew in a SPD Dauntless (dive bomber) off of the USS Yorktown in WWII so I have a soft spot for someone on carrier duty. More that just offer suggestions, I'd like to send you copies of a few of my favorite classical CDs. Either post your mailing address or send me a private message with it and I'll get something off to you. I'll bet that others here might want to do likewise . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Symphonies are like concertos for full orchestra. You may also like to hear pieces that are symphonic but highlight a particular instrument. Don't forget about Concertos for specific instruments like violin and cello (my favorites). Many of the great composers only wrote one violin concerto and put everything into it - beautiful and profound. These are my favorite violin concertos: Beethoven Op.61 Brahms Op.77 Tchaikovsky Op.35 Stravinsky D maj 1931 Prokofiev No 1 Barber Op.14 Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomac Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 On 7/19/2005 10:30:42 PM sputnik wrote: Either post your mailing address or send me a private message with it and I'll get something off to you. I'll bet that others here might want to do likewise. ---------------- Count me in. Check for message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 ---------------- On 7/19/2005 7:44:08 PM Parrot wrote: Mahler 6 is the one sometimes called "Tragic." Mahler 7 is sometimes called "The Song of the Night." ---------------- Oops, thanks for the clarification! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.