Basic guide to classical music

[Maya]

I do not have a great knowledge of classical music, but do know a little of Mozart and Beethoven. I'd like to put together a collection for myself to listen to, and wondered if people could recommend composers or pieces.

Thanks

Maya

[Krummhorn]

Hi Maya ... happy to have you aboard in this forum.

Here's a website that might be of use to introduce you to classical music:
BBC - Music - A quick guide to Classical

Usually, a composer has a certain 'style' or 'sound characteristic' that is quite unique ... one has to acquire a liking for certain composers ... The website above has some composers imbedded in the article. Personally, I can't think offhand of any classical music composer that I particularly dislike.

Hopefully, others will chime in here and give some of their valued input.

[rojo]

Personally I go on a work by work basis, although giovanni`s right about each composer's style being unique. Maybe try something from each of the time periods?

[ParryHotter]

Welcome to the community!

I'll try to go a different route and give you a sample tasting of several composers:

J.S. Bach:

Anything, really. Bach is harder to digest than most composers, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it! If you feel up to a gigantic work, Glenn Gould's 1981 version of the Goldberg Variations is INCREDIBLE (but about 40+ minutes in length). Otherwise, the Brandenburg Concerti are a good start.

Beethoven:

I'd probably start with any of the symphonies (try to get all the movements of 1 and listen to all of them at one time) but again its hard to find something thats not any good.

Brahms:

He's the composer of the most famous lullabye of all time, but there's so much more to him. Again any of his symphonies or concerti will be a good start.

Chopin:

A solely piano composer, I'd recommend my personal favorite Ballade No. 3 in Ab Major, but you could choose any of the 4 ballades he composed.

Mozart:

Some people say all Mozart sounds the same, and to me some of it can be quite dry. Everybody has heard the opening theme of Eine Kleine Nachtmusizk, but there's 3 other movements to it too!

Liszt:

Some people claim Liszt was just a showman, and sometimes (well, a lot of the time) his music reflects this. I find it to be very musically rewarding and complex while at the same time technically demanding. Everyone has heard part of his Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, but you could also check out his Mephisto Waltz, Liebstraum No. 3 (very very beautiful) and the etude Un Sospiro (also very beautiful).

Rachmaninoff:

Most people prefer the Piano Concerto No. 3, but I'm going to recommend the Piano Concerto No. 2 (one of my all time favorites!)

Tchaikovsky:

Lots of good stuff here, from the 1812 Overture (some argue its not classical or even good, but I disagree), to the Nutcracker Ballet (or Suite), but you can also really dig your teeth into his Piano Concerto No. 1 (kinda long at about 35 minutes).

Vivaldi:

Wrote hundreds of concerti for various instruments, the 4 most famous being violin concertos known as the 4 different seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. They are rarely played together, because the soloist would most likely faint from the physical exertion, but that doesn't mean you can't listen to all 4 in a row!

That should be a pretty good "sample pack", and by no means would I ask that you listen to all of them, but that should help get you started and give you some "hits" from different eras.

However, if you would like some more modern classics, read on:

Gershwin:

I'll just list my favorites

Rhapsody in Blue
Piano Concerto in F Major
Variations on "I Got Rhythm" for piano and orchestra
An American in Paris

Copland:

Again, some well known pieces here (you'll recognize several parts)

Rodeo (one of the parts here is the ultra famous Hoe-Down "Wheres the Beef music")
Fanfare for the Common Man
Billy the Kid
Appalachian Spring

You could probably find a CD or 2 for each composer which would have all of these on it. Both of these composers are American 20th Century composers. Gershwin's music could be described as classical jazz (or jazzy classical maybe), and Copland is just pure, American music.

One more to go, and thats if you like piano rags:

Scott Joplin. If you like ragtime music, absolutely anything will be great. If not, maybe he won't be your cup of tea.


Good luck, happy listening, and welcome again!