I've decided to try to get into classical music. I know its a pretty broad term for all the different styles that it contains but I was wondering if anyone had any good starting points. I think a complation / box set would be a good start, I've had a look on amazon but they all seem to just have a couple of Cd's with 3 or 4 minutes of the best bits (most well know) of various pieces. I'd prefer to get the whole thing as it where. Any suggestions?
Start at the popular easy ones Stu, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven, Grieg, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Elgar and so on. Personal favorites like Tchaikovsky's piano Concerto Number one, The Nutcracker, Swan lake all popular classics. Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite. And Jacqueline du Pre playing Elgar's cello concerto is something no one should miss in their lives. What will probably surprise you is that you know much of it already, good classical music is the background to our lives it is the backtrack in so many media, few people are ever really isolated from classical music. One thing I love about the modern world is that music has such a wide gamut, from pure high brow classical through punk and god knows what they call half the modern things, I like bits from all of them
Also watch "The Proms", god I just checked it starts tomorrow night not sure when it's on the tele, but I would guess First night at the proms is tomorrow night A couple of years ago they had a big slot where they had the classical soundtrack to Dr Who as a big feature, it was stunning and very moving some fantastic modern classics there and a great show they put on in the Royal Albert.
Last post for this evening, i know I made too many on one thread but Jacqueline du Pre playing Elgar's cello part one, the Adagio, always leaves me in tears, one of the most moving pieces ever, emotionally related to the great war, world war one.
Thanks for the tips mate, yet another thing you seem very knowledgable about!! Is there no bounds to your expertise and wisdom! My problem is it all seems so overwelming, but I suppose most things are when you first start aren't they. So not only do you actually have the piece of music but various conductors as well. Thats the daunting thing for me as each conductor will put there own slant on a piece of music won't they. I can see this turning expensive because wouldn't you have to buy each conductors version to see who you favoured on each compossers peice. Also isn't each symphony a whole series of pieces? Sorry if I appear thick on this but I never thought I'd be getting into this side of music.
When I was 14 studying for my O-Grades and 15 Studying for my Highers, I regularly had classical music as a quiet background next to my bed in our kitchen (yes my bedroom was the kitchen it was good, we were poor ) I was always a polymath, 6 months later I was at a Hawkwind concert at the Glasgow Apollo and a few months later I was at a Deep Purple concert with Tommy Bolin as the lead rather than Ritchie Blackmore, Bolin died within a year. You are quite right some recordings and performances are just stunning others are quite ordinary and sometimes boring, the internet is your friend here, look for best conductors, best soloists, and try out a few compilations, I will try to see if I can find some of the good ones I remember but it might take a little while as I have a lot going on right now And you are quite right a symphony will potentially have many movements, ah I just remembered another favourite where all the movements were stunning, Gustav Holst - The Planets, well worth a listen on its own. It is hard and you are right about specific performances but Google and YouTube should be good for this without having to pay masses of money, that Jacqueline du Pre one I mentioned, I listened to a 1965 performance on YouTube but I know there is a much better 1970's version still powerful in any form and to be honest worth the money in the research, it is just fun my friend.
Baroque > Classical > Romantic Music is ALWAYS the best way to go! start off with Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Pachelbel's Canon in D, JS Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and Cello Suites, Corelli's Concerti Grossi, Handel's Water Music and Arrival of Queen Sheeba, Mozart's Salzburg,Eine Kleine Nachmusik, Beethoven's Symphony Nos. 5,7 and 9, Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings etc. Get a recording from THE BEST orchestra like Viena Phil, LSO, Gewandhaus, Berliner Phil and under the baton of - Karajan, Muti, Kleiber, Barenboim etc
Wow thanks Yuna, you also sound knowledgable on this as well. I'm concerned by the fact that these compossers apparently can make pieces sound flat etc. I've just been on a few classical forums and to be honest didn't really find anything particularly useful. Way too high brow and intimidating people for me , most seem to have studied this at uni etc.
Bed in the kitchen!! Handy for breakfast in bed I suppose. Like you I'm fairly eclectic in my music, take that (SSShhhhh) to public enemy via lynard skynard with everything in between. Unfortunately I'm at work at the mo and can't access utube, as I said to Yuna there I've looked on a couple of forums and found it all rather intimidating but I'll carry on looking google anyway. Tomorrow I'll look at that Holst - the planets. Saw that mentioned somewhere tonight as well. I assume different orchestras and compossers wil have done their versions of it though, wouldn't they? Too much choice!!!
I guess YouTube is a good place to start.. And of course Spotify! I am in a similar mindset as you Stu. I am no expert in classical music, there are so many pieces that I have listened to and liked, but have no idea who created them. One thing I did find interesting is learning that serious classical fans/geeks can recognize the orchestra just by the sound of the music!
This is what makes it so confusing to me. One piece of music thats actually several pieces in reality that is recorded by different orchestras and composers in different eras so styles change. Its almost infuriating. I just want the best verision which I realise is subjective to the individual. I know after reading a couple of classical forums last night that they are way to high brow for me.
Hope its ok to do this but I've found this website. What do you all think to the suggested recordings for the start of collection? http://www.good-music-guide.com/essential/index.htm http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/6137471/100-Best-Classical-Recordings.html
No Stu, it's one piece of music, fully defined in musical scores as a very precise set of dots that musicians understand, the code is precise, the interpretation well that works the same as some modern band doing a cover version of real classic rock track, imagine some bunch of numpties coming along and doing a very bad cover of Freebird and another band doing it total justice, this is exactly what happens with orchestra's and conductor's. A great conductor and a great orchestra can get more out of a piece than lesser mortals can, it's still the same music, it's just that sometime the human's involved rise to the occasion spectacularly.
Also note that Yuna (Majah) is a professional musician, she teaches music in the Phils, I don't know her full background but she is by far and away the best qualified person on here in musical terms, her advice for you was ace!
