Recommended Classical?

[BusinessEvolution]

Hey all,

Is there any classical music people can recommend, apparently I have access to a decent collection (100 cds!?) but I haven't really listened for quite a long time. I was looking for symphonies and piano scores. I'm probably going to check out whats in storage on the weekend.

Currently on my list to look for is:
Dmitri Shostakovitch and Peter Tchaikovsky, which I think I saw there thought they were recorded by the USSR Symphony Orchestra (how random old are these recordings lol)
Dvorak (my father was listening to a few of these cds... 6 years ago, so possibly they are there)
Mahler
Franz Schubert
Brahms

Someone recommended Haydn but I don't think i've ever seen any of those cds in the collection.

Our family has no clue whats in our cd collection, we all pooled our cds ages ago, we have a few. Theres a whole bunch of random organ music that needs to burn but apart from that I think theres good chances of finding good stuff. Its my theory that one of our older relatives that passed away, was secretly an organ player and that he purchased a lot of his own music, maiden name was the same as the artist on the cd spooky o.O.

I usually listen to rock, metal, electro, even sometimes pop/house, though apparently the Stagedac I ordered which will eventually come does great justice to classicial music.

[BusinessEvolution]

Why do I get the feeling everyone is like me and doesn't really listen to classical anymore

[ryan]

I don't mind classical but it's not something I'd seek out to add to my collection. The closest I go in my regular rotation is the Requiem For A Dream soundtrack by Clint Mansell and Kronos Quartet.

[Benno1988]

I have the best of classical. 30 songs or so in flac. Goes alright if you want something mellow whilst you do something else.

[theeyealtering]

I listen to classical a fair bit, but I'm far from an expert. Its such a vast category that it makes it hard to make specific recommendations without knowing exactly what you like.
If youre unfamiliar with the genre, it's probably a good idea to start by looking for good quality recordings of the more famous stuff from the masters; Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, Chopin, etc. This may sound obvious, but they are popular for a reason and I don't believe in making a virtue out of obscurity.

[Drubbing]

I listen to classical a fair bit, but I'm far from an expert. Its such a vast category that it makes it hard to make specific recommendations without knowing exactly what you like.
If youre unfamiliar with the genre, it's probably a good idea to start by looking for good quality recordings of the more famous stuff from the masters; Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, Chopin, etc. This may sound obvious, but they are popular for a reason and I don't believe in making a virtue out of obscurity.

This.

Good quality recordings means those with good orchestras and well known conductors - Karajan, Previn, Rattle, Beecham, Bernstein, Mehta and Solti.

[BusinessEvolution]

Thanks everyone, took at look at the collection, was a bit disappointed because there was a lot of really obscure stuff that I hadn't heard of before lol. A large number of American and Russian cds o.O.

I am about the third person to have a look at the collection so some stuff I was after was gone already. Then I was told I had only looked through the first 100, theres 200 more cds and originally there were 500. The other ones are harder to get at in storage so I'll have to wait till another time.



We threw out a shite load of organ music aside from the 100 cds we looked at lol. Hopefully no one was interested in George Wrights organ music.

[BusinessEvolution]

My favourite cd so far is Rachmaninov, London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Wyn Morris. 1988.

Most of these cds are super old, like 87-94. They must be from the first cds available. A lot of them are scratched and scuffed. My cds which are at most 10-15 years old are nearly flawless.

[dc]

the ABC Classic 100 CD sets are great for hearing new music

[BusinessEvolution]

the ABC Classic 100 CD sets are great for hearing new music

Hmmm I have about 40-70% or more of the the tracks on various CDs but it could be a good buy, I very much doubt I can be bothered changing CDs every five seconds. Plus the collection that I acquired is somewhat rooted lol. I don't have any Australian recordings either so I might purchase it just for that reason

[Antihippy]

What are the usual recommended orchestras and conductors?

Though I like piano solo/concertos more so performers would be nice too.

Thing that makes it hard for me to get into classical is that it relies more on the performers rather than the composers because well, they're dead. :P

[ihasmario]

Or if you dont like classical music

[Riverback]

More of the Rock Classical please

[Drubbing]

What are the usual recommended orchestras and conductors?

Though I like piano solo/concertos more so performers would be nice too.

Thing that makes it hard for me to get into classical is that it relies more on the performers rather than the composers because well, they're dead. :P

That's very true. There are some versions of some classics I find too slow and ponderous, depending on the spin the conductors give it, sometimes ignoring the composers intent. But then, "Adagio" isn't a bpm measurement, it's saying, 'this is the vibe of this bit'.

The Berlin Philharmonic is considered the best in the world. Simon Rattle is their principal conductor, and it's like being the coach of Man Utd, only with more uptown prestige and worse pay.

Others biggies are the Vienna, London, Chicago and Cleveland Symphony. The prinicpal conductor of any such orchestra is a coveted position, and so you usually get the best. Although some orchestras established their rep with a world class conductor (and therefore attract and retain the best musos), such as the 25 years Szell headed the Cleveland, and Karajan at the Berlin Phil for nearly 40 years.

[theeyealtering]

The Berlin Philharmonic is considered the best in the world.

Ha! Was just watching this channel when I thought of this thread...
http://www.youtube.com/user/BerlinPhil?feature=watch

A prime example of what we said earlier (a great orchestra/conductor, great quality recording, famous composer and piece). I got this whole symphony from hdtracks and it's real good. I don't know all that much about classical but I know I like this.