Yes, I do need help. I do not have any classical music. And I want some. I'm reading Musicophilia and it's been...inspiring. Anyway, list some classical CDs I should buy. Thanks!

Classical music is my favorite
There are TONS of things to listen too... far far too many to list. However, you can't go wrong with Beethoven. In fact, his 9 Symphonies are a MUST! Here is my first recommendation for you:

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Nine-Sy … 769&sr=1-3

This has all of Beethoven's symphonies, and it's performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which in my opinion is one of the finest orchestras in the world (and for the record, I've been playing the violin for 15 some years, so I do know a bit about classical music)! I'm sure people can inundate you with tons of other recommendations (Mozart, Brahms, Bach, Hayden, etc) but trust me, this in my opinion is the finest intro do classical music. If you do not enjoy these symphonies, classical music is not for you. I'll be happy to give you my advice on anything from Mozart to Puccini to Ralph Vaughan Williams (all different and great stuff). Classical music like anything has to do with taste, but trust me on the symphonies.

cheers,

-avatar!

I have a good 1500. Want a list?

-Joshua

While I can't recommend cds, I think I could recommend pieces.
There is classical music that can relax or excite you,etc.
So it depends on what you’re looking for.

Some say Mozart helps the brain for memory or rhythm, or so I heard.
(Mozart effect)

You might want to rent Fantasia and Fantasia 2000.
They picked a lot of popular pieces so it might be good for a start.

As for other series,

I would recommend renting/hearing the Nutcracker ballet by Tchaikovsky.
PBS always airs the Baryshnikov ballet on Xmas. 

There's also the film, Amadeus.

Holst's The Planets
Jupiter was quite popular in Japan 2 years ago.
You can hear a part of the Mars score in an X-men 2 trailer.

Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals"
In particular: The Swan is a signature cello + piano piece.

And then there’s the Hooked on Classics series.
They play all the classic music to a synchronized beat; sort of like a disco.
This is an old series though.

Gran Turismo 4 had a “relaxing” Classical music CD to hear while you drive.

If you have Japanese Cds where you are, you might want to pick up Nodame Cantabile.

It's a great, lavish, fun film... BUT, although entertaining, it definitely is wrong on SO many historical levels. Plus, it's not the best way to get introduced to Mozart's music. Of course, I'm sure tons of people first discovered classical music this way (same thing for Elvira Madigan, and many other movies no doubt). So, I personally would not recommend it if you're trying to get into classical music, since Mozart is just one small (and yes important) part.  If you do watch it, and you should at some point, definitely do not consider it accurate.

cheers,

-avatar!

http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse … adeus.html

Ok, I understand your point.

Maybe it might be a film to watch when you get to an intermediate level. ;p

Say Avatar,
are you a fan of any particular violinists/cellists,etc?
like (Hilary Hahn, Sarah Chang or Itzak Perlman)

Do you have a favorite piece that they've played that you can recommend?

I love Hilary Hahn very much, shes got great talent.

One of my favorite track she plays is from Mendelssohn.
My prefered version can be found in the album: Hilary Hahn - Mendelssohn & Shostakovich Violin Concertos (2002)
The track is called "Mendelssohn - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E Minor, Op. 64: Allegro molto appassionato"

If you love Hilary or violin, you should have a listen to "The Village" score by James Newton Howard. Hilary is a featured Violinist, and WoW 

Perlman is my favorite violinist. When I started playing he was at the top of his game, and even today he's still amazing of course. Also, he's a very modest and warm person (I've spoken with him a few times). I definitely recommend Perlman for Romantic music. He is a MUST for Mendelssohn's violin concerto! I have a live recording of him playing it, and it's spectacular (Erato Records is the label). I really like his Bach violin concertos as well, although some people have claimed they're a bit too Romantic sounding. My personal take is that you can't go wrong with Perlman.

Of course Perlman is not the only amazing violinist. These days, my personal fav is Gil Shaham. He's quite spectacular, especially with crazy-hard pieces such as Paganini. Cellist wise, I really like Misha Maisky, but his CDs seem to be hard to find. I think they might be more popular outside the US. Jacqueline du Pré is legendary, and one of the greatest cellists ever. There are tons more to list, but you know it really comes down to what style you like. I enjoy Perlman because I feel there's warmth and spirit in his music as well as virtuoso. Others might prefer Jascha Heifetz. You really can't go wrong (in general) with any legend

cheers,

-avatar!

edit: yup, agreed with OWA, the Mendelssohn violin concerto is gorgeous, and I still recommend Perlman for it!

You like Gil Shaham? Oh! Then you'll like this
It's an online concert.
http://nyphil.org/attend/broadcasts/ind … astKey=150

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll look for them.
That's so awesome that you got to speak Perlman!

I've been looking into classical music myself since some while ago, but the problem is, the companies that release these works like to cut them up and put them into different compilation albums, and me, I want to listen to music as close to how it was original performed, e.g., a piece and its multiple movements on one album, not all split up.

I'm actually not fond of Classical period music (Mozart, Beethoven), but I love Baroque (Bach) and Romantic period music (just about any composer you could name under here).

The answer to that is, don't buy your classical at Circuit City or Best Buy...

www.arkivmusic.com has the largest selection out there, pretty much everything in print, lots of stuff not in print, and even 'on demand' stuff (legally) on CDRs. Though when I buy, it's usually from Amazon Marketplace, Arkiv is probably the website I visit most outside of maybe Wikipedia.

The best advice is, if you can, borrow from your local library. Here they have thousands of classical, which I know isn't true everywhere, but...

Now if you wanted a list of good composers? Well, Arkiv again. Check who has the most recordings, then look at what pieces are the most recordings. Those are the most popular. These days it's easy to buy large boxes of compelet symphony cycles and other stuff for pretty cheap, and often very very good recordings of them.

Still....it's a lot of hit and miss no matter what you do.

-Joshua

Thanks for the link avatar; I had known about Beethoven but not which of the 500 million versions are worth purchasing.

JOSHUA - You seem to know quite a bit about this topic. I'll check out the link you posted, but I have a question. In the NES version of Gauntlet, the title screen played what sounded like classical music. Perhaps 10 years ago, I was watching PBS and an orchestra was playing what sounded like the title screen music from Gauntlet. Do you know which classical CD has the music that sounds like (or is) the music from Gauntlet?

Well I assume you mean this - http://youtube.com/watch?v=-ms_beCckGc

It's a very almost stereotypical circle of 5ths progression, so it really could be a lot of things that you heard. Hell, it could have been Riders of Doom from Conan the Barbarian...or the ending of Vivaldi's Winter Concerto which has a flouish like the beginning of that Gauntlet Theme...

-Joshua

Yes, that's the one.

I think technically these would be classified as Romantic but Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" is just epic.  As is Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet", although more for the darker themes and bombastic passages than the frequently used and parodied love theme.

There was also a Mahler symphony I heard in a college music history class that appealed to my soundtrack fan sensibilities... Symphony No. 5 perhaps.  Any Mahler aficionados out there?