Topic: What was your first classical LP or CD?

[Daverz]

Dvorak New World Symphony, Giulini conducting the Philharmonia (Seraphim)

Here's the latest reissue of that,



though the scratchy Seraphim Lp I picked up recently sounds pretty good to me.  Which reminds me of some other
early Lps, the Giulini Tchaikovsky 6 with the Philharmonia, and the Beethoven Symphonies with Böhm and the VPO in an International Preview Society box set.

[Wendell_E]

I bought my first CD player on April 15th, 1984.  The store where I bought it had a small selection of CDs, and I picked up the only classical one that interested me, Gould's second recording of the Goldberg Variations.  On my way home, I stopped by another store and bought Ashkenazy's Decca recording of the Sibelius 4th symphony, with Finlandia and Luonnotar (with Söderström) for fillers and the Jessye Norman/Kurt Masur Philips disc of Strauss orchestral lieder, including the Vier letzte Lieder.

I was just listening to that Sibelius disc yesterday.  Skipped the Finlandia, though.

[Greta]

Funny, huh? Found in the Bargain Bin.

I came to ADORE that CD, and still play it from time to time. Introduced me to some great works and some outstanding Telarc discs I would recommend to this day. First time I ever heard part of The Rite of Spring (Glorification of the Earth) and it just floored me. First time I discovered the glorious first part to the famous Pomp and Circumstance March. Falla's La Vida Breve, Haydn's Creation, Haydn's Symphony 101 (The Clock, under Mackerras), excerpts of all these all fun pieces. If it were an LP it would be falling apart, as I had like no money and just played it over and over (on Saturday afternoons, on my new fancy computer since we didn't have a real CD player, and also while playing Solitaire and Mahjong). I was 12 and a nerd.

Then I got for that Christmas a real CD player and this indispensable Laserlight boxed set,
,
which had a CD each for the composers: Verdi, Wagner, Chopin, Schubert, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Strauss Jr., Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi. Just the perfect budget priced intro for a kid to the greats. So much enchanting music, Vivaldi's Four Seasons was the first thing I listened to from that box.

[Sergeant Rock]

My first classical purchase was a 7 inch 33rpm version of the 1812 Overture by Ormandy and the Philadelphia. It was an offer I saw on a box of Quaker Oats (remember their advertising slogan? Shot from guns?). It cost 50 cents.

I bought my first classical LP in January 1966...a purchase made with money from my first paycheck from my first real job. I still have the record: Vaughan Williams 8 and Elgar Enigma, Barbirolli conducting the Hallé.





It cost $1.99. I'd heard parts of RVW's Fourth during a televised Bernstein Young Person's Concert and then heard the entire symphony on the radio sometime later (on WCLV, Cleveland). When I had money finally, I went shopping. Couldn't find a Fourth, though, so I settled on the Eighth. Although I liked it, the Enigma on the second side blew me away. Made an instant Elgarian out of me.

Sarge

[Daverz]

Some more Lps from my misspent yout...

[bwv 1080]

The Amsterdam Guitar Trio's transcription of Vivaldi's Four Seasons.  Got it in High School

[techniquest]

First LP: Beethovens' 5th on the 'Music for Pleasure' label - it cost 15 shillings and would have been in 1972 (ish). I don't still have it, but I do still have the MfP Shostakovich 5 and Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet discs (both Ancerl) that I bought about a year later.
First CD: Respighi Rome Trilogy symphonic poems on Naxos - cost £4.99 in 1996

[rockerreds]

Stravinsky:The Rite of Spring(Stravinsky,Columbia Symphony Orchestra)lp

[Daverz]

Stravinsky:The Rite of Spring(Stravinsky,Columbia Symphony Orchestra)lp

Oh, yeah, I forgot that one.  I had it in this set:

[AnthonyAthletic]

My first buys, three on the same day in 1987.

Mahler 5 : MacKerras/RLPO
Holst - Elgar : Planets/Enigma : Jochum/Steinberg
Bruch - Mendelssohn : Violin concertos - Milstein/Barzin

 

[beclemund]

The first I listened to was Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf... I've reflected on it a few times to try and determine who it was that narrated it, but have not yet come to a definitive conclusion. Boris Karlov seems to be the best guess at current. I used to visit the local public library which was across the street from my aunt's house where I walked to after school every day in my elementary 80s.

My first purchases were three CDs in 1990... Szell and Cleveland on Prokofiev's Lt. Kije.... it was a strange coincidence as I was trying to track down the theme to a Sting song (Russians)... who knew it would point me right back to the start with Prokofiev. While at the record store, I picked up a recording of Rossini's overtures, I can't remember who performed them, but the store attendant recommended it and I had a few dollars to burn. I also picked up a Laserlight recording of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue/Concerto in F.

[Solitary Wanderer]

1985. 19 years old I bought a cassette.

Bach at his best. I loved it and started buying up many classical tapes by various composers many of which I still have [although I haven't had a tape player in years].

There was a Maestro Masters series on tape which was excellent and I bought many of those.

I still have the Bach tape

[Solitary Wanderer]

Oh, and first cd?

1988 I was 22 years old and I'd finally bought a cd player and the day I got the player I also bought about 6 discs to play when I got home. There were several classical and the ones I remember are:

Wagner ~ Overtures
Handel ~ Water Music
Beethoven & Schubert ~ #5 & 'Unfinished'

I don't have any of those anymore. Traded the Wagner, The Beethoven got damaged by a 'friend' so I threw it away and the Handel I gave to my Mother a couple of years ago.

[PaulR]

Schubert: 8th and 9th Symphonies Mackerras/Scottish Chamber orchestra

[Scriptavolant]

In the beginning: two DG MCs, one with the "Pastoral", the other one with Mozart piano sonata KV 310 and some piano and violin sonata. I found this stuff at home.

The first consciously purchased was Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Berliner and Karajan. "Amadeus" had a great effect on me, so later I went for Piano Concerto K482, Ashkenazy and English Chamber Orchestra.

[Holden]

First LP: Kempff LvB 8/14/23 (mono version)

First CD: Tchaikovsky Ballet Suites, Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty - Karajan/VPO

[George]

First LP: Kempff LvB 8/14/23 (mono version)

First CD

hey Holden! Can't see your image.

[Holden]

hey Holden! Can't see your image.

I'm in NZ and using a PC with Vista and can't seem to be able to paste a picture from the Amazon website. Any ideas?

[George]

I'm in NZ and using a PC with Vista and can't seem to be able to paste a picture from the Amazon website. Any ideas?

I'll quote it and see if I can't put it up. 

[orbital]

Compact Cassettes not included? Because they were my first. I bought a few of the series that Phillips had when I was 18.  I don't remember what they were called but they featured a different butterfly on each cover. I remember I bought Bach:Favorite Organ Works, Beethoven 9th Symphony, Mozart Piano Concerti and a few more.

First classical CD when I was 25 or so:

and


still have them, and still my preferred versions for the suites.