Where to start?

[Born Headless]

Hi everyone. Just signed up, metal musician attempting to learn more about classical. I'm an avid music fan but I'm not used to the way of purchasing classical music. With most music, you simply like a band and buy their album. With classical you pick from thousands of composers, then pick from dozens of pieces of work, and just when you think you're done you have to pick which group's interpretation you want to hear. It's can be a bit overwhelming to newbie like myself. Also, I have a huge music collection both CD's and vinyls but I'm still an active downloader of music. I always download first to see if I like a CD or just to have until I can save up the money to buy it. I mainly use blogs to download, I've found a lot of good music that way. So again, not condoning pirating music really, but classical doesn't exactly have any good blogs. Anyways, I guess my questions are where do I start? I'm familiar with the different time periods and forms and I'm interested in learning about them all but a bit unsure how to tackle it. Chronological? Famous composers first? Also, some suggestions on where I can listen to some stuff free would be great. No money at the moment for this and YouTube is awful. Compression galore and all the videos are split up due to the size limit. Thanks everyone!

[knight66]

Welcome BH. To go backwards here....free listening can be cone through YouTube which has an amazing range of music and performers on it. Here you often get the visual as well. So if you feed inane composer that you have heard of, you are away.

Another source is Spotify. You can download for free.....but then have to put up with 'radio'a
Adverts about every 10 minutes. For five euros a month, you can subscribe for higher quality sound and no adverts. The difference here is that Spotify holds a huge range of complete performances, sound only. YouTube has some complete pieces, but for instance almost no complete operas.

There are other metal fans here who may happen by and suggest what they think you may enjoy....perhaps some orchestral Wagner.

Are there any composers you do like? Any pieces of music you have heard and enjoy?

Mike

[Born Headless]

Welcome BH. To go backwards here....free listening can be cone through YouTube which has an amazing range of music and performers on it. Here you often get the visual as well. So if you feed inane composer that you have heard of, you are away.

Another source is Spotify. You can download for free.....but then have to put up with 'radio'a
Adverts about every 10 minutes. For five euros a month, you can subscribe for higher quality sound and no adverts. The difference here is that Spotify holds a huge range of complete performances, sound only. YouTube has some complete pieces, but for instance almost no complete operas.

There are other metal fans here who may happen by and suggest what they think you may enjoy....perhaps some orchestral Wagner.

Are there any composers you do like? Any pieces of music you have heard and enjoy?

Mike

I'll resort to YouTube if I have no other choice but the sound quality is awful and it can be a little frustrating having to transition through four different links to listen to one symphony. It really ruins the flow. That being said, it's not fair to complain about such things when you haven't bought the music. I have managed to torrent some classical however. And thanks, I'll try Spotify out.

I've heard Wagner's name tossed around quite a bit. I know nothing of him aside that he was a Romantic era composer. I'm curious however as to why you recommended him based on my love of metal?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVICiQPzo_w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzOb3UhPmig
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZKH2JP7Ie4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG_fV0r4cX0

I also enjoyed Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Those links are kind of sporadic with a couple video game scores thrown in (not sure if this forum frowns on them). Eh, really no experience at all, I just wanna get a taste for everything I suppose.

[Opus106]

Hi, and welcome aboard.

I'll resort to YouTube if I have no other choice but the sound quality is awful and it can be a little frustrating having to transition through four different links to listen to one symphony.

Put them in a queue. As for sound quality, there are some HD videos and the rare hour-long video of a concert, but not as many as one would like.

I've heard Wagner's name tossed around quite a bit. I know nothing of him aside that he was a Romantic era composer. I'm curious however as to why you recommended him based on my love of metal?

Here's one reason I offered to another metal-head.

As for free videos online, try Medici TV. It is primarily a subscription service for watching concerts online, but they also offer a few fairly high quality videos for free. http://www.medici.tv/

And if you happen to like Wagner, you may also end up liking Mahler (doctors don't recommend this ).

And there are also Classical stations on the Internet. Some recommedations from GMG members are available here.

[Born Headless]

  Thanks, I'll check it all out!

[knight66]

Re the Wagner suggestion, we have had a few metal fans over the years who came to all sorts partly through Wagner. Some of the orchestral extracts of his operas is pretty full on. I.  See Mahler has for similar reasons been suggested. But there is no right or wrong way and I see you mention Vivaldi. He wrote some very pleasant concertos for mandolin and lute. If you enjoy his music, do give Bach a go. The Brandenburg Concertos and the violin concertos are a good start.

Mike

[mszczuj]

The Brandenburg Concertos and the violin concertos are a good start.

Try Cembalo Concerto BWV 1052.

[North Star]

I don't think Viktoria Mullova will mind if you sample her recording of J.S.Bach's Chaconne (or Ciaconna) for solo violin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB14amsM3jo

Best thing would just listen to a lot of different stuff, and expand by listening to more of a composer you liked, similar music from other composers, or something that influenced the composer.
Some suggestions (in no particular order):
Beethoven's overtures, symphonies, string quartets, and piano sonatas are something anyone interested in classical music should hear.
Prokofiev (piano sonatas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjhxYFb72q0, violin sonatas, Romeo & Juliet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LSxpxjMQ9c  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zikCCNyuPUw&hd=1)
Rachmaninoff (Symphonic Dances, piano concertos, preludes for piano)
Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastique http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsq-xeGWRBI)
Tchaikovsky (Symphonies 4,5,6, The Slavonic March http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0sgKCetlb8&hd=1, Swan Lake http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S76CGGPqI3s)
Stravinsky (The Firebird http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ashMSM_kc4M, Rite of the Spring http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf0e_n49dcQ)
Brahms (concertos, symphony no.3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWyzVgHu2ZI)
Schumann (piano concerto, piano quintet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9krhBwiJg9k, Solo piano music: Kinderszenen, Piano Sonatas, Fantasy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp3gQuLscW4)
Sibelius (Andante Festivo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk8JhFFkPtE, Lemminkäinen's Return http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qmy6dFzHp0&hd=1, other tone poems, violin concerto)
Schubert (late string quartets, string quintet, late piano sonatas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0E7sVrSjhk, piano pieces)
Mozart (piano concertos 20-24, 40th symphony, operatic overtures)
Chopin (solo piano: ballades, scherzos, preludes, mazurkas, etc)
Mendelssohn (violin concerto, Symphonies 3 & 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLYX4pZEZP4&hd=1, Hebrides overture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcogD-hHEYs&hd=1)
Debussy
Youtube is very good for finding new music, although the sound quality can be awful. Still, that shouldn't stop you from hearing the greatness in the music. Besides, not all uploads suffer too much in audio quality, at least of the relatively recent uploads, like this one of Thomas Zehetmair playing Eugene Ysaye's sonata for solo violin no.2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F33oStWeTR0

[ibanezmonster]

Hi! 
Who are your favorite metal bands/musicians?
(If Andy were here, he'd be yet another person suggesting Wagner- he's an excellent guitarist who has recorded an album with Graham Bonnet).

And of course, whenever you get through the many long lists of recommendations you'll get, be sure to check out Penderecki and Xenakis. 

As for downloading/obtaining music... if you don't have money, there are plenty of decent torrents out there- and I've seen some good blogs, but honestly, I haven't saved any links to them  ...

[North Star]

Hi! 
Who are your favorite metal bands/musicians?
(If Andy were here, he'd be yet another person suggesting Wagner- he's an excellent guitarist who has recorded an album with Graham Bonnet).

And of course, whenever you get through the many long lists of recommendations you'll get, be sure to check out Penderecki and Xenakis. 

Cool, who's Andy?

Schnittke too, from the modern (20th century) composers

Liszt's Années de Pelerinage, Totentanz, piano concertos are also worth checking.
Dvorak was accidentally left off, too. Cello Concerto, symphonies 7,8,9, string quartets, piano quintets, piano trios
Janacek: Sinfonietta, Taras Bulba, piano music
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Saint-Saens: piano concertos, violin concerto no.3, Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, Havanaise, Danse Macabre
Gustav Holst: Planets
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (solo piano and Ravel's orchestration)
Ravel: String Quartet, Piano Trio, Sonatas for violin & piano, and cello & violin, La Valse, Gaspard de la nuit
And Bartok, too.

[ibanezmonster]

Cool, who's Andy?

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php?action=profile;u=3725

Schnittke too, from the modern (20th century) composers

Yep, another good one!

[jochanaan]

Born Headless, if you're into metal you might also like some of the more extreme "contemporary" composers, especially the ones who write and construct electronic music.  Edgard Varèse and Karlheinz Stockhausen are the "godfathers" here; their work is the foundation for most later electronica.  (Varèse was Frank Zappa's favorite composer, so there's probably a "family" link to your favorite metal band! )  Others that worked in similar idioms (not always electronic, but using similar methods and getting similar-sounding results) are Milton Babbitt, Iannis Xenakis, Gyorgy Ligeti, and Pierre Boulez.

("Contemporary" is a relative term here; Varèse's life dates are 1883-1965. )

And how can I fail to mention Elliott Carter, born in 1908 and still composing cutting-edge music!

[Josquin des Prez]

Cool, who's Andy?

Our resident viking.

To the original poster. Trying to a find a bridge between classical and metal may help you ease your way in, but ultimately, you have to realize that we are talking about very different genres and that what makes classical truly great has little if anything to do with the things you like the most about metal music (i come from metal too, so i know what i'm talking about). Eventually, you'll have to come to terms with what classical is, rather then what you would want it to be, based on your current musical preferences.

[Josquin des Prez]

Also, some suggestions on where I can listen to some stuff free would be great.

Heh, if you have no scruples you can rely on peer to peer. Torrents tend to come and go, but emule servers are still relatively filled with classical music, and there's places like AvaxHome for some hard to find stuff.

[Geo Dude]

To the original poster. Trying to a find a bridge between classical and metal may help you ease your way in, but ultimately, you have to realize that we are talking about very different genres and that what makes classical truly great has little if anything to do with the things you like the most about metal music (i come from metal too, so i know what i'm talking about). Eventually, you'll have to come to terms with what classical is, rather then what you would want it to be, based on your current musical preferences.

Agreed with this and I come from a similar background.  That said, I think Stravinsky's Rite of Spring is a good start, metalheads seem to love it and it can help ease one in.  Same with Bartok's string quartets and, yes, Wagner.  There's also a large metalhead fan base for Holst's Mars, The Bringer of War.

[ibanezmonster]

Our resident viking.

To the original poster. Trying to a find a bridge between classical and metal may help you ease your way in, but ultimately, you have to realize that we are talking about very different genres and that what makes classical truly great has little if anything to do with the things you like the most about metal music (i come from metal too, so i know what i'm talking about). Eventually, you'll have to come to terms with what classical is, rather then what you would want it to be, based on your current musical preferences.

Yep.

Heh, if you have no scruples you can rely on peer to peer. Torrents tend to come and go, but emule servers are still relatively filled with classical music, and there's places like AvaxHome for some hard to find stuff.

Ah, yes... AvaxHome. I would have recommended this is I'd had remembered.

[Mirror Image]

Welcome aboard, Born Headless (interesting screen name btw ).

Classical music is such a vast genre of music that it would take your entire life to just explore one aspect of it. I'm into 20th Century music. Not to tell you a long, boring story, but I came to classical through jazz. Many people came from many other genres. I have found that by listening to jazz it helped me appreciate the complexity of the music more, especially from a harmonic standpoint. Since you come from a metal background, you're probably, and I'm making an assumption here, looking for composers that used strong rhythms and are more into structure since so much metal is built around this aspect of music. I would say to look into the music of Bartok, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Janacek, Prokofiev, and Respighi. From here, you can go in a multitude of directions. The reason I don't suggest Wagner, Bruckner, and even Mahler is that I feel they're music isn't for a novice. The composers I suggested may not be either, but I think you may find more in common with them than you do the other composers.

As another user mentioned, this music is so vast and suggesting composers to you seems kind of like guessing game because all composers are different from each other. They all had their own ideals and emotions. You can either take .01% or 100% of what I'm saying with you, but, ultimately, it is you who have to find out for yourself what composers you relate to, which, yes, is a daunting task, but once you get into the genre and make some headway with it, it won't seem so daunting because you would have acquired the know-how to find the composers you relate to. Nobody said it was easy, but the best things in life require effort in order to understand them with any kind of confidence.

Best of luck to you.

[Opus106]

The reason I don't suggest Wagner, Bruckner, and even Mahler is that I feel they're music isn't for a novice.

That assumes that there is some sort of natural progression in how one (should?) appreciates music (even as a purely sonic form).

[The new erato]

My first love in classical music was Bruckner (this is around 1974). I was pretty obsessed. Don't listen to him much these days, though I'm slowly picking my way through the Wand Sony box, courtesy of David W. Of my early faves, those I still listen to regularly are Beethoven and Bach, occasionally Schubert. There's a lesson in that, at least for me.

Bruckner can be pretty hypnotic, but, for me, too one-dimensional to last.

[Mirror Image]

That assumes that there is some sort of natural progression in how one (should?) appreciates music (even as a purely sonic form).

I understand, but I gave my reason for not pursuing those composers right away. The bottom line, though, is simple: nobody knows how the other person will perceive the music. I only made a few suggestions. It's up to this member as to where they should go.