Introductions and recommendations!

[dandroos]

Hi!

I'm new here so I thought I'd introduce myself and hopefully start on a journey of making friends with people who like the same things I do!

I'm 32 from Essex (don't hold that against me! I'm housetrained!).  I was brought up in a musical family.  Mum was a classical pianist.  Dad was/is a guitar teacher.  It was only natural that I would end up playing...the drums(!) in various rock bands between the ages of 16 and 30.  Over the last few years, I have become a little bit cynical about rock and pop music in the way it's constructed and presented so I have been seeking out classical music more and more for nourishment of my soul and I've fallen head over heels with what I've heard over that time.  Unfortunately, the people who are in my social circles think I'm a crashing bore for liking classical music so instead of trying to filter my tastes and personality for their benefit I thought I'd try and make new friends!

I'm currently learning the piano again (my last piano lesson was when I was 10!) and I'm picking it up pretty well but still have quite a distance to go before I can give recitals and such!  I'm currently learning my favourite piece of piano music, which is Debussy's Reverie and with every bar conquered I feel confidence gradually building!

I would love to attend some concerts in future, so I will be keeping my eye on listings for pieces that I'm familiar with and like.  However, I would be very interested to receive your recommendations on what to try based on what I like, especially by some lesser known composers.  In no particular order, my favourite pieces of music are...

Vaughan Williams – 5th Symphony
Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis
Debussy – Reverie, Arabesque 1
Aaron Copland – Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man
Gustav Holst – The Planets Suite
Mahler – 5th Symphony
Barber – Adagio for Strings
Chopin – Nocturnes, Sonata 2 in B-Flat Minor
Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite
Michael Nyman – Peter Greenaway film music
Phillip Glass – Glassworks
Ravel – Pavane pour une infante defunte

There's more that my brain can't quite summon up right now but that's hopefully good enough to get an idea of what you may think I'll like.

Hope to chat with you soon

Dave x

[mc ukrneal]

Welcome to the forum!

You will get lots of recommendations - all different I am sure! But I will only touch upon a few. For the Planets, you can read Peter's review of the available versions on the Holst Planets thread. I like Steinberg, but there is something for everyone.

For Debussy, I would recommend a pianist named Zoltan Kocsis. First of all, the name is cool! But more importantly, his playing is outstanding. You could find it in a single disc:


On Copland, Appalachian Spring actually has more than one version (one of which is the original scored for 13 instruments). For orchestra, you can find many good version. I like Bernstein and Tilson Thomas in Copland, so would recommend both (Bernstein for the concert suite and Tilson Thomas for full orchestral version). If you have Amazon prime, the Bernstein is free.
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For Chopin Nocturnes, I'd go with Rubinstein, also free on Amazon Prime (though it may be cheaper to buy a rubinstein set of him playing Chopin, often available for under $20):
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For Grieg, there are plenty of choices, but I have always loved this disc (the other pieces are great too, and by the way, there are also versions of the whole piece - this one is the Suites):
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Well, that gives you a start. Enjoy the journey!!!

[North Star]

Hello and welcome, Dave x (the x will come in handy as there are other Daves/Davids on the forum.)

I would love to attend some concerts in future, so I will be keeping my eye on listings for pieces that I'm familiar with and like.  However, I would be very interested to receive your recommendations on what to try based on what I like, especially by some lesser known composers.  In no particular order, my favourite pieces of music are...

Vaughan Williams – 5th Symphony
Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis
Debussy – Reverie, Arabesque 1
Aaron Copland – Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man
Gustav Holst – The Planets Suite
Mahler – 5th Symphony
Barber – Adagio for Strings
Chopin – Nocturnes, Sonata 2 in B-Flat Minor
Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite
Michael Nyman – Peter Greenaway film music
Phillip Glass – Glassworks
Ravel – Pavane pour une infante defunte

Arvo Pärt - Fratres, Cantus, Tabula Rasa, Stabat Mater (the ECM recordings 'Arbos' and 'Tabula Rasa')
Sibelius - Lemminkäinen, the 3rd and 5th symphonies, the violin concerto, Luonnotar (etc)
Prokofiev - Romeo & Juliet, piano concertos (nos 1, 2, 3 for starters), violin concertos, and of course more of the piano music, including the 10 pieces from R&J.
Ravel - Miroirs, Gaspard de la nuit, Piano Trio
Barber - Violin Concerto, Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Rachmaninoff - Symphonic Dances, Paganini Rhapsody
Schoenberg - 5 Pieces for Orchestra

[Minor Key]

Welcome! I can relate to what you said about your friends thinking you are boring for listening to classical music. I get that all the time, since I don't know anyone else that listens to classical music. My family even thinks I'm weird. I've never been moved by music the way that classical music moves me. You will find this site to be a great help to you, I know it has been for me.  Glad you are here!

[knight66]

A warm welcome Dave from Hampshire. I hope you enjoy yourself here. Folk have given a lot of good suggestions, many of which can be tried out on Youtube before taking any plunges. What people say on this site can get your credit card throbbing.

Here are a couple of further pieces you might enjoy.

Vaughn Williams The Lark Ascending is in the same pastoral mode as his Tallis Fantasia.
Ravel; Suite from Daphnis et Chloe, that is often paired with Debussy's La Mer, there is a great disc on DG of those with Karajan conducting.

Mike

[aligreto]

Hello Dave x and welcome aboard. I am sure that you will enjoy your time here and I know that you will find lots to interest you. Good luck with your odyssey.

[Hollywood]

Howdy and welcome to the forum. 

[vandermolen]

Welcome from me too.

You might also like:

Vaughan Williams: Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus
Copland: Symphony No.3

Happy listening!

[Mirror Image]

Schoenberg - 5 Pieces for Orchestra

We don't want to scare the man, Karlo.