Hello! I am new to classical music. Can you guys give me some suggestions of what to listen to?
Quote from: Shatera on January 30, 2023, 07:23:36 PMHello! I am new to classical music. Can you guys give me some suggestions of what to listen to?
Hello Shatera and welcome! It can certainly be intimidating to explore classical music, because there is much of it out there and it can be difficult to know where to begin. Often people recommend some well-known works by the most famous composer and that's of course one way to start. There is no right and wrong ways to do this. There is only our own ways. Exploration should be interesting, enjoyable and fun. You can for example sample works from different time periods: Early music (before 1400), Renaissance (1400-1600), Baroque (1600-1750), Classisism (1750-1830), Romantic/late romantic (1830-1920) and Post war/contemporary (1920-today) and see how much you are into it. Also, you can try different genre (solo instrument, chamber, orchestral, choral, etc.). I think oftentimes orchestral music from the romantic era are the "easy way" into the World or classical music.
Grieg's
Piano Concerto Op. 16 for example.
I'm like you but in rock music. You might also want to consider a traversal through time depending on the style you like as music generally gets more complex/bigger through time, sometimes it's worthwhile to start early like Vivaldi's Four Seasons, then Handel, etc., up through modern music rather than starting with something overly complicated and modern. It's not a bad idea to track down a course (Robert Greenberg has excellent courses on overview of the Symphony that spans centuries but connects them logically with a good blend of informational and humor without being condescending). This approach is sort of like learning about wine tasting or any art, learning how to appreciate what makes something good. One other idea, if you are a new fan of classical music, what music have you heard that you liked so much to explore further, and we can suggest a reasonable next step.
The easiest way to become familiar with the basic repretoire is internet radio stations. When you hear something you like, make a note of it. I like KUSC.
https://www.kusc.org/radio/how-to-listen/
Quote from: Shatera on January 30, 2023, 07:23:36 PMHello! I am new to classical music. Can you guys give me some suggestions of what to listen to?
Hello and welcome! See how you like these works for starters:
Haydn: Symphony No. 94
Mozart: Symphony No. 38
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Brahms: Symphony No. 1
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1
Schumann: Piano Concerto
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Mendelssohn: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Overture
Mendelssohn: "Hebrides" Overture
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
I recommend Drei Sonaten #1, WoO 47 (composed 1782-83) by L. V. Beethoven. He literally wrote it when he was 12 years old.
Remember this topic...
https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,32285.0.html
:o >:D
Tschaikowsky is always a good composer to start with.
I have always found the music of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg to be very suitable and rewarding for beginners. Not at all because it is "light" (much of Grieg's best music can be quite sombre) or would be lacking compositional substance, to the contrary: because it possesses a rare combination of very high accessibility paired with great depth.
Perhaps to make the point clearer: Gustav Mahler's music (which I love) I wouldn't be recommending to a beginner, because whatever somebody might be perceiving Mahler's music to be lacking in, it most certainly wont't be depth, but, for this particular purpose, it might be its (relative) accessibility.
But back to Edvard Grieg... I would recommended (not necessarily in this order):
Holberg Suite (for string orchestra)
Lyric Suite (arrangement of his piano pieces for orchestra)
String Quartet
Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2
Piano Concerto
Quote from: arpeggio on January 10, 2025, 09:30:25 PMTschaikowsky is always a good composer to start with.
My earliest classical listening included the
Nutcracker Suite, the
1812 Overture and a live performance of the
Capriccio italien, and these have all remained solid favorites ever since.
Quote from: GoranTch on April 25, 2025, 04:35:34 AMI have always found the music of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg to be very suitable and rewarding for beginners. Not at all because it is "light" (much of Grieg's best music can be quite sombre) or would be lacking compositional substance, to the contrary: because it possesses a rare combination of very high accessibility paired with great depth.
Perhaps to make the point clearer: Gustav Mahler's music (which I love) I wouldn't be recommending to a beginner, because whatever somebody might be perceiving Mahler's music to be lacking in, it most certainly wont't be depth, but, for this particular purpose, it might be its (relative) accessibility.
But back to Edvard Grieg... I would recommended (not necessarily in this order):
Holberg Suite (for string orchestra)
Lyric Suite (arrangement of his piano pieces for orchestra)
String Quartet
Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2
Piano Concerto
There's also of course, In the Hall of the Mountain King. Not necessarily lighthearted or even easy to play or perform, but, it is familiar and recognizable. It's been in a lot of animated movies and even commericals (not that I'm in a fan of that, but that's a different story for another day ;D )
Quote from: Karl Henning on April 25, 2025, 05:46:08 AMMy earliest classical listening included the Nutcracker Suite, the 1812 Overture and a live performance of the Capriccio italien, and these have all remained solid favorites ever since.
Nutcracker suite is definitely also an iconic piece and very recognizable to the general public. Also not a bad place to start once someone has learned the basics, as the are a lot of easy kid piano versions of various themes or movements within the Nutcracker Suite.
If one has access to a streaming service, following the What are you listening 2 now? (https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,29166.0/) thread would provide a varied selection 8) .