Ahoy!

[North Star]

Not if you jump really high!!

What about Messiaen's Des Canyons aux Etoiles?

You'd recommend Canyons?? It's only 100 minutes, granted, but.. 

[EigenUser]

You'd recommend Canyons?? It's only 100 minutes, granted, but.. 

I was joking. I just wanted to see your reaction.

I would seriously recommend Messiaen's L'Ascension for orchestra. Very beautiful outer (1st and 4th) movements, mystical 2nd movement, and exciting, glorious 3rd movement.

[Linus]

Welcome to the forum, Linus, hope you'll have fun here!
I'm more inclined to romantic and early contemporary composers, but I started my musical journey from Mozart and Beethoven too, as well as from Haydn and Bach, and I'm still very fond of those composers. Kempff is an excellent choice for Beethoven's piano sonatas, though my favourite version is the Ashkenazy.
What about Haydn's symphonies and Bach's Well Tempered Clavier?

Thank you kindly!

I've heard some Ashkenazy versions too, I actually prefer him for the Pathétique, it's amazing.

I'm basically in a Haydn exploration phase right now, so we'll see! Quite a few of his piano sonatas are very pleasurable.

The Well-Tempered Clavier is a feast, and yet it was long ago I heard it now.

[Linus]

I think you'd like the big Murray Perahia box, which is a steal, although it seems like a lot at first glance it is huge. There are lots of smaller boxes for individual composers too. Check the super duper cheap bargains thread regularly.

Thanks for the tip! I often use Spotify Premium or the like for easy access though, but the box looks scrumptious.

[North Star]

The Well-Tempered Clavier is a feast, and yet it was long ago I heard it now.

In that case, I'd certainly recommend Shostakovich's Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87, and Hindemith's Ludus Tonalis from 20th century.

[Linus]

Schubert's chamber music is a wonderful thing, Linus (and Nate).

Indeed! Thanks for those recommendations.

Paul Lewis I've only heard in combination with Mark Padmore singing Winterreise and Schwanengesang, but I'll give the "solo" a go.

[Linus]

Welcome aboard. Many here are pretty well-oriented in 20th century music, especially the 1st half.

Just a few friendly recommendations ..

1. Webern, Symphony op. 21
2. Stravinsky, Symphonies of Wind Instruments
3. Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta
4. Ligeti, Piano Études
5. Tippett, Piano Concerto
6. Gubaidulina, Offertorium
7. Birtwistle, Secret Theatre
8. Stockhausen, Oktophonie

1. Yes, also check out Webern's Six Pieces for Orchestra
2. Yes
3. YES! -- my favorite piece ever (since I was 16), if I had to pick one. For something slightly more accessible, try the famous Concerto for Orchestra
4. YES! -- I recommend etudes #2 (Cordes a Vide), #4 (Fanfares), and #8 (Fem). Especially #4

For the Ligeti, add his gorgeous Clocks and Clouds for good measure. It isn't terribly difficult to listen to if you aren't quite used to 20C music yet, though it may be a stretch. It was my entryway into Ligeti and beyond.

I'll also add Messiaen's L'Ascension for orchestra, which isn't at all hard to listen to if you can manage late Debussy, I think.

You'll find that we are just waiting to give suggestions .

Excellent! This is just what I need.

James is always James, but Nate, do you really think those pieces are the best way to introduce someone who's listening mostly to Classical era? Of course it might do the trick, even if they are very far removed from that style.

Ah, yes, it could be that I need a "softer" introduction. On the other hand, I'm quite willing to plough through stuff until I "get it". As long as I know these recommendations are top-notch.

[Linus]

I'd recommend a gentler approach. Prokofiev 1, Stravinsky Jeu de Cartes, Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Copland Appalachian Spring, Ravel Piano Concerto in G, Barber Symphony 1.

"Prokofiev 1" means his First Symphony, correct?

I almost posted a list myself when posting first time in this thread, with Prokofiev, Stravinsky (Le Sacre, and Pulcinella), Barber (VC), Copland & Ravel (among others) and even two of those works (Appalachian Spring and Ravel PC in G, in addition to Le Tombeau de Couperin)
For Prokofiev, I'd also recommend Romeo & Juliet - it's of course a long work, but there's no need to listen to all of it in one sitting. Shostakovich's Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87. And Bartók was on the list, too - Dance Suite. Others I'd recommend include

Martinu's Nonet
The 'pieces' works by the 2nd Viennese School composers (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern)
Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
Pärt's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten & Fratres
Satie's piano music and Socrate
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue & An American in Paris

Thanks for these! I almost envy myself for having so much new music to look forward to.

[EigenUser]

About the Schubert you've heard

Oh, I missed that entirely. I recently played through Schubert's Unfinished at an informal open orchestra rehearsal last month with a community orchestra. I also used to love the Trout Quintet when I was younger, but I haven't heard it in a while. It's certainly nice and I'm sure I'll come to know more as time goes on. I have the score of the 4th, but I haven't really looked at it yet.

Thank you so much for your warm welcome, everyone! And I'm overwhelmed by your ambitious recommendations, thanks.

It will be fun to explore those eras as well. I used to have trouble with Mozart too, I think I found him "too perfect", as though he provided no challenge to the listener. He can still be a bit too friendly on the ears, to be honest.

I thought composition discussion was the only thing you guys did over here.

Chopin I find excellent, very expressive. His pieces have great depth and are still so easy to listen to.

I'm fairly new to Schumann, but colour me impressed. The music is extremely emotional, yet so well structured I think it works anyway.

Brahms; I have some trouble with that fellow. I think I'll start a new thread about it in the Beginner's Forum.

I have trouble with Brahms, too. I like the sound of his music, but it isn't long until I start to get bored.

Schumann is another favorite of mine, as is Mendelssohn. Schumann's Concertpiece for Four Horns and Orchestra as well as the 4th symphony are among my favorite pieces.

Don't forget Ravel! If the Daphnis and Chloe is too large and imposing, try the smaller and more digestible ballet Ma Mere L'Oye for orchestra. La Valse is a very exciting (ultimately terrifying, in the last minute or so) piece, too.

[North Star]

Oh, I missed that entirely. I recently played through Schubert's Unfinished at an informal open orchestra rehearsal last month with a community orchestra. I also used to love the Trout Quintet when I was younger, but I haven't heard it in a while. It's certainly nice and I'm sure I'll come to know more as time goes on. I have the score of the 4th, but I haven't really looked at it yet.

The G major String Quartet, D. 887!

Don't forget Ravel! If the Daphnis and Chloe is too large and imposing, try the smaller and more digestible ballet Ma Mere L'Oye for orchestra. La Valse is a very exciting (ultimately terrifying, in the last minute or so) piece, too.

Hear, hear! I'd recommend the piano concertos, and Piano Trio for starters.

[North Star]

"Prokofiev 1" means his First Symphony, correct?

I'd say it means his first Violin Sonata, but Ken might disagree. 

[EigenUser]

That's the spirit, I like your sense of adventure 

Me too!

This may or may not be of interest to you: http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,22986.0.html

I'd like to update it. I stopped partly due to laziness, but partly due to not knowing what piece I wanted to write about next. The audio clips took a long time to make, too.

[Karl Henning]

Here are a couple of testers, Linus:

The de Falla Harpsichord Concerto (the soloist is my friend and colleague Paul Cienniwa)

http://www.youtube.com/v/hB5qCuVIQRE

And Stravinsky's Scherzo à la russe

http://www.youtube.com/v/aOcNp4lQPYE

[Linus]

This may or may not be of interest to you: http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,22986.0.html

Really cool!

I enjoy having a kind of guideline for a piece of music (or any artwork, really) provided by someone who has grasped the work, so this is perfect.

[Mirror Image]

Hello, everyone!

An early thirties fellow from Sweden here who thought I'd finally register on this forum and not just lurk about.

I've only recently started to take my Classical music journey seriously, but so far I've concluded I'm a Beethoven-Mozart-Händel-Schubert kind of guy. Ludwig's piano sonatas (Kempff) and Georg Friedrich's Concerti Grossi Op. 6 are often played in this household.

So, no points for originality there, but I have not yet "figured out" 20th and 21st century music. I hope to get to know that music in time. (I'm entirely in your hands here!)

NB: My knowledge of musical terminology is limited, so I hope you'll forgive my clumsy descriptions when discussing composition.

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to future discussions on this forum!

Cheers

Welcome aboard, Linus! We always welcome new people here with open arms and that's the way a forum should be! Now to get to your comment about 20th/21st Century music, there's an inordinate amount of ways you can go about exploring this musically diverse period. Since I don't really know what you listen for in music and what is actually giving you problems in terms of connecting, I'll just compile a little list below of works that I think will help ease you into this era:

1. Stravinsky: Pulcinella
2. Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
3. Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1
4. Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 'Classical'
5. Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
6. Lutoslawski: Variations on a Theme by Paganini
7. Barber: Adagio for Strings
8. Copland: Appalachian Spring
9. Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
10. Bartok: Hungarian Sketches

Like I mentioned, you could go in a multitude of directions, but I think this list will help you at least become familiar with some of the styles that appeared in the 20th Century.

Note: I'm not a music expert nor do I claim to be but I made this list of works which I think should be accessible to a newer listener. Some of the other members may not agree with my list and that's certainly fine as there will always be disagreements, but it's not about them or even me, it's about helping the new listener. I didn't put any Schnittke, Szymanowski, Hartmann, etc. in my list because this isn't a favorites list. I think these composers' music should be explored later.

[EigenUser]

Really cool!

I enjoy having a kind of guideline for a piece of music (or any artwork, really) provided by someone who has grasped the work, so this is perfect.

I do, too, which is partly why I made that thread. Plus, it was fun.

Very cool .. thanks for bringing it to my attention, i often miss good stuff on this board and you touch on a lot of good pieces there. 

Glad to hear you like it! Maybe the Webern Six Pieces will be next, whenever I feel like it. Or the Boulez Notations for orchestra. Or Ades' Asyla

And Stravinsky's Scherzo à la russe

http://www.youtube.com/v/aOcNp4lQPYE

I went through a phase my sophomore year (when I was playing it in orchestra) where I would repeat the Scherzo a la Russe as many as five or six times in a row (well, it was short!). That is probably my favorite "under-five-minute" piece.

[Linus]

Here are a couple of testers, Linus:

Intriguing, thanks!

Welcome aboard, Linus! We always welcome new people here with open arms and that's the way a forum should be! Now to get to your comment about 20th/21st Century music, there's an inordinate amount of ways you can go about exploring this musically diverse period. Since I don't really know what you listen for in music and what is actually giving you problems in terms of connecting, I'll just compile a little list below of works that I think will help ease you into this era:

1. Stravinsky: Pulcinella
2. Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
3. Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1
4. Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 'Classical'
5. Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
6. Lutoslawski: Variations on a Theme by Paganini
7. Barber: Adagio for Strings
8. Copland: Appalachian Spring
9. Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
10. Bartok: Hungarian Sketches

Like I mentioned, you could go in a multitude of directions, but I think this list will help you at least become familiar with some of the styles that appeared in the 20th Century.

Note: I'm not a music expert nor do I claim to be but I made this list of works which I think should be accessible to a newer listener. Some of the other members may not agree with my list and that's certainly fine as there will always be disagreements, but it's not about them or even me, it's about helping the new listener. I didn't put any Schnittke, Szymanowski, Hartmann, etc. in my list because this isn't a favorites list. I think these composers' music should be explored later.

Thank you, I'll check these out!

It's very difficult to find good introductory pieces; even if I were to pick music to make my older self appreciate what I do now, I still wouldn't be sure what to pick to ease the transition. But no pain, no gain. And I'm OK with "pain".

What does usually help me personally, in any case, is a sort of guide as to how I should "think" while listening to it, what the piece is "about" in an abstract manner. Not necessarily a narrative, just a theme (in the non-musical sense) that in one way or another connects to the experience of being alive.

[Mirror Image]

Thank you, I'll check these out!

It's very difficult to find good introductory pieces; even if I were to pick music to make my older self appreciate what I do now, I still wouldn't be sure what to pick to ease the transition. But no pain, no gain. And I'm OK with "pain".

What does usually help me personally, in any case, is a sort of guide as to how I should "think" while listening to it, what the piece is "about" in an abstract manner. Not necessarily a narrative, just a theme (in the non-musical sense) that in one way or another connects to the experience of being alive.

You're welcome, Linus. I think you'll enjoy these works.

[pete]

Hello Ahoy!   As you say,  where do you go from here?  I have been listening to Classical for 70 years, and still have the same problem.  The posts you have been getting say "try this, I like it,  try that etc".   My solution,  which is very easy since internet,  is to try everything.  You can spend a few hours browsing youtube.  Listen to radio.  Naxos send me a news letter and a blog from time to time.  Try things and see what gives pleasure.  Then follow up with more works by the same composer.  Hope this is useful -  Pete