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Music recomendations for a classical newbie?

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5.2K views 7 replies 8 participants last post by  scytheavatar  
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#1 ·
Hello all, new to the forums.

I'm 21, and know next to nothing about classical music. I usually listen to classic rock...
And then I had an experience. I heard a piece by J. Brahms, string sextet no. 1 in b-flat,op. 18, (andante ma moderato, whatever that means), specifically the first one minute and thirty seconds of it.I was nearly brought to tears. Never experienced anything like it before.

Based on that, and the fact that I'm partial to string instruments, particularly the violin, can anyone recommend any similar composers/pieces?

Thanks in advance!
 
#2 · (Edited)
A lot of people find the Brahms Sextet No. 2 even more emotional. You can listen to it here (the actual sextet starts at the 4:00 minute mark. There is introductory material before that):

I'll also take a wild guess that you might like some Beethoven. Brahms was heavily influenced by Beethoven at least at first -- but then Beethoven influenced everyone who came after him. Here's something with a little larger ensemble than the sextet:
-- from Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, movement 2.

If you hear something you don't like (yet) just try something else. You've got about 400 years of music to choose from -- and it's all different. Enjoy!
 
#3 ·
Beethoven was influanced by Mozart... I would go with that for a start and branch from there.. he was the master of string melody... Go for Pappegeno Finale from his Magic Flute, Symphony. 25, Concerto For Two Pianos and Orchestra No. 10 in E-flat, K.365 III Rondeau, Piano Concerto No. 21 andante, ect.
 
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#6 ·
Books.....

In simple terms I was in your shoes not long ago. I bought books off Amazon about classical music and the standard repertoire. This lead me to what pieces to buy and what to listen for in each piece.

Many of the books you can get off Amazon for a penny used plus shipping. Classical Music 101 is a good book. There are many places on the net you can hear pieces referenced for free like YouTube and other sites before you invest in them.
 
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#7 · (Edited)
Give these a try , if you like any of these let me know ,

Mozart ...Symphony 25
Mendelssohn .......Hebrides Overture
Corelli ... Concerti Grossi
Samuel Barber .. Adagio for strings Opus 11
Mahler Symphony 5 ......movement 4 ,Adagietto
Vaughan Williams ....Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis

these are very popular heartmelters :)
 
S
#8 ·
Beethoven is always a good starting point for classical music, you may or may not end up thinking he's the best composer ever, but he is popular and you can have lots of reference class recordings to choose from, often at very competitive price. And he has a lot of experimentation and depth in his music, but at the same time you can see that he tries not to make his music too inaccessible. If you don't know what to get, I recommend starting with Zinman's Beethoven Symphony set: it's dirt cheap and it's reference class.
 
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