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What's a good starter collection?

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beethoven beginner mozart piano starter collection
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21K views 28 replies 15 participants last post by  SixFootScowl  
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#1 ·
Hello, I am just getting to know classical music and while I have a broad understanding of musical styles and some of the most influential composers; I don't really know where to start *really getting to know* some good music. I need a starting point with the vast sea of classical compositions out there.

Of course, like anybody, I love Beethoven. I also have a predilection for piano pieces because a grew up playing a small number of pieces. I love listening to (or playing) pieces like Moonlight Sonata, pathetique, Fantasia Impromptu, etc. But I don't want to limit myself to that either. I want a good mix of symphonies, solo piano, string quartets, etc.

I have all of Beethoven's symphonies, I would like to get a good collection of Mozart's greatest works also. But after that, I am not sure. I like Hadyn and Bach, but my preference runs towards compositions that are a little 'less stiff'. (Not to say that I don't enjoy them, I suppose it depends on my mood :)) I'm guessing Schubert, Liszt, Chopin would be a good place to start? Does anybody have a collection to share? I don't really want to buy a thousand songs (cost is certainly factor too). Where can I start to look otherwise?
 
#3 ·
The various tastes of our various members will represent various suggestions representing various styles of music.

Mozart, Beethove, Haydn, Vivaldi, Bach, etc. probably belong in ANY classical collection.

May I suggest the works of Jean Sibelius, Aram Khachaturian, Akira Ifukube, Gustav Holst, Miklos Rozsa and Modest Mussorgsky?

And refer to my recent posting about the budget Naxos label. Naxos is, so they say, the biggest classical label right now. Though a budget label, their rep is perhaps unequaled by any other label, and the majority of their records are top-notch, and perhaps world class. You can find Naxos recordings anywhere from $2 to $10, but usually somewhere in between. A very good way to expand your collection.
 
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#5 ·
My recommendation would be to do what I did when first really getting into classical music about a year ago.

Go to www.classicalcdguide.com

They give recommendations broken down into different areas: Overall top 10, top 10 by era (baroque, classical, romantic, early 20th century, modern), by genre (symphony, chamber music, piano, concerto, choral, opera), and for a few select composers (Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Tchaikovsky).

Now, these are not going to match everybody's top 10's, or even if the piece is a good one, not all will agree with the selected recordings. But it gave me a really good jumping off point that served me well. As you listen to those, you'll gain more of a feeling for what style you enjoy the most, and can then branch out more.

Also try www.classical.net. There you will find recommended pieces from pretty much any composer, and they provide multiple choices of good recordings.

And then go out and discover on your own.
 
#6 ·
I don't think it is always advisable to try getting a well rounded collection. Sometimes certain genres or pieces just won't gel with you and you may never enjoy them until yeas later. If there is a library near by with music CD's you can check out, that's a good way to try before you buy. Classical radio is a good way also or used to be before they started dumbing it down. YouTube is another way.

I think it's best to buy what you're really going to enjoy. I have faith that classical music fans are always going to expand their musical horizons eventually, so there's no reason to try forcing yourself to like some standard repertoire. You have several hundred years worth of music to choose from.
 
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#8 ·
Weston said:
I don't think it is always advisable to try getting a well rounded collection. Sometimes certain genres or pieces just won't gel with you and you may never enjoy them until yeas later.
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Definitely true. When I first started (almost a decade ago) I was a Rachmaninoff addict. Nothing compared to his Piano Concertos or his emotionally charged symphonies. He was someone I discovered through a 4 CD "The Readers Digest" sampler.
 
#7 ·
You know, this thread poses a good question: Is having a "well-rounded" collection all that important anyway?" I can guarantee you that my collection would not be considered well-rounded due to the lack of certain composers who are generally considered "must haves."

But what does it really matter. I have music that means something to me and anything else just for the sake of having it would take up shelf space.
 
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#9 ·
Definitely true - to this day, although I started my journey with Mozart, my collection of classical composers is the weakest of my library. Haydn does little or nothing for me, with a few exceptions. I enjoy Mozart and Beethoven, but I don't turn to Mozart as much as I used to. I really like baroque, but it is almost exclusively Bach and Vivaldi that I have. Romantic composers dominate my collection, although some are not represented much at all - Liszt, Wagner are a few of the glaring omissions.
 
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#11 ·
Wow, thank you all for the great suggestions! This is exactly what I was looking for! I use youtube as a source find music, but I never thought of organizing and making playlists, what a great idea, Weston! The links above are a great resource, I bookmarked them for a standard list to turn to.

I think what I need to do is get a membership to Rhapsody and have everything at my disposal. (Anyone have an opinion on a better service?) I would like to have my own collection, but I don't really use CDs much anymore anyways.

Dr Mike, it sounds like we have similar tastes. I like the greats of the baroque and classical, but much of the rest doesn't turn me on as much as the music of romantic composers.
 
#16 ·
dbutze said:
I think what I need to do is get a membership to Rhapsody and have everything at my disposal. (Anyone have an opinion on a better service?) I would like to have my own collection, but I don't really use CDs much anymore anyways.
Click to expand...
Rhapsody is fantastic, except their search engine is horrible and will only show the most popular items first. I've found ways around that though, like searching web sites and this forum for suggestions and then looking those up on Rhapsody. I heartily endorse it as a service.
 
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#12 ·
You sound a lot like me 1 year ago. I liked Mozart, and some Beethoven. I am a member on several forums, and happened to get in a discussion on classical music on a forum dedicated to shaving, of all things. He was quite knowledgeable, and could give me good "next step" recommendations based on what I told him I liked. Then it just sort of snowballed. A truly great resource is your local library. Some have really decent classical music selections - that was how I safely explored things I wasn't sure about, and stumbled upon some of my now favorite pieces. Sometimes it just came from checking out a CD that I wouldn't normally have bought, just to see if it is my cup of tea. The more I learned, the more I could discern what I enjoyed and what I didn't. And take everybody's opinions with a grain of salt, and go where your own tastes lead. Don't dismiss something because someone else does. This particular individual had a low opinion of Tchaikovsky, and so for a long time I neglected him. Since then, I have come to really enjoy his works.

Also, as far as recordings go, there are definitely some undisputed masters, but that doesn't mean there is only one recording worth having. The wonderful thing, for me, about classical music is that you can constantly hear some new interpretation of a piece. I have multiple recordings of several pieces:
3 recordings of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos
3 recordings of Vivaldi's Four Seasons
2 of Beethoven's 5th
2 of Beethoven's 5th piano concerto
4 of Beethoven's violin concerto
2 of Berlioz' Symphonie fantastique
and on, and on . . .
And that doesn't even count the multiple recordings I have of Mahler's works.

It is fun exploring. Use recommendations as a jumping off point, but don't get too tied down to them. Ask 100 different people and you will get 100 different opinions. Don't get tied down to just one conductor, or one record label, or one style.

For late romantic, I love Brahms, Dvorak, Bruckner, Mahler, Rachmaninov.
Here are a few of my favorites from them:
Brahms - so much, but I really love his Piano Trio No. 1. I don't know why that over all else, but I have loved it since I first heard it. I have a recording on either London or Decca, by Suk, Katchen, and Starker. I don't know if it is the best, but I enjoy it.
Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 - Kertesz and LSO (I think), but his Cello Concerto is my absolute favorite from him - try the Rostropovich/Karajan recording.
Bruckner - love his symphonies. I really enjoy his 4th, by Wand and the Berlin Philharmonic
Mahler - Take your pick - I could go on forever. His first or second symphonies, though, would probably be the easiest to ease into him.
Rachmaninov - 2nd Piano Concerto, for me, hands down my favorite. I like Richter's recording with the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Finally, a wild card pick:
Elgar's Cello Concerto - du Pre/Barbirolli
This is one of those nearly universally acknowledged best recordings of a piece.
 
#18 ·
One thing I'd note is to try and make sure you don't buy too many pieces in rapid succession, and to take time to really get to know a piece. This doesn't mean you need to listen to it exclusively, of course, but even on works that don't inititally strike you, give them occasional attempts--I've found some works and composers grow on me.
What I mean is, there's no hurry in building a collection! I would totally not fault a person who never made it much past Bach, for example, if he deeply enjoyed it. The sheer number of really damn good classical works is phenominal and building a collection is a lifetime endeavor.
Happy listening :)
 
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#19 ·
If you are planning to do some investment, may I suggest the recent DG 55-cd box set? This set contains a wide repetoire of excellent music in a remarkable budget price.

http://www.dg-111.com/en_GB/albums/55-cd-box-set

Some of the interpretations here, such as Böhm's Mozart Requiem, Fischer-Dieskau's Winterreise, or Fournier's Bach cello sonatas, are hailed as definite accounts. Definitely a good starting place for a beginner.

I got one from Amazon.de, which offered the lowest price, although it seems to be sold out currently. But make sure to check different amazon branches to get the best bargain anyway, if you are planning to purchase online.

http://www.amazon.de/111-Jahre-Deutsche-Grammophon-111-Meisterwerke/dp/B002DZX95I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1260859944&sr=8-1
 
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#20 · (Edited)
I've concluded, along with many of you I think, that discovering classical music is a process, and by just having everything and listening to what's recommended may be harder to achieve an intimate relationship with a certain piece or composer. A greater appreciation comes through discovery!

I'm very glad that I found this forum, It seems to be a great place for intelligent conversation. It looks like I may come here frequently in the future!
 
#21 ·
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#23 ·
I apologize for resurrecting an old thread but my question seems relevant to the topic. For a long time I've been enjoying classical music via streaming services and without owning a lot of physical media. For several reasons, I'd like to make myself less dependent on the internet and also enjoy a greater quality of sound and so, I've decided to move to CDs. I should mention that I'm still a novice in my knowledge of particular recordings and performances, however, I have a great love for Beethoven (almost everything), Bach (again almost everything with the exception of arias), Handel (concertos), Rachmaninov (piano works), Schubert, Chopin, to name a few. I'd also like to expand by sampling some composers that are new to me while also owning some of the better performances of my favorite compositions. The Deutsche Grammophon Collector's Edition 111 CD set has been mentioned before in this thread and it seems that a single purchase of a collection like this would, over time, save money compared to an ongoing subscription to a streaming service.

I have two questions:
Given what I've mentioned above, do you think that the 111 DG set represents the best collection of this nature, or are you aware of a different set that may be a better deal? Again, I own very little physical media.

It appears that multiple editions of this 11I CD Collector's Edition were released in the last few years. There was a volume #1 and volume #2 and, if I'm not mistaken, most recently, they released another edition that combines the two aforementioned volumes (which is priced at $215 on Amazon). However, the prior editions are also still available and just volume #1 alone is being sold for over $400. So I just want to be sure that the edition I'm looking at now (linked here) is a combination of the two previously released volumes. I'm not able to find much information online to determine this.

Any other thoughts or suggestions would be welcomed also. I have considered simply purchasing mp3 files from iTunes but feel that I could enjoy better quality for the same price. Perhaps that's not a true assumption.

Thanks!
 
#24 · (Edited)
The 111 DG set you linked looks like a very nice set. Are they complete works (it appears so, but without seeing the total list of included items I can't tell). Are there a lot of works that you know/ think you would like? (This may be my bias as I am not very experimental in my listening.) It looks like original jackets which is a very nice packaging feature. It also looks to be quite diverse and I did see an opera among the few displayed in the Amazon listing you linked. Price wise, so long as you enjoy the majority of what is included, you are doing quite well. Run the AISN number through www.bookbutler.com to see if there is better pricing used anywhere, also check Prestoclassical.com as they will run sales and don't forget to check ebay and other sites. If you can knock $50 off the set you'll feel even better about it.
 
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#25 ·
Can you hear the difference between an MP3 and CD sound? If the difference is small or zero to your ears, then there is a lot to recommend in MP3 form. I started with a few of the Bach Guild Big Boxes featuring some favorite composers. For $0.99 each, there is a lot of bang for your buck there. They also have some collections based on nations or other themes, so you could find out about some other composers that way.

I can confirm that your link is to the complete 111-CD set, which combines Volumes 1 and 2 of the 111 set. I listened to almost all of it, and it is a great set to explore a lot of basic repertoire with excellent performances. Is it the best set? For a generalist, I have not found anything better. I have seen some other wonderful box sets based on type of work (symphonies, concertos, etc.), composer, conductor, and orchestra.

Since you are still on the internet, I would advise sampling with YouTube, Spotify, or whatever other service you feel comfortable using. Online classical radio (or terrestrial radio, if you live near a good one) is another great way to hear new music before you start buying it.

Welcome to TC, Jeff!
 
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#28 · (Edited)
Wow, thanks very much everyone for the great replies. People are very kind and very helpful on this forum.

Can you hear the difference between an MP3 and CD sound? If the difference is small or zero to your ears, then there is a lot to recommend in MP3 form.
Click to expand...
This is a question that I ask myself quite a bit and if I'm honest, I usually cannot hear much of a difference between a high quality MP3 and a CD. It's not that I am adverse to MP3s as much as I don't want to rely on a subscription to access my music any longer. I have not ruled out purchasing music in MP3 format but it does seem that MP3s are just as expensive, if not more so, than their physical counterparts. If I were to purchase the 111 DG collection in MP3 format, it would actually cost quite a bit more. It seems silly to spend more money on MP3's but maybe I need to think about that a bit more.

I think that I own almost all of the Bach Guild collections but thank you for that suggestion. I know that those are older recordings and perhaps I've been spoiled by other higher quality recordings but I do notice a difference when listening to those vs. a higher quality, more recent recording. I'm not complaining about getting hundreds of pieces for $0.99 of course! I do, however feel like the quality of the sound can make a difference in the way a person perceives a piece of music. I suppose I just need to decide whether to purchase a big box set (physical or MP3) or, instead, purchase individual albums. Until then, Apple Music keeps getting my money!
 
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