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Can anyone recomend a classical cd?

Miss_Tolstoy

New Member
Im looking for a cd collection which will have all the classic classics, if you get my drift.

so it has bach, handell, motzart, all that lots and all the songs that you hear and instantly recognise.

thanks
xoxo
 
I'm really into classical - especially the 3 composers you mentioned, but I really don't know of a collection to recommend to you. There is SO much by Bach alone - many of the "lesser known" works are just as great (or greater) than the super famous ones. For Bach, the Brandenburg Concertos, perhaps, or the Cello Suites. For Mozart, the symphonies, string quartets, or the piano sonatas. For Handel, I'd recommed Water Music, or the Concerto Grossi.
Every so often you see collections advertised on late nite TV that say they have all the great compositions in one collection. But frankly, I'd stay away from them. There is just too much to try to cover it all in one collection.
You really can't go wrong with ANYTHING by the 3 composers we're discussing.
Then there's Beethoven. He's a giant, of course, but picking anything at random is not as safe as with the other 3.
 
If it's your fist foray go for any general collection usually titled "best of", "greates classics" something like that such as you'll pick up in WH Smiths or onlie. You could try one of the Classic FM ones they seem to cover the most popular tunes.
 
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, Cello Suites and Goldberg Variations.
Anything by Mozart. It's therapeutic apparently because of "The Mozart Effect", as identified by researchers at Stanford University (I think). Something to do with the way in which his music is structured and the correlation of his music sequences and brain wave patterns.
Worth a try I suppose. Cheaper than psychoanalysis.
 
If you got one of the compilation CDs and heard something you really liked, you could delve more into that composer and maybe get the longer version.
 
erik satie won't disappoint. check out the gnossiennes. the atonal guys are pretty interesting too: schoenberg, berg, etc.
 
I never leave home without at least one of these in my car (currently they're all in there and that's how I got this list). I also have copies at home for reading time.

The Most Relaxing Classical Album in the World... Ever!
Bach, Grieg, Pachelbel, Satie, Mozart, Delibes, Faure, Debussy, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saens, Gorecki, Vivaldi, Elgar, Dvorak, Rachmaninoff, Albononi, Boccherini, Massenet, Beethoven, Offenbach, Mascagni, Puccini, Williams, Borodin, Rodrigo, Baber, Bizet

25 Classical Favorites
Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Brahms, Chopin, Strauss, Bach, Bizet, Handel, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Sousa

The Ultimate Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe
Saint-Saens, Brahms, Williams, Borodin, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Bach, Barber, Mendelssohn, Gounod, Chopin


Famous Classical Waltzes, Overtures, Dance
Brahms, Strauss, Waldteufel, Ivanovici, Tchaikovsky, Delibes, Chopin, von Suppe, Offenbach, Beethoven, Nicolai, Glinka, Mozart, von Weber, Ponchielli, Gluck, Saint-Saens, Dvorak, Gliere, Gounod, de Falla
 
The Immortal Beloved soundtrack isn't a bad place to start for Beethoven. Lots of stuff you should recognize.
 
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, Cello Suites and Goldberg Variations.
Anything by Mozart. It's therapeutic apparently because of "The Mozart Effect", as identified by researchers at Stanford University (I think). Something to do with the way in which his music is structured and the correlation of his music sequences and brain wave patterns.
Worth a try I suppose. Cheaper than psychoanalysis.

What's the mozart effect?? do any other composers produce the mozart effect?
 
101 classical hits it has all those artists and more, you can buy it in zavvi for like a fiver
101 classical hits it has all those artists and more, you can buy it in zavvi for like a fiver

I came across this thread while browsing through the old dusty archives of the Forum a while ago. Since then it has acquired an
irritating tendency to sneak into my head while I am doing something more interesting and important, such as feeding the
dogs or trimming my nails. (Actually, sarcasm aside, feeding the dogs can be quite fun when the two fleabags climb over
each other to get at their food dishes.) So......
Compilation discs can certainly be a good way to introduce you to a composer whose music you can go on to explore,
but in many cases the piece may be atypical, and you can splash out your money on someone whose music mostly does
nothing for you. Also, a personal gripe, however good the content may be, I could never buy a title like "The Only
Classical Album You Will Ever Need" or "The Best Classical Album In The World Ever", (both of these exist) which are
a) nonsense and b) offensively patronizing.
There is no need to spend money, anyway. You can just borrow discs from the library. (Most record libraries don't have
compilation disks, anyhow) Even easier, YouTube. There are hundreds of classical videos on YouTube, many with great
visuals. Many evenings I don't even put on a CD, just turn on the laptop and build my own concert.
Some suggestions. These are pieces that I THINK might be enjoyable for a classical beginner. Try them. But browse for
other stuff and see if anything gets to you. And don't let any S.O.B. tell you what you OUGHT TO like. The word is "might".
O.K...
Start with shorter pieces. Don't jump straight into a symphony. This isn't being patronizing. A shorter piece can make a
more immediate impact. With a longer work it can take time to appreciate the way the the composer builds the whole.
For example, overtures. Two or three or four good tunes following each other in a fairly short succession, almost always
with a spectacular climax.
Beethoven. The big one. Overtures: EGMONT, and LEONORA No. 3 . He wrote four different overtures to his opera
Fidelio,(which was originally to be called Leonora). They're all different, all good, but No.3 is the best.
Berlioz: Le Corsair, Carnival Romain, Les Francs Juges. Berlioz was a flamboyant character, a total ham, and his
music reflects this. It's very accessible, and it's g-0-o-d. Then try Mendelsohn, Brahms, Mozart, Verdi.
Another idea, a suite, a program of shortish numbers illustrating a topic or a story.
Mussorgsky, PICTURES FROM (or AT) AN EXHIBITION. A visitor walks round an exhibition of paintings (Duh!).
Mussorgsky portrays each picture, and even the walker, through music. When you listen to it, know which picture
M. is describing to get the full effect. This info. should come with the disk, or Google it.
Mendelsohn , MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, OVERTURE AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC. I guarantee you will
already know the Wedding Music, which sounds much, much better with a full orchestra than with a church
organ,(an instrument I can't stand).
Dance suites. Brahms,HUNGARIAN DANCES, Dvorak,SLAVONIC DANCES.
Hell, it's 1:30 and I have to be on a bus for work in six hours. (I knew I should have learned to drive). There's a
whole crowd of accessible composers I haven't mentioned. England: Vaughan Williams, Holst, Elgar.
France: Bizet (he wrote good orchestral stuff, not just CARMEN), Massenet, Saint-Sans, Norway:Grieg,
U.S.A.: Aaron Copeland, Finland:Sibelius, Spain: lots of good guitar music.

So, a monstruously long post, with some spelling mistakes I don't have the energy to check.

Goodnight, listen well, read well.
101 classical hits it has all those artists and more, you can buy it in zavvi for like a fiver
 
I came across this thread while browsing through the old dusty archives of the Forum a while ago. Since then it has acquired an
irritating tendency to sneak into my head while I am doing something more interesting and important, such as feeding the
dogs or trimming my nails. (Actually, sarcasm aside, feeding the dogs can be quite fun when the two fleabags climb over
each other to get at their food dishes.) So......
Compilation discs can certainly be a good way to introduce you to a composer whose music you can go on to explore,
but in many cases the piece may be atypical, and you can splash out your money on someone whose music mostly does
nothing for you. Also, a personal gripe, however good the content may be, I could never buy a title like "The Only
Classical Album You Will Ever Need" or "The Best Classical Album In The World Ever", (both of these exist) which are
a) nonsense and b) offensively patronizing.
There is no need to spend money, anyway. You can just borrow discs from the library. (Most record libraries don't have
compilation disks, anyhow) Even easier, YouTube. There are hundreds of classical videos on YouTube, many with great
visuals. Many evenings I don't even put on a CD, just turn on the laptop and build my own concert.
Some suggestions. These are pieces that I THINK might be enjoyable for a classical beginner. Try them. But browse for
other stuff and see if anything gets to you. And don't let any S.O.B. tell you what you OUGHT TO like. The word is "might".
O.K...
Start with shorter pieces. Don't jump straight into a symphony. This isn't being patronizing. A shorter piece can make a
more immediate impact. With a longer work it can take time to appreciate the way the the composer builds the whole.
For example, overtures. Two or three or four good tunes following each other in a fairly short succession, almost always
with a spectacular climax.
Beethoven. The big one. Overtures: EGMONT, and LEONORA No. 3 . He wrote four different overtures to his opera
Fidelio,(which was originally to be called Leonora). They're all different, all good, but No.3 is the best.
Berlioz: Le Corsair, Carnival Romain, Les Francs Juges. Berlioz was a flamboyant character, a total ham, and his
music reflects this. It's very accessible, and it's g-0-o-d. Then try Mendelsohn, Brahms, Mozart, Verdi.
Another idea, a suite, a program of shortish numbers illustrating a topic or a story.
Mussorgsky, PICTURES FROM (or AT) AN EXHIBITION. A visitor walks round an exhibition of paintings (Duh!).
Mussorgsky portrays each picture, and even the walker, through music. When you listen to it, know which picture
M. is describing to get the full effect. This info. should come with the disk, or Google it.
Mendelsohn , MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, OVERTURE AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC. I guarantee you will
already know the Wedding Music, which sounds much, much better with a full orchestra than with a church
organ,(an instrument I can't stand).
Dance suites. Brahms,HUNGARIAN DANCES, Dvorak,SLAVONIC DANCES.
Hell, it's 1:30 and I have to be on a bus for work in six hours. (I knew I should have learned to drive). There's a
whole crowd of accessible composers I haven't mentioned. England: Vaughan Williams, Holst, Elgar.
France: Bizet (he wrote good orchestral stuff, not just CARMEN), Massenet, Saint-Sans, Norway:Grieg,
U.S.A.: Aaron Copeland, Finland:Sibelius, Spain: lots of good guitar music.

So, a monstruously long post, with some spelling mistakes I don't have the energy to check.

Goodnight, listen well, read well.


I came across this thread while I was browsing through some ancient ones in a mood of
nostalgia. Is anyone interested in reviving it. (Thus giving me more opportunities to pontificate and be dogmatic,) Also, how about opera and operetta, a genre which people are either
besotted with or baffled by?
Any thoughts?

P.S. Apparently the Computer Bogeyman has me in
his sights again. I'd probably better not try to fix the
format or I'll probably delete the whole thing.
Colin
 
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