Dummies guide to Classical Music

[pyrrhon]

I'm not sure if this will be of interest to anyone here but I've created a 'Dummies guide to Classical Music' Spotify playlist.

Thanks Steve !

 

[Webern]

Does anyone know what this song is? Clicky

I saw it on an advert and liked it but was unable to find it on Spotify.

The Marriage of Figaro - comedic opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Vlad I think this is the Figaro aria from Rossini's Barber of Seville?

 

[matt49]

A few more suggestions, mainly standard repertoire, for people starting out on the classical journey. Choices of recordings are always bound to be controversial:

Allegri, Miserere (Peter Phillips, Tallis Scholars)

J. S. Bach, Christmas Oratorio (John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir etc)

J. S. Bach, English Suites (Murray Perahia)

Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 (Carlos Kleiber, Vienna Phil), esp. the second movement

Brahms, Symphony No. 4 (Carlos Kleiber, Vienna Phil)

Bruch, Violin Concerto (Kyung-Wa Chung)

Copland, Appalachian Spring etc (Copland, Boston SO)

Dvorak, Symphony No. 7 (Istvan Kertesz, LSO: there’s a box set of the full cycle of Dvorak symphonies by Kertesz on Decca)

Elgar, Enigma Variations etc (Vernon Handley, LPO)

Fauré, Requiem (there’s a good pairing with the lovely Duruflé Requiem on Decca)

Grieg, Lyric Pieces (Emil Gilels)

Haydn, Piano Sonatas (Alfred Brendel), esp. no. 34

Hildegard von Bingen, A Feather on the Breath of God

Janacek, From the House of the Dead (Mackerras)

Mahler, Symphony No. 5 (Barbirolli, Philharmonia)

Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto (Viktoria Mullova)

Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante (Oistrakh & Oistrakh)

Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 2 (Ashkenazy, Previn)

Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht (Karajan, BPO)

Schubert, Die schöne Müllerin (Wunderlich)

Sibelius, Symphony No. 5 (Karajan, BPO)

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 (Argerich, Dutoit, RPO)

Tippett, A Child of our Time (Norman, Baker et al)

Vaughan Williams, Symphony No. 6 etc (Davis, BBC SO)

Wagner, Die Walküre (Solti, Vienna Phil)

 

[steve_1979]

Does anyone know what this song is? Clicky

I saw it on an advert and liked it but was unable to find it on Spotify.

The Marriage of Figaro - comedic opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Vlad I think this is the Figaro aria from Rossini's Barber of Seville?

I added that to the playlist this morning too.

 

[Covenanter]

A few more suggestions, mainly standard repertoire, for people starting out on the classical journey. Choices of recordings are always bound to be controversial:

Allegri, Miserere (Peter Phillips, Tallis Scholars)

J. S. Bach, Christmas Oratorio (John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir etc)

J. S. Bach, English Suites (Murray Perahia)

Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 (Carlos Kleiber, Vienna Phil), esp. the second movement

Brahms, Symphony No. 4 (Carlos Kleiber, Vienna Phil)

Bruch, Violin Concerto (Kyung-Wa Chung)

Copland, Appalachian Spring etc (Copland, Boston SO)

Dvorak, Symphony No. 7 (Istvan Kertesz, LSO: there’s a box set of the full cycle of Dvorak symphonies by Kertesz on Decca)

Elgar, Enigma Variations etc (Vernon Handley, LPO)

Fauré, Requiem (there’s a good pairing with the lovely Duruflé Requiem on Decca)

Grieg, Lyric Pieces (Emil Gilels)

Haydn, Piano Sonatas (Alfred Brendel), esp. no. 34

Hildegard von Bingen, A Feather on the Breath of God

Janacek, From the House of the Dead (Mackerras)

Mahler, Symphony No. 5 (Barbirolli, Philharmonia)

Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto (Viktoria Mullova)

Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante (Oistrakh & Oistrakh)

Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 2 (Ashkenazy, Previn)

Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht (Karajan, BPO)

Schubert, Die schöne Müllerin (Wunderlich)

Sibelius, Symphony No. 5 (Karajan, BPO)

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 (Argerich, Dutoit, RPO)

Tippett, A Child of our Time (Norman, Baker et al)

Vaughan Williams, Symphony No. 6 etc (Davis, BBC SO)

Wagner, Die Walküre (Solti, Vienna Phil)

Excellent list.

Chris

 

[Vladimir]

Does anyone know what this song is? Clicky

I saw it on an advert and liked it but was unable to find it on Spotify.

The Marriage of Figaro - comedic opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Vlad I think this is the Figaro aria from Rossini's Barber of Seville?

Oops wrong Figaro. It's the Rossini aria.

 

[steve_1979]

There's a certain magic to the sound of Decca recordings made from the mid 50's to the 80's which is rarely found elsewhere. Much of my classical music collection (and Ella Fitzgereld collection) is from Decca. When comparing different versions of the same pieces of music on Spotify theirs is so often the best. It's not just the sound quality either. It's the performances and emotion of the moment which they manage to capture on tape. With very few exceptions, even to this day no one else has ever done it better IMO.

 

[steve_1979]

I've been listening to these CDs a lot. In fact they're only thing that I've listened to for the past week. They're brilliant so I thought I'd share them with the forum.

Here's a playlist of the best stuff with the occasional rubbish tracks removed.
https://open.spotify.com/user/steve_197 … vykW1PU2q9

 

[chebby]

I've been listening to these CDs a lot. In fact they're only thing that I've listened to for the past week. They're brilliant so I thought I'd share them with the forum.

Here's a playlist of the best stuff with the occasional rubbish tracks removed.https://open.spotify.com/user/steve_197 … vykW1PU2q9

I have the original DECCA 8 CD box-set with all the volumes of 'Your Hundred Best Tunes' so I would be concerned about ending up with loads of duplicates. I also have lot's of other various DECCA classical performances on CD (single works and compilations).

Maybe - at the price - I should get the DECCA 5 CD highlights set anyway and hope for not too many duplicates.

 

[steve_1979]

I have the original DECCA 8 CD box-set with all the volumes of 'Your Hundred Best Tunes' so I would be concerned about ending up with loads of duplicates.

I haven't seen those. I'l have to have a look.

Maybe - at the price - I should get the DECCA 5 CD highlights set anyway and hope for not too many duplicates.

You can listen to it on Spotify first to check for duplicates.

 

[steve_1979]

Ludovico Einaudi - Divenire. I heard this in the car on Classical FM a couple of weeks ago. A wonderful piece of modern classical.

 

[steve_1979]

For some reason the editing went a bit wierd on that last post so here are the links.

https://open.spotify.com/track/39H9bPCzk6wowylEGgDCNC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qvglWAHDak

 

[matthewpiano]

I have the full Decca Sound 50 CD box set, as well as the Decca Sound Analogue Years 54 CD set, and both of the Deutsche Gramophon 111 box sets (55 and 56 CD sets respectively).

The sheer amount of music included in these sets makes them a terrific bargain IMO and, even with an extensive classical collection, there are some recordings of familiar works and some completely unfamiliar works that have made great discoveries. The Decca and DG catalogues are treasure troves, and these sets represent them very well.

The two RCA Living Stereo 60CD sets are also well worth having with some superb performances captured.

 

[matthewpiano]

The 50 CD box set does look terrific value (less than £2 per album!). I was tempted myself but think that I might find it a bit of a chore to get through them all. With a few exceptions such as Mozarts Magic Flute, Beethovens 5th and 9th, Dansere 1551 and a few of Vivaldi string pieces like the Four Seasons I find that with many full length pieces of classical my interest can start to wain after half an hour and it feels like a mental marathon to get all the way through them.

Generally I prefer to just dip into the best bits which is why I went for the 5 CD 'Highlights' rather then the full 50 CD version. Maybe I'm just a bit of a philistine?

Not a philistine Steve. You enjoy what you enjoy, and if the 5 CD set enables you to gain some real pleasure from selected classical music, it can only be good.

 

[steve_1979]

Not a philistine Steve. You enjoy what you enjoy, and if the 5 CD set enables you to gain some real pleasure from selected classical music, it can only be good.

I already own a few full lengh Decca albums and based on my favourite tracks found on the Highlights album I'll probably buy a few more before in the near future.

 

[nopiano]

Not a philistine Steve. You enjoy what you enjoy, and if the 5 CD set enables you to gain some real pleasure from selected classical music, it can only be good.

I already own a few full lengh Decca albums and based on my favourite tracks found on the Highlights album I'll probably buy a few more before in the near future.

When I started out with classical music I tended to pick recordings of favourire overtures, and popular favourites like Dvorak symphony no. 9 'from the New World' and Holst's Planets Suite.

But, just as with 'pop' music, where I bought the album with the single, but ended up liking other tracks better, I found the less famous bits of symphonies or concertos just as - or more - enjoyable.

When I first heard Beethoven's 5th symphony, I never imagined there were also more than thirty Beethoven piano sonatas, and less still that I'd learn to love every one!

 

[Alberich]

steve_1979 nice thread

Another big Decca fan here.

They're the masters when it comes to recording classical.
Especially their golden analogue period.

Their engineers always seemed to have had a real love for the orchestra and capturing as much as they can.
The employment of the famous 'Decca Tree' microphone arrangement amongst other fascinating techniques.

A lot of classical recordings when compared to Decca sound overly pasteurised imo whith some exceptions like Deutsche Grammophon etc..

Anyone who tends to find classical a bit meh or experiences boredom in the lengthier pieces I would recommend Decca recordings.
They really knew how to communicate the orchestra.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Not a philistine Steve. You enjoy what you enjoy, and if the 5 CD set enables you to gain some real pleasure from selected classical music, it can only be good.

I already own a few full lengh Decca albums and based on my favourite tracks found on the Highlights album I'll probably buy a few more before in the near future.

 

Whats your normal genre?

 

[Gaz37]

I'm not sure if this will be of interest to anyone here but I've created a 'Dummies guide to Classical Music' Spotify playlist.

Clicky

Rather than suggesting whole albums for you to try it's a compilation of all the best bits, many of which you'll recognise from TV adverts and films. It should (hopefully) be a more approachable and noob friendly way of discovering classical music. It starts off with a few slow pieces and picks up tempo later on so if you find it boring at first just skip forward a few tracks to the more upbeat pieces about a third of the way into the list.

Enjoy!

Have you been reading my mind?

Firstly I was going to start a thread asking for recommendations for a classical compilation CD.

Secondly I'm about to sign up for a trial with Spotify.

Thank for preempting my request.

 

[steve_1979]

steve_1979 nice thread

Another big Decca fan here.

They're the masters when it comes to recording classical. Especially their golden analogue period.

Their engineers always seemed to have had a real love for the orchestra and capturing as much as they can. The employment of the famous 'Decca Tree' microphone arrangement amongst other fascinating techniques.

A lot of classical recordings when compared to Decca sound overly pasteurised imo whith some exceptions like Deutsche Grammophon etc..

Anyone who tends to find classical a bit meh or experiences boredom in the lengthier pieces I would recommend Decca recordings. They really knew how to communicate the orchestra.

You may find this artical interesting. Clicky

I found it facinating and after reading it was motivated try the Decca boxset mentioned earlier.

 

[steve_1979]

The 50 CD box set does look terrific value (less than £2 per album!). I was tempted myself but think that I might find it a bit of a chore to get through them all. With a few exceptions such as Mozarts Magic Flute, Beethovens 5th and 9th, Dansere 1551 and a few of Vivaldi string pieces like the Four Seasons I find that with many full length pieces of classical my interest can start to wain after half an hour and it feels like a mental marathon to get all the way through them.

Generally I prefer to just dip into the best bits which is why I went for the 5 CD 'Highlights' rather than the full 50 CD version. Maybe I'm just a bit of a philistine?

 

[steve_1979]

Whats your normal genre?

Very varied.

At a guess I'd say it's a split of about 30% pop music (mostly cheesy 80's stuff), 20% classical, 20% Rock (mostly 60's and 70's), 20% electronic dance music (mostly 90's and early 00's rave music) and the last 10% other random stuff.

 

[steve_1979]

Have you been reading my mind?

Firstly I was going to start a thread asking for recommendations for a classical compilation CD.

I hope you enjoy it.

It's also worth trying The Decca Sound - Highlights album which is also available on Spotify. It's every bit as good as my playlist (probably better TBH) and it contains mostly lesser known pieces of music rather that the 'catchy' famous ones that often appear in films and adverts that you'll probably already recognise.

Both compilations are a great introduction into Classical.

 

[steve_1979]

There's some great insight into Decca's approach in the documentary 'The Golden Ring'. You may already know it. It contains extracts of the famous first full studio recording of Wagners Ring. John Culshaw was the executive producer along side Gordon Parry and Jimmy Brown, who are mentioned in that article. Great watch, although the narration is a bit cringe, and you don't have to be into Wagner to appreciate the footage.

I've never heard of it but it does sound interesting. I'd like to see that.

A quick look on YouTube and I can't find it. Possibly a few clips but no sign of the whole documently.

 

[Alberich]

steve_1979

Fascinating article that.

There's some great insight into Decca's approach in the documentary 'The Golden Ring'. You may already know it.
It contains extracts of the famous first full studio recording of Wagners Ring.
John Culshaw was the executive producer along side Gordon Parry and Jimmy Brown, who are mentioned in that article.
Great watch, although the narration is a bit cringe,
and you don't have to be into Wagner to appreciate the footage.

John Culshaw also wrote a book about the recording called 'The Ring Resounding'.
He elaborates a bit on the rivalry between Decca and EMI.

At the moment I'm hooked on Decca's 1950's mono recordings of the Wagner Bayreath festivals.
Decca shared the festival with EMI and sometimes both companies made recordings of the same opera same night with both teams of engineers crammed in like sardines beside each other in little recording stations.

Fascinating reading.