New to classical music

Thanks tuberist for getting my brain into gear.
lohanimal -- start with Maurizio Pollini doing Chopin’s Revolutionary Piano Etude. Things don’t get much more tempestuous. If you like it, try out a couple more of Pollini’s Chopin Etudes. Start with the first Etude of his Opus 10 set.
Try out Andre Watts doing Franz Liszt’s piano etude called "La Campanella." Does he fall off the piano bench dead after the final chord? Too bad there’s no video so we’d truly know. Then there’s Philippe Entremont doing Debussy’s pair of impressionist piano pieces, "Deux Arabesques." Watch the ladies swoon.

Mahler’s Fourth Symphony puts you in an all-encompassing, technicolor, yet gentle fantasy world. A glimpse of a very earth-like heaven. For similar stuff in more traditional guise, try conductor Bruno Walter’s performance of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony.

BTW, lohanimal, there’s nothing challenging here. Just great tunes galore, played with tons of persuasion.

For eclectic I would also suggest Arvo Part.

@elizabeth , two really great recommendations; Beethoven
and Rachmaninoff piano concerti.
 But I have to strongly disagree with your opinion of Mahler. I would say that it's not for beginners.

Here are some of my favorites that a listener who appreciates the eclectic might appreciate:

Alan Hovhaness - Symphony #50 "Mount St. Helens"
"And God Created Great Whales" Opus 229

Olivier Messiaen - "Des Canyons aux Étoile"
"Turangilila Symphony"

Bejamin Britten - "Prince of the Pagoda"

Colin McPhee - "O Bali"

Igor Stravinsky - "The Rite of Spring"
"Petrushka"
"The Firebird"

Bela Bartok - "Concerto for Orchestra"
"Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta"

Hector Berlioz - "Symphony Fantastique"

Einhojuhani Rautavaara -"Cantus Articus "Concerto for Birds and Orchestra."

All of these works showcase the power of the orchestra in different ways.