Classical music newbie needs your suggestions

remember there is always the contrast between recording quality and performance quality. this said, these are my go-to-performances [i value performance quality over recording quality] but there is some overlap described below-

Fritz Reiner/CSO rca red seal 1960 recording of "Scheherazade." if one has Stendhal's Syndrome at all, this one will rend your heart when you hear the violinist's [Sydney Harth] solos. this is a lean-sounding vividly up-front recording but with tremendous liveness, you are virtually atop the podium here, you can hear the musician's clothing rustling, breathing, chairs and music stands creaking, sheet music shuffling, you can hear REAL MUSICIANS at work here playing at the peak of their abilities, with Reiner leading them with controlled fury. this performance is among the most brisk of all the recordings of this work i've heard [over a dozen], and stands head and shoulders above the rest. 

Neeme Järvi's [RSNO] performance of alexander nevsky cantata opus 78 is cinematic, vivid, it brings something akin to a real war between and around your loudspeakers. also a bit thin-sounding and a bit distant, a bit veiled, but the visceral rendition is what matters here. this is a fair aural document of a thrilling performance that is emotionally involving. the 1975 Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orch. version has richer sonics with good clarity but it is IMHO, relatively speaking a leisurely reading, less a war than a collegiate argument. 

gustav holst's "the planets" suite is a tougher nut, in that there is a wide variety of performances and recordings to choose from, highly variable in performance quality and recording quality, i really can't choose well among them, but have settled on ones by Sir Georg Solti/LPO 1978, Stokowski/KAOI 1956, [1971] Zubin Mehta/LAPO - this last one is breathtakingly hypnotically visceral esp. on "mars, the bringer of war" with those low brasses grabbing one by the ears and not letting go. unfortunately, this one is also a bit thin-sounding in the bass range [otherwise a very "rounded" sound here], needed more low end. the Solti version has less violence but more suavity. there is some tape overload audible in "mars" and "uranus" esp. on the cymbal crashes, the noise floor seems artificially low and the quiet parts are VERY quiet which seems to make the brasses stand out brightly. this recording has good body/low end. the Stoky version seems to both be idiosyncratic in the way of many of Stoky's recordings but also seems to draw a line between the suave extreme of the Solti version and the violence/menace of the Mehta version. the 1956 Stoky recording has pretty good [if thin] audio quality for its day, recorded up-front with strong presence/studio sound more than hall sound, it being a very early stereo recording.  

there are other recordings of these 3 pieces that have much more sumptuous sound but the performances IMHO [your mileage may vary] just aren't quite up to the required intense feeling that these pieces need to be conveyed as fully as their composers likely intended. 

 

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By now I'll bet you're googling the recommendations here and then zooming them through your system. Have at it! Go for it!

My personal favorite composers (in no particular order) are Mahler, Bruckner, Beethoven, Bach, Copland, Berg, Bartók, Stravinsky, Debussy, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert, Shostakovich, Mozart, Hindemith, Glass, Schoenberg, Prokofiev, Haydn.

If I'm not listening to orchestral works, then I'm usually listening to string quartets or solo piano (I don't care much for harpsichord (very limited dynamics for my taste) or "historically accurate" pianofortes (these sound like out-of-tune19th century whorehouse pianos to me)).

Occasionally I'll listen to operas by different composers, or lieder by Schubert.

My favorite recordings:

George Szell - Beethoven Symphonies cycle

Jenny Lin - Shostakovich: 24 Preludes And Fugues, Op. 87 (Vladimir Ashkenazy does a pretty good one, too)

John Wilson, BBC Philharmonic - Copland: Orchestral Works, Volume 1 - Ballets

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra - Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, WAB 109

Carlo Maria Giulini, Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Mahler: Symphony No. 9 In D

Glenn Gould - Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1954 recording)

Boston Symphony Chamber Players - Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale (with John Gielgud, Tom Courtenay, and Ron Moody); Octet For Wind Instruments; Ragtime

Claudio Abbado, Vienna Philharmonic - Mahler: Symphony No. 4 In G (with Frederica Von Stade)

Claudio Abbado, Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé - Symphonic Suite, Op. 60

Diogenes Quartet - Schubert: Complete String Quartets

Neeme Järvi, Scottish National Orchestra - Prokofiev: The Complete Symphonies

Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra - Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition, Night On Bald Mountain, Khovanshcina (MFSL)

Aram Khachaturian, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Khachaturian: Spartacus, Gayaneh; Glazunov: The Seasons

Herbert Blomstedt, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra - Hindemith: Orchestral Works

Jeroen van Veen - Glass: Complete Piano Etudes

Etc. etc. etc.

If you'd like a little more info about musical works and their composers, you can't go wrong with The Vintage Guide to Classical Music by Jan Swafford.  A very easy read to get you grounded in classical music.

(If you prefer more detailed information, try getting the latest edition of Grout's History of Western Music as a used book (it's a fairly technical college textbook though). Another great reference for classical music of all kinds is the Harvard Dictionary Of Music.)

If you stick with it, I think you're in for one of the greatest adventures of your life. Have fun and good luck.

Many good suggestions. However, I would like to offer a different approach.

You say you already own 600 Classical music recordings; half of which are opera. That’s a lot of music. Start out by listening to what you already have before spending a lot of your time and energy searching for and buying more recordings which you may or may not like……initially.

You also say that you want to “understand” as well as enjoy Classical music. To me, and not meaning to be presumptuous, this tells me something about you as a listener. There is a great deal to “understand” in Classical music, just as in any serious art form. This does not mean one has to get into any kind of heavy analysis. Understanding is sometimes the path to enjoyment.

Just as in Jazz, one of the most interesting aspects of Classical music which is worth having at least some understanding of is its history and evolution. From the Renaissance era to the Baroque and all the way to the present, the music composed in any one period builds on what came before. The music of the great composers in any one historical period was influenced by the music of composers who preceded them. Some understanding of this, if only by way of simple familiarity with the music, is particularly helpful for a newbie because music from the music’s earlier historical periods tends to be more accessible than that from later (more recent) periods. Some familiarity with the music from an earlier period helps with the appreciation of the music from a later period which tends to be more challenging to listen to.

I would start by reading the liner notes of recordings that you already have and do a somewhat casual cataloguing by the date of the music’s composition. Liner notes are a great source of info about the composer; historical and otherwise. IOW, as has been suggested, perhaps start with Bach, then Handel or Mozart before tackling Stravinsky or Alban Berg.

The world of Classical music is huge and is truly a wonder. Have fun and keep an open mind. Enjoy!