Classic music recommendations

September 9, 2007 3:31 PM

ClassicalMusicfilter: I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms having listened to all of the BBC Proms this year -- no really, all of them, from first to last -- and I want to continue my musical education but I'm not sure what to listen to next and I was hoping you might have some recommendations. Literally any period of music, I'll try anything! If you can say which are your favourite recordings either on cd or region two dvd that would be helpful too.
posted by feelinglistless to media & arts (8 comments total)

My favourite piece which was sadly not in the Proms this year is Mahler's Symphony No.4. Bernstein's Chichester Psalms is another fantastic piece which is unusual for a work with the word "Psalms" in the title in that it's in Hebrew.
posted by Lotto at 3:45 PM on September 9, 2007

Try Radio Wandelweiser for an excellent selection of modern composition that you likely won't have heard much of before. It's a 128kpbs stream, with detailed playlist info available.
posted by nylon at 4:03 PM on September 9, 2007

Maybe if you'd explain what "Proms" is I could be of more help.
posted by neuron at 4:36 PM on September 9, 2007

Keep listening to Radio 3! It's probably the best classical station there is.
posted by cbrody at 4:50 PM on September 9, 2007

A quick google search found this at wikipedia. Looks like a summer series of concerts.
posted by ericales at 5:54 PM on September 9, 2007

if you're up for digging a little further back into the renaissance era, i heard this cd of the hilliard ensemble singing ockeghem's reqiuem and missa-mi-mi over six years ago now and still can't get enough of it. i finally got to see the hilliard ensemble last winter and it was well worth driving 500 miles by myself in one day to witness them in person.
posted by noloveforned at 6:56 PM on September 9, 2007

cheap plug: The Collections. Seriously, they are really strong samplers of some of the best composers of the canon, and they're actually cheaper on CD than they are on iTunes ($7.49).

Also try our podcast.

This is obviously one of the most important questions those who work with classical music. How would you like to learn about what kind of classical music you might like? Seriously, I want to know.
posted by softlord at 8:25 PM on September 9, 2007

The Proms covered a lot of ground. The most obvious recommendation is to chase after the composers from it that you liked. Hit up their wikipedia articles, and so forth. If you liked the Brahms symphony, there are three others that are totally awesome, too. There are four other piano concertos by both Beethoven and Prokofiev. You get the idea. My strategy for a long time has been to buy CDs out of the classical bargain bin if I know I like the composer, but only if they contain whole pieces. If you like the piece, then buy a good recording.

There were a few pieces missing from the list of things that everyone should hear, though: Dvorak 8 and 9; Shostakovich 8 and 9; Stravinsky Rite of Spring, Firebird; Tchaikovsky symphonies; Holst The Planets, Suites for Military Band; Vaughn Williams Mass in G minor; Verdi Requiem; Brahms Requiem; Poulenc Gloria; Borodin 1 and 2; Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade, Russian Easter Overture; Schubert 9(The Great); Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition; Rostropovich playing Prokofiev's cello music; and many others. You'll probably stumble on most of these on your own.

It's a little trickier to discover good chamber music, though. To start: Brahms, Ravel, Schubert, Schumann, Shostakovich, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, and Beethoven all have really good string quartets. I also like the solo violin music by Prokofiev and Stravinsky, and Bach's cello(look for Rostropovich, again) and lute suites. Prokofiev's flute sonata is also good.

Piano music: Glenn Gould has recordings of nearly all of Bach's keyboard music. Start with the Goldberg Variations. Andras Schiff has recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Mozart, Clementi, and Haydn sonatas are good if you like the Classical period a lot. Chopin's etudes, nocturnes, and waltzes are good. I like Scriabin's etudes, too. Prokofiev's sonatas are a bit crazy, but good. Debussy's preludes are good. Liszt's Mephisto Waltz is very exciting. Grieg has lots of small pieces for piano. You can find recordings that were made using his own piano, which has a pretty distinctive sound. I try to avoid Horowitz recordings when possible, as I find his playing to be a bit antiseptic, but some people like that, I guess.

Umm. That's all I can do off the top of my head. Good luck!
posted by Zach! at 11:25 PM on September 15, 2007