Talk to me about classical music

[TheoneandObi]

I'd like to start listening to something new. I didn't have any education in classical music. Eighties/nineties pop music girl here! But I'd like to learn more and broaden my tastes.
So. Any suggestions?
I can be quite affected by music. I had a period of depression a few years back and music was literally painful to listen to, so I stopped. So I'd be interested in how I now cope with music which might be quite affecting iyswim
Thanks!

PS :- do not let anyone else’s opinions affect yours. It’s like food snobs. Some people like to eat the same egg & chips every day and are perfectly happy with that. Some open up their experience slightly to the world of Pret & the occasional gastro pub. There are a lot of prentious dicks out there that take great delight in trying to shame you because you don’t find the thought of spending £££ on snail porridge and deep-fried pig’s nipples at Heston Blumenthal’s latest gastro wank remotely appealing. Music is like food and wine - suck it and see!!!

If you like choral, you'll find Eianaudi repetitive and dull. I'm not a fan.sorry....

Try
Faure's requiem and his Cantique de Jean Racine.
Mozart ave verum corpus
Brahms requiem

m.youtube.com/watch?v=XD1RjoZGTbo

My current favourite choral piece.

Try this playlist open.spotify.com/album/72eREPpDWnlR5o2hUExugS?si=t2fGDzMCQoGZ61uyCUh1Iw for some of the best/most famous pieces. If something catches your attention, listen to the rest of the work and other pieces by the same composer.
Also try Bozo Paradzic and Rinat Ibragimov on youtube for double bass music, for something less well known but just as good

Going to work through this thread as I used to listen to classical when revising as an undergraduate over 30 years ago but stopped when cds came in as all mine was vinyl. Would be a great lockdown project as can have it playing whilst working.

There are a lot of prentious dicks out there that take great delight in trying to shame you because you don’t find the thought of spending £££ on snail porridge and deep-fried pig’s nipples at Heston Blumenthal’s latest gastro wank remotely appealing. Music is like food and wine - suck it and see!!!

But trust me on the Harrison Bertwhistle.

I’m listening to Vikingur Olafsson this morning (I’d mentioned him yesterday, OP). His Bach album is superb and his rendition of Philip Glass’ Openings is glorious.

Nils Frahm is a fantastic composer/musician/pianist. I think his finest hour is his album Spaces, but he explores so many different sounds. He’s a classical musician who goes out on an exploratory limb, which I love about him. Seeing him live was a highlight of my life!

If you’re into choral works, I recommend the Estonian composer Arvo Part’s album Kanon Pokajanon. He is very influenced by Gregorian chant. Ode 1 from Kanon Pokajanon is sublime.

Mozart’s requiem is music for the gods. On Spotify, Herbert Von Karajan’s recording of Mozart’s requiem (Deutsche Grammophon recording) is the best one I’ve heard.

And Walton and the bloody Sitwells. Avoid that.

It's not scary, TheoneandObi, honestly. Just start listening, you've nothing to lose at all. I'm listening right now and there's some beautiful Ravel playing.

If you know one of the presenters, that's even better. Just imagine he's talking to you. And let the music just flow. So many people are finding radio an absolute lifeline at the moment.

Best of luck.

You could also try and start with 'narrated' classical music - Peter and The Wolf or Carnival of the Animals are absolutely lovely to listen to at any age.
Also second ballet music, esp Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake have great catchy tunes.
If you fancy trying opera, Mozart's Magic Flute is amazing.
Händel's Water Music or Vivaldi's Four Seasons are also great pieces to get started with, if you're not familiar with classical music.

I have recently started on the same journey. Classic FM is currently airing it’s annual Hall of Fame, top 300 classical music pieces. It’s about halfway through and well worth a listen for the variety. You’re bound to find a lot to like!

I'm very grateful for the countdown this year. Love it every year but gosh what a lovely sense of the normal in an otherwise weird Easter weekend.

I know you said classical, but don't dismiss earlier music. There is a wealth of surviving medieval and renaissance music, and some fantastic performers around. Groups are small, only a handful of musicians compared to a full orchestra so it's a very different listening experience. The modern rules of composition and theory did not exist so the harmonies and rhythms can feel very strange at first but it's worth persisting. Try youtube or spotify: the Dufay Collective and Oni Wytars(aka Ensemble Unicorn) are both amazing groups.
For a unique take on baroque music Ref Priest are stunning - Piers Adams is one of the top recorder players in the world and their interpretations are magical and wonderful. You will never look at a recorder in the same way....

Ah see I'm an ignorant numpty and class anything old as classical! So yeah what I mean is a thing that isn't pop or jazz or blues or folk!

We know what you meant!

When you said maybe/not sure/choral/early, I mean to say - every Sunday radio 3 has an early music programme - about 2pm I think. Won't necessarily be any choral, but the tonal sounds will be similar, as the Chalet School fan just above points out

*meant

TBH I'm feeling overwhelmed by choice now! It seems like an infinite chocolate box the way you all describe what there is out there. I've made a start this morning with Words and Music, and will explore some of the early choral and music suggested. And go from there. x

It's a big wide world out there

Pit the classic FM hall of fame on tomorrow and write down the names of things you like. Then you can go on a search.

It's amazing what you can find

Another way to do it is to start with your favourite instrument. E.g. If you love piano, work your way through Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Satie piano pieces.

Following. This is a lovely post.

Can’t believe someone said Einaudi is dull. It’s beautiful. Might be a bit subtle I guess.

No, no, no, it doesn't work like that!

You might as well say that people who prefer orange to blue just don't get the subtlety of blue.

It's a preference.

It's true that you can get more out of some pieces the more you understand the structure and the context - others, it's not so necessary, or it really doesn't change your view.

I understand, for example, what Ligeti, or Walton's Facade that I referred to earlier are up to, and would still pay you an enormous amount of money not to be made to sit through any of it ever again. Ever.

My mother loves Britten, but balks at Delius. Just preference, nothing to do with an inability to appreciate.

Spotify means you can access whatever takes your fancy. I suggest starting with music you will be familiar with such as from films, adverts etc then from there try other music by the same composer. Classic fm is another good starting point, their website lists what's playing if you don't catch it from the presenter.

I'm probably not the best at suggesting "beginners" music as I like some more unusual music but Tchaikovsky perhaps is a good place to start, great tunes

Well I listened to Radio Three today while pricking out seedlings in the garden. And on came Boléro. The whole thing. Not just the bit Torvill and Dean skated to. The whole thing. And it was AMAZING!