Classical music recomendation?

Question

I'm looking for a cd of decent classical music and am overwhelmed,what are some good recomendations?I like mostly Bach,Bethooven,Mozart,etc.I'm looking for something passionate and emotionally moving,and not monotonous.

Thank you everyone for your answers,I'm going to keep all of these in mind.

Answer 1

I have my faves, and I've made sure I have some pieces in my CD collection.

But I've got to recommend my method to stocking my library. I shop the closeout bins at record stores and and other shops that might stock a stack of CD's. For example, in my area, there is an electronics "superstore" that sells everything from computers, software, appliances books, etc. Including a huge, long rack of snacks along the checkout line for the hungry nerds who don't feed themselves properly. On the way out, I often see a rack of CDs, sometimes offering a good variety of selections with titles like, 25 Bach Favorites, 25 Baroque Favorites, etc.

I went to a thrift store for books and found a display rack full of brand new, unwrapped double CD sets of music from many composers I hadn't really considerd, like Rachmaninoff, Mahler, Verdi, etc. The prices of these were too good to pass up. Even if there were a few compositions I didn't like, the ones I did enjoy are sitting in my ITunes library, and backed up on my own custom burned CDs.

Answer 2

Here are some of my favorites, and given your preference for "passionate and emotionally moving", I have these recommendations:

Mozart: Symphony #40, also the "Jupiter" symphony. You will like the piano concertos, especially the lovely No.21 in C Major.

Beethoven: Symphonies 5, 6, 9. The "Emperor" Piano Concerto. Sonatas: Moonlight, Pathetique, Appasionata.

Bach: Goldberg Variations (but can a little monotonous)

If you want passionate, then definitely go for Rachmaninov (Piano concertos 2,3 and his Preludes opp. 23 and 32) or Scriabin (early preludes, sonatas and preludes). Chopin wrote many amazing, emotional, romantic pieces. Try anything by Chopin, especially one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, the piano concerto no. 1 (or 2).

Finally, although some people think his music is "heavy", Brahms' music is frequently emotionally charged. Try his symphonies or his piano concertos.

Good luck and happy listening!

Answer 3

You sound like you might like Saint-Saens. The Carnival of the Animals is certainly not monotonous. I haven't listned to it in a while, but I can tell you that certainly at least The Swan is passionate and emotionally moving. There is an interesting background for the suite, too. Camille Saint-Saens, who had a reputation as a technically-refined stoic, wrote this piece as a sort of musical jest. Each movement was about one of his friends. He didn't want anyone to know about his humourous piece for fear of shattering his facade. But of course, they did find out, and after that, Saint-Saens forbade the suite to be performed in its entirety during his lifetime. It really is an interesting piece, and I highly reccomend it. It's a good piece of program music, so it will allow you to be creative when listening to it. And who wouldn't rather listen to a piece called The Carnival of the Animals than something called Symphony no. 9?

Answer 4

I've been listening to lots of Gorge Enescu, especially the Romanion Rhapsodies.

Answer 5

Try Rimski-Korsakov's Sheherezade. It is a musical version of 1001 Arabian Nights. It is my favorite.

Answer 6

Try something by Rachmaninoff, e.g. piano concerto no. 2 or 3, or the rhapsody on a theme by paganini.

Answer 7

Jimbo (NRA4EVR)... Should we turn her on to Carl Orff? Camina Burana?