Must have classical music?

Question

I've just lately taken a real shining to classical music, and my collection is quite pathetic. I'm going to expand it and would love some recommendations on what to include. I should say that I already have quite a bit of Mozart and Beethoven, and am looking for something heavier, like Wagner's later operas. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

If you wish to expand your collection, and I applaud this decision, I recommend getting a book. The NPR Guide to Building a Classical Music Collection by Ted Libbey is ten bucks well spent.
Having said that there are some absolutely "must haves" for any classical music lover. Here are a few suggestions to get you going:
The London Symphonies - Haydn.
Piano Sonatas - Beethoven.
Ballades - Chopin.
The Four Seasons - Vivaldi.
Symphonies 4, 5 & 6 - Tchaikovsky.
Overtures and Preludes - Wagner.
Symphonies 8 & 9 - Schubert.
Symphonie Fantastique - Berlioz.
Symphony 8 & 9 - Bruckner
Symphony 7, 8 & 9 - Dvorak
Symphony 1 & 5 - Mahler
Pictures at an Exhibition - Mussorgsky

Phillips has a large number of compilation albums such as the Best of Grieg, which in some cases (like the one mentioned) have all the significant works by that composer.

Answer 2

Amahl and the Night Visitors - Gian Carlo Menotti

Short Ride in a Fast Machine - Adams

All of his cantatas - J.S. Bach

Chaconne from Partita in d minor - J.S. Bach

Solfeggietto - C.P.E. Bach

Inventions - Bach

Preludes and Fugues - Bach

Nuper rosarum flores - Guillaume DuFay

L'estro armanico - Vivaldi

The Seasons - Vivaldi

Dido and Aeneas - Purcell

Pope Marcellus Mass - Palestrina

Symphonie Fantastique - Berlioz

Symphony No. 3 - Brahms

West Side Story - Bernstein

Phantom of the Opera - Webber

Cats - Webber

All preludes, mazurkas, waltzes - Chopin

All motets - Ralph Vaughan Williams

Sinfonia Antarctica - R.V. Williams

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun - Debussy

Claire de lune - Debussy

Piano Concerto No. 2 in F - Shostakovich

Fire of Eternal Glory - Shostakovich

Symphony No. 9 - Dvorak

Der Freischutz - Weber

Fidelio - Beethoven

Water Music - Handel

The Messiah - Handel

Israel in Egypt - Handel

London symphonies - Haydn

Beethoven Symphonies 1-6

Symphonies 40 and 41 - Mozart

Piano concertos and sonatas (especially Appassionata) - Beethoven

Piano sonatas - Mozart

Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins - J.S. Bach

The Planets - Holst

Symphonies - Sibelius

Finlandia - Sibelius

The Rite of Spring - Stravinsky

Symphony of Psalms - Stravinsky

Carmen - Bizet

Don Giovanni
Le Nozze di Figaro
Die Zauberflote - all 3 by Mozart

Der Ring des Nibelungen - opera cycle by Wagner consisting of the following operas:
Das Rheingold
Die Walkure
Siegfried
Gotterdammerung

Tristan und Isolde
Parsifal
Lohengrin
The Flying Dutchman - all by Wagner

La Traviata
Il Trovatore - both by Verdi

Gianni Schicchi
Tosca
Turandot
La Boheme - all by Puccini

Swan Lake
The Nutcracker - both by Tchaikovsky

Erlkonig
Die Forelle
Wintereisse - all by Schubert

Dichterliebe - Schumann

All piano pieces - Scott Joplin

all choral pieces - John Rutter, including:
Gloria
Requiem

Gloria - Vivaldi

Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine
Cloudburst
October - all by Eric Whitacre

Battle of Jericho - Moses Hogan

all masses - Mozart

Requiem - Mozart

The Blue Danube - Strauss

Die Fledermaus - Johann Strauss II

Requiem - Verdi (TALK ABOUT HEAVY!)

St. Matthew Passion
St. John Passion - both by J.S. Bach

Trio sonata - Arcangelo Corelli

Miserere Mei - Giorgio Allegri

Spanish Rhapsody
J'eux deau
Piano trio
Concerto for the Left Hand - all by Ravel

Concerto for Orchestra - Bartok

all choral pieces - Arvo Part

Spiegl im Spiegl
Polyphonic Symphony - both by Arvo Part

symphonies by Mahler

Das Lied von der Erde - Mahler

Pierrot Lunaire - Schoenberg

Symphony No. 8 - Dvorak

Rhapdosy in Blue - Gershwin

Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini - Rachmaninov

A German Requiem - Brahms

Shicksaslied - Brahms

A Choral Fantasy - Beethoven

Requiem - Andrew Lloyd Webber

Requiem - Faure

Cello Suite 1 - J.S. Bach

Flute Concerto in D - Mozart

Answer 3

I'm not partial to Wagner nor operas, so I'm not one to offer advise in this area.... operas are more visual that audio anyway, I think:

Bach's stuff --- Double Violin concerto in (D minor, I think)
Bruch Violin concerto, and Mendelssohn's too Often you can find these two on the same disc.

I'm partial to Mozart's Requiem, and Faure's as well. One by Verdi is also exquisite... and the thing about Masses, is that the words are all the same: If the composer has an Agnus Dei, then all those that have one, have the same Latin words, or a Pia Jesu, then they all , again are the same words.
(And I'm an atheist, but still,some of the the best music ever written was for church organ, choir, etc.) (used to real Latin like a priest... took three years in hs.)

All the Back organ stuff is truly great, with melodies that weave in and out--- Fugues, and Toccata that will just blow you away.

There is a concerto for Organ and Orchestra by Francis Polenc that will just blow you right out of your mind... it is bombastic, yet controlled, and visual... Hope you have a good system.... it will be thin without one......I was about 22 the first time I heard it, and pheeeewwww. Then got to hear it in Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago, with some famous organist, and the Chicago Symphony..... beyond beyond since by then I had about worn out the disc.Look up the differences between Toccatas, Pasacalias, Fugues and know them well before listening to the stuff by Bach.... you'll get the whole picture that way (sorry about the spelling if any of these are wrong.... my computer is rather dead.)

Pachabels Canon in D is wonderful, Barber's Adagio for Strings is magic. Fountains and Pines of Rome by Respeghi is wonderful.

And don't overlook some relatively new stuff but not known outside the orchestra crowd..... The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives -- only 4 minutes long, but truly very interesting, and Symph #5 by Roy Harris. Fanfare for the Common Man (the roof will come off your house...) by the same American who wrote Rodeo.. Aaron Copland.... His Appalachian Spring is nice, but not a favorite. Fanfare one of the best things written in the 20th century...and he along with Stravinski are probably the best composers of the last century.
You can find lots of this stuff on gothicrecords.com

Answer 4

Most of the answerers have given excellent examples and suggestions, so I will keep mine short.

Something heavier? Mahler should be an obvious start. I struggled to listen through his 5th, but the years passed by and I finally understood it through. Get any of his symphonies, but preferably beginning 2 through 9. Beethoven symphonies are a must, as well as his piano sonatas. Permit me to suggest one of his best, Appasionata Sonata. Start to finish a mad headlong rush. Also his Mass in B minor.

Sibelius is also good. Look for Lemminkäinen Suite. It's an amazing work which includes a very serene piece called The Swan of Tuonela. And you might also include his Violin Concerto. The 3rd movement alone will grab you from start finish, and somehow I keep on thinking of waltzing polar bears whenever I listen to it...

Tchaikovsky symphonies are good, but pay particular attention to his later ones, i.e. 5 and 6. Heaviest of his arsenal should be the 1812 Overture. Try to look for recording that says 'full version' because that includes full orchestra, brass band, full choir AND several cannons.

On Wagner, you can try to dive into the Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). This monster of an opera was like the Lord of the Rings movie back then. It's kind of heavy with all the plots and subplots, not to mention a little familial love in the wrong places. But if you don't want to jump in as yet, listen to Tristan und Isolde, which is a bit lighter in Wagnerian standards.

More on opera: Richard Strauss' Salome is an excellent one. Where else can you listen to a striptease? And also the crazy opera Elektra. Magnificent.

If you're feeling adventurous, look for Alban Berg's Wozzeck/Woyzeck (not sure which is the correct spelling). That opera is entirely composed on themes and atonality. If you managed to retain your sanity after going through that, it means you are ready to embrace classical music in its full form, ugly and otherwise.

Happy listening!

Answer 5

Something heavier, hmm? Well, you might like

Marche Slave by Tchaikovsky,
Rite of Spring by Stravinsky,
Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz (the fourth & fifth movements are perhaps the "heaviest"),
Die Walkyrie by Wagner,
Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky,
Mysterious Mountain (symphony no. 2) by Hovhaness (not sure how "heavy" this one is, but I like it),
something/anything by Shostakovich

Hope this helps you some. Enjoy!

Answer 6

You dig Wagner, eh, check out
Edvard Grieg's work,
The Peer Gynt Suite, some of it is softer, but it gets intense, a lot of feeling, and some of it gets heavy like some of Wagner's stuff.

Also check out his other stuff, like his piano concertos, especially Piano Concerto in A minor, good stuff.

Answer 7

To avoid laying out a ton of money, try to see if there's a PBS radio station in your area. I live in Reading, 52 miles NE of Philadelphia, and I listen to the Temple U radio station while in the car. It comes in quite well.
From 7am to 6PM, their format is classic, in the evenings, it's jazz. While you're at their mercy as to what's on, I think they have a very pleasant mix of both. Perhapsif you'rein thevicinityof a largeuniversity, you might luck out and find a station with similar programming.

Answer 8

It may sound cheesy, but when I started listening to classical, I bought that "Classical Thunder" collection from TimeLife. Then you can kind of figure out what you like and go out and get it. Personally, I prefer Bach and Beethoven, but you should have a varied collection to suit your moods....

Answer 9

I would check out the list at http://www.kickassclassical.com/

Answer 10

YOU MUST HAVE THE J.S. BACH 6 SUITES FOR CELLO