If you're a little tired of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons"...

[John Gallup]

...this will make it seem new and exciting again. Heard this on a WFMT live stream and really learned to like it. It's on Tidal. Now if Richter could just do the same thing with Tchaikovski's Nutcracker but gets played to death at Christmas....

Edited June 7, 2021 by John Gallup

[ctsooner]

Thanks for sharing. I. Trying to learn more about classical as I love it but know nothing. 

[John Gallup]

1 hour ago, ctsooner said:

Trying to learn more about classical as I love it

There's a lot of pleasure to be had there, and it doesn't have to be a task. Here are a couple of things I like. Try Rossini's "William Tell Overture," and of course you'll think of "The Lone Ranger" in the last movement, but the preceding parts are beautiful and build up to it, making it even more thrilling. "The Planets" by Holst is great fun, beginning with martial bombast and ending in galactic mystery. Sibelius' Second Symphony is like a long, eerie dream about something, I don't know what, but I'm always happy to be in it. Tchaikovsky conducted his Sixth Symphony nine days before he died, and you can feel it coming in the last movement—the basses' last breaths will give your woofers a workout. Enjoy!

[GdnrBob]

As far as the Nutcracker goes, have you listened to Martha Agerich's performance?

I believe it is a two piano piece.

Bob

[bkeske]

After all these years of tinkering around edges, I finally got serious about classical a couple years ago. The best way to start, IMO, is get some box sets of the biggest (most popular) composers. That gives you a base, then start branching out. It takes a while, but a fascinating ride, and incredibly interesting if you ‘take to it’.  ‘Classical’, the way we use the term generically, is very wide and deep in its variety. And no two conductor or symphony is the same per composition. So yea, after a while, you start learning what you like and replace a composition you have for another conductor, or, enjoy the variety and differences.

I find it all fascinating and incredibly enjoyable.

[John Gallup]

1 minute ago, bkeske said:

The best way to start, IMO, is get some box sets of the biggest (most popular) composers.

Sometimes you can find great bargains on these on vinyl used—or I should say, almost unused. People buy them with the best of intentions and then...

[bkeske]

Exactly John. I have some complete vinyl box sets I picked-up cheap, and hardly played.

More expensive, but wonderful, are the Royal Concertgebouw CD box sets per decade, all live, and a big variety. I was able to get a good deal on a couple and it introduced me to composers I never knew existed. Many now my favorites.

[ctsooner]

I am all digital.  Can't really do vinyl anymore.  I stream, but have access to over 30T of high res music etc...  I often just copy names that you guys post as well as what others post on other sites.  

[bkeske]

Actually, box sets of classical CD collections are probably cheaper on the used market than much vinyl. I’ve simply moved more towards vinyl, but have an abundance of both. I do stream, but rarely.

it’s interesting, in a couple short years, I think my total classical collection outnumbers all my other genres combined.

 

[John Gallup]

Another interesting thing about orchestral music is that it is perhaps the biggest challenge for an audio system, and perhaps the room you're listening in. 

[ctsooner]

What little I own I really enjoy listening to.  I just wish I knew more about it and what to play for various moods I'm in or want to be in.

[GdnrBob]

@John Gallup, 

Your posts reminded me of the old Vox Boxes. They had some really great performances at an incredibly low price point.

Indeed, you can still find them on streaming services like Spotify and Qobuz.

One of my favorites is the Romantic Piano Anthology- 3 volume set. That is how if found the Rubenstein Piano Cto. #4 (actually I heard it on WQXR).

Bob

[John Gallup]

On 6/13/2021 at 3:32 PM, GdnrBob said:

As far as the Nutcracker goes, have you listened to Martha Agerich's performance?

I believe it is a two piano piece.

Listened to it on Tidal...pretty great!

[jkmcc]

If you're tired of the Four Seasons, listen to something else by Vivaldi! He wrote lots and lots and he gets played on our classical station, KUSC, a lot. I took a photo in the car of this because I was liking it so much. His music can be intense, in fact, I definitely hear his influence in Michael Nyman's (The Draughtsman's Contract for example) work.

BTW, as I've said before, my route into classical music was Beethoven - 32 piano sonatas, 5 piano concertos, 9 symphonies - I'm sure that he and Hendrix would have dug one another.