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Starting to listen to classical music - where to learn more ?

  • 14-05-2017 10:55pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 624 ✭✭✭


    Hi, I'm just starting to get into listening to classical music and a bit of opera, where's the best place to start to learn about the basics and then develop my knowledge further. Nothing too heavy.

    Thanks.


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 624 ✭✭✭.........


    bump, anyone ?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,643 ✭✭✭Woodville56


    ......... wrote: »
    bump, anyone ?
    I listen to LyricFM quite a bit and pick up on some pieces I like from there. I'm sure there are a few books / audio introductions to the classic masterpieces


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,008 ✭✭✭LimeFruitGum


    Spotify.. got into Chopin that way.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 809 ✭✭✭filbert the fox


    ......... wrote: »
    Hi, I'm just starting to get into listening to classical music and a bit of opera, where's the best place to start to learn about the basics and then develop my knowledge further. Nothing too heavy.

    Thanks.


    Do you mean theory or access to music or what's good?
    Anyway a few easy listeners:

    Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue

    Barber - Adagio

    Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana

    O'Riada - Mise Eire

    Mozart - piano concerto no. 21 second movement (ecstasy)


  • Registered Users Posts: 7 john1802


    Do you mean theory or access to music or what's good?
    Anyway a few easy listeners:

    Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue

    Barber - Adagio

    Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana

    O'Riada - Mise Eire

    Mozart - piano concerto no. 21 second movement (ecstasy)
    Great choice!


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 809 ✭✭✭filbert the fox


    john1802 wrote: »
    Great choice!

    Try some film music especially Bernard Herrman and John Williams

    ET

    Taxi Driver

    Schindler's List

    North by Northwest

    for starters

    :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,219 ✭✭✭Calina


    Search youtube for Leonard Bernstein's Young Persons Concerts. Joshua Bell did a few as well but haven't seen them.

    After that, Classic FM does some really good stuff and you can access on Tunein.com. Live that station.

    If you are near the Nat Concert Hall go to the Friday concerts now and again.

    Where possible, listen to full works.

    Now for some recommendations:

    Piano:
    Anything by Chopin. Both Lang Lang and Yevgeny Kissin have comprehensive Chopin albums. Journal Intime by Alexandre Tharaud also worth a go.

    Beethoven Sonatas: check out Daniel Barenboim or Wilhelm Kempff here

    Anything by Liszt

    Rachmaninov preludes

    Piano plus orchestra:
    Rachmaninov Piano Concerto 2 plus Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
    Beethoven Piano Concerto 5
    Saint Saens Piano Concert 2 or 5
    Brahms Piano Concerto 1 or 2
    Mozart Jeunehomme concerto
    Also the John Field and Charles Adams concertos are worth a listen. Bach fir 4 pianos also fun.

    Violin plus orchestra:
    Concertos by Beethoven, Sibelius, Schuman and Tchaikovsky. Anything by Vivaldi

    Random orchestra
    Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens
    Finlandia by Sibelius
    Peer Gynt by Grieg
    Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copeland


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,338 ✭✭✭Bit cynical


    Try some film music especially Bernard Herrman and John Williams

    ET

    Taxi Driver

    Schindler's List

    North by Northwest

    for starters

    :)
    OP might like Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting some of the Bernard Hermann themes:



    https://open.spotify.com/album/64yQIf2IJbancK33N1p69e


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 196 ✭✭Gheadphone


    Great to see another classical listener on here. This is a post i made on TalkClassical a while back.

    I began listening to "Classical" about 2 years ago. Im going to give a very simple breakdown from my relatively limited but enthusiastic experience so far (so I'm leaving out pre-baroque and most 20th century for example).

    As a beginner I found that there were a number of different sounds. Broadly (though there can be crossover sometimes but to keep it simple)
    Orchestral
    Chamber music
    Solo music
    Vocal
    Opera

    and a number of periods, roughly (I've picked 3 composers i like for each)
    Baroque (Bach, Handel, Vivaldi)
    Classical (Haydn, Mozart, early Beethoven)
    Romantic (Late Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms)
    Modern (Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel)

    This is very individual but i would try a few of the following on Spotify/You Tube to get a feel for what you like. One important lesson when i started, i had to listen in a different way from my old rock/pop method. I tried to listen for at least 30 minutes without ever skipping (generally listened to the whole piece in one go). It also took me a few listens of some pieces before they really started to get into my brain. However once they got in they were in deeper than almost anything id ever listened to before.

    Here are 6 which give a decent sample (I've not include any vocal works yet)
    Bach - Well tempered clavier - solo piano
    Mozart - Piano concerto no 21 - Orchestral
    Schubert - Trout Quintet - Chamber music
    Beethoven - 5th Symphony - Powerful and possibly familiar orchestral
    Debussy - Suite bergamasque (particularly Clair de lune) - Solo piano
    Stravinsky - Rite of Spring. I don't know exactly how to describe it, leave it till last, it will sound different!

    This should give you a decent start, i began with a few pieces and got familiar with them. I found i liked some composers a little more than others and then used this site and a few top 50 recordings lists to go deeper.

    Please let us know how you get on.


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