Beginners Classical Recommendations

[sls4321]

Exactly this. I can't imagine that a beginner to classical music needs to worry about the finer nuances of interpretation. Try some things out, listen to R3 not classic FM, get Spotify or Tidal and explore a bit. Read a book or two on it, usually R3 starts repeating the proms about now. I'll pop some suggestions on from Tony's shop, try to avoid getting sick in the innate snobbery that some people have about classical music. Anyone who's made a CD is pretty damn good to be honest.

Agree. Best to be more concerned that it is a good recording.

A good place to start would be something like:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E0H8KAQ/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
Exceptional quality recordings at less than £1.50 per disc and a very good selection of music.

A close second would come:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009J3K4MI/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

Don't worry too much about interpretation. I am no musicologist, but gathered differences of approach from live performance. They can become extreme. I mentioned the Bach 48 (or WTC to others). I listened to the Feinberg recording the other day, almost romantic in its approach. Compared to Leonhardt, it's almost a different piece of music.

 

[lennyw]

Don't worry too much about interpretation. I am no musicologist, but gathered differences of approach from live performance. They can become extreme. I mentioned the Bach 48 (or WTC to others). I listened to the Feinberg recording the other day, almost romantic in its approach. Compared to Leonhardt, it's almost a different piece of music.

Isn't this something of a contradiction. You say not to worry, and then proceed to give an example of two completely different approaches to the music. Feinberg's is wonderful, as is Gould's, both Richter's live and studio, Tureck's etc etc. Personally, if Pollini's or Barenboim's had been my first I might have wondered what all the fuss was about, so boring are the performances.

IM(not so)HO I think performance is very important. It's not much effort to do some research so as not to end up with Haitink and the LSO snoring their way through Brahms, but instead trying Abbado for all, Kleiber for 4, etc. (no offence to the LSO and Haitink, their Beethoven of a year or so later are quite the opposite).

 

[Cuyahoga]

^ Indeed, there are some piss poor performances of some pieces out there (Schumann symphonies seem to be badly served, hence the unfair criticism of his orchestration - I have a version of "Rhenish" which almost put me off Schumann - and there are some pretty naff versions of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" around).

 

[sls4321]

Isn't this something of a contradiction. You say not to worry, and then proceed to give an example of two completely different approaches to the music. Feinberg's is wonderful, as is Gould's, both Richter's live and studio, Tureck's etc etc. Personally, if Pollini's or Barenboim's had been my first I might have wondered what all the fuss was about, so boring are the performances.



IM(not so)HO I think performance is very important. It's not much effort to do some research so as not to end up with Haitink and the LSO snoring their way through Brahms, but instead trying Abbado for all, Kleiber for 4, etc. (no offence to the LSO and Haitink, their Beethoven of a year or so later are quite the opposite).

I didn't want to deny performance differences. Do we want to argue over which Karajan/Beethoven symphonies or Gould Golbergs are better? No. I recommended a couple of good value box sets well recorded with accessible music for starters.

 

[Tony L]

I'm with Richard (Lordsummit) on this, but I'd just add one caveat and alter "Anyone who's made a CD is pretty damn good to be honest." to 'anyone who's recorded for a full-price major label is pretty damn good to be honest'. Interpretation is deeply personal and opinions can be formed later with more information, but it's safe to assume that if a given performance originally appeared on a Decca SXL, Columbia SAX, HMV ASD, RCA Living Stereo, Mercury Living Presence, Philips, CBS/Columbia or DGG record it was considered pretty damn good.

 

[sls4321]

I'm with Richard (Lordsummit) on this, but I'd just add one caveat and alter "Anyone who's made a CD is pretty damn good to be honest." to 'anyone who's recorded for a full-price major label is pretty damn good to be honest'. Interpretation is deeply personal and opinions can be formed later with more information, but it's safe to assume that if a given performance originally appeared on a Decca SXL, Columbia SAX, HMV ASD, RCA Living Stereo, Mercury Living Presence, Philips, CBS/Columbia or DGG record it was considered pretty damn good.

Add Argo, L'oiseaux Lyre, Archiv in particular

 

[kumachan]

Sundry recs for Bach on the piano here, but some listeners (my other half included) find it all a bit 'mathematical'. For my money, Chopin offers a very user-friendly entry to the realm of classical piano – perhaps a Chopin Greatest Hits collection from one of the mjors would be a good way to dip the toes, a selection of the choicest Preludes and Nocturnes? Then again I was just listening to Martha Argerich's EMI disc of the two Chopin Piano Concertos, and if you don't enjoy that then maybe this classical malarkey is not for you. Happy hunting!

 

[Whaleblue]

Aaahh, but with The Well-Tempered Clavier do you go for piano or harpsichord?

Another can of worms there

A freebie Harpsichord version of "Well-Tempered Clavier Book I: Prelude and Fugue No. 21 in B flat major, BWV 866" was on the Linn site yesterday (and is still available today) if anyone wants a taster.

http://www.linn.co.uk/christmas?day=8

 

[adamdea]

I'm with Richard (Lordsummit) on this, but I'd just add one caveat and alter "Anyone who's made a CD is pretty damn good to be honest." to 'anyone who's recorded for a full-price major label is pretty damn good to be honest'. Interpretation is deeply personal and opinions can be formed later with more information, but it's safe to assume that if a given performance originally appeared on a Decca SXL, Columbia SAX, HMV ASD, RCA Living Stereo, Mercury Living Presence, Philips, CBS/Columbia or DGG record it was considered pretty damn good.

It's not always easy to avoid a dash of snobbery here and there, but whilst I would agree that Mercury Living presence had great recordings, not all their performers were what I would reach for as first choices.

I would however recommend that any beginner looks up the EMI "Great Recordings of the [Twentieth] Century" which are aptly described. http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_pg...ordings+of+the+century&ie=UTF8&qid=1418203483
Given their vintage they are by and large analogue recordings, but they are generally from the golden age of analogue recording and the tape hiss has usually been removed benignly. I can't remember any of the reviewers ever saying that the remastering was worse than the original. More significantly, it's fair to say that the mid twentieth century great maestro "modern" instrument approach is over represented. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

I can remember one recording, the Dvorak Cello concerto, which IIRC most reviewers think was not worth a place in the series. Otherwise you are pretty safe

If in doubt, when looking for a standard repertory work (especially orchestral or opera) just buy one of these. If the "Great recordings" issue is now expensive then doubtless the same recording will have been reissued by EMI and will be obtainable for much less in a different package. There are similar ranges from Decca Phillips and DG ("the Orginals")

 

[Gerard124]

Sorry I have not chimed in on the thread for a while - it's the silly season and I'm working very long hours (way too long) at the moment.