5 ms·

> I’m a classical neophyte and struggle with composer/orchestra/conductor fit. If you're new to classical music you really don't need to worry about this. Almo

by y7 5y ago

> I’m a classical neophyte and struggle with composer/orchestra/conductor fit. If you're new to classical music you really don't need to worry about this. Almost all available professional recordings are of high quality, and the differences between interpretations are relatively subtle. What is important is to get a sense of which composers you enjoy. Classical music spans a large period of time with very different styles, so try a few well-known composers from different time periods to see what you like. I greatly enjoy classical music and I regularly attend(ed) concerts, but my interests are very narrow and I don't get a lot of enjoyment out of Mozart and Beethoven for instance. In my opinion, classical music is best enjoyed when you devote your full attention to listening to the music, i.e. when you're not doing anything else (or something with a very low cognitive load, like walking/driving/etc). Focus on how the music makes you feel, but it's okay to let your thoughts wander off a bit.

zozbot234 5y ago
> If you're new to classical music you really don't need to worry about this. Almost all available professional recordings are of high quality, and the differences between interpretations are relatively subtle. Agreed, but it's also important to understand that what's truly distinctive about Western classical music (as opposed to other music traditions) is it being a written art form first and foremost, with sheet music as the "standard" form for a piece and performance being subsequent to that. If you're "new" to serious/cultivated music, you really should start by learning to read the sheet music and follow along when listening to a performance. Everything else in music appreciation is downstream of that.
- hippari 5y ago
  >what's truly distinctive about Western classical music (as opposed to other music traditions) is it being a written art form first and foremost I find this hard to believe, music score can be copied down the generation with some degree of lost-in-translation, they might not be the full materialization of the composer's idea, some copier may write down their own idea on the sheets. I would agree that music score is the only means of accessing composer's works for Western classical music, and thereby became the "standard". But this would also likely be true for other culture's music, and therefore it's not unique.
Raineer 5y ago
I agree with this answer. I listen to classical constantly but still don't really feel like I understand it well. What I did was just listen..listen..listen and then look for patterns in what I liked. I love Vivaldi and Bach, but I tend not to love too many of the other "big names". Turns out I really love most anything from the Baroque period! And I literally just used that Wikipedia entry as a starting part to continue looking for more composers.
- olau 5y ago
  If you like Baroque keyboard music, try something like Scarlatti. It's a bit difficult finding good interpretations (I have a CD somewhere), but here's an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTi-QXenilQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTi-QXenilQ Rameau is a different kind of beast from Bach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIGcj_Avb8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIGcj_Avb8 https://youtu.be/NK3-URQntcg?t=1383 https://youtu.be/NK3-URQntcg?t=1383 I also really recommend giving Bach's cello suites a try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGgG-0lOJjk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGgG-0lOJjk
cynicalkane 5y ago
I kind of disagree with this. For the post-Beethoven era, sure, but the standard way of playing Beethoven and before tends to be heavily biased towards an uninformed modern idea of what classical music "should" be, which is stodgy, slow, smooth, heavily refined, overcooked with crescendoes and decrescendos, and quite inauthentic. Almost as though it's shameful for music to be immediate and exciting at the risk of being unrefined. If you compare Furtwängler's[1] Beethoven symphonies to Christopher Hogwood's... one sounds like music for wealthy old people at a concert hall. The other sounds like music. (Don't get me started on the routine butchering of Bach...) But that's just my opinion. The point is it really pays to try different conductors, performers and performances before the 1830s or so. I'm not sure why that time changes things, but I'd guess the romantic style that came after more closely aligns with artsy-fartsy performance practices, and that composers also became more careful about marking how their works should be performed. Anyway, trying different things is also a good exercise in developing personal taste, which is a key ingredient of music appreciation. [1] I originally had von Karajan here, but I went back to have a listen and it wasn't as bad as I remembered. Substituted Furtwängler's inexplicably famous recordings, which sound like the entire orchestra took Valium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bOxcryX1VE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bOxcryX1VE . Compare to Beethoven's recommended tempo and historical style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y07M8e5g-Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y07M8e5g-Y
- roughly 5y ago
  I wonder if this is a similar effect as the “classic white marble” impression of Greek & Roman architecture - we have an entire aesthetic (both artistic and cultural) built off of the “purity” of the white marble remains; meanwhile it turns out in their time they were garishly colored and decorated because the Greeks and romans, like all other humans, actually enjoyed living in places and looking at things.
  - FredPret 5y ago
    That’s a great point. I wonder if in future there will be slow, dignified recordings of Nicky Minaj et al
intrasight 5y ago
>best enjoyed when you devote your full attention to listening to the music, i.e. when you're not doing anything else Reminds me of going to live concerts, and my guest being surprised that I spend most of my time with my eyes closed - so that I can focus on the music.
dbtc 5y ago
Hi, I find this useful https://old.reddit.com/r/classicalresources/ https://old.reddit.com/r/classicalresources/ Also, I have used Idagio in the past, which has a mood-based suggester.
isolli 5y ago
Related, I would recommend the book "1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die" [0]. The works are neatly arranged by chronological order, so you can easily discover new works from a period you like. And it gave me plenty of ideas just browsing it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1214513.1001_Classical_Recordings_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1214513.1001_Classical_R...

by y7 5y ago

zozbot234 5y ago

> If you're new to classical music you really don't need to worry about this. Almost all available professional recordings are of high quality, and the differences between interpretations are relatively subtle. Agreed, but it's also important to understand that what's truly distinctive about Western classical music (as opposed to other music traditions) is it being a written art form first and foremost, with sheet music as the "standard" form for a piece and performance being subsequent to that. If you're "new" to serious/cultivated music, you really should start by learning to read the sheet music and follow along when listening to a performance. Everything else in music appreciation is downstream of that.

hippari 5y ago
>what's truly distinctive about Western classical music (as opposed to other music traditions) is it being a written art form first and foremost I find this hard to believe, music score can be copied down the generation with some degree of lost-in-translation, they might not be the full materialization of the composer's idea, some copier may write down their own idea on the sheets. I would agree that music score is the only means of accessing composer's works for Western classical music, and thereby became the "standard". But this would also likely be true for other culture's music, and therefore it's not unique.

Raineer 5y ago

I agree with this answer. I listen to classical constantly but still don't really feel like I understand it well. What I did was just listen..listen..listen and then look for patterns in what I liked. I love Vivaldi and Bach, but I tend not to love too many of the other "big names". Turns out I really love most anything from the Baroque period! And I literally just used that Wikipedia entry as a starting part to continue looking for more composers.

olau 5y ago
If you like Baroque keyboard music, try something like Scarlatti. It's a bit difficult finding good interpretations (I have a CD somewhere), but here's an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTi-QXenilQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTi-QXenilQ Rameau is a different kind of beast from Bach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIGcj_Avb8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIGcj_Avb8 https://youtu.be/NK3-URQntcg?t=1383 https://youtu.be/NK3-URQntcg?t=1383 I also really recommend giving Bach's cello suites a try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGgG-0lOJjk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGgG-0lOJjk

cynicalkane 5y ago

I kind of disagree with this. For the post-Beethoven era, sure, but the standard way of playing Beethoven and before tends to be heavily biased towards an uninformed modern idea of what classical music "should" be, which is stodgy, slow, smooth, heavily refined, overcooked with crescendoes and decrescendos, and quite inauthentic. Almost as though it's shameful for music to be immediate and exciting at the risk of being unrefined. If you compare Furtwängler's[1] Beethoven symphonies to Christopher Hogwood's... one sounds like music for wealthy old people at a concert hall. The other sounds like music. (Don't get me started on the routine butchering of Bach...) But that's just my opinion. The point is it really pays to try different conductors, performers and performances before the 1830s or so. I'm not sure why that time changes things, but I'd guess the romantic style that came after more closely aligns with artsy-fartsy performance practices, and that composers also became more careful about marking how their works should be performed. Anyway, trying different things is also a good exercise in developing personal taste, which is a key ingredient of music appreciation. [1] I originally had von Karajan here, but I went back to have a listen and it wasn't as bad as I remembered. Substituted Furtwängler's inexplicably famous recordings, which sound like the entire orchestra took Valium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bOxcryX1VE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bOxcryX1VE . Compare to Beethoven's recommended tempo and historical style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y07M8e5g-Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y07M8e5g-Y

roughly 5y ago
I wonder if this is a similar effect as the “classic white marble” impression of Greek & Roman architecture - we have an entire aesthetic (both artistic and cultural) built off of the “purity” of the white marble remains; meanwhile it turns out in their time they were garishly colored and decorated because the Greeks and romans, like all other humans, actually enjoyed living in places and looking at things.
- FredPret 5y ago
  That’s a great point. I wonder if in future there will be slow, dignified recordings of Nicky Minaj et al

intrasight 5y ago

>best enjoyed when you devote your full attention to listening to the music, i.e. when you're not doing anything else Reminds me of going to live concerts, and my guest being surprised that I spend most of my time with my eyes closed - so that I can focus on the music.

dbtc 5y ago

Hi, I find this useful https://old.reddit.com/r/classicalresources/ https://old.reddit.com/r/classicalresources/ Also, I have used Idagio in the past, which has a mood-based suggester.

isolli 5y ago

Related, I would recommend the book "1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die" [0]. The works are neatly arranged by chronological order, so you can easily discover new works from a period you like. And it gave me plenty of ideas just browsing it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1214513.1001_Classical_Recordings_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1214513.1001_Classical_R...