Need help... branching into classical!

[Poita]

Well the time has come when a lot of people would say my 'music taste buds' are maturing. Or something like that.

Most of my CD collection is R&B (Beyonce, Akon), New Age (ERA, Amethystium), Dance (Scooter, DJ Sammy), Pop (Top 40) with a small amount of Tenor (Josh Groban, Ten Tenors) and a very small amount of Classical (Vivaldi - Four Seasons, and a couple others).

Well the more I listen to classical the more I am enjoying it. I am still not really into 'heavy' classical, but quite like the bright, cheerful orchestral pieces. I do find sole piano pieces quite nice for soft background when reading/studying.

But seeing as I am only just starting to dabble in this and there is thousands of different CDs I am looking for some suggestions to get me started by the more knowledgeable here. Hopefully it will save me hours of listening in Sanity Music.

So... any suggestions please???

Thanks!
Pete

[Boots-n-All]

Hi there,

Suggestions:-

1 - Stay away from Sanity & JBHiFi - their range & knowledge can be rather limited.

2 - Try your local ABC shop - the range of ABC Classics, featuring Australian orchestras is excellent & cheap.

3 - Try online shops - HDTracks, iTrax, Gimell, etc - most of these have some free downloads to try.

4 - Avoid mp3 where possible - classical music suffers more than pop from poor quality mp3s

Hoping this helps,

Boots.

[rovellas]

You could get this book
1001.jpg

and use it as a jumping off point.
There is a double-CD set that is an accompaniment to the book too.
Almost guaranteed is that you won't like everything you listen to that recommended - but also highly likely is that you'll really dig the sound of 'such and such a composer', which then becomes an exploration point and a path on to other areas / composers / pieces.

There are better, more comprehensive books arguably : - the famous Penguin Guide to Classical Recordings leaps to mind. But it's probably a bit overwhelming and 'dense' if you're just starting out on the journey I think .

Boots, don't JB hold large ranges of the Naxos label - a classical bargain-lover's delight with generally good to excellent performances ?
They may not carry them any more - it's been a year or so since i was in a JB store .

[brumby]

Go to the ABC FM website and take a look at what they're playing. If you see something you think might interest you, turn it on and have a listen.

The more you do this, the more you'll find and the better you can sort out your likes and dislikes.

Find a copy of the Penguin and/or Gramaphone guide in a used bookstore. Age doesn't really matter.

Check out these websites:
amazon.com,
prestoclassical.co.uk (The Pound is WAY down against the $A)
arkivmusic.com

Selection and prices much better than anywhere in Oz and shipping costs are reasonable if you buy a decent sized order. Anything under $1000 attracts no duty, GST etc from customs.

[aechmea]

IN MY OPINION .....

I like keyboard classical music so I have Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert piano concertos and sonatas, and Chopin works, together with some Scarlatti, Rameau, Couperin et al harpsichord stuff.

I also like "tone poem" style orchestral pieces, so have some Grieg, Borodin, Rachmaninov, Respighi, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky etc.

Early music from Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi, Handel.

Then I have some CDs featuring a particular performer on their instrument; clarinet, organ, trumpet, harp.

I have very little voice or string music but that's just personal preference.

Reference Recordings make some very nice sounding HDCD classical CDs, but like many audiophile labels their recording artists aren't necessarily top rung - but to a cloth eared non-musician like me that doesn't matter. Telarc is a bit like Bose is to hifi, plenty of style and hype but rather coarse and often lacking in elegance.

Back in the olden days there was a magazine called "Classsic CD" (I think) which had quite a nice cover CD where you got reasonable sized excerpts of the CDs that they reviewed. That way got to hear all sorts of material. I don't know whether such things exist now.

You could set your car radio to ABC FM Classical and then get some ideas from there.
There will be classical internet radio stations too.

[Nice to see that someone else in the world has some ERA!]

Cheers

[Vladimir Freddie]

Well the time has come when a lot of people would say my 'music taste buds' are maturing. Or something like that.

Most of my CD collection is R&B (Beyonce, Akon), New Age (ERA, Amethystium), Dance (Scooter, DJ Sammy), Pop (Top 40) with a small amount of Tenor (Josh Groban, Ten Tenors) and a very small amount of Classical (Vivaldi - Four Seasons, and a couple others).

Well the more I listen to classical the more I am enjoying it. I am still not really into 'heavy' classical, but quite like the bright, cheerful orchestral pieces. I do find sole piano pieces quite nice for soft background when reading/studying.

But seeing as I am only just starting to dabble in this and there is thousands of different CDs I am looking for some suggestions to get me started by the more knowledgeable here. Hopefully it will save me hours of listening in Sanity Music.

So... any suggestions please???

Thanks!
Pete

If you like bright & cheeful you may want to try the following:
Haydn String Quartets
Baroque: Vivaldi, Geminiani, Corelli, Couperin, Boccherini, Handel, earlier Bach. Telemann - to mention a few

& I second aechmea's suggestion of listening to ABC Classic FM

Cheers,

[Poita]

Anyone know if the CA 640C V2 can play SACD or HDCD??? I was thinking about looking for some quality recordings while I was at it.

[4heckssake]

Anyone know if the CA 640C V2 can play SACD or HDCD??? .

sacd =No
hdcd = yep

[Poita]

With the HDCD, would I use the analogue or digital outputs to the amp?

[4heckssake]

I should clarify that the Cambridge Audio 640A V2 will play an HDCD but I dont think it decodes HDCD so it is probably only playing the normal cd layer. I think all HDCDs will play in any cd player but not all (in fact most don't) decode and utilise the HDCD layer. some NADs do as do a lot of dvd players (that also play SACD).

As to which output - depends - does your amp have a DAC?

[4heckssake]

you could also consider XRCD's = Extended Resolution Compact Discs

[gainphile]

If you like piano recording, download them free here:

http://pianosociety.com/cms/index.php?section=6

Even better, these are amateur recordings with no processing artefacts !

[tdunster]

With the HDCD, would I use the analogue or digital outputs to the amp?

As far as I can recall your CA 640C V2 does not decode HDCD. Instead it plays them as regular 16bit CD's - which is fine.

Either way analogue is prefered over digital when connecting a CD player to an amplifier.

[tdunster]

If you like piano recording, download them free here:

http://pianosociety.com/cms/index.php?section=6

Even better, these are amateur recordings with no processing artefacts !

A good way to sample music but the playing itself leaves a bit to be desired and hardly what you would call audiophile quality recordings either.

Once anyone has heard Chopin played by Rubenstein or Lipatti they will know what I mean.

[Mr_Gimlet]

Lots of great links from people in the posts so far - I definitely second ClassicFM (which also keeps some stuff online), you should have a look at the UK version of ClassicFM as well as they do various awards and listeners choice albums. I wouldn't normally suggest compilations but they are a good way to work out what you like and don't like - for example, a major chunk of classical is choral music, which you may or may not like. Try ABC's Top 100 classics or whatever its called, http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/produc...oductid=310474

[Boots-n-All]

Hi there,

I listen to WCPE.COM - their OGG VORBIS stream is very good (better than MP3 streams that I've listened to) and they play classical music 24hours/day.

Boots.

[k-k-k-kenny]

Second (or third) YES for ABC Classic FM
Civilised countries (those having national broadcasters) all have national net radio classical programmes
Canada look around here:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/
France:
http://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/accueil/
UK - BBC of course
The land of the brave and home of the free doesn't do this o'course

I'll come back with some piano suggestions

[Poita]

Thanks for the help guys!
I tried listen to ABC online at work but they were having technical issues yesterday.

I have been trolling through Amazon reading peoples reviews of different CDs so may start compiling a small list to try to get a listen to somewhere.

Cheers
Pete

[andythiing]

The Ring - start with something light and breezy

And we had a CD Classical Reviewer post in recent times he might be able to give some advice.

Just stay clear of well tempered clavier I hear it corrupts the mind

[Poita]

andy, I searched in Amazon for 'The Ring' under music and am not quite sure what I am looking for, didn't see anything that seemed to fit. Did find this though which got CD of the day at ABC-FM...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

[Poita]

You mean this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Well-Temp...8368959&sr=1-2

I quite like it... :P I may have missed your joke though...??

This poses another problem which I am finding with Classical recordings. Same song different musician and it sounds different. Now I not only need to learn the composers, but who plays them as well!

[Mr_Gimlet]

andy, I searched in Amazon for 'The Ring' under music and am not quite sure what I am looking for, didn't see anything that seemed to fit.

He is trying to be funny. He is referring to this mammoth work
http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Nibelun...8370774&sr=1-2

[emesbee]

Forget Sanity Music for classical, or for anything really. Their musical selection is almost non-existent.

Have a look in John Davis music in the Twin Street Arcade. They specialise almost exclusively in classical music. Also try The Muses in Rundle Mall. They have a classical music section at the back of the store.

I'm certainly no expert on classical music, but as I've started listening to it, I find my tastes tend to lean more towards the baroque. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and Handel's Water Music are good starting points. Look for recordings by well regarded ensembles such as The English Concert directed by Trevor Pinnock, Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Neville Mariner, or Musica Antiqua Koln. Their recordings are usually played on 'authentic' instruments, which I prefer (although opinions may differ on that).

[Poita]

I am listening to samples of The Ring from Amazon... rather than me listening to every track, is it all singing?

[Mr_Gimlet]

I am listening to samples of The Ring from Amazon... rather than me listening to every track, is it all singing?

Yes, it is an opera. basically a play set to music. At random, other famous opera you may have heard of are Carmen, Madam Butterfly, La Traviata, and the Marriage of Figaro.