How I came to so passionate about classical music is not completely clear to me. It may have started in my teens when a friend played an LP from Toscanini’s set of Beethoven Symphonies over a powerful stereo system. Or maybe my obsession had roots in Clockwork Orange, which features the music of the classical masters. Soon enough, I found records in my own home and listened to them. Eventually, I started buying them, going to concerts, and studying classical guitar. This article is meant to give a budding classical music lover direction. Some composers, artists and ideas are all you need.
It can beneficial to focus on a single artist, instrument, composer, style or orchestra. As an example, one of the best orchestras that I’ve ever seen perform is the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. They’re known for their warm, precise string sound and dedicated work ethic. You could do worse than simply listening to anything that they’ve recorded, studying the composers and conductors a little bit. Seeing them in concert is one of the musical treats of a lifetime. With this in mind, read on and see if you get some ideas.
My Favorite Composers
Mozart
Did you know that Keith Richards listens to Mozart? It doesn’t surprise me at all. But with over six hundred works, where do you start? Mozart has the most awesome piano concertos. Here are some of my favorites: No. 19 in F Major, K.459 – it has a pretty main theme and is sweet and easy to listen to; No. 21 in C, K. 467 – this one is the most famous because of the inclusion of the slow middle movement in a romantic movie from the ‘60s called the Elvira Madigan; No. 20 in D minor, K 466 – Mozart wrote only two minor piano concertos and this is one of them. Beethoven loved it and would play it in concert. Imagine Beethoven playing Mozart? No. 23 in A, K. 488 – this is another one of my favorites and has a melancholic, reflective middle movement. The overall form of a large scale classical piece is, fast – slow – fast. No. 24 in C minor, K.491 – the other minor concerto. Definitely a great one. A pretty good string of hits, right? But that’s just a tiny fraction of Mozart’s output.
You may have heard the great G minor Symphony, No. 40, and you think you’ve heard it all. But whatever you do, do not fail to listen to the “Little G minor” Symphony, No. 25 of Mozart, and his final romp through the genre, No. 41 in C major, known as the “Jupiter Symphony.” The Finale of the Jupiter Symphony is the culmination of perhaps the greatest career that ever happened on this mortal coil.
Kochel Numbers – I never understood what the “K” meant before all of Mozart’s works. I thought, “does that apply to all composers?” It wasn’t until I went as far as becoming a musicologist that I found out that this designation was brought to us by an individual. Ludwig von Kochel (1800-1877) was a musicologist who catalogued all of Mozart’s works. His system was established in 1862 but of course, the work goes on. Speaking of which, Mozart’s piano trio, K. 502 is one of my favorite pieces and one of the best examples of classical chamber music that you will ever hear. Don’t forget Mozart’s operas – a little opera is always good, especially when cooking! Mozart’s Don Giovanni is definitely cooking worthy, especially if you’re cooking Italian.
Haydn
Joseph Haydn was another Austrian composer who was an influence on and a friend of Mozart. He outlived him by quite a bit, born earlier and died afterwards. He’s famous for his many symphonies and also his string quartets. His is a much drier style. He lacks the infectious melody of Mozart but he’s worth a listen to hear classical music that is similar but different. I have some Haydn Symphonies on vinyl that I bought for only a couple of dollars each and they’re delightful.
Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert was a precocious genius. He died young but managed to create lasting music that forms somewhat of a bridge between Mozart and Beethoven. He composed a lot of song settings which are worth checking out, whether or not you understand German. The “Erlkonig” is one of them, the most famous of all. OK, so it’s sung in German. Give it a chance. Look up the translation. Pour yourself a glass of wine. You won’t be disappointed. He also wrote symphonies, solo piano music, and chamber pieces. He worshiped Beethoven, as did all of the romantic composers who came after him.
The great baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau cranks up some Der Erlkonig for you...
Beethoven
When I was in the conservatory, we used to have these “orchestra parties.” How I relished them! There were too few of them, unfortunately. However, one time I was lucky enough to see a performance by a young woman, a senior. That would be a graduating female pianist, all of about 22 years old. She performed the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor. It starts with an imposing minor key movement which gives way to an ethereal slow movement in E major, not exactly the most common key for a middle movement in a C minor composition. The finale is a demonic exercise in pure, catchy, minor key bliss. My heroine was very involved, swinging to and fro on the piano stool, perhaps presaging the violin and piano babes of today but a little more modestly dressed. I was spellbound and I will never forget it. One of the great classical pieces. Beethoven has loads more music, and his string quartets, piano sonatas and of course his symphonies are highly recommended, if almost inescapable.
Frederick Chopin
Chopin was from Poland and the airport in Warsaw is named after him. He was very sensitive and had an awesome girlfriend named George Sand, a writer and preternaturally cool chick. Chopin was a “romantic” composer who is famous for his piano music almost exclusively. If you’ve ever seen the Peanuts cartoon, you know that Schroeder, the kid who always played the piano, was into him. The G minor Ballade is a popular favorite and may be familiar to you, but there are many more large and small gems where that came from. His talent, style and sound are truly unique.
I had heard of Martha Argerich (above) recently and become interested in exploring her playing. A brilliant performer, she has had her share of ups and downs, it seems, like many a talented artist. Last night I came upon this video and watched the whole performance. The encores are terrific and it's difficult to describe the gamut of emotions that come throughout the entire concert. Isn't it cool when you are looking for something, expecting greatness, and voila! It's there for you? Classical music can do that.
Richard Wagner
Wagner is mainly famous for his operas. They are very long, slow and sad for the most part, although they can be quite uplifting in a stoic kind of way. However, they all have instrumental music in them. I have a CD of all the famous preludes and overtures, and The Tristan Prelude is a great place to start. I finally managed to see one of his operas, Seigfried at the gorgeous Hungarian National Opera House in Budapest a few years ago. It took Wagner years to finish it and there is a fascinating progression in style as it goes along. It ain’t over until the full-figured lady gets up off her slab and sings. Worth the wait!
Tchaikovsky
When Chuck Berry sang, “Roll over Beethoven, tell Tchaikovsky the news,” he knew what he was talking about. Tchaikovsky is one of the most popular, regularly performed composers in the classical repertoire. His Symphonies, piano and violin concertos, ballet music and operas are all concert house staples. I personally listen most often to his Symphonies and numbers one and four are my favorites. I wrote a paper on the first movement of No. 4 in grad school. His Nutcracker Suite is a must for Christmas music, and he also wrote a violin concerto and a piano concerto that are reknowned concert pieces. The Russian repertory starts with Tchaikovsky, and there is a saying that the best ‘insert instrumentalist here’ are always Russian – do you need any more reason to investigate?
Debussy
I listen to tons of solo piano music. I find it relaxing and there’s an endless repertoire of beautiful pieces to get hooked on. Claude Debussy’s solo piano works are almost a genre unto themselves. I often start my day with a Debussy piano CD and there are others out there who do the same, looking for something soothing, sexy and transcendent to ease them into their day.
These pieces include his Images, Estampes, Preludes and Etudes. They are generally short but have long, fancy French names and even the translations will make you want to hear them. One of the most famous is called, “The Sunken Cathedral” – need I say more? You can find it on the CD that I have probably listened to the most, Debussy: Images, Etudes by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, 2001, Warner Classics. One of the first Debussy albums that I ever heard was with pianist Paul Jacobs. He recorded much of Debussy’s work and also a great record of Schoenberg, all for Nonesuch in the ‘70s. I collect Nonesuch LPs.
It’s also essential to check out Debussy’s orchestral works, which are very popular if not performed as constantly as some works, possibly because they’ve already been performed so much. Three great pieces are La Mer, Prelude a l’pres-midi d’un Faune, and the symphonic arrangement of Clair de Lune.
Maurice Ravel
Ravel has some great music, including a beautiful string quartet, often paired on disc with Debussy’s quite complementary offering. Ravel’s solo piano music is also watery, rhythmic and mesmerizing. His “Gaspard de la Nuit” is a perfect example.
A Nonesuch LP from my collection.
Favorite Performers
Violin music is the province of that most exalted of musicians, the violin virtuoso. You can’t go wrong with a cool violin concerto or sonata and a great player, of which there are many. One artist that I really love is Maxim Vengerov. I’ve never been able to find any of his recordings to buy but you can certainly check him out online. I saw him play at Carnegie hall and he lit the place up like you can’t imagine. He plays a Stradivarius, of course. The sound was to die for.
Nathan Milstein is another brilliant violinist. For some reason, you hear a little less about him than the other great virtuosos of the 20th Century. He plays dry but very penetrating, intellectual Bach.
Mitsuko Uchida is a superb Japanese pianist. A revered pianist of today, she’s nearing her golden years but will certainly play to the end of her days. A terrific musician, I saw her play once. She is famous for Mozart and Beethoven but can play anything and does most of the major concertos. Some recordings of hers that I own: Shubert Impromtus Op. 90 & 142, Mozart sonatas and the spectacular Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor.
Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg is a violinist who came of age around the time I was in the conservatory. She’s famed for her extremely expressive playing and physical movement on stage, plus flaunting her substantial physical charms and more or less inventing the ‘classical babe’ persona as it were. She plays beautifully and one of the first albums I bought by her features the Brahms Sonata for Violin and Piano in A and the Franck Sonata for Violin and Piano in A. The cover is priceless.
It can be hard to choose between Khatia Buniatishvili videos, here playing Schumann.
Arthur Rubinstein – my impression of Rubinstein is like this: “The piano very BIG, the orchestra, very small.” He is one of the great pianists of the Twentieth Century. I have a double album of him playing Chopin Piano Concertos that I found on the street of all places. He does all the great piano repertoire, although I have to say I don’t always get all of his recordings, the sound or the mood. I think he may have missed out a bit on the high fidelity period. He lived 1887-1982.
Daniel Barenboim – An Isreali-born pianist and conductor. Some of my favorite recordings include him either playing or conducting or both. He conducts and plays terrific Mozart and plays Chopin beautifully.
The Latvian conducter Mariss Jansons recorded two of my two favorite Tchaikovsky Symphonies and he’s one of the most charismatic conductors that I’ve ever seen. He recently retired. Jansons mainly conducted the big warhorses but did them very well. He was the director and conductor of the Concertgebouw, the historic concert hall in Amsterdam. I saw him perform there once and again at Carnegie Hall. His father was a conductor and died of a heart attack on stage. Jansons has the same bad heart and that’s why he retired.
A Few More Records and Pieces That I Love
Brahms Hungarian Dances – one could do worse than to listen to these highly romantic and idiosyncratic pieces. Grab some Palinka and look up the history of the work and Brahms himself and you’re off on a transcendental excursion. The above Piano Quintet Opus 34 is also a favorite, a long, engaging piece filled with fiery passion. I guess the piano quintet is a favorite set up for me - a pianist in solo mode joined by a string quartet as backing and foil. Bliss I say!
Antonin Dvorak - Piano Quintet Opus 81. I saw this piece performed at Town Hall in NYC and fell in love with it. The recording I have of it, played by the world famous Takacs Quartet, never gets boring. In fact, I'm always looking for that new, gorgeous chamber piece to dive into but I keep coming back to this and several others.
Arnold Schoenberg, The Transfigured Night. This is dark, spooky, deep and unforgettable. Schoenberg is famous for his twelve-tone compositions and other groundbreaking works. But The Transfigured Night transcends all labels. Somewhat challenging but ultimately rewarding, try listening to it with the lights out. A modern masterpiece.
Thus Spake Zarathustra – by the modern Strauss, Richard – aka 2001 A Space Odyssey. A piece that makes vivid use of a large orchestra. Don’t miss a chance to see it live! In the performance above, at the Bartok National Concert Hall in Budapest, this must before the Strauss, because the orchestra was about double the size.
Leos Janacek – I have an “Anthology of Czech Piano Music” from Janacek. I bought it in Prague at a tiny little CD store next to a bar and a pizza place – everything you need right on one block. It reminds me of silent movie music a lot of the time, in a really good way. It’s watery and melodic like Debussy and Ravel.
The hallways alone are reason to visit the Bartok National Concert Hall in Budapest.
Venue
Ooops! Almost forgot one of my favorite ways of thinking about the music experience: Venue. Many people will strongly disagree, but living in NYC, I find the venue question a bit difficult. I love Avery Fisher Hall in terms of its aesthetics, but it doesn’t really sound good. Carnegie Hall is way better, but terribly expensive and a bit uncomfortable in ways (ever try to use the bathroom if you are sitting in the back of the orchestra, stage right? The loo is waaaay down stage left, basically behind the stage, etc.
No, I like other countries, cities, etc venues and I seek them out any chance I can. Some favorites include the many wonderful options in Budapest, including the Bartok National Concert Hall (above). Berlin has a wonderful modern complex where I visited the small hall, and it was tres modern with lovely acoustics. The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam sounds incredible and has a terrific vibe. Well, let’s just say, if you find a venue that you like and it’s nearby, count your blessings and get ye to some concerts. -Christian Botta