Who are the best composers and what are the best cds to get?

Question

im doing gcse music and we listen to alot of classical music and i was wondering since im so new to this genre who are the best composers from all the time periods of classical and what the best cds are to listen to :) any help would be highly appreciated

Answer 1

Your question is very broad. It's so broad that books have been written on the topic. May I suggest these various NPR books that discuss the composers, their music and suggested recordings of them:



http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_6_3?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=npr%20classical%20music&sprefix=NPR%2Cstripbooks%2C233



Then there is "The Penguin Guide to the 1000 Finest Classical Recordings: The Must-Have CDs and DVDs"



http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Guide-Finest-Classical-Recordings/dp/0241955947/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365960907&sr=1-3&keywords=penguin+guide+to+cds



Also there is the yearly book "The Gramophone Classcial Music Guide:



http://www.amazon.com/Gramophone-Classical-Music-Guide-2012/dp/0860249247/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365960971&sr=1-1&keywords=gramophone+classical+music+guide+2013



Read and learn, then purchase the recommended CDs or locate videos of the music on You Tube.

Answer 2

Rather than relying on other people's favourites (and these people's musical taste might be VERY different from yours, after all), I would steer you towards the three books below which give an excellent introduction to classical music and how to start building a collection. They are all cheaply available through sites like Amazon.



1) 'The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection' by Ted Libbey. It has good info on the 350 most renowned classical works.

2) 'The Rough Guide to Classical Music' (various contributors)

3) 'Classical Music for Dummies' by David Pogue and Scott Speck



Happy exploring!

Answer 3

Really opinionated but I suggest Beethoven's symphonies. They're pretty well known and very interesting (especially No.5 1st mvt and No.9 4th mvt).



Herbet von Karajan conducted/recorded a full box set of each of the 9, but it's a bit expensive.

However they're all available individually on iTunes etc.



Other big composers: J.S Bach, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Berlioz, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, Debussy, Tsaikovsky, Shostakovich, Prokoviev, Rachmaninov plus many many others.

That covers Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist and early 20th century

Answer 4

I like Chopin and Schumann. Grieg is good too; Holberg Suite = happy face. Can you tell I love the Romantic period?

If you like classical period stuff, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and early Beethoven are good.

Bach, Pachelbel, Telemann, and Vivaldi are notable Baroque composers.

Mahler, Sibelius, Debussy, and Strauss are Post-Romantic (transition from Romantic to modern), while Copland was a prominent Modern period composer.

Villa-Lobos is an example of 20th-century Brazilian music, which offers a different atmosphere than European/American composers. I quite like Villa-Lobos, especially Choro No. 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByuJOjWVbUI



I hope this is helpful! :)

Answer 5

You might also refer to the Gramophone Classical Music Guide

Answer 6

I love Mozart, you should listen to his music! Amazing! Also I like Bach and Beethoven. Some of Mozarts peices: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtqjP3-x3kI - --Mozart Nr. 545

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im_tJLeo2qU -- Twinkle Variations -- I could play this

Beethoven: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ3ba9zwx6c -- I could play this.



Thsese are just some of Mozart's peices. He also wrote Eine Kliene Natchmusik. I did a speech on him. And Bach did Minuet in C. Hope I helped!

Answer 7

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