For people new to "classical" music, I think that 20th century European composers are really the way to go. There seems to be a much more engaging vigorous dynamic going on, a lot more minor key "doom & Gloom", especially with the Russians like Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff. I find it to be a lot more accessible than most of the earlier periods
My faves:
Shostakovich
Bartok
Holst
Rachmaninoff
Sibelius
Prokofiev
I don't think you can go wrong with any of those.
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