The Classical Music Recommendation Thread

[Zyrada]

Originally Posted by Thunder

Since this is a topic about recommendations:

I've been getting into classical music lately. I'm starting with Beethoven since it's one of the first musicians/artists I remember ever listening to. My mother has lots of CD's at home. I listened to symphony 1, 9 and now I'm listening to symphony 7.

Where should I go after Beethoven?

Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms
Poulenc's Concert Champêtre or Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Timpani
Ravel's Miroirs or Le tombeau de Couperin
Fauré's 4 Valse-Caprices

A mix of Romanticism and Neo-classicism seems appropriate considering where Beethoven falls historically. Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms is probably the most grandiose of the bunch, although Poulenc's Organ Concerto comes close (and it's my personal favorite, as I think it has more emotional range), so if you want a big sound, I'd start there. If you're more into Beethoven's piano work, go with Ravel's Miroirs or Fauré's Valse-Caprices. (Out of the links I gave, anyway. I'm sure someone will have other recommendations that probably hew more closely to Beethoven's style and period.)