Good classical music?

[Thrifty]

I'd like to add come classical music to my iPod.  When I tried to find some, I realized this can be a pretty broad term, so I ended up sorta overwhelmed.

I know a lot of names; Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Chopin, Strauss, Brahms, Salieri.  But I have no idea what period they're from or what sort of music they produced.

Okay, to make a broad question only slightly less broad, here's what I'm looking for.  Basically anything instrumental.  NO OPERA.  I hate opera.  My dad piped that shit all over the house when I was growing up, and it drove me nuts.  I'd really like some straight instrumental arrangements with no vocals.  So who created that sort of music?

[Imrahil]

Lots and lots of people.

As far as easing into it...I personally find the Romantic era the easiest to start on.  Try some Tchaikovsky and see how you like him; his 4th Symphony is quite good, as is the 1812 overture (which was the first classical piece I fell in love with at around age...oh, 11 or 12 I suppose).

Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is pretty good as well, and fits your criteria.

Or you might prefer the baroque/classical period, in which case I'd suggest trying out Bach's Brandenburg Concertos; a lot less variation in tone, but a lot more constant in tempo; this is sort of mathematical, "pure music."

If you like more programmatic music--music that tells a story--you might try Respighi's Fountains of Rome/Pines of Rome (get one with liner notes, or read about them on the internet), or Debussy's La Mer.

Oh, and by the bye--not all choral is at all operatic (i.e., soloists).  I don't much care for that either, but some massed choral stuff is great.  And if you can get Wagner without words (there's an album called Der Ring Ohne Worter, "The Ring without Words") which is excellent.

[mrbasehart]

I like Chopin's piano works, like Impromptu Fantasy or Raindrops and Claude Debussy's Claire de Lune is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. 

That's really the extent of my Classical musical knowledge. 

[Monty]

The soundtrack to the 1994 Gary Oldman film, "Immortal Beloved" is a good starting point for Beethoven.  One of my favorite classical music CD's.  It is still in print or available used on Amazon for cheap.

[torgosPizza]

Mike is a HUGE classical music nut. He and I share some common interests in that regard. Check out some works by Scarlatti, there are two of them, one is more opera than the other. But there are a couple instrumental albums I had that are phenomenal. Anything from the Baroque period is pretty great, IMO.

[Imrahil]

Mike is a HUGE classical music nut. He and I share some common interests in that regard. Check out some works by Scarlatti, there are two of them, one is more opera than the other. But there are a couple instrumental albums I had that are phenomenal. Anything from the Baroque period is pretty great, IMO.

I'm not really a fan of the baroque. It's more "pure music" than other periods are, which is something I find tedious about it. It's also got pretty simplistic themes that get repeated a lot, and pretty much constant motion.

Didn't know that about Mike, though, that's interesting, and cool that you get to share that with him.

[Tripe H. Redux]

Ok try some of the following

William Grant Still
Antonin Dvorak
Edward Elgar
George Frideric Handel

Claude Debussy's Claire de Lune

Isn't terribly representative of his other work, but Debussy is good if you like less traditional, more Avant-garde, music

[jewishcarpenter]

I'm a fan of Liszt, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin. Earlier stuff like Bach never really struck me as something to listen to. It (to me anyways) lacks emotion, it seems more of a military march than a song I would regularly enjoy. I mainly listen to classical piano although I do also like choral arrangements from time to time. If you want some specific suggestions please let me know.

[Imrahil]

Ok try some of the following

William Grant Still
Antonin Dvorak
Edward Elgar
George Frideric Handel

Claude Debussy's Claire de Lune

Isn't terribly representative of his other work, but Debussy is good if you like less traditional, more Avant-garde, music

Avant-garde for its day, perhaps, but certainly not now--I think a lot of modern soundtracks show impressionist tendencies.  I mean we're not talking Schoenberg or Bartok or whatever.

[Tripe H. Redux]

Avant-garde for its day, perhaps,

Which would be the context in which I was using it. Nothing "perhaps" about it.

[Imrahil]

I don't think that was clear from your post.

[D.B. Barnes]

I'll throw in these two:

Mozart's Jupiter Symphony (Symphony No. 41)

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2

[Tripe H. Redux]

I don't think that was clear from your post.

But "avant-garde" is a tad déclassé, it's has more of a historical relevance than anything else.

Anyway, if you like romantics Debussy is a nice gentle transition from that to more experimental forms.

It's a nice step towards Messiaen and others