Your favourite classical pieces?

You should give me a classical primer, T, a thorough list of every single classical piece you love. Every couple months I slam myself into that massive collection of music and only come out a little wiser. 

Well, so far I'm very fond of Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Ravel, Satie and Chopin. I tried listening to a 14 hour long recording of Wagner's entire ring cycle. I made it about an a hour and a half in.

Of those composers, I love Beethoven the most. His nine symphonies (9, 7, 3, 5 and 8 my favorites in that order) are my first recommendation. I love Mussorgsky and have 4 recordings of the entire Boris Godunov opera (one of my 5 favorite operas) and 2 of Khovanschina but I'd suggest to start with the safe: Pictures at an exhibition, first the original, then the Ravel's orchestration. Tchaikovsky is another great, I'd start with the symphonies specially the Pathetique but his piano and his violin concertos are great starting points, later to dig into his operas and ballets. Chopin? Piano solo works, including his sonatas (though the Chopin of the little pieces is the best). Ravel and Satie are a little farther from my favorites group, though from the former I like quite a few pieces.

Also, one Ring opera at the time works better, though you didn't finish even one it seems . Try Tannhauser or Die Fliegender Hollander for a more friendly opera, then jump into Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg, and then make the climb to Tristan und Isolde and the Ring. Easier that way .

Edited by The T - January 05 2013 at 12:16

Bruckner Bruckner, I love his symphonies above anybody else's but Ludwig (he's in my sig too ). Your favorites Presdoug? I can't live without the 7th, the 8th and the 9th, plus the 4th and the 3rd and nowadays it seems the 5 is catching up. The 00 and the 0 and the first two are way inferior to all the rest but this symphonic cycle is second to none in quality in my view (even Beethoven has a couple symphonies that really fail to speak to me like the 4th and, surprisingly, the 6th).

At the moment it should be Scarlatti's keyboard (i.e. harpsichord) sonata k147 in E minor. 

The T wrote: I love too many works to be able to choose one.

^I register any new record in an excel spreadsheet with possibility to filter on artist and genre. This way it's easier for me to select artists for a given genre.

lucas wrote: ^ I register any new record in an excel spreadsheet with possibility to filter on artist and genre. This way it's easier for me to select artists for a given genre.

I also have an Excel database with all my classical cds. 1876 and counting (I'm waiting for the arrival of -at last- a complete set of Bach's Cantatas on Hannsler). I could use the same to come up with a list like that. On Monday when I have my morning at home I definitely will, it sounds like an entertaining idea. 

truedefiance wrote: I assume we are including Baroque music here so here it is... Arcangelo Corelli: Concerto grosso No. 4 in D Major Pachelbel's Canon in D (Can't believe I'm the first one) Bach-Everything   I mean, he's Bach. Handel- Lascia Ch'io Pianga Beethoven-Fur Elise

Beethoven is not Baroque, he belongs to late classical era, and is the forefather of romantic music.