Ethan Banks

@ecbanks

Off The Beaten Path: Classical Music For The Uninitiated

| 4 minutes to read

Ludwig van Beethoven in 1820
Ludwig van Beethoven / Image via Wikipedia

Classical music has fallen into the shadow of rock’s towering popularity over the last fifty years. Nonetheless, I am an unabashed classical music fan and collector. I would love to see this form of high art reclaim the hearts and minds of the world once again. Likely? Perhaps not, but as long as there are orchestras performing, composers writing, and people listening, my enthusiasm shall remain undampened. I know, I know…an orchestra playing a symphony brings to mind tedious affluence, black tuxedos, and glamorized music halls. But forget that stereotypical imagery. You can (and should!) listen to classical music *for the music*: music that will mesmerize, inspire, stagger, and flood you with an infinite variety of feeling and emotion if you give it space to speak, and listen to what it’s saying.

Admittedly, music in any genre has this potential; music touches us on a deeply emotional level. However, I argue that among classical’s nearly limitless body of works can be found music that touches us the deepest, the strongest, and the most poignantly. I love classical music as a friend and companion, true – but I love it most of all for how it can make me feel.

Special note – not every piece in the world of classical music is a winner; sadly, there are always turds amongst the treasure. You’ve been warned.

If you’re interested in classical music but don’t know where to start, I am going to suggest a few recordings from each of the classical music periods where I do most of my listening. Some of these pieces arguably fit in multiple periods, as there isn’t always a clear definition. Will you like them? I have no idea. I can say with confidence that the pieces I’ll mention below are generally representative of the style of the era and are from a major composer. From there, you’ll need to make up your own mind about what appeals to you. Your age and prior musical tastes will have a lot to do with how you react to any of this music. Give it time: if you’ve never listened to classical music before, the format is rather different from a 3 minute ditty conforming to a specific radio playlist. There’s a lot more to take in, and it will take several auditions to hear what’s there.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess a fervent devotion to string quartets in general, recordings by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, large choral ensembles, impressionist-era solo piano, recordings by violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and the works of Ludwig van Beethoven (any and all of them).

I am linking to Amazon.com pages of popular classical recordings, often with streaming track samples so you can get a taste of the music. I will eschew my own review of the works, as there are usually plenty of reviewers with plenty of commentary. You should understand that popular classical music works will have been recorded dozens of times in recent decades by a variety of orchestras, ensembles, and conductors. Which recording is “best” is often a matter of personal taste. Don’t agonize over this point, as Amazon music reviewers spend a lot of time talking about little that’s consequential. Some of the recordings I mention are well-known, and others off the beaten path while still being (mostly) accessible. I’m also trying to provide variations in the instruments and forms to avoid boredom.

All of these are either exact recordings that I own, or works that I am familiar with if my specific recording is no longer commercially available.

Please feel free to comment with your own classical favorites.  This is, at best, an abbreviated list to get someone started, as seen from my own point of view.  Doubtless, the list could be more complete, but getting even this far took hours.