Want to unlock classical doors

[Sean Ormiston]

Hey all,

Playing so much bass with so much bow, I'm developing a growing hunger for classical music and anything bowwy. I've already checked out Joel Quarrington's Bottesini works.

I was wondering if I might shop for recommendations. I'm extremely weak in latter 19th century and 20th century stuff, so that's where I wanna look. I know I'm a real big Rachmaninoff fan. I've been listening recently to Bernard Hermann's Hitchcock soundtracks. Can anyone make a recommendation on that? (yknow, if you like that you would like this __.)

- Sean

[mcnaire2004]

Go to myspace. Search for any classical composer. Listen to the music he has up. Then check his friends list (Most composer myspaces have tons of other composer friends) and listen to theirs.

[Sean Ormiston]

Wow, good call.

[BMason]

You should only listen to composers in Beethoven's top twelve!

MySpace is a completely callow form of discovery. Do it the way people have done it for centuries.

[kontrabass]

Go to your local library and borrow CDs, none of this MySpace business.

[Noks]

Why no myspace?

[BMason]

It's worse than online dating. There's more to liking the way the music sounds and reading a dead composer's blog.

[mcnaire2004]

Originally Posted by BMason

It's worse than online dating. There's more to liking the way the music sounds and reading a dead composer's blog.

Eh, going to a page dedicated to a composer isn't wrong. I go there all the time to listen to music. That is no different from a cd.

[quenoil]

Originally Posted by BMason

It's worse than online dating.

?????????

[Noks]

All I would say about it is that the enternet (including all websites) are good sources for music info, and it's alot quicker to learn via the net than "traditional" ways.

I don't believe in tradition hindering endeavors--unless the person wants to do it the traditional way.

Y'know?

[BMason]

I'm trying to say that if he wants to get into classical music, he should open the door to where there's much much more to discover. Classical music is largely tradition and the best way to carry on that tradition is, well, the traditional way.

Use MySpace as a catalyst if you wish, but please look much further into it.

[damonsmith]

If you live near a major city, classical LPs are cheap. The high standards that box classical music in also keep the quality up, there are duds here and there but most of it is pretty good. So get a record player.
You should be be able to check out the old stuff for real cheap.
Another great deal is emusic. They have a great classical section.
For modern stuff you can start with the labels Mode and Col Lengo (which has two distrubutors so try both.)

Here is a link to Mode at Emusic:
http://www.emusic.com/browse/l/b/-db...0130819/0.html
One of the Col Lengo pages:
http://www.emusic.com/label/Col-Legn...ad/136820.html

Check out the big names first, Xenakis, Scelsi, Feldman, Cage (don't get caught up in the idea that Cage is just a theorist, he was a wonderful composer), Kagel, Nono, Berio, etc. It is pretty cheap $2 or $3 an album.
Most of it is worth hearing and worth knowing about. It isn't always about liking it, most of it has something to offer conceptually or technically, so listen with an open mind.
There is a ton of great classical bass music you can find by searching for double bass and contrabass.

[Silversorcerer]

If you want to hear a good bit of classical music that is not the top 10. You know what I mean. Stuff other than Schubert's 1st Symphony, Beethoven's 6th, 7th, 9th, Hayden's Surprise, Bach's Brandenburg's, Mozart's Sonatas (not that these aren't among my favorites), then you might want to stream WREK radio's classical morning show. WREK has a website set up so you can download the show and listen to it any time you want and they play everything else in addition to the favorites.

[mcnaire2004]

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

If you want to hear a good bit of classical music that is not the top 10. You know what I mean. Stuff other than Schubert's 1st Symphony, Beethoven's 6th, 7th, 9th, Hayden's Surprise, Bach's Brandenburg's, Mozart's Sonatas (not that these aren't among my favorites), then you might want to stream WREK radio's classical morning show. WREK has a website set up so you can download the show and listen to it any time you want and they play everything else in addition to the favorites.

Don't forget Beethovens 5th, 3rd, and 8th.

[kontrabass]

I feel that going to the library and obtaining CDs is superior in every way to MySpace. MySpace may give you an idea as to what certain composers sound like, but it is severely limiting in terms of scope.

CD booklets give lots of information that one typically cannot find, even on the internet. Also, I don't think (granted, I haven't checked) that composers of the modern canon like Schoenberg, Ligeti, or Lutosławski have a MySpace presence.

[Jamiebass]

Vivaldi is a personal favorite of mine.

[Jake]

If it's got the music for free, why not check out myspace? I usually listen to new music on myspace rather than the great classical composers, then consider buying the CD's. I still like buying a packaged CD a lot more than just getting the tracks from i-tunes. I guess that makes me more traditional than a lot of people.

[Cfederle]

Expose yourself through any means you can, and remember go to the live concerts you are in New York. I am sure they have some kind of deal for cheap tickets. Recordings are nice, performances are another ball park though.