Top Ten Classical Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Classical Music

By Christian Hertzog Wed., Jun. 20 2012 at 3:30 AM

From the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San José State University

In this romanticized meeting of two of the greatest classical composers, Beethoven fingers Mozart's organ.

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It's been around for centuries, musicians still play it and audiences love it, so classical music must be pretty awesome, right? Hell yes!

That doesn't mean that the average Joe can dive right into any classical composition. Symphonies and sonatas can be hard to understand because: 1) there are no lyrics; 2) there are ten tons of musical ideas packed into one piece (unlike the typical pop song with a hook and contrasting bridge); and 3) the length of the works are often long.

However, sooner or later most curious listeners want to give classical music a try, and over the years I've recommended the following pieces with successful results. Classical fans argue about which performance of a Beethoven symphony is best, but here's a secret: for newcomers, the performance is less important than the actual composition. (Note: There's no vocal music here. Many newbies have trouble with operatic singing, and different languages.) Enjoy!

10) J.S. Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
(Philips 468549)
Concertos are easier to understand than symphonies. Everyone can relate to a soloist playing out in front of a group. There's an inherent drama in the relation between what the soloist plays and what the rest of the musicians do. 17th and 18th century concertos are shorter than their 19th and 20th century counterparts, and easier to appreciate.

Some composers aren't happy with just one soloist; they have to put three or four in front. The most glorious examples of this type of work (known as a concerto grosso) are the Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is an inexpensive 2-fer CD that collects all six Brandenburgs. Try the 2nd; it's such a rousing piece that a performance was included on the Voyager probe to introduce aliens to Terran music. The 4th and 5th are easy to grasp as well.

Wonderful as the Brandenburgs are, the first work you should go to in this set is the Double Violin Concerto. People who've never listened to classical music respond immediately and magically to this work. When I taught, I used it to illustrate counterpoint (two or more melodies happening at the same time), and it never failed to captivate first-time listeners.

Tags:

Bach, Beethoven, Classical, Don't Know Shit About, Dvorak, Gershwin, Mozart, Terry Riley

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Joe Pellegrino

Christian, I agree with you about the twinkle variations. It's a great encore piece. I'll defend the Elgar by saying that the upward-moving five-note rocking is what I'd call the theme in it. My original thought wasn't to use it as a teaching tool about the form, but to use it to demonstrate the emotional depths that even a simple piece can produce. The development of Beethoven 5, and the sound painting of Beethoven 6 (although I might also mention Till Eulenspiegel as an alternative choice to demonstrate that) can be admired and experienced if you've got the musical memory to recall the motive or the "plot" 400 measures later, and that's when they have their impact, a mixture of intellect and emotion. But with the Elgar, you don't need a trained ear. Sorry, I feel like I'm preaching to the choir, so I'll shut up now.

Christian Hertzog

I love the Enigma Variations, but it's a difficult piece to illustrate the form of theme and variations, as there's no theme! The slow movement of Haydn's Emperor Quartet, which I've included my CD suggestions, is a fairly straightforward theme and variations--plus it's a well-known theme. An even better theme and variations for newbies is Mozart's piano work, 12 Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman." We Americans know the tune better as The Alphabet Song or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I used to play it at parties--everyone chuckles when they hear the simple, well-known tune, but then Mozart dresses it up and takes it out for a night on the town.

Christian Hertzog

Mahler 2 is too confusing for novices. I've listened to it for years, and I don't think it all gels--the parts are more interesting than the whole. Mahler 1 and 4 are both a lot easier to process, and more successfully constructed. If I had gone with a vocal music selection, I would have chosen highlights from Carmen.

Sarah Davis

Thanks! Hasty morning reading is no excuse............but I stand by my Mahler request :)

Joe Pellegrino

I've got to go with something that offers both an emotional hook and a (light) intellectual workout, say, recognizing the iterations and embellishments of a theme in "theme and variations" form. So I'd recommend Elgar's Enigma Variations. I know it's an old chestnut, but it's easily grasped, hummable, and it builds perfectly to the emotional payoff of the Nimrod variation.

Eshley

Hmm...I think there should be some kind of explanation as to why people consider instrumental music of the past "Classical Music." Haha I know--music snobbery--but there should be some sort of mention about the fact that classical music was specific to a certain time period and doesn't extend to Romantic composers, etc. Side note--In C is definitely a fun jammage tune.

West Coast Sound

If you read the intro, it explains that we've purposefully omitted vocal music.

Sarah Davis

I guess this should be titled "Ten Instrumental Classical Music Albums..."- no vocal music at all, which is a shame! However, the selections listed are fantastic, and as someone who DOES know a ton of shit about classical music, I enjoyed reading this list. A good vocal/instrumental hybrid addition would be the Resurrection Symphony (Mahler)!