Ok guys, I need your help. Im not really much of a music listener at home but now that I have this Axiom system my interest has been spiked. Now I dont know much about Classical Music but when I hear it on the radio and on TV I generally like it.

I was thinking about buying a few CD's and was wondering if you guys could set me on the right path. I want a few classical cd's that will really let my system show me what its got!

Thanks for any recommendations that you may have.

Where is JohnK when you need him.....

He'll be by...

Well, it's not precisely classical, but I do recommend Bela Fleck-Perpetual Motion. It's a collection of classical pieces played (fairly striaght) on non-traditional instruments, leaning towards bluegrass. Good stuff.

You can't go wrong with Bach; Telarc Digital has some good stuff.

We also have an album called Essential Mozart that is a good introduction there.

And of course, get Beethoven's 9th. I don't have a specific recording to recommend, but any will do as a start. It's probably the best piece of music ever writting. IMHO.

New, I was delayed by the necessity of compiling a list that would be just ideal for you. First, you absolutely must have The Planets ; the gorgeous music for Swan Lake ; Hungarian Dances; Roman Festivals; Scheherazade ; Symphonic Dances; Daphnis et Chloe ; Slavonic Dances. These are all colorful items that should appeal to just about everyone. They should give you a good start in exploring the whole world of beautiful music that's waiting out there for those who'll just give a listen.

Sign on JohnK's office door: Out to lunch. Bach at 12:30. Offenbach sooner.

I'd recommend that a non-classical music listener who wants quality classical sound must get a copy of "John Williams Greatest Hits 1969-1999". Those are great recordings that show the full range of orchestral sound, and are mostly familiar to all of us.

I'd add Dvorak's New World Symphony to JohnK's list of great classical compositions to get, and any recording by a great orchestra (London, New York, Berlin, and many others) is worthwhile.

On that note, if you only want a few CDs, spend an extra few dollars and stick to the best recordings on the best labels. The $1-per-CD box sets at Costco are OK for the car as background music, but they're imperfectly recorded by small and not perfectly rehearsed orchestras, and a good sound system would point out the flaws easily.

--Martin

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir!



Sutter

Hi NEW,
You would enjoy the following ones as well:

The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet

Messiah

The Four Seasons

The Complete Brandenburg Concertos

The 9th Symphony

Carmina Burana

Appalachian Journey

Pachelbel's Canon

The Best Of Vienna

Also, like carlile mentioned, there may be a better version/rendition of the above works that I may not be aware of, but you should be good with any of the versions.

Cheers!

Thanks for all the great suggestions guys. I think im going to start out with, The 9th symphony, and The Planets. I will let you guys know what I think.

Also, what mode do you guys recommend listeing to? Pro Logic 2 Music, DTS Neo 6 Music, 5 channel surround, 2 channel stereo? Which is best? Thanks