Give me a crash course in classical music.

HiredGun

I consider myself fairly well-read, but when it comes to music, I have very little sense of anything that came before the emergence of popular music and the recording industry in the 20th century. I want to fix this.

What I want to know is:

1) The names of the essential pieces of classical music that I should know and listen to. This includes both a) pieces that most people instantly recognize due to their fame, and b) pieces that most people don't recognize, but that were significant developments in the field.

2) Links to (legal) online recordings would be great, if applicable.

3) I also want to have a sense of the chronology, and of the connections between the various artists and trends. What is significant about this piece or that composer? In what ways is he influenced by what came before, and what is his own lasting legacy? Was there a historical context? In other words, I want to end up with something deeper than just a long playlist of pieces I need to hear.

4) No amount of input is too big or small. Existing written resources are equally as valuable as your personal take on a piece of music or a portion of musical history.

Thanks, guys.

Fawkes

A History of Western Music (7th Ed). Standard textbook when I was studying. Looks a little expensive though, try the 6th or 5th editions if so.

Otherwise, just listen to stuff. Go surreptitiously buy as many popular classics compilations as you can, preferably in some sort of disguise if you ever plan on going back to that shop, as they will have most of the famous or "essential" stuff you have heard. They are cheap, and from this, you can find out what you like, the period, who wrote it, and find more.

[...for number 3, the above tome will do it, but read your own damn books ...] :P

Sites which provide old, post-copyright, legally free recordings of classical music:

Karadar
Classic Cat
Load of Rachmaninov recordings (site in Russian, just click around)

Janson

Well, I'm sure you realise that you're talking about a broad range of music spanning many centuries, so I'll give a brief run-down as taught in music theory:

It's useful to classify music according to the periods it was written in, as each period had its own set of fashionable/new instruments, styles and techniques.

1400-1600 Renaissance period

I admit I know little about this period of music - no composers immediately spring to mind (I recognise a few of the names in that wikipedia link, but cannot recall any particular pieces of music) and it's not often performed.

1600-1750 Baroque period

Best-known composers:

Vivaldi
Bach
Handel

You will have heard Vivaldi's Four Seasons at some point in your life; particularly Spring, which has been used in countless films and television programmes.

Handel's best-known piece is apparently Messiah, although I always associate him with the Royal Fireworks - maybe because I live in the UK.

The piano originated during this time and so was a very new instrument; the harpsichord is instead often associated with the Baroque period. A lot of wind and brass instruments were also in the early stages of development so instead strings feature very heavily in the music of this era.

Baroque music is quite heavy and considered complicated.

1730-1820 Classical period

Best-known composers:

Mozart
Haydn
Beethoven (also considered Romantic era)

Mozart's entire sheet music was recently made free to everyone for personal use - but unless you have a full orchestra at your disposal I guess sheet music alone is pretty useless

As the wiki link says, you have music for the piano emerging at this time, and the orchestra is growing and woodwind becomes more prominent. The word that always springs to mind when I think of Classical music is 'precise'. It's typically very light and even. Personally I don't enjoy playing as much Classical music as I do Romantic music; I find it less expressive and find it harder to get the 'feel' for a piece. Mozart is really, really hard to dislike, though. I'd probably be lambasted if I didn't add that.

1800-1900 Romantic period

Best-known composers:

Beethoven
Brahms
Rossini
Schubert
Berlioz
Mendelssohn
Chopin
Schumann
Liszt
Tchaikovsky
Dvořák
Elgar
Debussy
Strauss
Wagner

So many famous and well-known pieces that it's hard to know where to begin. Chopin's piano concertos are very well known - for very good reason. Strauss - or rather Johann Strauss II (since his father and brothers were also well-known composers) - composed waltzes and polkas that again, you'll have almost certainly heard before. Tchaikovsky's music is sublime. I also really like Dvořák's music. Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance is another one well known (to me). I am sorry I cannot be more specific but I am horrible when it comes to names of pieces!

You have a fully developed orchestra by this time and the music is so expressive and melodic.

20th Century

Again, gets even more expansive, varied and with a great deal of experimentation.

Best-known composers:

Holst
Rachmaninoff
Gershwin
Shostakovich
Britten
Bartók

Holst - The Planets is extremely well known, particularly Jupiter. Definitely look up Rachmaninoff, too - Fawkes has provided links. Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is another well-known composition. I also really, really like Shostakovich's work.

You have jazz emerging in this period, as well as some very complicated and discordant-sounding music; pieces may change key several times and be very off-beat.

There are also many pieces of 20th Century classical music that hark back to earlier eras - i.e. Carl Orff's Carmina Baruna is mentioned here so often on these boards; modern music imitating mediaeval music.

I've basically just paraphrased much of wikipedia here; you'll find a lot more information there, of course. What I'd really recommend doing is buying a set of really cheap classical CDs - i.e. shops here usually sell '100 Top Classical Tunes' or whatever - they'll be of not-horrid but low quality, but you'll get a lot of bang for your buck and it'll help you to become acquainted with the best-known pieces really quickly.

EggyToast

Janson's post covers the basics. I'm not too into classical music, but my wife owns a good chunk of CDs. Some pieces that are very recognizeable but are often not known by actual name are:

Scheherazade
Pictures at an Exihibition
Lots of things by Aaron Copland
The music from Carmen

Also, sources! iTunes offers a lot of full classical albums for very cheap, as does eMusic. You can go very far downloading classical music on eMusic as many pieces are very long, and they've got tons of it: Linky!

Fawkes

Janson wrote:

Carl Orff's Carmina Baruna is mentioned here so often on these boards; modern music imitating mediaeval music.

Modern music imitating Romantic/Classical period, not medieval! Otherwise all good.

Below is by no means an exhaustive list, and it is not a list of good / worthwhile / valuable compositions, it is simply the most popular & famous stuff which you are likely to have heard already, but not know where it came from.

Vivaldi
Four Seasons, Glorias

Handel
Zadok the Priest, Messiah

Bach
...er, just listen to Nina Simone piano improvisations in My Baby Just Cares For Me, Love Me Or Leave Me, then listen to some Bach, you'll get the idea. Everything, basically.

Mozart
...more everything...
Requiem
Mass in C Minor (esp. Kyrie)
Overtures to The Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte. Half the music from the above too (ie Queen of the Night Aria in Magic Flute, Non Piu Andrai, Duet (forget the name, from Shawshank Redemption), "Ah! Tutti contenti. Saremo cosi" from end Act 4 (must listen to) in Marriage of Figaro, "Soave il Vento" trio from Cosi Fan Tutte)
Adagio from Serenade for Thirteen Wind Instruments (K. 361)
Concerto for Flute & Harp
Twinkle twinkle little star, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and all that bollocks...just buy a complete Mozart, it's pretty much all uniquely brilliant. Certainly get every opera and choral piece.

Haydn
The Creation
Various symphonies & string quartets. Never much of a fan.

Beethoven
5th Symphony (particularly 1st movement)
6th Symphony (Pastoral)
9th Symphony (Ode to Joy)
Moonlight sonata
Pathetique sonata
Missa Solemnis

Grieg
Piano Concerto (esp. 1st movement)

Rossini
Largo al Factotum from Barber of Seville
Overture from William Tell

Schubert
Ellens dritter Gesang (AKA Ave Maria)
Billions of pieces of piano music & German songs

Chopin
More billions of pieces of piano music.
Famous ones you are likely to have heard, Prelude in E Minor, Waltz no. 6, Waltz no. 13, Polonaise in A maj Op 40 No 1.
2 Piano Concertos

Bizet
Carmen

Mascagni
Cavaliera Rusticana

Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto no. 1
1812 Overture
Swan Lake
Nutcracker
Eugine Onegin
Various bits of the Symphonies

Dvorak
New World Symphony (esp. 4th movement)
Cello concerto

Elgar
Pomp & Circumstance marches no 1 & 4
Cello Concerto
Enigma variations

Strauss
Also sprach Zarathustra

Debussy
Clair de lune

Faure
Requiem

[If you like the previous two, also look up Poulenc choral music, and Frank Martin Mass for Two Choirs]

Wagner
Buy the Ring cycle of operas, you'll get the idea. Stolen by every film composer for the last 40 years.

Holst
The Planets orchestral suite

Rachmninov
Piano Concerto no.2 (best piano music ever bar none, must have)
Piano Concerto no.3 (most fiendishly difficult piano music ever)
Everything he ever wrote for the piano

I'm stopping there, as the modern stuff gets too complex. If you want, mosey around in those mentioned in the previous post (Gershwin, Shostakovich, Britten, Bartok), avoid anything called serial technique, and have a look at Tippett for the best classical music in the last 40 years.

GrimmyTOA

I feel like everyone (while giving excellent advice far beyond my ken) is forgetting the most accessible, easy to enjoy piece of classical music that I know of: Pachelbel's Canon in D. You'll recognize it and (despite rampant overexposure) it's still a great example of Baroque music -- and a great 'starter piece'.