Introduction
When it comes to trying to get into classical music there seems to be several barriers that people encounter, or at least there are perceived barriers. In this new series of articles I will set out to:
- Dispel many of the myths about classical music,
- Show you how to learn more about classical music,
- Show you how to start building a collection of classical music for either free or very little cost.
Classical music is a very large territory to cover. It is my hope that by presenting this information, those of you who read these articles will be able to start listening to and appreciating the music.
Myth: Building a Classical Music Collection is Expensive
This used to be the case. And, in fact, you can still start investing quite a bit of money and time in building a collection if that is what you want to do.
In 1987 Klaus Heymann founded Naxos Records. The original idea was to be able to compete in Asian markets with pirated copies of recordings from other companies. To do this, Heymann enlisted many performers from Europe that were highly skilled performers who had not achieved the stardom levels of the performers on the bigger recording labels. In doing this, Heymann was able to keep his costs lower, and produce excellent recordings at a price that we low enough that they could compete with the pirated recordings, and because they could compete at that price range, there was no demand to create pirated copies of the Naxos recordings.
Having accomplished this objective, Naxos expanded into Europe and eventually into the United States, where their recordings were typically one half to one third of the price of recordings from the major labels. Today Naxos has become one of the largest independent classical music recording labels in the world.
The affect Naxos has had on the classical music recording industry cannot be under estimated. One of the things that has happened because of their pricing scheme many companies have come forward with competitively priced classical collections that have made it easier to get started in listening to classical music.
I have documented my experience with purchasing one of the collections classical music Is 96 CD’s for $60 Really A Complete Classical Music Collection and the follow up article High Definition Classics Review Update. As I indicated in those reviews, what was impressive about those collections were that they didn’t depend on old, stale recordings that have been around for years. In fact, they appear to be quite recent recordings (recent being a somewhat relative term). There are more examples than just High Definition Classics and Naxos, as we will talk about more in future articles.
So, where do I start?
Well, the best place to start is actually listening to some of the music. Now, from the beginning it’s obvious that even with the prices for classical music coming down to a more reasonable entry level it’s difficult to know what recordings to get. So, I would start with some compilations that have an unbeatable price: $0.00. Yup, free, as in no money required.
I’m sure I can hear you thinking, “Yeah, right, those have to be hard to find.” Well, not really, there are several available from one of the biggest websites around: Amazon. In fact, Amazon has pages and pages of free samplers and singles that you can download right now. Amongst those samplers are several fine classical music samplers:
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Once you have listened to those samplers, you might want to start digging into some specific composers. The X5 Music Group is one quick answer to your wishes. They license music from other companies (including Naxos) for use in compilations made available for extremely low prices on Amazon. Most of these compilations are only $5 USD, and contain anywhere from 5 to 15 hours of music. While some comments on Amazon indicate that they often only contain parts of pieces, these are more likely the portions that are likely known to the non-classical music listener. The idea is to use these as a reference or launch point to find recordings of pieces that you like and want to hear the complete version of.
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What’s Next?
This is a lovely way to start listening to classical music: you get a wide range of music to start listening to, and you will likely have heard some or many of the pieces already and now be able to identify them.
But, if you still feel overwhelmed by the size and scope of the symphonic works, or the amount of materials that are available, I have a few suggestions for some specific pieces that might be even easier to start with.
There are also places to go and read about classical music online, and there are suggestions from many people on what pieces make up a “core” classical collection.
Well examine these topics and dispel another myth in next weeks article.
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