I started out in June full of aspirations and energy for this blog. It is still all there, but if you've been following Classical Newb, you know only about half of what I had originally planned for this month has come to pass. The main culprit is time. Between work and summer semester at college and one fire after another in my world this last month, I've simply not had the time I wanted or needed to accomplish everything I had originally planned for June here. July may be a slim pickings...

There are probably a million and one ways of putting together a music collection, any of which will work. They all pretty much have the same thing in common: buy a piece of music and add it to your collection. So what do I have to offer? A couple of suggestions if you will... 1) Decide if you will collect CD's or MP3's or both. Personally I go for the CD's and from time to time add in some MP3's and convert a lot of my CD's into MP3's. 2) Determine a buying strategy. Mine is to purchase at least...

Ludwig van Beethoven has such a repitore that it can be difficult for the newbie to classical music to get a handle on all that is available. It can be said of the same thing for several other composers as well, but Beethoven is one of those composers that seem to naturally draw people into classical music. Mostly because he is so familiar to use, even before we get into classical music to begin with. People tend to know at least something about Beethoven even if they couldn't tell you what music is his or recognize it...

I take a lot of pride in my classical music collection. Each piece of music that I add usually comes with a lot of thought, some research and information gathering and at least some appreciation of the musicical piece coming into my collection. Within a reasonably short period of time, I've managed to put together a fair sized music collection, though I will be the first to call it small in comparrison to those who've been collecting a lifetime. I've identified various orchestras and conducters...

I'm sure it doesn't come as a big suprise that I'm highlighting Dvorak today. As I look through my previous posts it makes me realize I need to talk about other composers I listen to as well! You'd think I only listened to 3 or 4 of them. I first heard Dvorak's "A Hero's Song" late one night on NPR. I simply fell in love with the piece and quickly sought it out and added it to my collection. If you are a fan of Dvorak's later symphonies (7th through 9th) then you will love his tone poems and shorter pieces like...

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has been checking out this blog! I would also like to encourage you to become a follower and leave your comments here! Coming up in June I expect to blog about: - What I've been listening to lately - Recent selections and purchases - More reviews! - More information about my personal collection - Expanded vocabulary page - Expanded web site pages of use to other Classical Newb's out there I look forward to writing more blogs soon, so stay tun...

Of course, I also have to share my Mahler collection. Photos don't include my 9th by Rattle or my complete cycle on MP3....

Of course, I have to show off my Dvorak collection! This does not include what I have on MP3...

Just some more photos from my collection. I'm not a huge choral works fan, but wife is and she's introduced me to some great choral works...

Just a few pages of my collection. In the near future, I'll be updating my collection with new CD cases which I will cover in a later post. ...

Dvorak's 9th symphony holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first and only piece of classical music I owned and liked as a child. It would take me 30 years to truly appreciate and enjoy classical music like I do now past this Dvorak's 9th, but we it shows we can all get there eventually. I've also been listening to Dvorak's 7th as well. I'm still very new to Bruckner, but his 4th has my attention. I particularly like how he uses traditional Classical era structure, such as Sonata form in the 1st movement,...

Editor note: This report was one I turned in for class this last semester. Enjoy, but please don't plagiarize. Performance Report for Music AppreciationBy Samuel Guss Gustav Mahler, 9th Symphony as performed by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO) on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 8p.m., Justin Brown conducting. I consider myself a Gustav Mahler fan. Having stated that, I must also confess I haven’t heard all of his symphonies yet and the 9th, only once the week before through a YouTube video. My sentiment towards Gustav...

When it comes to piano music, there is no doubt that Chopin is considered one of the best and was a true pioneer of the piano and invented the ballade and scherzi for piano. As the son-in-law of a classicaly trained piano teacher, I have been exposed to a lot of the grets when it comes to piano, both composers and players a like. What I have found though, is that my personal favorite is Sergei Rachmaninoff, a Russian composer, pianist and conductor. His Piano Concerto No. 2 (playing above in the...

Of the 4 recommendations I list here, if you can only have 1 recording, then this one would be my choice. Featuring Mstislav Rostropovich as the lead Cellist, and backed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra led by Herbert von Karajan, it is an impecible performance. Strong, bold and rich in its tones and melodies, this performance is hard pressed to be beat unless you are looking for an extra touch to this classical piece offered by my other recommendations.  As hard as it is to beat my first recommendation, Jacqueline...

Gutav Mahler is one of my favorite composers (it is true I have several "favorites") and his symphonies are worlds of art. Listening to them in order is quite a task however, as each is almost exhausting to listen to, taking you on such an emotional roller coaster that simply must be heard foremost, versus listening to these works of art as background music. I have all of his symphonies twice if not more. Bernstein is an awesome conductor of Mahler's works - indeed I prefer his conducting to his...

Antonin Dvorak is one of my favorite composers. Cello concertos are one of my favorite classical music to listen to (from various periods). Add in Rostropovich, one of my favorite Cello players of all time and now you are talking about one of my favorite pieces of all time. One of the things I enjoy most about classical music is listening to various takes on the same piece of music. Taking Dvorak's Cello Concerto for example, two Cellists come immediately to mind. Rostropovich and his strong playing...

Tonight was a big start for me. For the first time in over 22 years I stepped foot back into a college class room. My first class was in Music Appreciation 101. Now, I've been listening to classical music for a couple of years now and have really enjoyed it. So much in fact that this blog has been on my to-do list ever since. Since tonight started a new journey I figured why not start this one as well. For starters, it may even help me focus on the class. So, how did a guy like me get started...