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 if they heard it.

Beethoven's music for those new to classical and to collecting classical music can be broadly defined in 3 main areas:

1) Symphony
2) Concertos
3) Piano

Arkiv Music lists 5,464 recordings available through them. That's a lot of music. These recordings are divided into

Editor note: There was a lot more to this post. No idea what happened to it though. Will try to repost later.

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 video) is one of my favorites. Where Chopin concentrated mostly on the piano as a solo instrument, Rachmaninoff concentrated on highlighting the piano in concertos and with orchestra accompainment. The results endlessly enjoyable and moving.

For the classical newb, when it is time for you to experience the piano as the chief instrument, I suggest listening to the piano concertos of Rachmaninoff and the piano sonatas of Beethoven and the works of Chopin. This should give you a nice base to work off in your own experminentation.