This is on my bucket list (if I can be arsed). Here’s hoping the Met here in NYC stages the entire cycle again before too long, it’s not on the calendar for the next season, alas (and perhaps they might do it without the noisy, unreliable machine). If anyone’s interested, the Met’s streaming Tannhäuser tomorrow night.
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That was fantastic. Thanks for all your suggestions. I will certainly go slowly, piece by piece.
I’ll start with Handel. I think I heard him before. Actually, in a previous job, there were times I needed to prepare reports/presentations and I typically went for Youtube. Spent hours of listening while writing (with a $30 Sennheiser CX-300 II back then). Hours of pieces in single videos. Just like your links. There’re tons of stuff in there. Luckily, many of them are also in Google Play Music, which comes “for free” with Youtube Premium.
As a matter of fact, while typing this reply I could already sense that Chrsitian Schmitt has done a very good job in executing those Handell pieces. There’s a particular instrument in Baroque era (now I’m leveraging previously link from @pennstac: here) that I’m not a fan. I think it’s a particular type of organ? You can hear it in a lot of Bach pieces. I don’t know. Not a fan of that timbre. I’m listening with SRH1540 and it’s very pleasant. Very spacious sound.
Absolutely. I loved that one too. It is actually part of Platoon movie soundtrack. Simply unforgetable.
I love melancholic melodies since they can trigger me sometimes. My wife says I shouldn’t listen those type of pieces too much. As they say: “the dose makes the poison”, right?
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There were several keyboard instruments common before pianos. Yes, organs were around, but you are probably thinking of Harpsichord. The Clavichord is another, but it’s quiet, so you seldom hear it. Keys pluck strings in the harpsichord. Here is a YouTube demonstration.
The Clavichord is below:
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That’s awesome, and quite the accomplishment as German isn’t the most operatic of languages. I’ve yet to see a performance of any of the Ring operas.
My father never taught us German, but I picked a few things as people tend to mutter in foreign tongues when they’re upset. We grew up learning Spanish, as my mother was born and raised in Mexico. Very different culturally.
I’d like to visit London some day. So much history.
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Thanks for doing my homework. Yes, harpsichord organ is the one I’m not a fan. Different story back then. I know, I know. Probably it is the reason why they disappeared in modern music? Because they sound like old 2600 Atari consoles? Hope I’m not offending anyone. 
But pipe organs… OMG… Whole different beasts. Never heard one live.
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I’d be grateful for recommendations of Debussy’s work. Beyond La Mer I’m clueless. And, yes, it would be interesting to what gets to be seen as classical music in decades to come, especially as genres overlap and merge. “Soundtrack,” for instance, can sometimes be a bit too imprecise or lacking in meaning, although it’s a useful genre label for some pieces of music that are otherwise unclassifiable (I occasionally find myself wanting to change the genre in a track’s metadata but then can’t figure out what else to call it). And there’s the whole issue of folk music being absorbed into classical music, as with Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies…
@frkasper, agreed about the harpsichord; the only thing worse are bagpipes 
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Mainstream is good for Classical noobs like me to taste the delicacies of such a a complex genre. Thanks. I know aficionado’s may balk at compilation albums, but it’s a gateway to better recordings.
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I have found some of these recordings online via Qobuz and Spotify. They are worth persevering with despite poor quality. Though it certainly adds atmosphere.
Well regarding iems I remember reading somewhere on this very forum that Bass can be very beneficial to classical music. Though I prefer a leaner sound. I have the Massdrop Plus iem’s myself though I don’t use them now they’ve only got about 30 hours on them. They were decent for classical but I found my Andromeda’s very good with classical music as were my Shure SE846’s. The best I have are the 64 Audio U18t’s. These really sing when fed Classical music. They take well to EQ. I also have a few Chi-fi iems too. Though to be honest somebody like @antdroid is getting lots of experience with a wider range of iem’s than me. As is @Torq. Torq is always worth listening to when he offers advice as it is always well thought out and spot on. I feel like I haven’t helped much but I can only really give advice on my current iems. I’ve owned lots of them but memory is a fickle mistress and wouldn’t like to comment much on these. If you have a question about one of my specific iems I will gladly help. Some of my iems are on the expensive side. So if you ask @antdroid he may be able to point you to some very reasonably priced ones for Classical listening. Hope this is of help please contact me if you want specifics.
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Ok, @Tchoupitoulas, but there is so much Debussy, that my knowledge only scratches the surface. Beyond La Mer, you probably know “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn” which is very popular. Isao Tomita did a great synthesizer version on his Firebird album in 1975, worth a listen. It was even the score for Ren & Stimpy’s “Powder Toast Man” episode.
Not to be missed are his Nocturnes, which feature a women’s choir in addition to orchestral music. Debussy was heavily influenced by popular, folk, and world music of the time. I like his Mazurka, Tarantelle, and Arabesques. Look for his Danses.
After this I get sketchy - would have to dig out some of my older recordings. He wrote some things for children, symphonies, and many preludes. There is just so much. Check Wikipedia for a list and commentary on individual pieces.
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Thank you very much @pennstac for the Debussy recommendations. These will keep me busy; I look forward to hearing them! I really appreciate the suggestions. I’ll check out the Tomita, he had a great take on The Planets as well!
Thank you very much @prfallon69 for the IEM recommendations, the Shure SE846’s are now on my audition list, and I’m glad for the confirmation that the Andromedas are well suited to classical. From two test-drives at CanJam my sense was that the Andros might well be excellent. I’ll give the 64 Audio offerings a whirl, and I’m keenly following the MEST thread to see how people’s impressions develop. Thank you also for offering to answer any further questions, that’s very kind of you.
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I watched Raiders the other night, I’d almost forgotten how good the score is. You can’t go wrong with John Williams:
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Seems like Rachmaninoff, Grieg, Debussy, Lizst – many of the composers of that era went in for tone poems - one movement pieces, 8 to 15 minutes long or so. Yes, Tomita did The Planets - I have that on original vinyl also. RIP, Isao Tomita.
One of the first synthesizer albums was “Switched on Bach” by Walter Carlos (Now Wendy Carlos). That had some of the 2 and 3 part inventions that I like so much. Bach’s inventions are for me such a seminal moment- they teach inversion, conunterpoint and the relation between rhythm and melody. They are as good for the listener as they are for the keyboard student.
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Thank you for bringing Wendy Carlos to my attention - such an impressive and fascinating person. And, yes - I absolutely agree about Bach. I prefer the tone poems for emotional engagement, but Bach never ceases to amaze.
For anyone interested, the Met has released its opera streaming schedule for next week (more details here), and it’s a nice, diverse selection of popular hits and less well known works:
Monday, April 6
Verdi’s Aida
Tuesday, April 7
Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West
Wednesday, April 8
Verdi’s Falstaff
Thursday, April 9
Wagner’s Parsifal
Friday, April 10
Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
Saturday, April 11
Donizetti’s Don Pasquale
Sunday, April 12
Mozart’s Così fan tutte
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Seeking peace and comfort in the time of the coronavirus.
April the 4th. Tomorrow is my Father’s 92nd birthday, and I’m staying away because I’d like him to have a 93rd. Everyone here in Pennsylvania is limiting contact as we see the numbers climbing. Several retirement villages are reporting infection. It’s with this backdrop that I’m reaching back in time to listen to some of the composers that I’ve missed. I started with Pachelbel, and from there went to one of his influences, Girolamo Frescobaldi. No mention of the plague of 1620 in my readings about this composer, but I’m sure that life was no picnic back in his day. Still he lived a long life for those times.
So far, I’ve listened to a few of his canzonas (Canzones?) and tocattas. I liked the harpsichord versions better than the organ, possibly because it’s easier to hear the detail.
ROON is very helpful with this, as is, of course the Wikipedia.
I think next, I’ll try and jump back a bit further before the early Baroque and into the Renaissance. I know I’ve listened to William Byrd (1543-1623), but nothing sticks in my mind, although I know he still ranks as one of the great English composers.
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Happy Birthday to your father!
Enjoy your listening session.
(Canzoni) 
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Thank you Christopher. I’ve traced back now through Monteverdi, and others to Guillaume de Machaut, truly remarkable music with 2 voice polyphony some 685 or so years ago. Interesting in translation also, as he wrote his own lyrics. I can make out some of the words, recalling my history of the Spanish language - there is substantial convergence of the romance languages as they go back toward Vulgar Latin.
Canzoni would be correct modern Italian for songs, but while reading, I saw both conzonas and canzones used for Frescobaldi’s compositions. I suspect, that just as English writing and orthography did not stabilize until sometime in the 1700s (and printing conventions even later - I’ve spent considerable time professionally working on optical recognition of old text), that the terms may be period correct.
On a lighter note, we rarely see the Italian singular for our favorite pastas. It even seems funny to think of macarono or spaghetto, both perfectly good Italian.
See? Once a word weenie, always a word weenie.
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What a magnificent journey you’ve ventured upon!
This reminds me of old Castellano, I think “canzonas” sounds like the informal where “canzones” would be the formal use (if that exists for the word song?). Such as vosotros/nosotros. An example being hablas/habláis. 
You don’t use macarono often? 
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I hope you Father stays safe and well and has a great day.
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Just finished listening to this album:
https://play.google.com/music/m/Bgo2pzb2h2pknmrw5osobcbnv5u?t=The_99_Most_Essential_Tchaikovsky_Masterpieces_-_Various_Artists
Half of me is very thankful to you by recommending those Masterpieces series. Tchaikovsky was really good to listen while working or taking a break (a peaceful nap in the yoga mat next to the desk).
The other half is hating you because it took me almost 2 weeks to listen in a mild pace. 
The majority of tracks were heard with the HD 6XX. Some with SRH 1540. A lot of dynamic range in that album. Modi 3 → Magni 3+ (low gain) → Volume to taste.
Now back to Handel where I had listened a quarter of that album. Had to favor Tchaikovsky when I saw it available in Google Play Music.
Cheers.
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