I have loved classical music almost my entire life. My first experience with it was my father’s record of Beethoven’s “Pastorale Symphony” (Symphony No. 6) when I was about 4-years-old and it was also around the same time that I began music lessons. I also grew up with folk and rock music and musicals, which expanded to other kinds of music, and still listen to all of it, so I have a fairly well-rounded experience with music. That said, classical is still my favorite, especially as I learned more music theory, techniques, etc. I’m also now a classical and opera singer, so I’m immersed in it.
When I’ve taught music and introduced classical music to adults and children, I’ve found that most “lighter” classical music is a bit more palatable for new ears. Then you also have the popular works that are “heavier” like Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite” or his “1812 Overture” (I’ve found that teenage boys and men really enjoy this.)
Light opera or opera from the Baroque and Classical periods also tend to be a better introduction to opera than something by Wagner or Strauss, for instance. That said, the very first opera I ever performed in was Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites”. Most of my family who came to support me never saw an opera before, nor heard one or had any experience with 20th classical music, let alone 20th century opera, but they were so moved by the story and even enjoyed the music. My aunt was apparently balling her eyes out at the end when the nuns slowly went to their deaths and their voices became less and less until only one nun was left. So, I definitely recommend seeing an opera live and one where there are good voices.
I do recommend operas by Mozart, although not to listen to them in their entirety because the recitatives can be quite boring… and I’m saying this as an opera singer and absolutely LOVE Mozart’s vocal music. Get highlights, read the translations and synopsis of the stories and then see the opera live in its entirety. That goes for operas of any period in music. Definitely don’t go without reading up on it, although many of the bigger opera houses will provide subtitles so that you can follow along and laugh at the jokes, etc. They do most of your work for you today, whereas in the past, people had to do it on their own.
Thinking back to the instrumental works that I really enjoyed when I was younger, I’d recommend these:
Consolation No. 3
youtube.com/watch?v=ZK6DxupkUPQ&feature=related
I’ll think of more, but right now have to attend to my little one and the little bun in the oven.
