What got you into classical music?

[AndrewMyers]

This is my first ever posted topic so be nice if it is a hackneyed question but ...

Not coming from a particularly muscial family, I am grateful to film and television for providing my earliest exposure to classical/orchestral music.
Some of my earliest memories of hearing classical music therefore include:

-The Eroica in a British Gas advert c 1985
-Bach's Toccata and fugue in D minor used as the theme tune for a weird French cartoon about history
-The use of Eine Kleine Nachtmusic in an episode of Knight Rider!!
- And I'm sure John Williams' orchestral scores for the Star Wars films didn't do any harm in helping soften my ears up for 'proper' symphonic music

Only after these televisual experiences did I start to investigate my parents' dusty and neglected record collection. I'm sure it would have happened sooner or later of course, and luckily, after repeated listenings, Mozart no longer conjures up harrowing inages of David Hasselhof's hairstyle.

My question to other contributors: what were your earliest experiences of classical music? Which pieces opened the door for you? And can anyone beat the embarassment factor of Knight Rider??

[v russo]

...listening to my own music and following my nose. Also, Gershwins "Rhapsody in Blue". It was the first extended piece of music (beyond modern pop music)that I was truly able to hear from start to finish.

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v russo

[Chaszz]

I was in college in 1960 and had been in love with jazz for about three years. Somehow or other I heard a piece by Bach, a short movement from one of the solo violin partitas, orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski. He was the very opposite of original instuments practice; he would take chamber movements by Baroque composers and blow them up to giant proportions by full symphonic orchestra. I wandered around for weeks in thrall to this movement, and was on my way. Before long I was also in thrall to Mozart and Beethoven. I had a little portable record player with which I literally wore out the grooves of a vinyl LP recording of the Eroica by Otto Klemperer. After a year the first movement sounded in spots like it was played by a kazoo.

[This message has been edited by Chaszz (edited 05-17-2004).]

[Peter]

As a kid discovering my father's 2 classical Lps amongst his jazz collection - Haydn's surpise symphony and Tchaikovsky's 1812 - I was hooked and piano lessons commenced the following week, never looked back! Then it was off to the library and each week a new Beethoven Lp, I still recall the thrill of discovering these for the first time.

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'Man know thyself'

[ruudp]

I myself discovered classical music trough the motion picture fantasia and trough the broad interests of my family..I started with mozart and worked my way through al sorts of composers...I recently even listened for the first time to an opera albeit a "singspiel" ..Der zäuberflöte by W.A mozart...Although I hadn't been very positive about opera untill now this experience flamed the interest even futher on the classical path towards "sung" music.

Regards,
Ruud

[urtextmeister]

This is actually a great question. I have really enjoyed reading the responses so far.

We had a school band program and it was determined that I should play tuba. The first classical tune I remember playing in the band was the "ode to joy" theme. I had to find out how the rest of this tune went, so I found a complete recording. I listened to the finale every night before I went to bed. From that point on, I spent every dollar I made on records. Garage sales, used record stores...
Some of my most pleasant memories are from these years--finding a recording of some new and exotic piece and listening to it again and again. The brandenburg concertos were incredibly exciting for me.

[Pastorali]

After a long and sad lamentation about modern music's boring nature, a friend of mine burned a Nigel Kennedy CD (Vivaldi's Four Seasons) for me. That was my first light... and I thought it's just a little short joke!

[King Stephen]

I have my father to thank for getting me into the classics. At about 5 or 6 years of age I remember hearing Strauss waltzs and overtures by Suppe, Rossini and Mozart. From about 10 it was all Beethoven and like Peter said there was no looking back.

[Sorrano]

In grade school I had vague recollections of Haydn and Beethoven and after playing (in Junior High Band) an overture based on the themes to the Eroica I knew I had to collect all 9 symphonies of Beethoven. From that time the love of Classical Music has burned within like an eternal flame.

[AndrewMyers]

Gosh, i'm pleased my humble thread has aroused some interest!

Peter's library visits and Chazz's kazoo sound quality story remind me of how I went on to get more into classical music. I would get pretty worn records out of the library, then tape them by putting a dictaphone near my Dad's old record player! The sound quality must have been absolutely dreadful but I simply don't remember this being an issue at all; the sense of a musical journey of discovey was so exciting. I do think we can miss the point sometimes with all our modern digital media.

Then later on, I discovered Radio 3 - pretty essential for anyone wanting to learn more and get beyond the mainstream favourites. I invested in a radio with tape recorder built in and made bizarrely eclectic compilation tapes of radio programmes, complete with applause and announcer's comments.

I dunno, these 'kids today' have got it too easy with their MP3s and their CD burners! I recently bought a complete set of the 32 piano sonatas and it was really the culmination of 10 years of seeking them all out them individually in concerts or on radio. It was a fantastic reward finally to have them all in one place.

I wonder if the sense of adventure would have been the same if I'd just burnt the lot in one go from a friend? Have we lost an essential sense of struggle now we have our easy access digital everything? Like there's no need to turn up to a concert on time, or even sit still and concentrate for 70 minutes when you can pause a CD whenever you need to?

Just a thought. I'm actually glad I don't have to rely on live concerts to hear the music I love!

[spaceray]

My mother was a classical music fan.She loved the Russians.The sadder the better.
She loved choral music as well and I listened to a lot of Healey Willan.I don't imagine anyone knows who this is?
Muriel

[Rod]

Years back, in my hard-rock days I heard by chance Dudley Moore play the Moonlight adagio. I didn't even know who composed the music but my rock-chick girlfriend was into medieval music and was more clued-up on the subject and filled me with the facts. After that I never looked back, but only Beethoven and Handel have ever interested me in this genre, and I'll still be buying the next AC/DC album!

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[Pastorali]

Originally posted by AndrewMyers:
I dunno, these 'kids today' have got it too easy with their MP3s and their CD burners! I recently bought a complete set of the 32 piano sonatas and it was really the culmination of 10 years of seeking them all out them individually in concerts or on radio. It was a fantastic reward finally to have them all in one place.

I wonder if the sense of adventure would have been the same if I'd just burnt the lot in one go from a friend? Have we lost an essential sense of struggle now we have our easy access digital everything? Like there's no need to turn up to a concert on time, or even sit still and concentrate for 70 minutes when you can pause a CD whenever you need to?

Andrew, in manner that I'm no kid, although I can assure you, to collect music is still that exciting today, like it was in earlier days. Or is it funny to fumble arround the needle, turning the LP after the second movement etc? I have symphaties for LP's (have hundreds of it), but I love the comfort of CD's like more space, the clear sound and sometimes I'm even glad I can pause it, but just if it is unusually urgent...

[urtextmeister]

Muriel,

I think most people involved in choir or organ rep know of Healey Willan, an admirable composer.

Rod,

I am shocked to hear about your rock past (present?). How long ago was it that you discovered Beethoven and Handel and do you see contradictions between these two great composers and AC/DC or do you see similarities?

[Michael]

In the late sixties, between "Sergeant Pepper" and the "White Album", a workmate of mine urged me to buy some classical recordings which were then being issued cheaply by EMI. I was a staunch pop fan, but to keep him off my back, I bought a copy of Beethoven's Pastoral, with the Pittsburgh. S.O. conducted by William Steinberg.
It was as I feared: sheer monotonous repetitious crap and I told my friend so in no uncertain terms. "Give it time" he said.
Three weeks later I was raving about Beethoven to anyone who would listen - not that anyone did - and I'm still raving to this day.

Michael

[This message has been edited by Michael (edited 05-18-2004).]