Classical Music.

Don1- Yes, I do love that symphony too, but I don't think that it is one of the "greats".

Favorite symphonies, outside of the ones already mentioned:

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (my favorite of the nine)
Ives: Symphony Nos. 2 and 3
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
Henze: Symphony No. 1
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms (when I'm willing to overlook the ugly politics behind the piece)
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 (when I'm willing to overlook the tragic politics behind the piece)


Don't forget about chamber music too... there are tons of gems in that category that don't always get the same glamor treatment as the big, mighty Romantic symphonies.

I would also encourage you to explore music of the last 50 years or so, if only because I like to do what I can to defend a repertoire that is known to turn people away on principle. Much music of the 20th (and now 21st) century is known for being difficult, but much of it is also harmless despite getting summarily lumped under the category "avant-garde." Some of my favorites in this respect:

Pierre Boulez: Le Marteau sans maître
Lukas Foss: Renaissance Concerto
Alfred Schnittke: Viola Concerto
Meredith Monk: Facing North
Tan Dun: Snow in June, Ghost Opera
Sofia Gubaidulina: Canticle of the Sun
Steve Reich: Proverb
Kaija Saariaho: Jardin secret, I and II



And of course there was music before the 1740s as well... Hildegarde, Dunstable, Josquin, Gesualdo, Palestrina, Frescobaldi, etc.

No?

Yeah, maybe you are right. "Before Elvis there was nothing." (John Lennon)

Don1, you may want to check out Vivaldi also. He has composed hundreds and hundreds of musical works. I find his music much lighter than piano music. His most famous piece is "The Four Seasons".

As for piano, I only listen to Beethoven. He is my hero.

I've been listening to the four seasons since I was a toddler which is half a century ago, if you like that I would direct you to William Boyce

Thanks Don1. I wikipediaed Boyce, he looks quite interesting, and deaf too like Beethoven. I am going to try to find some music from him.

I'm sorry if in my ignorance I mis-usde the word "classic", or "Classic"!
Anyway, thank you everyone for your advice and knowledge, whew! I learnt a lot in this thread! I will now immerse myself in the music!

Thanks for the thread, Quincy . . . and i hope you'll enjoy your musical exploration.

Don't worry about it. Music scholars are still trying to decide whether it's time to retire the term "classical music" and call it something else, though no one's sure what that something else should be. "Concert music," "art music," and "Western art music" are some frequently proposed alternatives, though each one has its problems too. It's probably a futile task... if we can live with the misnomers "Gregorian chant" and "English horn," we can probably live with "classical music" too.

Whats the difference between Sonata, symphony, prelude, baroque and all other terms in, errr..., non-modern music?

'Sonata,' 'symphony' and 'prelude' all refer to musical forms, whereas 'Baroque' (as well as the terms 'Renaissance,' 'Classical' and 'Romantic') refers to a musical period.

The word 'symphony' can refer also to a symphony orchestra, or a symphony orchestra concert, as in "Let's go to the symphony tonight."

Wikipedia has some pretty good entries for all of these different terms.