Reddit reviews Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 1-9

I was in the classical recording business for a long time, and often was called on to make recommendations for newbies. For someone who is brand new, I always recommend Beethoven's Nine Symphonies, and I love this one the best:

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 1-9 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000095IUM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_HPo3Ab1Y4808P

This is performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. It runs about $28, and is well worth it for what is arguably the greatest music ever composed.

In general, when people picture classical music in their head, they are thinking of the music of Beethoven. Start with the odd numbered symphonies. The Fifth Symphony is the most famous with the great opening (Dit Dit Dit Daaah!), and is thrilling from start to finish. The Ninth is probably the greatest and most influential music in history. It intimidated and guided literally every composer who followed for the rest of the 19th century. The Seventh is my favorite piece of music in any genre. The second movement is beyond beautiful. The third symphony re-wrote the rules of music and was instrumental in transitioning music from the classical era to the romantic era. The rest may not be as influential, but they are all incredible works and well worth getting to know.

Start with Beethoven, and then start trying some other stuff, like Mozart, or Bach, or Vivaldi, or Mahler, or Stravinsky, etc. It's all worth listening to.

A little advice, when you are trying to introduce a new genre of music to your life, try to dedicate at least several weeks to listening to nothing but that kind of music. It seems to rewire your brain so that it starts to make sense, and once that happens, you'll always be able to listen to and enjoy that style of music. I've done that many times in my life, and now I can enjoy almost any kind of music there is. I once spent a couple of months listening to nothing but traditional Chinese music, but now whenever I hear something like that I slip right into it and love it.

Harnoncourt / Chamber Orchestra of Europe / 1991.

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