THE CLASSICAL MUSIC SINFONIAS
The Classical Music Sinfonias Weekly Listening Home
Concert guide is a home concert program of three levels: beginners,
intermediate listeners, advanced listeners. It is designed for the
novice who likes classical music, would like to listen to it systematically and
progress but
does not know where to begin, what to listen to and in what order. The program is designed to offer the most popular
works that can be easily listened to for free on the Internet, be purchased on CD or
downloaded from online shops even in
high fidelity recordings (lossless FLAC files). As the goal of the selections is
the acquaintance of the novice with classical music, listeners with low budgets
could
download and listen on their computer/tablet/smart phone classical music on the cheaper but of
lower quality MP3 lossy file format. In this introduction, specific recordings are not
suggested as the emphasis is on the works themselves and not on specific
performances. At the end of each level and after the 100 weeks of symphonic and
instrumental suggestions, there is a separate list of 20 suggested choral works
and operas.
The 100 selections per level in this guide are designed to be listened to once a week but of
course you can listen at your own pace, two or more selections per week or even
one per day. The average listening time per week/selection is about one hour
with some exceptions including the Choral and Opera section and the busy listener will spend 5 minutes per work to read
about the work(s) following the links. The composer's name and
the works are
linked to Wikipedia and rarely to certain classical music sites for more information.
This whole idea came to me during the Covid-19 isolation periods in 2020-2021
when I realized that although there were some Internet introductions to
classical music there was no practical and organized listening guide for the novice and
beyond. I
personally could listen to any work chosen among my 20.000 classical music CDs but what if
one had none or had just listened to the few owned and wanted to explore the
music land of classical music. So, I designed "The Classical Music Sinfonias
Weekly Listening Home Concert Program" so that the listener will be introduced to the genre while
having the opportunity to build a basic classical music
library with the most popular works. Remember, you can just listen for free
and/or buy the music you like. I am not affiliated with any shop or classical
music outlet. I just make suggestions according to my very long experience with
listening and buying classical music.
Enjoy listening!
FREE WEB LISTENING OPTIONS
YouTube TIP: Search with composer's last
name and work (e.g. Beethoven symphony 3) and choose complete / full length recordings
as indicated in the title or by the time length of the video BUY MUSIC FROM (a few popular stores & streaming sources)
Amazon [US and country specific stores] Streaming Berliner
Philharmoniker Digital Concerts (video streaming)
Classical Music Glossary op. = opus Level 1: Beginners
Continue to Level 2: Intermediate CHORAL AND OPERA SUGGESTIONS Week
COMPOSER AND OPUS TITLE
TOTAL LISTENING TIME 1
Gluck:
Orfeo and
Euridice (Opera)
WEEKLY LISTENING HOME CONCERT PROGRAM
Internet Archive:
Unlocked Recordings. TIP: search in the box under the number of results with
composer's last name and work (e.g. Beethoven symphony 3).
ArkivMusic (USA)
eclassical (download)
Europadisc (U.K.)
JPC (Germany)
Presto Classical
(U.K. & download)
Classical Archives
iTunes
Idagio
medici.tv (video streaming)
Naxos Music Library
Presto Music
Stage+ (Deutsche Grammophon, audio &
video streaming)
Abbreviations of
Composer Works by Catalogers
Continue to Level 3: Advanced
( approx. in hours : minutes)
1 : 20'
2
1 : 50'
3
0 : 55'
4
1 : 45'
5
Vivaldi:
Gloria; AND
Stabat Mater
0 : 48'
6
Bach, J.S.:
Mass in B minor
1 : 50'
7
Haydn:
The Creation
1 : 50'
8
Bach. J.S.:
St. Matthew
Passion. BWV 244
2 : 45'
9
Brahms:
Ein deutsches Requiem (A
German Requiem)
1 : 20'
10
Verdi:
Messa da Requiem
1 : 30'
11
Beethoven:
Fidelio (Opera)
2 : 25'
12
Bellini:
Norma (Opera)
2 : 25'
13
Bizet: Carmen
(Opera)
2 : 30'
14
Borodin:
Prince Igor
(Opera)
2 : 40'
15
Britten:
War Requiem
1 : 30'
16
Humperdinck:
Hänsel
und Gretel (Opera)
1 : 40'
17
Mozart:
Die Zauberflöte (The
Magic Flute) (Opera)
2 : 45'
18
Puccini; Tosca
(Opera)
2 : 00'
19
Rossini:
Il
barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) (Opera)
2 : 35'
20
Verdi: La
traviata (The Fallen Woman) (Opera)
2 : 20'
Continue to Level 2: Intermediate
Continue to Level 3: Advanced