Hello,

I`m sure you NEVER get requests for recommendations (wink, wink), but I am in desperate need of help here...

I have just recently discovered the wonderful world of classical music, and I am wanting recommendations of pieces similar to these that I am enjoying now:

Barber`s Adagio for Strings
Barber`s Agnus Dei
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Beethoven`s Moonlight Sonata
Elgar`s Enigma Variations

I really love the more mellow pieces right now, as you can see. And I`d really appreciate recommendations of similar pieces. However, if there are some "must-have" pieces that I might be missing, please let me know about those as well.

Please help me out here. All other avenues have turned out to be dead ends for me. You can either email me or respond here; I`ll check back often.

Thanks so much!

try Strauss 4 Last Songs - they`re mellow and very very beautiful!

I`d recommend most of Ralph Vaughan Williams work. His oboe concerto and pastoral symphony (no. 3) would probably be most similar to what you`re listening to, although most of his other stuff is good too. Some of my other favorites are his tuba concerto, romance for harmonica, fantasia on greensleeves, and sinfonia antarctica (symphony no 7). Hope that`s helpful.

all of beethovens sonatas are brilliant and are worth playing

Poulenc`s choral works are both powerful and mellow. Gloria, Stabat Mater, or even Dialogue of the Carmelites -- if you can stand a whole opera.

Other Rachmaninoff concertos would be great as well. If you are adventurous, Prokofiev`s piano concerto 2 and 3 are worth a try.

p.s. like the previous entry, R. Strauss` last 4 songs are must have! (try avoid Schwarzkopf, Renee Fleming is better)

...I second that Rachmaninov Concerto suggestion (although to be honest I prefer numbers 1 and 2 to 3 and 4. I don`t know why, really).
Tchaikowsky`s Piano Conecrto no. 1 is just sheer... Perfection, no other word for it. It makes my heart beat faster, my breathing deeper... There`s something about it.
For some reason I like Sviridov`s waltzes and Shostakovich`s "jazz Suite", too... Give them a try.
Stravinsky is absolutely... Wow. He once said that he saw no purpose in composing ballets that couldn`t lead a life separate from the performers... That you should be able to enjoy the music without watching the dancing... Petrouchka and The Rite of Spring are good examples.
I don`t like Prokofiev that much anymore... Unless the mood is right. However, if I want to relax it`s not something I listen to.

if you like the melloe stuff, most of chopin`s preludes are very nice (and relatively easy to play). Also, check out his nocturnes.
I love nocturne in C# minor by chopin. It was the last piece of music played live on polish radio when the war broke out, and it is in the film `the pianist`.
welcome to classical!
josh