Though my primary passion is supporting the performing arts and artists here in Vancouver and across Canada, I realized you cannot always inspire people to attend a live performance without first cultivating an appreciation for classical music.
I know when I first started to discover classical music, I was overwhelmed by the choices. Of course, these were back in the days before YouTube, Apple Music or Spotify so buying an actual album felt more like a financial commitment. There is nothing worse than spending money on an album you do not enjoy.
In some ways, it’s even harder to choose now because a 30-second snippet is really not enough to judge anything. Plus, since you can sample so many options so easily, we often miss out on listening to the whole album. Thus, we often miss out on the intended experience of the artists involved, which may be holistically more satisfying than one aria or movement by itself.
I also often felt insecure, if not just stupid, because I did not know what to choose, how to choose, and sometimes what I was even listening to once a choice was made. The hard truth is classical music can be intimating and daunting to even those more familiar with it. I quickly realized you had to learn about the different genres of classical music, the background of the composers and artists, and the history of the time it was created to enrich the experience and help to refine your musical preferences. Unfortunately, this simply takes time and effort—something in short supply more than ever these days.
So, given all these challenges I thought it might be helpful to share what I love listen to at home.
Longtime classical music fans will likely not always agree with my recommendations, but this is not really for them anyway. To be absolutely clear, I am not a critic as there’s enough of those already nor am I remotely qualified.
However, I hope these recommendations will inspire others to discover new artists or longstanding favourites whether symphonic, chamber, opera, choral, etc. If these helps even one person develop a new appreciation for classical music, then it will be well worth it!
If you have any recommendations, please send them my way!
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