Classical music suggestions?

The Brandenburg concertos by Bach are some of my favorites.

Not totally classical but I LOVE Vanessa Mae, her Storm cd is awesome.

Dawn

I think Stravinsky is the one my mom loves...she said when she was in college and depressed, she heard Songbird and it made her forget all her problems.  If I remember correctly though, I didn't like his style and it was a controversial style of classical and to me seemed sort of harsh.  I could be confusing that though. 
 
I have always liked Mozart.

Stacita took the words right out of my mouth -- the Brandenburgs are about my favorites.  So is Dvorzak's "Theme from the New World" and Mozart (I even have "A Little Night Music" as my ring tone on my cell LOL).  Pachabel's "Canon" is another favorite.
 
Honestly they are all "popular" classical.  I don't go in for heavy overwhelming stuff (and as far as I'm concerned the Trans-Siberian Orchestra can STAY there, even tho they are mostly an American group ... ugh, too "totally the wrong mood" for me). 
 
But that's what Classical music is about -- finding what you like.  I tend to like stuff a big lighter but "rowdier" than others -- I don't want to go to sleep listening to it -- but I don't like weighty depressing stuff either. 
 
Don't forget "Peter and the Wolf" either -- for beginners it's a great one to learn how to let the music "take you places".  That's why I like the "Theme from the New World" (Dvorzak) - there's one part in that where you can just SEE the "hero" racing over the mountains chasing the bad guys, and there's one place I can swear I can hear the old prospector leading his donkey down the Grand Canyon.  It's not anything you are 'supposed' to see -- it's merely that I have this entire western made up in my head to the music LOL. 

It's far from original, but Beethoven's 9th, and in particular, The Ode to Joy, is likely my favorite piece of music ever.  But it is, and all of Beethoven is, really, very passionate music - emotionally charged. I also really like the 3rd and the 5th, the Moonlight Sonata and a lot of Mozart's piano concertos or sonatas.
 
Vivaldi's The Four Seasons?  I think this is a piece a lot of people who are not big classical fans find very enjoyable, accessible and relaxing.  It is very pretty music...

Beethoven's Symphony in A Major.
But, think about trying a tape by R. Carlos Nakai - it isn't classical, but it's very relaxing and beautiful - Native American Flute

I'm a huge Tchaikovsky fan, as well as a fan of Strauss.  But when I really need to relax and get outside of myself I listen to Pink Floyd, or Enigma.

Mozart, Hayden and Pachelbel are my personal favorites.  Although if I am really stressed, I don#%92t listen to classical…I listen to anything and everything by Enya and it works like a charm![]

Rachmaninoff - Concerto #2 in Cm, as played by Alexei Sultanov, winner of the 8th Van Cliburn Piano Competition.
 
Mozart - Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute)
 
Rimsky-Korsakov - The Scheherazade
 
Claude Debussy - Arabesque
 

How could I forget Vivaldi??? he is absolutely one of my favorites!!![8D]

   Rachmaninoff - Concerto #2 in Cm, as played by Alexei Sultanov, winner of the 8th Van Cliburn Piano Competition.

[]Nice choice Ron...I also adore the Rach 3 after seeing the movie "Shine"...that whole soundtrack is pretty good actually.

I love Vivaldi's Four Seasons.  Of course, this time of year, Corelli's Chirstmas Concerto and Handel's Messiah come to mind.  And Handel's Royal Fireworks is amazing too.  Honestly I think Mozart was the pinnacle of music, but I usually listen the Baroque composers (Handel, Bach, Vivaldi). 
 
Of course if your tastes are more modern, who doesn't love Gershwin?
 
I also find Enya's music good for background/relaxing/reading.

Nice choice Ron

 
Thanks. My first wife and I tried to contact him in Tashkent, Russia, where he is from. I spoke a little russian at the time, which was a mistake as the russian operator started rattling off faster than I could understand. My first wife had a BA in piano performance and pedagogy from Meadow School of Arts at SMU. She was initially trained to be a concert pianist by Alfred Moulideaux (sp?), tenured professor there and the pianist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
 
Anyway, she had turned me on to the Scheherazade. I found the piece familiar. She pointed out that sections of it were the soundtrack to "Conan, the Barbarian."
 

Thank you for the suggestions everyone.  I'll definitely be looking your suggestions.  I never even thought of some of it. []
 
 

Holst - The Planets... esp Venus - one of my all-time favorite pieces of music.  I found it on a Soothing Classical cd I bought for just the same reason as you a few years ago!! []  Good luck!!