New to classical music

Lots of great suggestions here.  Just dive in.
rpeluso -- I saw Pollini, too.  Started off with Chopin, and finished with one of those wild banging pieces he has a predilection for.  His hair was flying.  Many conservative concertgoers walked out.   I loved the heck out of it!

Mozart. That's all.

Edvard Grieg has been mentioned in passing, but specifically, try "Peer Gynt".  Lots of drama in there, and you will recognize a few of the melodies from movie soundtracks, tv commercials, etc.  Make sure to get a full orchestral version since there are other versions (e.g., solo piano, etc.) that wont' give the full effect.

My take. Buy CDs after you've listened to lots on Tidal. I have been listening to classical music for over 70 years (not a typo). Grew up with it. Google "Gramophone best recordings of".... Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak and Bach as a starting point. Listen on Tidal to those specific recommendations and let your tastes grow from there. You have a lifetime of enjoyment ahead of you. I am still constantly hearing things I have never heard before. The website "Talking Classical" has amazing lists of the best and most important pieces listed by type once you know what you really like. Be sure to check it out as well. Have fun. An amazing journey awaits.

If you have a SACD player then go for those as well which can also be had pretty cheap and usually have better sound quality than Redbook CDs.

I think you are smart to build a collection on CD. The prices are really low for used these days and you can go to a place like Princeton Record Exchange or shop online and find tons of inventory for minimal dollars. I have found several European labels (Archive, Hyperion, Accent, Alia Vox) that offer consistently good sound and performances and these can usually be had for under $5. Have fun!

I buy most of my classical from three sources:

Presto Classical | Buy classical & opera CDs, DVDs & Blu-rays online

Classical Music | Your source for hard-to-find classical music recordings - ArkivMusic

Berkshire Record Outlet – The Classical Choice for Collectors

First of all I really appreciate this.

I did indicate that I have eclectic taste as in the hole musical spectrum, but in fairness, I hadn't considered eclectic within the genre itself, so I appreciate your kind suggestions there as well.

I have to say that I have to thank Tidal for my interest in classical.

I have decided to buy classical on CD - primarily because it's such great value these days.

Does anyone make particularly good CD's, or are there particular composers and venues to buy recordings from?

Thanks once again

And if you like the Sibelius try some of the Ralph Vaughan Williams symphonies. Adrian Boult is the go-to conducter with the LPO!

How about some Sibelius? Symphonies 1,2 and 3 are particularly fine tonal works! Colin Davis and the BSO are a good recommendation!

For "large dramatic work:" (for beginning your journey)

Beethoven’s 9th symphony
Beethoven’s 5th symphony
Brahm’s 1st symphony
Dvorak’s 9th symphony
Beethoven’s piano concertos

Agree with Elizabeth. Mahler is an acquired taste. It took me 20 years and superb stereo equipment to finally appreciate some of his music, as much of his orchestration is dense.

valinar, I heard Arvo Part Fratres decades ago, at Carnegie Hall, and the memory lingers strong, was beautiful, a great piece.  Just magnificent.

edcyn, thank you for bringing up Pollini, I lived in NYC a long time and saw/heard him multiple times at Carnegie, I still search the internet for concerts he might do in my area, he is wonderful, thank you for jogging my memory! I have many of his (DG) records and CDs, and this prompts me to get them out and revel in the beauty. Thank you again!

I could be wrong but I think the OP was saying that his OVERALL musical tastes are pretty eclectic, not that his tastes WITHIN the classical genre are eclectic. So maybe start with recommending large scale orchestral works and piano compositions that are a bit more accessible than Part, Stravinsky or Bartok? Showing my age here but my interest in classical music was stimulated by the film "Children of a Lesser God". There are two points in the film when William Hurt tries to decompress after a long day and puts on the Adagio from Bach's Concerto for Two Violins. I had zero exposure to classical before that moment and it sounded so lovely I went to the local record store (Melody Records Dupont Circle in DC) and bought Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert's most recent recording (on CD). I moved back to NJ months later to work on my thesis--hours a day for nearly a year--with WQXR on the radio and the listeners guide on my desk. Every time I heard a piece I liked I highlighted it in the guide and then brought it to the record store with me to guide the building of my collection.

Search for Denis Matsuev on Tidal. Pick a Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff, turn up the volume and enjoy

Surely Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 1.  The other warhorses: Schumann and Grieg piano concertos.
Then some Wagner overtures and orchestral arrangements of excerpts.

Another is The Planets by Holst. Have to agree with Elizabeth, Brahms may put the op to sleep. Approach him after you have digested Beethoven and Mozart.

In referring to his eclectic tastes I’m not sure the OP was implying that he is looking for selections within the classical genre that might be considered to be eclectic, as opposed to works that are often referred to as "warhorses." Rather I suspect he was simply saying that his interests encompass diverse genres.

Under that assumption I would suggest the following works, that I believe to be particularly likely to be appealing to someone just beginning to become acquainted with classical music:

Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 (The "New World" Symphony)

Beethoven, Symphony No.. 6 (The "Pastorale," that was suggested earlier) and Symphony No. 7 (sometimes referred to as "the apotheosis of the dance")

Prokofiev, "Romeo and Juliet" excerpts

Prokofiev, "Classical Symphony," aka "Symphony No. 1"

Rachmaninoff, "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" (for piano and orchestra)

Chopin, "Piano Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58"

Schubert, "String Quintet in C Major, D. 956" (considered by many to be among the greatest pieces of chamber music ever written)

Brahms, "Symphony No. 1" and "Symphony No. 4"

Enjoy! Regards,
-- Al

for piano - any well recorded, well performed Chopin.  

Baroque - Vivaldi and Bach

Classical - Beethoven (yes, he really was a genuine genius). Any Mozart (very tuneful and pleasant to hear)

Romantic - any of the Russian composers, specifically Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Glazunov

Impressionism - Ravel and Debussy

Once your tastes mature, Shostakovich.  His symphonies #1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9, 10 and 11 especially.

If you want you can try Mahler and Bruckner but I just find it cold and sterile.  Just not what reaches my soul.  Go for Shostakovich if you want to experience a panoply of human emotions.

Good luck on your journey!

Here are some of my favorites that a listener who appreciates the eclectic might appreciate:

Alan Hovhaness - Symphony #50 "Mount St. Helens"
"And God Created Great Whales" Opus 229

Olivier Messiaen - "Des Canyons aux Étoile"
"Turangilila Symphony"

Bejamin Britten - "Prince of the Pagoda"

Colin McPhee - "O Bali"

Igor Stravinsky - "The Rite of Spring"
"Petrushka"
"The Firebird"

Bela Bartok - "Concerto for Orchestra"
"Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta"

Hector Berlioz - "Symphony Fantastique"

Einhojuhani Rautavaara -"Cantus Articus "Concerto for Birds and Orchestra."

All of these works showcase the power of the orchestra in different ways.

@elizabeth , two really great recommendations; Beethoven
and Rachmaninoff piano concerti.
 But I have to strongly disagree with your opinion of Mahler. I would say that it's not for beginners.

For eclectic I would also suggest Arvo Part.

Thanks tuberist for getting my brain into gear.
lohanimal -- start with Maurizio Pollini doing Chopin’s Revolutionary Piano Etude. Things don’t get much more tempestuous. If you like it, try out a couple more of Pollini’s Chopin Etudes. Start with the first Etude of his Opus 10 set.
Try out Andre Watts doing Franz Liszt’s piano etude called "La Campanella." Does he fall off the piano bench dead after the final chord? Too bad there’s no video so we’d truly know. Then there’s Philippe Entremont doing Debussy’s pair of impressionist piano pieces, "Deux Arabesques." Watch the ladies swoon.

Mahler’s Fourth Symphony puts you in an all-encompassing, technicolor, yet gentle fantasy world. A glimpse of a very earth-like heaven. For similar stuff in more traditional guise, try conductor Bruno Walter’s performance of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony.

BTW, lohanimal, there’s nothing challenging here. Just great tunes galore, played with tons of persuasion.

You want drama? Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Mahler and any Beethovan symphony, Glenn Gould, Maurizio Pollini, Horowitz for piano genius.