Classical composers, symphonies

Thanks for the suggestions.

Something about Sibelius turned me away earlier in life, I will have to revisit 
Will listen to Nielson, Schuman, and Paganini more

Looking forward to some that I have never heard of, in craig159 post

I still find it hard to beat rachmaninov or Tchaikovsky 

I am not a big fan of Piano concertos for some reason , except maybe Rachmaninoff 's. 

Thanks again,

Will be hitting you tube or Pandora now😊

Scriabin, Glazunov, even Borodin and Balakirev

You mentioned that your not a fan of piano concerti. But I recommend you sample the Beethoven concertos, they are unlike any other. They are written in sonata form like symphonies and the orchestra plays a greater role, they are not simply accompanying the soloist.

Re Sibelius, Symphony #2 is a favorite of most coming new to this music. It is more  'romantic' than most of his music and it is usually played 'big'. His first symphony is more like some of Tchaikovsky's symphonies in its style (however it is music unique to Sibelius). His later symphonies are more modern in style, albeit still very accessible. FWIW, IMHO, not withstanding these observations I think the best of Sibelius' symphonic music  is  found in Symphonies #4, 5, and 6. These works are leaning more towards the modern a bit but are still very tonal and accessible. Symphony #4 is probably best left for last but I found it my favorite once I had absorbed it. 

Speaking of Borodin (mentioned by Twoleftears), and given your predilection for Russian romantic composers, check out Telarc’s 1978 recording of excerpts from his opera "Prince Igor," Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The following link allows you to either listen on your computer or download the recording as a 44.1 kHz/24 bit .wav file, which can be burned to a CD.

https://archive.org/details/StravinskyTheFirebirdborodinPrinceIgor-Telarc-Vinyl24-bit/Side2.wav

You may recognize a melody in the Polovtsian Dances section, btw, as having been adapted in the popular song "Stranger In Paradise," initially in the 1950s musical "Kismet."

BTW, the flip side of that recording, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, while not being from the Romantic period, is well worth downloading as well, IMO, and has perhaps the widest dynamic range of any recording I have ever heard (other than Telarc’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with the notorious cannon blasts).

Regards,
-- Al