Music Recommendations

Borodin (get Polovetsian Dances first)
Mahler (watch out this can be painfully tearful stuff - rarely happy stuff)
Prokofiev
Shostakovitch (get the 5th first)
Wagner
Kachuturian
Handel (fireworks - Queen of Sheba
Emile Waldteufel (when The Seine used to freeze over - "The Skaters" I think it is called)
Bach (some of his fugues are awesome - feel it as well as hear it stuff)

I don't think you will find much modern work that is NOT done for movies....remember old classicall was the same...a lot was written for the stage and specific "events" (composers re-worked traditional "ditty's" and pub sing-a-long songs and marching tunes into their works.....much as is done today)

...classical is often filled with bombastic stuff after all this was a "rock concert" in those days loud and impressive!

Well, if all you mean 20th century, then there are thousands to choose from. My favorite 20th century is Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Vaughn William, Barber, Copeland, Faure, Korngold, Sibelius, and Goldmark.

Don't dismiss film composers; it is just snobbery. For example..Rossini became an extremely wealthy man because his operas were perfomed in Casinos. He got a cut of the gambling profits for bringing in the crowds. So while today the opera snobs only perform Rossini at the Met; if Rossini where alive today he would be doing his operas at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. What we call classical music was in many cases popular music in its day. Beethoven also became a weathy man from his compositions.

All of the old Operas at The Met were the "show tunes" of their day..

Today people like John Williams make millions and are household names the same as Haydn, Beethoven, Rossini and Wagner were in their day. The current crop of "classical" composers need a goverment and/or a university handout because their music is not anything the public will pay money to hear. Pops concerts that play film or other show classical have sellout crowds.

100 years from now they will still be playing John William's music. Most new "classical" gets played once and is forgotten. Most of it will never get played again.

Thanks everbody for all of your imput. I am new when it comes to Classical Music. I just want to try somthing new. There are so many to choose from.
Thanks again.

If you want something of moderate scale that is offbeat, but very listenable try Stravinsky's Octet for Wind Instruments and the Ebony Concierto. Not at all obnoxiouos like the Firebird Suite. I've go them on the Netherlands Wind Ensemble Greatest hits, which as an added bonus is very well recorded.

There are certainly many fine suggestions already.

I'd add:

Respighi - Feste Romane
Shostakovich - light scores (The Bolt, Moscow-Cheryomushki, e.g.)
Virgil Thomson - The Plow that Broke the Plains (film score)
Holst - Suites 1 & 2 for Concert Band
Stravinsky - Firebird, Rite of Spring
Hindemith - Mathis der Maler
Bartok - Concerto for Orchestra
Orff - Carmina Burana
Copland - Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Red Pony (RP is a film score)
Kodaly - Hary Janos

Although it's from the 19th century, it's still hard to find a piece that's more fun than Grieg - Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2.