Help this budding Classical audiophile

A very interesting, but hard to find disc is Niels W. Gade, violin sonatas 1-3, Bratchkova, CPO 999 644-2. Romantic-era violin and piano; I wish I had known about this composer a long time ago. On Naxos, I recommend Glazunov/Dvorak violin concertos, and if you like atmospheric symphonic music, Sibelius Tone Poems. The Baroque violin recordings of John Holloway sound very good are highly recommended (Unam Ceylum and Unarum Fidium).

On another note, you might try joining a mail order club or two in order to get a load of "free" discs to begin with. It will allow you to sample a good diversity of music without a significant price tag. Most of the limited choices at BMG are fairly common, but you can pick and choose on the web site. For violin music probably available there, try Barber and Meyer violin concertos (Hahn; Sony Classical), Bach Art of the Fugue (Emerson String Qt; Deutsche Grammophon), Tartini violin concertos (Wallfisch; Hyperion), Mendelsohn and Shostakovitch violin concertos (Hahn, Sony Classical), Vivaldi Late Violin Concertos (Carmignola; Sony), Bach Solo & Double Violin Concertos (Manze, Harmonia Mundi), Vivaldi Concert for the Prince of Poland (Manze, Harmonia Mundi). For contemporary symphonic music that is not over the top (i.e., you can listen to it more than once), try John Adams Naive and Sentimental Music. Cheers.

Look at the web site for Berkshire Record Outlet. They have a wide selection of classical at very good prices. Harmonia Mundi is almost always excellent, They have many other labels , like Astree that are not well known but very good. Prices often $3 to $5 a CD. Also many older recordings by major labels. I second the use of a good record guide.

The Naxos cataloge has "recomended" ratings from a number of sources printed next to the item. A suggestion is to purchase the 10-20 recordings that are universally highly recomended. At about $6-$7 a CD it is a quick (and cheap) way to obtain a diverse slection of classical recordings that will lead you to more discoveries in your quest.

pick up copies of mendelssohns,beethoven's and brahm's violin concertos.performers such as heifetz,perlman,vengerov and newcomer hilary hahn have excellent recordings.there are many others,but start with these as they are among the best.

When swimming in the ocean of the classical repertoire it is impossible to drown. (Well, maybe avoid Wagner's Rhine and Valkyres at first, but, eventually, they will snare you!)

You seem to be residing at the moment in the Classical pond with Herrs Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, etc. By the way, Haydn does have 104 symphonies and many string quartets. It is now possible to hear this music in recordings employing "original instruments" of the time as well as more modern interprations using standard instruments. So, there alone, you have a large chunk of sea.

Maybe to give yourself a bit of variety, swim on over to the late-Romantic epoch and hear some of the great, overtly-emotional orchestral works by Richard Strauss, Rachmaninov, Sibelius, and Mahler.

About buying CDs, search for a good used-CD store close to your home. Don't limit yourself to any labels. Read up on classical performers and their work. Two magazines I would recommend are "Fanfare" and the British publication, "Gramophone". Don't take all their reviews at face value but there are some good smart recommendations to be had.

Forgive the "water" theme of this missive but I've been listening to various recordings of Debussy's "La Mer" recently and may be just too wet for my own good.

With best regards.