>>63
>>51
Forgot to mention, make sure to find good players when you listen to solo instrument works
For keyboardists my favorites are
Andras Schiff (very precise and pleasing to listen to; piano)
Glenn Gould (has his own way of playing and sometimes entirely reinvents pieces with his playing, I think that he is worth listening to but not great to start with due to how much he turns the pieces into his own; piano)
Helmut Walcha (Fantastically precise organ player whose recordings are the best Ive heard; Organ and Harpsichord)
Karl Richter (Also a great organist, almost at the same level as Walcha; Organ and Harpsichord)
Also make sure to remember that "classical" is a bit of a blanket term that can describe music from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras. Most of the most iconic composers are in the later 2 eras. Though my personal favorites generally come from the Baroque. To describe it in very, very, VERY brainlet terms, the Classical and Romantic eras simplify the harmonic complexity seen in the Baroque. Whereas Baroque music experimented with harmony quite a bit with genres like the Fugue, the classical and romantic eras stripped it back slightly and prioritized other aspects.