Barrett- Allow me to add a most cordial welcome to the CM list, where
you will find folks who run the gamit from musicians of first rank- if
not exactly the most famous- to unsophisticated but appreciative listeners
like this writer.  I'd like to respond to a couple of your questions,
and then add one of my own.

You pose a dangerous question when you ask what consitutes the zenith
of CM (my answer: it depends on the mood I'm in): it can consume a lot
of bandwidth.  But I'll venture where wise men fear to tread.  There is
such a wide range to explore!  I encourage people new to the genre to
listen to Tchaikovsky (try his violin concerto and Piano Concerto No 1);
Brahms (his third piano sonata, written when he was a year older than
you, so it brims with the passions, hopes and energy of youth, and his
first symphony would be a good places to start); Dvorak (I'll never
outgrow his trio in E minor, the "Dumky", as well has his seventh and
ninth symphonies).

In my humble (OK, OK not so humble, but still rather unsophisticated)
opinion, the work you cited by Beethoven- his ninth symphony- is far
from his best.  In fact, his symphonies in general don't represent his
best work.  His violin concerto is arguably unsurpassed in the history
of the repertoire for the violin, and I will never exhaust his piano
sonatas, which alone could teach me until the end of my days on this
planet.  Sonata Number 29 (he wrote 32 piano sonatas) is referred to
as the "Hammerklavier" which one pianist and professor of music on this
List called by far the most technically and intellectually challenging
masterpiece ever written.  But don't start with that one- and please
don't tell anyone I said this or they'll laugh at me- but I don't care
what anyone says (including the composer himself) sonata #14 (dubbed the
"Moonlight") is more pleasurable to listen to and No. 23 (the "Appassionata")
is a better piece of music than the Hammerklavier.  As to what piece
elevates my consciousness, well I'll share a little secret with you.
There's a movement in Beethoven's 13th string quartet- the cavatina
movement- that is the greatest seven minutes of music ever written.  How
a man so tormented as Beethoven was when he wrote that could have conceived
such a tender, poignant moment is, well, beyond me.  The entire quartet
is one of the high points of the string quartet literature, although the
final movement is a complex fugue that is difficult to appreciate in a
recording: it often sounds like a muddle (this is meant to encourage you
to hear some of this music live: recordings just don't compare to a good
live performance).

While you are at it, try some Sibelius- say his second and fifth symphonies.
And if you are in to the darker sides of life, Smetana's String Quartet
No 1 ("From My Life") starts out with sunny good cheer, and ends with
some of the most chilling music ever written.  I myself am on a bit of
a Shostakovich kick these days- Dmitri Shostakovich being among the
greatest (in my opinion, the greatest)- composer of the 20th century.
His fifth symphony and his 8th string quartet are good places to get
acquainted with this tormented genius. And when you've covered the core,
rest assured you've only begun to scratch the surface.  By the way, we
Americans don't exactly have to hang our heads in shame compared to those
Europeans: Samuel Barber's violin concerto is only a notch or two down
from that of Beethoven.  You've got a lifetime to explore what is arguably
the most meaningful artistic expression ever conceived by Man!

And now a question for you.  What drew you to this musical tradition?
In a world awash with the banal, the shallow, the oh-so-transitory, I
wonder how you found your way to this music which endures and which some
blue ribbon panel a few years back included among the two hundred greatest
inventions of mankind.  Where there formative influences from your
childhood (e.g. did your mother make you take piano lessons when you'd
rather have been playing baseball?).  What were your musical preferences
until your recent discovery, and how did you make the leap to this more
difficult, but ultimately more rewarding, musical tradition?

P.S. www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com is hard to beat for price.  You just
have to wade through a lot of specialized stuff.

Regards,

Larry Sherwood