Welcome, Barrett!  I was exactly your age when I, too, was suddenly drawn
to classical music.  It was four years ago, and I haven't been able to
shake off the addiction ever since.  I wish you the same experience ;-).
It is irreplaceable, even if you might be hard-pressed to find peers
with the same interests (more on this below).

Barrett Reynolds wrote:

>Anyway, I suppose the first question I'd like to pose to this group is,
>what pieces comprise your absolute musical zenith?  What's that piece
>of music that, when you hear it, it totally rejuvenates your spirit,
>gives you mental clarity, and elevates your being to a consciousness
>worlds above the earth?

This could easily be an infinite list, which grows every time I hear
something new.  However, here are a few pieces that I immediately grabbed
on to when I was just starting to discover the wonderful world of CM.

Gustav Mahler: Symphonies no. 5 and 6 (all the others are also on my
short list of absolute favorites, but this is where I started).

Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies no. 4 and 5 (but same as above for most
others)

Leos Janacek: the two string quartets.

Johannes Brahms: Any of the symphonies (and his chamber music and....)

I'll stop short of recommending recordings, as my collection is still
not quite varied enough, and its growth has virtually stopped ever since
I discovered the joy of attending live concerts.  It helps that I am
within driving distance of Chicago, where world-class performances are
happening virtually every weekend.  For me, the CDs have become a way
to get acquainted with the music before the performance and nothing else.
I find that if I have to choose between spending my time on listening
to recordings versus going to a concert, I choose the latter every time.
I should say that for the first couple of years, it was almost the
reverse.  I needed that time to get used to the musical vocabulary.  This
is where the replaying features of musical equipment come in handy.

Janos Gereben wonders...

>how you managed to get into a club with a minimal
>age requirement of 80...:)

Well, here is proof Barrett is not the only one ;-).  Unfortunately, I
find myself quite alone among my peers in having this kind of obsession.
Further, I seem to be unable to express exactly what it is that motivates
me to spend virtually all of my free time (and money!) on my passion.
A few of my friends expressed some interest in classical music, yet
after a few months (or weeks), I find they lose all interest whatsoever.
I can point them to the kind of wonderful reviews often posted on this
list (I have written some of my own).  I can point them to some of my
absolute favorite pieces, explain why I love them, and they seem to
understand, seem to hear the same kinds of things in the music, but then
they never quite get the emotional experience that I do.  Otherwise, why
would they just give up as they invariably do?

On the lighter side, as someone pointed out to me on another list a while
ago, the situation is actually quite cheerful.  Barrett and I are on the
leading edge.  We are assured to have great company in our latter years.
It's like coming into an empty restaurant and having it fill up immediately
afterwards, right?  Well, maybe ;-).

-Igor