re: MB, tell me the best and most essential classical music I need to listen to

My wife is a classically trained musician and she's always trying to get me into Mahler. The 3rd and 5th Symphonies are pretty great.

But I love pretty much anything by a Russian. Tchaikovsky, of course, is a good place to start and he's my favorite. I do't have very sophisticated tastes here. But check out Borodin. I don't know his critical rep, but his 1st and 2nd Symphonies are right in my wheelhouse. The Russians aren't afraid of some big sounds. I'm a fan. Even the Soviet era stuff, though I don't know of any of the composers.