Decreasing Dynamic Contrast in Classical Recordings

[bmn3]

A lot of my classical music has these extreme dynamic ranges that result in music that is impossible to hear when it is piano and must be turned down when it is forte. Obviously, dynamic contrast and range is necessary for any music to sound good, but some of this has so much that it doesn't sound that nice either. Is there any program or any way to decrease this range on my audio files?
Thanks!

[zezhyrule]

audacity? I think you can even do something like that in itunes.

how are you listening to the pieces? I notice a lot of times that it's fine when I'm using a good pair of headphones, but when I'm in my car I have to keep one hand on the volume wheel to turn it down when it gets too loud (unbearably so sometimes) and back up for the quieter parts. I blame my crappy sound system.

[iansinclair]

Audacity has a very good compressor facility built in.  However... any time one uses compression, one has to really fiddle with the compression parameters (delays, attack times, thresholds, etc. etc.) to avoid distorting -- well, disturbing might be a better term -- the music.  Classical music does or can have extreme dynamic ranges -- that is part of the beauty of it -- whereas most popular music is very limited that way.  One does want to be a bit careful...

As zezhyrule notes, a lot of it has to do with the sound system.  If you are listening on a very good sound system in an otherwise quiet environment, or on very good quality earphones, one can handle a much larger dynamic range than on poorer equipment, or in a noisy environment (the difference comes in quieter quiet passages, not louder passages).

[zezhyrule]

(the difference comes in quieter quiet passages, not louder passages).

It's probably more that we turn it up so loud for those quieter passages, that when the loud ones come (sometimes suddenly) it's a huge shock. Especially when driving 

[iansinclair]

It's probably more that we turn it up so loud for those quieter passages, that when the loud ones come (sometimes suddenly) it's a huge shock. Especially when driving 

Indeed.  One does that -- we all do -- so that the quieter passages can be heard over whatever background noise one is dealing with.  In a concert hall, or a quiet country home, that background noise might be as low as 20 to 30 dba -- so that one can hear one's cat purring three rooms away.  The top one can take without major discomfort (unless one is deaf) is around 100 dba -- giving one 70 decibels to play with.  On the other hand, even a quiet car may have a background of as much as 60 to 70 dba -- leaving only 30 decibels or so for the music's dynamic range.

Noise cancelling headsets can help (the good ones, though, are not cheap) -- but can't be worn by the driver.

[quantum]

As Ian says, you are looking at compression. 

Radio stations add compression to their broadcast, as it is presumed that radios are often used in noisy environments.  Listening in a car is a noisy environment, even though it may not be perceived as such by the occupants.  This is why you do not need to ride the volume when tuned into a classical music radio station. 

There are also downsides to compression.  Artifacts can become very obvious in classical music, of which a primary feature is the gamut of dynamic contrasts.