I was just reading I'm just realizing, at 20 years of age, that I enjoy classical music. and I realized that lots of people today go through life not knowing much of anything about classical music. That's sad, because there's a treasure trove of experiences in there that people have felt were worthy of keeping around around for (in some cases) hundreds of years. My parents had it on constantly when I was a kid, so I grew up with it, but if you're starting with it now it can be kind of intimidating...there's just so much of it. Where do you start?
Perhaps this will help: once upon a time I asked a music director of mine for a "best of"
list of classical music works, to help as a general guide and for building my
own music library. He was quite enthusiastic, and came back with a two page
handwritten list, which was so nicely and thoroughly done I thought it would
be of general interest. This list is subjective, of course: his main interest
is classical choral music, because he conducts one of the big Manhattan-based
choruses, but he also did classical radio for 30 or 40 years and had a long
career as a professor of music. Over the years, I've customized and modified the list a bit, but the overall structure is his.
This is by no means an attempt at a classical "canon", nor
is it complete. This is simply one take on the "don't miss"
pieces, the stuff that gets played over and over again on classical music
stations, and is likely to be common to most enthusiasts' libraries. So if you're new at this classical music stuff and looking for somewhere to start, start here.
Notes:
- Opera is specifically excluded, because it deserves its own category,
but when overtures to specific pieces have become important in their own
right they are mentioned.
- There's lots of nice pre-Baroque music (Josquin des Prez, Agricola,
etc.) and Twentieth Century stuff that is omitted.
- As usual, nationalities and "periods" (Baroque, Classical)
are approximate, but I've left them in because they provide a useful framework.
- If you feel I've left out something vitally important,
/msg me.
Baroque
Vivaldi, Antonio (Italian; 1678-1741)
The Four Seasons
Gloria
Bach, Johann Sebastian (German; 1685-1750)
6 Brandenburg Concerti
4 Orchestra Suites
2 Violin Concerti
Concerto for 2 violins
Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor
Tocattas & Fugues
Goldberg Variations
Mass in B Minor
Magnificat
St. Matthew Passion
St. John Passion
Weinachtsoratorium (Christmas Oratorio)
Musikalisches Opfer (or Musical Offering)
Handel, George Frederic (1685-1759)
Water Music
Messiah
Israel in Egypt
Solomon
Classical
Haydn, Joseph (Austrian; 1732-1809)
Symphonies Nos. 88, 92 thru 104
The Creation
String Quartets, Opus 76
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (Austrian; 1756-1791)
Symphonies Nos. 34 thru 41 (esp. 40, 41)
Piano Concertos Nos. 21 thru 27 (esp. 20, 21)
Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4, 5
Sinfonia Concertante
Quintet in G Minor
Requiem
Mass in C Minor, "Great Mass" K. 427
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Clarinet Quintet
Overtures to Operas: Die Zauberflote, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze De Figaro
Beethoven, Ludwig van (German; 1770-1827)
Symphonies 3, 5, 7, 9 (more powerful)
Symphonies 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 (more lyrical & flowing)
Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 4, 5
Violin Concerto, Op. 61
Mass in C Major, Op. 86
Missa Solemnis
String Quartets, Op. 59, Nos. 1, 2 and 3
Piano Sonatas: "Moonlight", "Appassionata", "Pathetique"
"Archduke" Trio
Coriolanus and Egmont Overtures
Schubert, Franz Peter (Austrian; 1797-1828)
"Unfinished" Symphony
Symphony #9
String Quartet #14, in D Minor "Death and the Maiden"
String Quintet, Op. 163 (in C)
Mass No. 6 in E Flat
"Rosamunde", Incidental Music
Piano Trios, Op. 9 and Op. 100
"Trout" Quintet
Romantic & Turn-of-the-century
Schumann, Robert (German; 1810-1856)
Symphonies 1 thru 4
Piano Concerto in A Minor
Piano Quintet, Op. 44
Mendelssohn, Felix (German; 1809-1847)
Symphonies #2, "Lobgesang", #3 "Scotch", #4 "Italian"
and #5 "Reformation"
Violin Concerto in E Minor
Midsummer Nights Dream: Incidental Music
Octet for Strings
Chopin, Frederic (Polish; 1810-1849)
"Revolutionary" Etude
Nocturnes for piano (mostly quiet)
Scherzi for piano
Piano Concertos, Nos. 1 and 2
Berlioz, Hector (French; 1803-1869)
Symphony Fantastique
Requiem
Wagner, Richard (German; 1813-1883)
"Meistersinger" Prelude
"Tannhauser" Prelude
"Rienzi" Prelude
"The Flying Dutchman" Overture
Liszt, Franz (Hungarian; 1811-1886)
Les Preludes
Piano Concerto No. 1
Brahms, Johannes (German; 1833-1897)
Symphonies Nos. 1 thru 4
Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Violin Concerto
Requiem
Double Concerto, Op. 102
Schicksalslied, Op. 54
String Quartet, Op. 51, No. 1
Clarinet Quintet
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyitch (Russian; 1840-1893)
Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6
Piano Concerto No. 1
Violin Concerto
Serenade for Strings
Souvenir of Florence (string sextet)
Nutcracker Suite
Romeo & Juliet: Overture Fantasy
Rococo Variations for Cello & Orchestra
Bruckner, Anton (Austrian; 1824-1896)
Symphony #7
Verdi, Giuseppe (Italian; 1813-1901)
Requiem
Dvorak, Antonin (Bohemia/Czech; 1841-1904)
Symphony #9 "New World"
Requiem
Cello Concerto
Grieg, Edvard (Norwegian; 1843-1907)
Piano Concerto in A Minor
Holberg Suite
Peer Gynt Suite
Mahler, Gustav (Austrian; 1860-1911)
Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 4
Das Lied von der Erde
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Elgar, Sir Edwin William (English; 1857-1934)
Enigma Variations
Pomp and Circumstance marches
Holst, Gustav (English; 1874-1934)
The Planets
Rachmaninoff, Sergey Vasilyevich (Russian; 1873-1943)
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3
Symphony No. 2
Strauss, Richard (German; 1864-1949)
Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
Also Sprach Zarathustra
Sibelius, Jean (Finnish; 1865-1957)
Violin Concerto
Finlandia
Symphony #1, 2, 4, 6
Vaughan Williams, Ralph (English; 1872-1958)
Symphony #1, #4
Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Serenade to Music
Violin Concerto
Poulenc, Francis (French; 1899-1963)
Concerto for 2 Pianos
Gloria
Organ Concerto
Concert Champatre (harpsichord concerto)
Impressionists
Debussy, Claude (French; 1862-1918)
La Mer
Afternoon of A Faun
Three Nocturnes for Orchestra
String Quartet in G Minor
Ravel, Maurice (French/Swiss-Basque; 1875-1937)
La Valse
Bolero
Piano Concerto, G Major
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Daphnis and Chloe
String Quartet in F Major
20th Century
Bartok, Bela (Hungarian; 1881-1945)
Concerto for Orchestra
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Piano Concerto No. 3
Prokofieff, Sergey (Russian; 1891-1953)
Romeo and Juliet
Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Alexander Nevsky
Symphony No. 5
Peter and the Wolf
Overture on Hebrew Themes
Stravinsky, Igor (Russian; 1882-1971)
L'Histoire du Soldat (chamber music)
Le Sacre du Printemps ("The Rite of Spring")
Petrouchka
Firebird
Shostakovich, Dmitri (Russian; 1906-1975)
Symphony #1, 5, 6
Age of Gold (ballet suite - popular)