Very often, parents and students ask me, “Can you recommend some good
classical music to listen to?” Absolutely! There are so many wonderful
pieces to choose from, it is difficult to narrow the list down to “must
haves” for your recording collection. Here is a “short list” of my favorites.
Most of the pieces listed here are for string orchestra or symphony
orchestra. If you have a favorite piece you would like included on this list,
send me an e-mail!
If you want to explore more music by these composers, or explore the works
of other composers not listed here, check out www.classicalarchives.com You
can download a limited number of music files each day for free.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concertos No. 1 – No. 6.
Mass in b minor
Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites
The Art of the Fugue
“Little” Fugue in g minor
Toccata and fugue in d minor
Double Concerto in D for two violins
Ludwig von Beethoven
Symphonies No. 1 – No. 9.
My personal favorite is No. 6 "Pastoral." The two most popular symphonies
are
No. 5 and No. 9 "Choral."
Piano Sonata No.14 in C#-, Op.27 No.2 "Moonlight"
Piano Sonata No.23 in F-, Op.57 "Appassionata"
Johannes Brahms
Symphonies No. 1 – No. 4
Violin Concerto in D, Op.77
Samuel Barber
Adagio--When people think of Samuel Barber, this is the piece they think of.
"Adagio" is a very beautiful and emotional work for string orchestra.
Hector Berlioz
Symphony Fantastique
Aaron Copland
Appalachian Spring
Rodeo
Claude Debussy
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Rêverie (1890)
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No 9 New World
String Quartet "American"--This is one of my favorite string quartets.
George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue
An American in Paris
George Frideric Handel
Messiah--The best known selection from "Messiah" is the "Hallelujah Chorus."
Music for the Royal Fireworks in D, HWV.351
Water Music (3 Suites, HWV.348-350)
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 94 in G "Surprise"
Symphony No.104 in D "London"
Gustav Holst
The Planets
Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
Die Hebriden ("Fingal's Cave"), Op.26
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphonies No. 40 g minor and No. 41 "Jupiter"
Serenade in G for strings "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (A Little Night Music)
K.525--This is one of Mozart’s best known chamber works.
Piano Concerto No.23 in A, K.488
Overtures "The Marriage of Figaro" and "The Magic Flute"
Jacques Offenbach
Overture "Orpheus in the Underworld"--The most recognizable section of this
piece is "Can-Can."
Niccolo Paganni
Caprices for Violin--Paganni is best known for his flashy and showy violin
pieces.
Concertos nos. 1 and 2 for Violin and Orchestra
Sergei Prokofiev
Romeo and Juliet
Peter and the Wolf
Maurice Ravel
Daphnis et Chloe
Pavanne
Bolero--This is not my favorite piece by Ravel (I love Daphnis et Chloe) but
I included it on this list because it is one of the best known pieces by
Ravel.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade--A beautiful piece for symphony orchestra, very “exotic”
sounding.
Capriccio espagnol
Russian Easter Overture
Gioacchino Rossini
Overture to "William Tell"
Camille Saint Saens
Carnival of the Animals--My favorite movements are "The Swan" (featuring the
cello) and "The Elephant" (featuring the bass).
Franz Schubert
Piano Quintet in A "The Trout"--This is my favorite quintet. It is so
beautiful!
Symphonies No. 8 "Unfinished" and No. 9 "The Great"
Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 5
Igor Stravinski
The Firebird
Le Sacred du printemps (Rite of Spring)--This ballet was so innovative and
shocking, that at the premiere performance in Paris in 1924, the audience
started a riot! This piece was featured in the animated film "Fantasia"
(think of the dinosaur part).
Petrouchka
Johann Strauss
Waltzes "Blue Danube" and "Tales of the Vienna Woods"
Richard Strauss
Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks
Also sprach Zarathustra--This piece was featured in the movie “2001 A Space
Odessy.”
Don Juan
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Serenade in C, Op.48, for strings--This is my absolute favorite piece for
string orchestra.
Violin Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 1
The Nutcracker Suite--This piece was featured in the animated film Fantasia.
Swan Lake
Sleeping Beauty
1812 Overture, Op. 49 Tchaikovsky intended this piece to be performed
outdoors, complete with live cannon shots! This piece is often performed on
July 4th to accompany fireworks displays.
Symphony No. 6
Ralph Vaughn Williams
Greensleeves
English Folk Song Suite
Antonio Vivaldi
The Four Seasons This is probably Vivaldi’s best know work. It consists of
four violin concertos—Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn.
Gloria in D
Violin Concerto in a minor
Richard Wagner
Die Meistersinger
Lohengrin
Tannhauser
Here are some favorites submitted by students:
Franz Liszt
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Ludwig von Beethoven
Rondo a Cappriccio Op. 129 (Rage Over a Lost Penny)
