Classical Masterpieces: Recommended Works You Should Hear at Least Once
Classical music, the foundation of all music.
It began with chants sung in churches and led to the birth of countless composers and works.
In Japan, classical music remains close to us even today—taught in music classes and played as background music in a variety of settings.
In this article, we’ll introduce a wide range of classical pieces: from famous works you’ve likely heard somewhere at least once, to lesser-known pieces that will still linger in your ears.
Please enjoy these masterpieces of classical music—performed in many forms, from sacred music and symphonies to piano solos and concertos, including works arranged for different instruments.
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Classical Masterpieces: Recommended Works You Should Hear at Least Once (41–50)
ChaconneHenry Purcell
He was a composer who represents English Baroque music, and despite his short life of 36 years, he left more than 400 works.
Although Purcell was English, he was influenced by French and Italian Baroque opera of the time, and he is known for his beautifully expressive melodies and lively rhythms that juxtapose basic meters with the effect of hemiolas.
A “chaconne” is a set of variations characterized by a slow, stately triple meter, and while adhering to that form, it evokes a uniquely free-spirited world.
Symphonic Suite “Scheherazade”Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Rimsky-Korsakov was a central figure of the group of composers known as the Russian Five and is called the “father of modern orchestration.” The title of this work, Scheherazade, is the name of the heroine who appears in The Arabian Nights, a representative work of Arabic narrative literature.
Although the piece does not faithfully follow the storyline, it develops the theme of the fierce King Shahryar and the theme of the gentle Scheherazade throughout, vividly evoking the image of “a tale of wondrous mysteries.”
Symphonies Nos. 1–5Felix Mendelssohn
This is a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado, included in “Mendelssohn: The Complete Symphonies.” When it comes to Mendelssohn, the “Wedding March,” one of the pieces from the incidental music A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is widely known as a representative work.
String Quartet No. 66 in G major “Lobkowitz”, Op. 77, No. 1, Hob. III:81Franz Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet No.
66 in G major, “Lobkowitz,” performed by the Kuijken String Quartet.
With over a hundred works that helped establish the symphony, he came to be known as the “Father of the Symphony.”
Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66Frederic Chopin
Romantic music, which places great importance on human and individual emotions, produced many distinctive performers who unleashed their personal feelings.
Chopin was not only a composer but also a genius pianist, and he was a master of improvisation whose performances would alter the content of a piece each time he played it.
TafelmusikGeorg Philipp Telemann
Today, when we think of German Baroque music, Bach is overwhelmingly famous, but at the time it was Telemann who enjoyed the greatest renown.
Tafelmusik (“table music”) is not sacred music; it is chamber music that nobles enjoyed, for example, during meals.
Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15Robert Schumann
A representative composer of the German Romantic school is Schumann.
He wrote music for a wide range of ensembles, from symphonies to instrumental works, but his piano pieces are especially famous.
The idea of rendering scenes as a child perceives them directly into music is a quintessentially Romantic conception.
Symphonic Poem “Finlandia”Jean Sibelius
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
This piece is the most famous among Sibelius’s works and gained popularity as a composition that stirred Finnish patriotism against the oppression of Imperial Russia.
Pavane of TearsJohn Dowland
Even as Europe entered the Renaissance, where the influence of Christianity remained very strong, there was a strong perception that songs spreading the Gospel of Christ were the proper form of music.
However, by the late Renaissance, instrumental music developed.
This is a famous piece for the lute.
String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465 “Dissonance”Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
It is nicknamed the “Dissonance” because the first 22 measures of the opening movement feature an introduction full of dissonance.
That dissonant sound was difficult to understand at the time, to the point that, when it was published, some even claimed it must be a copying error.
However, after the introduction, the music becomes characteristically clear and Mozartean, and it ranks among the finest works in chamber music.
It is the last of the six string quartets known as the “Haydn Set,” which Mozart dedicated collectively to Haydn.