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 (51–60)
Symphony No. 2, Movement IIISergei Rachmaninov
A moving melody woven from beauty and melancholy seeps into the heart.
Beginning with a clarinet solo and expanding to the full orchestra, the sonic world shakes the listener’s soul.
Its lyrical line, which evokes nostalgia and distant memories, feels as if it were singing of a beloved person.
It is also featured in the film “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” known as a classic that colors romantic scenes.
Recommended for those who wish to heal the pain of heartbreak or to bask in memories with someone dear.
Premiered in January 1908 to great success, it is also famous as a work that symbolizes the composer’s rebirth.
Five Piano Pieces, Op. 23Arnold Schönberg
Entering the modern era, music emerged that fundamentally overturned traditional composition techniques.
One such approach is the method known as serialism, with Arnold Schoenberg credited as the originator of the twelve-tone technique.
This piece develops a tone row that uses all twelve notes within an octave to construct an entire composition, and it also possesses aspects of atonal music.
Overture CollectionGioachino Rossini
An album of Rossini overtures conducted by Claudio Abbado with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
As the foremost opera composer of the early Romantic era, Rossini enjoyed immense popularity among audiences as well as composers and writers such as Chopin, Wagner, and Stendhal.
GymnopédieErik Satie
The distinctly French music sparked by Fauré took shape as what Satie called “Impressionism.” Closely linked with the Impressionist painting of the time, Impressionist music differs from the temporally dramatic development of Romantic music, bearing instead the characteristics of depicting only the impression of a scene or an emotion.
Turandot: “Nessun dorma”Giacomo Puccini
Mario Del Monaco’s tenor, conducted by Erede, with the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
Puccini is a composer who represents Italian opera from the late 19th to the early 20th century.
His final opera, Turandot, was left unfinished and was completed by his student, Franco Alfano.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5J.S.Bach
It is a superb performance conducted by Peter Schreier with the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra, where each sound has a clear, distinct contour yet blends harmoniously.
Bach, who laid the foundation of Western music, is known as the “Father of Music.”
Symphonic Poem ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’Richard Strauss
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
It is Richard Strauss’s fifth tone poem.
It is based on the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s book of the same name.
After concluding his work on tone poems, he focused primarily on composing operas.
Symphony No. 101 in D major “The Clock”Franz Joseph Haydn
Aside from functional harmony, other characteristics of the Classical period include the development of the symphony and the development and perfection of the sonata form.
The greatest symphonic composer of the Classical era is Haydn, who left more than 100 symphonies.
The “Clock” is one of the most representative among them.
In conclusion
We’ve picked out a variety of classic masterpieces! From well-known pieces you learn at school to lesser-known works, we’ve introduced a range—did any composers or pieces catch your eye? Beyond the ones we featured this time, there are countless great works in classical music, so be sure to check them out. If you find a favorite, it can be fun to explore the composer’s history from there!