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)
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.
Classical Masterpieces | Recommended Works You Should Hear at Least Once (51–60)
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.
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 “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.
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.