A poignant classic masterpiece. Recommended classical music.
Introducing heartrending classical pieces in one go!
Even when we say “heartrending classical music,” the moods and styles vary widely.
This time, we’ve picked out a range of moving masterpieces—from piano and violin works to miniatures, chamber music, concertos, and orchestral pieces.
Alongside the classics, we’ve lined up a wide selection that includes lesser-known, more obscure works that even avid classical listeners might not immediately recognize.
Whether you’re just getting into classical music or already deeply immersed, there’s plenty to enjoy—so please relax and read to the end!
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Poignant classics: Recommended classical music (41–50)
Piano Concerto No. 23, 3rd MovementWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Since the Piano Concerto No.
23 does not use trumpets or timpani, the overall sonority sounds like chamber music.
It is also unique in that clarinets are used instead of oboes.
The second movement is in the rarely used key of F-sharp minor for Mozart, marked Adagio, and features a tranquil melody based on a siciliano rhythm.
Poignant masterpieces of classical music. Recommended classical pieces (51–60)
Summer MorningHeino Kasuki
This is a piano piece by the Finnish composer Heino Kaski, known as Op.
35-1 “Summer Morning.” The work features a beautifully transparent melody that seems to capture the pure air of a Nordic morning in sound.
Its delicate trills evoke the sparkle of sunlight filtering through leaves, and the gentle yet gradually broadening brightness will refresh the listener’s heart.
It has a cool, invigorating quality that makes you forget muggy heat, and it’s perfect for quietly enjoying music.
Believed to have been composed in the early 1920s, it is also included in pianist Izumi Tateno’s acclaimed album “Piano Works.”
Sorrow of LoveKreisler=Rachmaninov
Sergei Rachmaninoff, the greatest Russian composer of the 20th century, arranged Fritz Kreisler’s piece of the same title, Liebesleid (Love’s Sorrow)—originally by the Austrian composer-violinist who was Rachmaninoff’s contemporary—into a solo piano version.
In Japan, it drew attention when it was featured as an insert piece in the 2016 live-action film adaptation of the manga Your Lie in April.
While the piece is imbued with sorrow, it also exudes a certain brilliance that suggests hope and longing, creating a captivating, enigmatic atmosphere that makes it an exceptionally attractive work.
RequiemGabriel Urbain Fauré
Among the works of the French composer Fauré, this piece is performed the most and is known as a masterpiece of the Requiem genre.
Together with the Requiems by Mozart and Verdi, it is sometimes referred to as one of the ‘Three Great Requiems.’ Although it was criticized at the time of its composition for being ‘too innovative,’ it encapsulates Fauré’s belief that ‘death is not so much suffering as it is a release filled with the joy of eternal bliss.’ Within its religious reverie, one can sense a reassuring feeling of eternal peace.
Piano Sonata No. 14 “Moonlight”Ludwig van Beethoven
Composed when Beethoven was 30, it was published together with Piano Sonata No.
13 under the title “Sonata quasi una fantasia.” The nickname “Moonlight” did not come from Beethoven; it stems from a comment made after his death by a German music critic and poet, who likened the impression of the first movement to “a small boat rocking on the moonlit waves of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland.”
Adagio by AlbinoniRemo Giazotto
This piece is a work for string ensemble and organ composed by Remo Giazotto, and it is also performed with string ensemble alone.
It has been thought to be an arrangement of a piece by Tomaso Albinoni and has been known as “Albinoni’s Adagio,” but it is said that it contains none of the Albinoni material alleged to be the original source.
ElegySergei Rachmaninov
Sergei Rachmaninoff, a composer who was forced to flee Russia and take asylum in the United States.
Many of his works have a dark, melancholic character, revealing how deeply they were written with his homeland in mind.
In the latter half of the piece, a powerful swell brings forth a wave of sorrowful melody.
It’s a magnificent work that makes you want to listen again.