Classical masterpieces. Recommended classical music.
Classical music created by various musicians over a long history.
From pieces whose beautiful melodies bring peace of mind to those whose grandeur overwhelms you, the range is truly diverse.
With so much out there, many people may feel, “I want to listen, but I don’t know where to start.”
For you, we’ve picked out some recommendations to get you started—“Begin with these!”
Please take a moment to enjoy the world of classical music that continues to be loved across the ages.
Classical masterpieces. Recommended classical music (1–10)
Air on the G StringJ.S.Bach
Bach’s “Air on the G String” is the popular name for an arrangement of the second movement of the Orchestral Suite No.
3 in D major, BWV 1068, made by violinist August Wilhelmj for solo violin with piano accompaniment.
The piece is transposed from D major to C major, which allows it to be played entirely on the violin’s lowest string—the G string—hence the title.
It is also called heavenly music and is known for its sweet, lyrical melody; it’s frequently used in films and on television.
Don’t you think it really sounds like music that might be playing in heaven?
Dance of DeathFranz Liszt
This is Franz Liszt’s piano solo arrangement of Danse macabre, a symphonic poem by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns.
The symphonic poem originated from a song composed by Saint-Saëns based on a poem by the French poet Henri Cazalis, which he later orchestrated into the work known today.
Danse macabre depicts people and the Grim Reaper dancing wildly around graves in the face of death’s terror, and the image of the Reaper and skeletons rattling their bones and dancing frenetically past midnight atop the graves is brilliantly rendered even on the piano.
“Ride of the Valkyries” from the opera “Die Walküre”Richard Wagner
You often hear this piece on variety shows and the like.
It is the overture to Act III of Wagner’s music drama Die Walküre, composed in 1856.
“Valkyries” refers to multiple demi-goddesses from Norse mythology; in Japanese they’re sometimes called war goddesses.
This piece serves as the prelude to the scene where the Valkyries, mounted on winged horses and armed with shields and spears, race across the sky to carry the souls of fallen soldiers back to a rocky mountaintop.
Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasqueClaude Debussy
From the title “Clair de Lune,” one might imagine an otherworldly moonlit night.
However, what Debussy sought to portray was not merely a scene of moonlight.
The piece draws inspiration from “Clair de Lune,” a poem in French poet Verlaine’s collection Fêtes galantes.
In this poem, an ambiguous world is depicted, where opposing elements—joy and sorrow—are intricately intertwined.
Captivated by the poem, Debussy depicted this ambiguous world of “moonlight” without using words.
Symphony No. 9 “Choral”Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven’s Symphony No.
9 in D minor, Op.
125, the so-called “Choral” Symphony, is a monumental masterpiece that not only embodies a comprehensive synthesis of music before the Classical era, but also served as a signpost for the coming age of Romantic music.
The fourth movement is performed with soloists and chorus and is well known as the “Ode to Joy.” While the original lyrics are in German, they have been translated into virtually every language around the world.
Beethoven had been nurturing the concept for this work since he was 22, making it, so to speak, a “lifework.” Its impact on the world of music—and indeed on culture and the arts as a whole—is immeasurable.
“Winter” from The Four Seasons, a violin concertoAntonio Lucio Vivaldi
“The Four Seasons” is the collective name for the first through fourth concertos of Vivaldi’s “The Contest Between Harmony and Invention,” titled Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
In the first movement of “Winter,” a scene of bitterly cold, fruit-freezing snow is depicted.
By contrast, the second movement portrays time flowing gently and peacefully inside a warm room with a fireplace.
The melody of the second movement has Japanese lyrics under the title “Shiroi Michi” (The White Road).
This song has also been broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” and is widely loved by people of all ages.
BoleroMaurice Ravel
This memorable piece, with the same melody repeated over and over, is probably familiar to many listeners.
It was composed at the request of the ballet dancer Rubinstein as a ballet piece for a Spanish character.
“Boléro” refers to a dance that originated in Spain around the end of the 18th century.
It is characterized by a light rhythm and a gradual enlargement of scale.