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.
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- [François Couperin] Introducing famous and popular pieces by the composer who loved the harpsichord
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Classical masterpieces. Recommended classical music (21–30)
March from The Love for Three OrangesSergei Prokofiev
It was originally an opera, but the composer later arranged it for piano.
It’s the most famous piece among the “Three …”.
It has a somewhat comical feel, with sparkling glissandos, but the final chord progression is so distinctive that it makes you a bit nervous until it resolves.
CanonJohann Pachelbel
The original title is “Canon and Gigue in D major for three violins and basso continuo.” The Canon is the first movement.
It is arguably Pachelbel’s most well-known piece.
Since it plays during the interlude of Tatsuro Yamashita’s ‘Christmas Eve,’ it’s a piece you’re sure to hear at Christmastime.
Rhapsody in BlueGeorge Gershwin
Highly regarded as “symphonic jazz,” a fusion of jazz and classical music, this piece propelled Gershwin’s name onto the world stage.
Inspired, it’s said, by the rhythm of a train while he was traveling to Boston, the rhapsody vividly evokes a steam locomotive on the verge of departure and then steadily gathering speed.
With its sprightly, jazz-inflected orchestral rhythms, the rich palette of timbres from diverse wind techniques, and a near-improvisatory piano cadenza, it offers countless highlights for listeners.
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23Pyotr Tchaikovsky
When it comes to piano concertos, this piece is the quintessential classic—surely there are hardly any people who haven’t heard it.
Many performers have played it and left landmark recordings.
From beginning to end, it gives not only the piano but almost every instrument in the orchestra a moment to shine.
If you’ve never listened through to the third movement, I strongly encourage you to hear it all the way to the end.
Triumphal March from the opera AidaGiuseppe Verdi
The “Triumphal March” is a piece that appears in Act 2, Scene 2 of Verdi’s opera Aida.
Part of it is also famous as a soccer chant, so even people unfamiliar with classical music may have heard it.
In the piece, so-called fanfare trumpets are used and are performed on stage rather than in the orchestra pit.
Fugue in D minorJ.S.Bach
This piece, affectionately known as the “Little Fugue in G Minor,” is surely one of the most popular works by Bach, the father of music.
Structured as a four-voice fugue, it is meticulously crafted using counterpoint.
With its strong role as music dedicated to God in church, its solemn and majestic sonority becomes ever more magnificent the more you listen, and it never grows tiresome.
String SerenadePyotr Tchaikovsky
It’s a famous piece that was used in a temp agency’s TV commercial long ago.
Even though the first movement is composed in the plain key of C major, I can’t help but wonder how it becomes such a sumptuous and weighty melody.
I also love how that melody returns in the fourth movement.
Radetzky MarchJohann Strauss I
This piece is a march composed by Johann Strauss I.
It was written during the Revolutions of 1848 to honor Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky, who suppressed the independence movement in Northern Italy, then part of the Austrian Empire.
It is one of the most popular works in classical music and is often performed as an encore; many of you have probably seen audiences clapping along.
Overture to the opera ‘The Marriage of Figaro’Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This is the overture from the opera that Mozart composed in 1786, based on a satirical play written in 1778 by the French playwright Beaumarchais.
Centered on the events surrounding the wedding of Figaro, a servant to a nobleman, the work harshly criticized the aristocracy and was consequently banned from performance multiple times.
It remains one of the masterpieces in which you can fully enjoy Mozart’s brilliant music.
Polovtsian Dances from the opera Prince IgorAlexander Borodin
Among the works of the Russian composer Borodin, this is one of the most popular pieces and is often performed on its own.
It is also frequently chosen as a free selection in wind band competitions, as it has been arranged for concert band.
The beautiful oboe melody is particularly striking.