Today's Classics: Recommended classical music and great performances to listen to today

If you’re reading this article, you probably love classical music.

You likely know a fair number of composers and performers already—and to be honest, you might be a bit tired of some of them—so perhaps you’re also on the lookout for pieces and composers you don’t yet know.

In this article, for everyone enjoying a wonderful classical-music life, we introduce daily reviews of recommended composers and performers, as well as timeless masterpieces and great performances from across the ages.

Alongside symphonies, you’ll sometimes find concertos, sometimes solo piano or violin, and perhaps even contemporary works or pieces for wind band!

You’re sure to discover classical music that will brighten your day.

Playlist

Today's Classics: Recommended classical music and great performances to listen to today
	Title	Playlist	Review
1	Siegfried IdyllRichard Wagner		Wagner’s heartwarming short piece, Serenity
2	La CampanellaFranz Liszt		A piano piece arranged by Liszt, with striking bell sounds
3	The Carnival of the Animals, No. 14: FinaleCamille Saint-Saëns		Fun animal music like a festival
4	Symphonic Poem “La Mer”: Three Symphonic Sketches — III. Dialogue of the Wind and the SeaClaude Debussy		Sea music, depicting the harmony of nature and sound
5	Gymnopédie No. 1Erik Satie		Serene music born from ancient festivals
6	dreamClaude Debussy		Debussy’s fantastical piano piece
7	Suite ‘Mirrors’: A Boat on the OceanClaude Debussy		The melody of Debussy’s graceful little boat
8	Suite bergamasque, No. 3: Clair de LuneClaude Debussy		Debussy 'Clair de Lune' performance expression techniques
9	GymnopédieEric Satie		The allure of Satie’s famous masterpiece Gymnopédies
10	Hungarian Dance No. 5Johannes Brahms		On his concert tour of Germany, Johannes Brahms...
11	Piano Concerto No. 21Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart		Kourakuen’s commercial song is perfect as music for cooking.
12	Concerto for Percussion and OrchestraAndré Jolivet		An avant-garde percussion work by Jolivet. During his visit to Japan, he got hooked on pachinko.
13	HumoresqueAntonín Dvořák		A lustrous violin masterpiece that lingers in the heart.
14	Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” Second MovementAntonín Dvořák		A quintessential Japanese song that heralds dusk
15	Sword DanceAram Khachaturian		The sounds of the marimba and timpani are striking.
16	No. 153 from Mikrokosmos: Six Dances in Bulgarian RhythmBartók Béla		Bartók’s short etude, brimming with exhilaration
17	Transcendental Étude No. 4 in D minor, “Mazeppa”Franz Liszt		Powerful performance in a Casio musical instrument commercial
18	Overture from the opera “La gazza ladra” (The Thieving Magpie)Gioachino Rossini		Memorable Mozart pieces in Haruki Murakami’s works
19	Dies Irae from RequiemGiuseppe Verdi		Verdi’s Manzoni Requiem, famous for the Dies Irae
20	Hungarian Dance No. 5Johannes Brahms		Hungarian Dances, No. 5 is famous
21	Unaccompanied Cello SonataKodály Zoltán		A ferociously wild, virtuosic piece for cello
22	From Eight Concert Etudes: 3. ToccatinaNikolai Kapustin		Kapustin's jazz-style classical piece
23	‘Of Foreign Lands and Peoples’ from ‘Scenes from Childhood’Robert Schumann		A scene of children absorbed in tales of foreign lands
24	March from The Love for Three OrangesSergei Prokofiev		An arrangement of a famous piano piece, highlighted by glissandos and chords
25	Nirvana SymphonyMayuzumi Toshirō		A groundbreaking symphony by Toshiro Mayuzumi that incorporates bells and Buddhist chants.
26	Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasqueClaude Debussy		Music of moonlight inspired by poetry
27	Overture from the operetta “Orpheus in the Underworld”Jacques Offenbach		Offenbach's operetta, a famous piece for sports day
28	GymnopédieErik Satie		Satie was called an “iconoclast of the music world,” and in the West…
29	Rhapsody in BlueGeorge Gershwin		In Nodame Cantabile, the protagonist Megumi Noda is man...
30	Polovtsian Dances from Prince IgorAlexander Borodin		Nowadays it is also referred to as the “Dances of the Polovtsians,” and it...