[Masterpiece Classics] A special showcase of gem-like masterpieces so beautiful they’ll move you to tears
Masterpieces of classical music are played on TV, in movies, and in shopping malls, permeating our daily lives as background music.
There are many times when a piece that mysteriously brings you to tears turns out to be a work of classical music.
This time, from among such classical works, we’ve carefully selected timeless masterpieces under the theme “so heartbreakingly beautiful they’ll make you cry.”
Please enjoy to your heart’s content the profound sonorities unique to classical music, which combines both delicacy and boldness.
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[Masterpiece Classics] A Showcase of Exquisitely Beautiful Gems That Will Move You to Tears (41–50)
Fantasiestücke, Op. 3 No. 1: ElegySergei Rachmaninov
Sergei Rachmaninoff, a genius pianist and composer, produced many masterpieces.
His melodies, suffused with a sense of pathos, are especially highly regarded.
Among his works, one particularly known for moving listeners to tears is Elegie, No.
1 from Morceaux de fantaisie, Op.
3.
Composed in his youth, it is characterized by emotionally charged, wistful melodies.
Because the piece can sound quite different depending on the performer, I encourage you to compare recordings by various pianists.
From ‘The Seasons’: ‘October – Autumn Song’Pyotr Tchaikovsky
“The Seasons” is a set of twelve piano pieces composed with Russian seasonal scenes as their themes.
It originally began as a project in a music magazine, which each month featured a poem by a Russian poet expressing the mood of the season, alongside a piano piece by Tchaikovsky musically depicting the character of that poem.
The poem published with the piece “October” conveys the melancholy and poignancy of autumn—the falling leaves and the fading colors disappearing from the garden.
SicilianaGabriel Urbain Fauré
A chamber work by the French composer Fauré, later repurposed as No.
5 of the incidental music for the play Pelléas et Mélisande.
A “sicilienne” is a 17th–18th century dance originating in Sicily, typically in a gentle 6/8 or 12/8 meter.
Although Fauré originally wrote the piece for cello and piano, it is now performed on various instruments such as flute and trumpet.
It is characterized by a beautiful melody tinged with wistfulness, and despite its simplicity, it possesses remarkable depth.
From “Fantasy Miniatures,” No. 1: ElegySergei Rachmaninov
Sergei Rachmaninoff, the world-renowned composer and pianist born in Russia, wrote many works whose melodies are not only beautiful but steeped in sorrow.
There are countless Rachmaninoff pieces suitable for introduction in this article, but the one featured here is the first piece, “Élégie,” from his 1892 solo piano set Morceaux de fantaisie.
While the second piece, “Prelude,” may be more famous, the beauty and poignancy of the melody in “Élégie” are equally remarkable.
Centered on left-hand arpeggiated figures, the music unfolds with a flowing, melancholic grace that is truly gorgeous.
To think that Rachmaninoff completed such a work at the young age of 19—his talent can only be described as astonishing.
Oboe Concerto in D minor, 2nd movement: Adagio — Love of VeniceAlessandro Marcello
Alessandro Marcello, a prodigy who was extraordinarily active from the 1700s to the 1740s.
While there are many musical geniuses, he also left numerous achievements as a mathematician and philosopher, and on top of that, he possessed an astonishing musical talent—a genius blessed with not just two but three gifts from heaven.
His Oboe Concerto in D minor, Second Movement: Adagio, “Venice’s Love,” is one of his signature works, crafted with a structure that lets a poignant sadness drift within its beauty.
Pay attention to the melody that conveys a glimpse of the Baroque music in which he excelled.
Violin Concerto No. 4 in D minor, MS 60, II. MovementNiccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini, known as the “magician of the violin.” This work splendidly captures his deeply emotional side, which mesmerized contemporary audiences with its exceptional virtuosity and innovative performance style.
The unhurried, sorrowful melody seeps into the heart, and the dialogue between solo violin and orchestra stirs the listener’s emotions.
At its premiere in Paris in 1831, it is said that the audience was moved to tears.
This is a highly recommended piece for those who wish to surrender themselves to its beautiful, heartrending melody and confront the feelings deep within.
Paganini’s music continues to resonate in our hearts across the ages.
Impromptu No. 15 “Hommage à Édith Piaf”Francis Poulenc
Poulenc, one of the composers known as “Les Six” who were active in the 20th century.
As the title suggests, this piece is an homage to Édith Piaf.
Its circling melody sounds sweet yet wistful, while the lowest voice crafts a shadowed duet with the tune.
Partway through, the music shifts to C major and seems as if it might brighten, but in the end it returns to C minor—expressing a melancholic wavering of the heart.