[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 Special Showcase of Exquisitely Beautiful Gems That Will Move You to Tears (71–80)
BirdsongPablo Casals
This piece is a folk song from Catalonia, Spain.
It became known worldwide when the renowned cellist Pablo Casals, anguished by the troubled state of his homeland, performed it before President Kennedy.
Casals, who had not given concerts since 1938, played it as a plea for peace, moving many listeners.
The song is originally a traditional Catalan Christmas carol in which birds sing to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Jesu, Joy of Man’s DesiringJ.S.Bach
This piece was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1723.
It was written as the final movement of the church cantata “Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben.” The harmonies woven by the counter-melodies are beautiful and majestic.
It’s fascinating to think that, in Japan’s Edo period, music like this was being performed in Germany.
This piece is very popular and has been arranged for instruments such as classical guitar and piano.
It’s also a piece you often hear at weddings and during Christmas.
Méditation from the opera ThaïsJules Massenet
Here is a piece composed by the French composer Jules Massenet, born in 1842.
It was written as an intermezzo between Scene 1 and Scene 2 of Act II in the opera Thaïs, which premiered in 1894.
Although the piece was created with a religious connotation, its sweet, characteristically French melody possesses a different kind of charm from what is generally considered religious music.
Also popular as a violin solo, this famous piece is likely one that even those who are not classical music fans have heard at least once.
48 Motif Collection — Esquisse, Op. 63 No. 1 in C major “Phantasm”Charles Valentin Alkan
This is a work by the French composer Charles-Valentin Alkan, known for études of extremely high difficulty that demand superlative technique.
It consists of 49 pieces—48 numbered pieces plus one without an opus number—and is considered relatively less difficult among Alkan’s piano works.
The fact that it cycles through the 24 keys twice across the collection evokes Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier.
No.
1, “Fantômes” (Phantoms), is a piece that lets you leisurely savor the beauty of the piano’s timbre.
Don’t be intimidated just because it’s Alkan—sit back, relax, and give it a listen.
Symphonic poem ‘Les Préludes (The Preludes)’Franz Liszt
This is a symphonic poem composed by Franz Liszt in 1854.
Among the thirteen symphonic poems he wrote, it is perhaps the most frequently performed.
A symphonic poem is an orchestral work based on the content of a poem, and the form is said to have been pioneered by Liszt.
This particular piece was inspired by a poem by Alphonse de Lamartine and conveys the idea that life is a prelude to death.
Its dramatic development is captivating, and simply listening to the music allows one to sense the poem’s content.
‘Solveig’s Song’ from Peer Gynt Suite No. 2Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg, a Norwegian composer known as a leading figure of the national romantic school influenced by Norwegian music.
He studied under Ole Bull and Niels Gade, and although he did not become a professional performing musician, he was renowned for his formidable piano technique.
One of his representative works is “Solveig’s Song” from Peer Gynt Suite No.
2.
Beyond its poignancy and beauty, it also features mysterious melodies that evoke a sense of adventure, allowing a variety of images to unfold within a single piece.
Waltz of SorrowOskar Nedbal
Oskar Nedbal, a modern classical composer who represented Czechoslovakia—the country once comprising what are now the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic—studied under Antonín Dvořák, a leading figure of late Romantic music, and gained popularity for his compositions centered on cello and piano.
Among his works, the piece in which a sense of poignancy is expressed most exquisitely is the “Valse Triste” (Waltz of Sorrow).
Its structure—where a grand and beautiful melody is accented by wistfulness—will surely stir the emotions.
Old Clock Tower, Op. 48-2Heino Kaski
Heino Kaski, a great composer representing Finland.
Though World War I prevented him from achieving widespread success, he produced several masterpieces.
The piece I’m introducing today, Old Clock Tower, Op.
48-2, is one of his signature works.
It features a tragic melody and, while it is a dark piece, it also conveys a sense of brilliance.
In the middle section, the interplay of major and minor keys vividly expresses shifting emotions, so be sure to listen for that carefully.
Etude Op. 25 No. 11 “Winter Wind”Frederic Chopin
Affectionately known as the “Winter Wind” Etude, it is one of Chopin’s most popular works and a masterpiece of the highest artistry among his etudes.
The word “etude” means “study,” and this piece demands especially advanced technique even among Chopin’s 27 etudes.
In both technique and musicality, it can be considered one of the pinnacles of his etudes.
Its rapidly flowing right-hand broken chords are striking, while the melody is carried by the left hand.
True to the name “Winter Wind,” the piece evokes a strong, icy wind that lifts fallen leaves and a mood tinged with melancholy.
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No. 1, Prelude, BWV 846J.S.Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, No.
1, Prelude in C major, BWV 846, has an extremely simple structure in which broken chords are regularly repeated, yet its beautiful harmonic shifts are soothing to the soul.
Charles Gounod’s Ave Maria, which uses this piece as its accompaniment, is also well known.
When you want to calm your anger, steady your impatience, or dwell in sorrow, hearing this piece brings a sense of quiet and composure.
It’s a classic masterpiece that perfectly embodies the phrase “unadorned beauty.”