[Orchestra] Introducing famous and popular pieces
Among classical music, the orchestra is the most opulent and offers the widest range of expression.
When a variety of instruments, each infused with the performer’s own sensibility, come together to create a single piece of music, it produces a unique allure found nowhere else.
In this article, we’ve picked out famous and popular orchestral pieces.
Even within orchestral music, there are many genres—from symphonies and concertos to operas.
We’re introducing everything from pieces everyone has heard to works well-known among classical enthusiasts, so be sure to check them out.
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[Orchestra] Introducing famous and popular pieces (91–100)
Symphony No. 104 “London”Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No.
104 “London” is the final symphony by Haydn, known as the father of the symphony.
The title “London” doesn’t carry any deep meaning; it is so called because the work was composed in London.
From the very beginning, the heavy, solemn atmosphere creates tension and powerfully draws in the listener.
Comprising four movements, the piece offers moments of majesty, refined and gentle melodies, and a brisk, lively minuet, ensuring it never grows tiresome to hear.
Symphony No. 39Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
A symphony without oboes—something considered rare in Mozart’s works.
At first, it draws close as if wrapping your heart.
Then it grows a little suspicious and pulls away.
The doubts clear, and it comes near again.
After that, the tones pour over your head like rain.
You know how some people are hard to pin down? This music brings such a person to mind.
[Orchestra] Introducing Famous and Popular Pieces (101–110)
HumoresqueAntonín Dvořák
Humoresque was composed while he was staying at his villa in Vysoká.
It is performed more often as a violin piece than as a piano work.
In this piece, the violin has a very lustrous tone.
Depending on the listener, it leaves different impressions: it can feel as fleeting as the night sky, or warm and nostalgic like midday.
Even after a single listen, it lingers clearly in the ear.
A romantic piece I highly recommend.
Piano Concerto No. 21Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
In Japan, it was used in Kourakuen’s commercial “Yabai Chuka Soba Classic.” It’s perfect as background music for cooking.
Boiling the noodles, taking them out of the pot and rinsing them with water… then into the soup and plated in a bowl… It beautifully portrays the process of a dish coming together.
Even the act of picking up the noodles with chopsticks and slurping them looks artistic thanks to the power of this piece.
RequiemWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This piece is the one Mozart continued composing right up until the very brink of his death.
Because he died while working on it, the remaining sections were written and completed by his pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr.
In 1791, he was commissioned by an unknown man to compose a Requiem in exchange for a large fee, and Mozart wrote in a letter that, when he received this commission, he thought, “This piece is my own Requiem.”
Symphony in D minorCésar Franck
Franck was a composer active in France, but he was actually born in Belgium.
This piece consists of three movements.
The first movement has a rather dark feeling right from the opening.
It begins with a dark, heavy mood, yet it gives the impression of rising upward.
ScheherazadeNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
A mysterious masterpiece based on One Thousand and One Nights.
Packed with the allure of the orchestra, it features powerful melodies and beautifully moving themes played by the violins.
Another distinctive aspect is that each movement is given a story-like title, such as “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship.”
In conclusion
We introduced famous and popular orchestral pieces. You probably found some you’ve heard at least once—whether from music class or as background music on TV. There are so many captivating orchestral works that we couldn’t possibly cover them all here, so be sure to explore other pieces as well!