[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.
- Cool classical masterpieces. Recommended classical music.
- [Masterpiece Classics] A special showcase of gem-like masterpieces so beautiful they’ll move you to tears
- Classical Masterpieces: Recommended Works You Should Hear at Least Once
- Classical masterpieces. Recommended classical music.
- Timelessly beautiful classical masterpieces. Recommended classical music.
- Rachmaninoff’s masterpieces. Recommended pieces by Rachmaninoff.
- Masterpieces of Ballet Music: Introducing Classic Favorites
- Dvořák’s masterpiece. Popular classical music.
- [Quartet] Masterpieces and Popular Pieces for String Quartet
- Sibelius’s famous piece. Popular classical music.
- [Violin] A curated selection of beloved classic masterpieces and popular pieces that continue to be cherished across eras
- Mendelssohn’s Masterpieces | Popular Classical Music
- A poignant classic masterpiece. Recommended classical music.
[Orchestra] Introducing Famous and Popular Pieces (21–30)
Suite “L’Arlésienne”Georges Bizet
This suite was composed by Bizet in 1872 to accompany Daudet’s short story of the same name.
It has also been used in commercials for ice cream and energy drinks.
The suite comprises 27 pieces in total, but it is customary for orchestras to select a few of them to perform.
Its streamlined, unadorned music conveys a gentle, heartwarming atmosphere and can be considered soothing.
Symphonic Poem FinlandiaJean Sibelius
Composed to encourage the Finnish people during a period of Russian oppression, this piece is filled with courage and power, and it is a grand work.
Calling for hope and freedom while possessing great beauty, it is likely the most famous of Sibelius’s compositions.
[Orchestra] Introducing Famous and Popular Pieces (31–40)
Sword DanceAram Khachaturian
This piece, often used as background music in games, was composed under the influence of East Asian folk music.
Though it lasts only about two minutes, its overwhelming sense of rhythm and tension leaves a powerful impression.
It was originally written as the final number of a ballet.
A Little Night MusicWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
A composition by the Austrian musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was recognized for his exceptional musical talent from childhood and is known for leaving behind numerous masterpieces over his lifetime.
Its instantly recognizable, catchy opening and its structure—rapidly shifting in mood while never feeling convoluted—attest to the genius that has secured his place in music history.
In Japan as well, it’s one of those classical numbers often heard in TV shows, commercials, and school lessons.
With its accessibility and never-dull arrangement, it’s an imperishable classic that both aficionados of classical music and those who aren’t should know.
Hungarian Dance No. 5Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dances consists of 21 pieces, with No.
5 being particularly famous.
It has been used as background music in various places, such as Chaplin’s The Great Dictator.
In the Hungarian Dances, features of Gypsy music are incorporated, such as raising the fourth degree by a semitone in minor keys and changing tempos.
Brahms seems to have become interested in Gypsy music after going on a performance tour with the violinist Reményi.
Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique”Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky is well known for his bright pieces, but as the title suggests, this work carries a sad and weighty theme.
He himself released it to the world with confidence as a grand masterpiece, and it is said to address life itself.
Pay attention to how the fourth movement ends.
Radetzky MarchJohann Strauss I
A representative work by Vienna-born composer Johann Strauss I, who laid the foundations of the Viennese waltz.
The title “Radetzky” refers to Josef Radetzky, an aristocratic military leader active in Austria in the first half of the 19th century; the piece was composed in his honor for suppressing the independence movements in northern Italy, then part of the Austrian Empire.
The piece is characterized by an atmosphere that blends brilliance with dignity.
It famously closes the encore segment of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, where the audience joins in by clapping along to the music.
