Masterpiece Rhapsodies: A Curated Selection of Brilliant Rhapsodies That Illuminate Classical Music History
“Rhapsody” is one of the musical genres rendered in Japanese as “kyōshikyoku” (literally, “rhapsodic poem”), characterized by a free form that expresses ethnic or lyrical content.
Composers whose names are etched in history—such as Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, and George Gershwin—have each left behind rhapsodies that embody their own unique worlds.
In this article, we have carefully selected and will introduce masterpieces among such rhapsodies that remain especially popular today and are frequently programmed in concerts.
Playlist
| Masterpiece Rhapsodies: A Curated Selection of Brilliant Rhapsodies That Illuminate Classical Music History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| show_chart | Title | Playlist | Review |
| 1east | Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79: No. 2 in G minorJohannes Brahms |  play_arrow | Johannes Brahms was a composer of the German Romantic school... |
| 2east | Rhapsody in BlueGeorge Gershwin |  play_arrow | George Gershwin’s signature work, Rhapsody in B... |
| 3east | Spanish Rhapsody, S.254Franz Liszt |  play_arrow | Franz, known as a virtuoso pianist... |
| 4east | Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor, S.244-2Franz Liszt |  play_arrow | The pia—who composed numerous extremely challenging pieces requiring virtuosic technique… |
| 5east | Rhapsody for Orchestra “Spain”Emmanuel Chabrier |  play_arrow | The French composer Emmanuel Chabrier… |
| 6east | Somerset Rhapsody, Op. 21 No. 2Gustav Holst |  play_arrow | Gustav, a composer representative of the early 20th century, ... |
| 7east | Rhapsody Mexicana No. 1Manuel Ponce |  play_arrow | When talking about classical music from Latin America, you can’t overlook… |
| 8east | Rhapsody for Alto SaxophoneAndré Waignein |  play_arrow | The Belgian composer André Waignein is... |
| 9east | Three Slavonic Rhapsodies, Op. 45, B. 86Antonín Dvořák |  play_arrow | Czech-born composer Antonín Dvořá— |
| 10east | Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43Sergei Rachmaninov |  play_arrow | The master of Russian Romanticism, Sergei Rachmani... |
| 11east | Norwegian RhapsodyÉdouard Lalo |  play_arrow | Ed..., one of France’s leading composers, |
| 12east | Rhapsody for OrchestraToyama Yuzo |  play_arrow | La… for Orchestra, a shining landmark in the history of classical music |
| 13east | Rhapsody No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Sz. 86Bartók Béla |  play_arrow | A classical music composer from Hungary, … |
| 14east | Auvergne Rhapsody in C major, Op. 73Camille Saint-Saëns |  play_arrow | A Fla... who was active from the 19th to the 20th century |
| 15east | Second RhapsodyGeorge Gershwin |  play_arrow | The great composer Joe, who will go down in American music history... |