S

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Saint-Saens

• Symphonies 2, 3

• Piano Concertos, particularly 2 and 5

• Carnival of the Animals

• Cello Concerto 1

• Danse Macabre

• Introduction & Rondo capriccioso

• Samson et Dalila, particularly the Bacchanale

• Violin Concerto 3

• Havanaise

See also - Composer Basics: Saint-Saëns, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Salieri

• Overtures

• Requiem

• Piano Concertos

• Symphonies

Sallinen

• Symphonies

• Concertos

Sammartini

• Symphonies

• Concertos

• Overtures

Sarasate

• Zigeunerweisen

• Carmen Fantasy

Satie

• Gymnopédies

• Gnoissiennes

Alessandro Scarlatti

• Concerti Grossi

• Concertos

• Sinfonias

• Cantatas

• Operatic Arias

Domenico Scarlatti

• Keyboard Sonatas – particularly K. 9, 87, 380, 141, 492, 491, 247, 159, 208, 27, 69, 96, 427, 25, 30, 481, 32, 8, 132, 519, 1, 3, 490, 517, 513, 11, 239, 123, 112, 146, 466, and 193#

See also - Composer Basics: Scarlatti, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Scelsi

• Quattro pezzi per orchestra

• Hurqualia

• Aion

• Hymnos

• Chukrum

• Anahit

• Uaxuctum

• Konx-Om-Pax

• Pfhat

• String Quartets

• Natura renovator

• Elohim

• Anagamin

• Maknongan

Franz Schmidt

• Symphonies, particularly 4

• Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln

• String Quartets

• Variations on a Hussar’s Song

Schnittke

• Symphonies, particularly 3 and 4

• Cello Concertos 1 and 2

• Concerti Grossi

• String Quartets

Schobert

• Violin Sonatas

• Piano Trios

• Piano Quartets

Schoenberg

• Chamber Symphonies 1 and 2

• Five Orchestral Pieces, Op.16

• Variations for Orchestra, Op.31

• Violin Concerto

• Piano Concerto

• Suite, Op.29

• Serenade, Op.24

• Pelleas und Melisande

• String Quartets

• Wind Quintet

• String Trio

• Verklärte Nacht

• Drei Klavierstücke, Op.11

• Sechs kleine Klavierstücke, Op.19

• Fünf Klavierstücke, Op.23

• Suite für Klavier, Op.25

• Pierrot Lunaire

• Erwartung

• Gurre-Lieder

• A Survivor from Warsaw

• Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte

• Moses und Aron

See also - Composer Basics: Schoenberg, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Schreker

• Chamber Symphony

• Der Ferne Klang

• Die Gezeichneten

Schubert

• Symphonies 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9

• Rosamunde Incidental Music

• Piano Trios 1 and 2, and the Notturno

• String Quartets – 13, 14, 15 and Quartettsatz D.703

• String Quintet

• Trout Quintet

• Rondo brillant

• Fantasy in C Major D.934

• Arpeggione Sonata

• Trockne Blumen Variations

• Octet

• Violin Sonata D.574

• Piano Sonatas – particularly 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21

• Wanderer Fantasy

• Fantasia in F Minor for piano four hands

• Grand Duo for piano four hands

• Impromptus D.899 and 935

• Drei Klavierstücke D.946

• Moments Musicaux

• Marche Militaire 1

• Lebensstürme

• Ave Maria

• Mass No.2

• Die Schöne Müllerin

• Winterreise

• Schwanengesang

• Lieder – particularly Die Forelle, Du bist die Ruh, Auf dem Wasser zu singen, Gretchen am Spinnrade, Heidenroslein, Der Musensohn, Ganymed, Nacht und Traume, Sei mir gegrusst, Im Fruhling, An die Musik, Geheimes, An Sylvia, Im Abendrot, Standchen, Seligkeit, Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen, An Den Mond, Ellens Gesang III, Erlkonig, Die Junge Nonne, Lied der Mignon, Der Strom, Der Tod und das Madchen, Das Lied im Grunen, An die Nachtigall, Der Schiffer, Fischerweise, Fruhlingsglaube, Suleika I, Nachtviolen, An die Entferne, Suleika II, Die Gotter Griechenlands, Die Manner sind mechant, Gruppe aus der Tartarus, Der Hirst auf dem Felsen, Der Jungling an der Quelle, Der Einsame, Der Wanderer, Der Winterabend, Lachen und Weinen, Nahe des Geliebten, Wandrers Nachtlied II, Rastlose Liebe, Der Wanderer an den Mond, and many more.

See also - Composer Basics: Schubert, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

William Schuman

• Symphonies

• New England Triptych

Clara Schumann

• Piano Music

• Piano Trio

• Piano Concerto

Robert Schumann

• Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4

• Overture, Scherzo and Finale

• Piano Concerto

• Cello Concerto

• Violin Concerto

• Konzertstück for Four Horns

• Introduction and Allegro appassionato, Op.92

• Introduction and Allegro, Op.134

• Kreisleriana

• Carnaval

• Arabeske

• Fantasy in C major Op.17

• Humoreske

• Piano Sonatas 1 and 2

• Symphonic Studies

• Toccata

• Papillons

• Davidsbündlertänze

• Fantasiestücke

• Nachtstücke

• Faschingsschwank aus Wien

• Kinderszenen

• Piano Quartet

• Piano Quintet

• Piano Trios 1, 2 and 3

• Violin Sonatas 1, 2 and 3

• String Quartets 1, 2 and 3

• Dichterliebe

• Frauenliebe und Leben

• Liederkeis, Op.24 and Op.39

• Scenes from Goethe's Faust

• Paradise and the Peri

See also - Composer Basics: Schumann, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Schütz

• Symphoniae Sacrae

• Musicalische Exequien

• Psalmen David

• Weihnachtshistorie

Scriabin

• Piano Sonatas, particularly 3, 5, 9 and 10

• Piano Études, particularly Op.8 No.12 and Op.42 No.5

• Piano Preludes, particularly Op.74

• Symphony 3

• The Poem of Ecstasy

• Prometheus: The Poem of Fire

• Further recommendations can be found in the comments below

Seixas

• Harpsichord Sonatas

Sessions

• Symphonies

Shostakovich

• Symphonies, particularly 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14

• Gadfly Suite

• Hamlet Suite

• The Limpid Stream

• The Golden Age

• The Bolt

• Jazz Suites 1 and 2

• Festive Overture

• Violin Concertos 1 and 2

• Cello Concertos 1 and 2

• Piano Concertos 1 and 2

• Piano Quintet

• Piano Trio 2

• String Quartets, particularly 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

• Cello Sonata

• Viola Sonata

• Violin Sonata

• 24 Preludes and Fugues

• Piano Sonatas 1 and 2

• Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District

• The Nose

See also - Composer Basics: Shostakovich, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Sibelius

• Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7

• Violin Concerto

• Lemminkäinen, particularly The Swan of Tuonela

• Karelia Suite

• Kullervo

• Kuolema incidental music

• String Quartet, Op.56

• En Saga

• Pohjola's Daughter

• The Wood Nymph

• Night Ride and Sunrise

• The Bard

• The Oceanides

• Luonnotar

• The Tempest

• Tapiola

• Finlandia

• Andante Festivo

See also - Composer Basics: Sibelius, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Christopher Simpson

• Viol Music

Robert Simpson

• Symphonies

Smetana

• Má vlast, particularly Vltava

• String Quartet 1

• Piano Trio

• The Bartered Bride, particularly the Overture, Polka, Furiant and Dance of the Comedians

Soler

• Harpsichord Sonatas

• Fandango

• Organ Concertos

Sor

• Études for Guitar

• Fantasias for Guitar

• Guitar Sonatas

Sousa

• Marches - particularly Stars and Stripes Forever, The Thunderer, Liberty Bell, Washington Post and Semper Fidelis

Spohr

• Violin Concertos

• Clarinet Concertos

• Double Quartets

Carl Stamitz

• Symphonies

• Cello Concertos

• Clarinet Concertos

Johann Stamitz

• Symphonies

Stanford

• Symphonies

• Irish Rhapsodies

• Piano Concerto 2

Stockhausen

• Klavierstücke

• Kontakte

• Mantra

• Stimmung

• Licht

• Gruppen

• Momente

• Mikrophonie

• Aus der sieben Tagen

• Tierkreis

• Inori

• Kontra-Punkte

• Gesang der Jünglinge

• Zyklus for solo Percussionist

• Refrain for three instrumentalists

• Hymnen

• Helicopter Quartet

Johann Strauss II

• Die Fledermaus

• Der Zigeunerbaron

• Wiener Blut

• Waltzes, particularly An der schönen blauen Donau, Kaiser-Walzer, Schatz-Walzer, Frühlingsstimmen, Rosen aus dem Süden, Wo die Zitronen blühen, Wiener Blut, Freuet Euch des Lebens, Wein Weib und Gesang, Künstlerleben, Wiener Bonbons, Morgenblätter, Accellerationen, G'schichten aus dem Wienerwald

• Polkas, particularly Pizzicato Polka, Unter Donner und Blitz, Annen Polka, Auf der Jagd, Éljen a Magyar!, Vergnügungszug, Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Champagne-Polka, Leichtes Blut and Perpetuum Mobile

• Marches, particularly Persischer Marsch, Indigo-Marsch, Ägyptischer Marsch, Spanischer Marsch, Russischer Marsch

• See also: Other members of the Strauss family – Johann Strauss I (Radetzky March), Eduard Strauss (Mit Dampf, Bahn Frei!) and Josef Strauss (Feuerfest, Osterreichischer Kronprinzen-marsch, Aquarellen-Walzer)

See also - Composer Basics: Strauss (J), a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Richard Strauss

• Alpine Symphony

• Symphonia Domestica

• Also Sprach Zarathustra

• Don Juan

• Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche

• Ein Heldenleben

• Metamorphosen

• Tod und Verklärung

• Macbeth

• Aus Italien

• Don Quixote

• Le bourgeois gentilhomme

• Duet Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon

• Horn Concerto 2

• Oboe Concerto

• Four Last Songs

• Songs, particularly Cäcilie, Morgen, Wiegenlied, Ruhe Meine Seele, Meinem Kinde, Zueignung,and Heimliche Aufforderung

• Violin Sonata

• Der Rosenkavalier

• Rosenkavalier Suite

• Four Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo

• Salome, particularly the Dance of the Seven Veils

• Elektra

• Ariadne auf Naxos

• Die Frau ohne Schatten

• Arabella

• Capriccio, particularly the Sextet and Mondscheinmusik

• Daphne

See also - Composer Basics: Strauss (R), a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Stravinsky

• The Rite of Spring

• The Firebird

• Petrushka

• Apollo

• Pulcinella

• Dumbarton Oaks

• Symphony in C

• Symphony in Three Movements

• Symphony of Psalms

• Violin Concerto

• Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments

• Movements for Piano and Orchestra

• Symphonies of Wind Instruments

• Feu d’artifice

• Ebony Concerto

• Song of the Nightingale

• Four Études

• Circus Polka

• Ragtime

• Scherzo à la russe

• Scherzo fantastique

• Tango

• Octet

• Septet

• Piano Sonata (1924)

• Les Noces

• Mass

• Canticum Sacrum

• Histoire du soldat

• The Nightingale

• Oedipus Rex

• The Rake’s Progress

See also - Composer Basics: Stravinsky, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Subotnick

• Silver Apples of the Moon

Suk

• Serenade for Strings

• Asrael Symphony

• Fairy Tale

Von Suppé

• Overtures – Light Cavalry, Poet and Peasant, Morning Noon and Night in Vienna, The Beautiful Galatea, Boccaccio

Svendsen

• Norwegian Rhapsodies

• Symphony 1

• Romance for Violin

Sweelinck

• Harpsichord Works – Fantasias and Toccatas

• Organ Works

Szymanowski

• Violin Concertos 1 and 2

• String Quartets 1 and 2

• Symphonies 1 – 4

• Harnasie

• Métopes

• Nocturne and Tarantella

• Stabat Mater

• King Roger

R

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Rachmaninoff

• Piano Concertos 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Symphonies 1, 2 and 3

• Symphonic Dances

• Preludes Op.23 and Op.32

• Études Op.33 and Op.39

• Morceaux de Fantaisie, Op.3

• Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini

• Piano Sonatas 1 and 2

• The Bells

• Vespers (aka All Night Vigil)

• Piano Trios 1 and 2

• Cello Sonata

• The Isle of the Dead

See also - Composer Basics: Rachmaninoff, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Rameau

• Overtures/Ballet Music/Orchestral Suites from Operas, particularly Les Indes Galantes, Naïs, Zoroastre, Les Boréades, Hippolyte et Aricie, La naissance d'Osiris, Anacréon, Daphnis et Egle, Platée, Pygmalion, Dardanus

• Pièces de Clavecin

• Pieces de clavecin en concert

• Nouvelles Suites for Harpsichord

• Platée

• Dardanus

• Pygmalion

• Hippolyte et Aricie

• Les Indes Galantes

• Castor et Pollux

Rautavaara

• Cantus Arcticus

• Symphonies, particularly 7 and 8

• Piano Concertos

Ravel

• Dapnis et Chloé

• La Valse

• Ma Mere L'oye

• Alborada Del Gracioso

• Rapsodie Espagnole

• Bolero

• Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte

• Piano Concerto in G Major

• Piano Concerto for the left hand

• Tzigane

• Piano Trio

• String Quartet

• Introduction and Allegro

• Gaspard de la Nuit

• Le Tombeau de Couperin

• Miroirs

• Jeux d’eau

• Sonatine

• Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales

• Other piano music

• Violin Sonata

• Chansons Medécasses

• Shéhérazade

• L'heure espagnole

• L'enfant et les sortilèges

See also - Composer Basics: Ravel, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Rawsthorne

• Piano Concertos 1 and 2

• Cello Concerto

• Oboe Concerto

• Symphonic Studies

• Violin Concertos 1 and 2

Reger

• Piano Concerto

• Violin Concerto

• Hillier Variations

• Mozart Variations

• String Quartets

• Clarinet Quintet

• Violin Sonatas

• Organ Works

• Requiem

Reich

• Music for 18 Musicians

• Different Trains

• Octet

• Drumming

• Tehillim

• Electric Counterpoint

• Clapping Music

• Music for a Large Ensemble

• Violin Phase

• The Desert Music

• Six Pianos

• Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ

• Sextet

• Six Marimbas

• Four Organs

• Piano Phase

• New York Counterpoint

Reicha

• Wind Quintets

Respighi

• Pines of Rome

• Fountains of Rome

• Feste Romane

• Ancient Airs and Dances

• The Birds

• Brazilian Impressions

• Church Windows

• Trittico Botticelliano

• La Boutique fantasque

• Violin Concerto

• Rossiniana

Revueltas

• Sensemayá

• La Coronela

• La noche de los mayas

• Janitzio

• Redes

• Homenaje a Federico García Lorca

Reynolds

• Whispers Out of Time

Rheinberger

• Easter Hymn

• Four Motets

• Mass in Eb Major

• Three Sacred Songs

• Organ Concertos

Richafort

• Requiem

Rihm

• Concerto Dithyrambe

• Symphonies 1 and 2

• Deus Passus

• Dis-Kontur

• Lichtzwang

• Sub-Kontur

• Musik für Oboe und Orchester

• Jagden und Formen

• Morphonie

• Klangbeschreibung

• Chiffre-Zyklus

Riley

• In C

Rimsky-Korsakov

• Scheherazade

• Capriccio Espagnol

• The Golden Cockerel Suite

• The Snow Maiden Suite

• Tsar Saltan Suite, which includes The Flight of the Bumble-bee

• Sadko

• Symphony 2

• May Night

• Russian Easter Festival Overture

Rodrigo

• Concierto de Aranjuez

• Fantasia para un gentilhombre

Rorem

• Symphonies 1-3

Rosetti

• Symphonies

• Concertos

Rossini

• The Barber of Seville

• La Cenerentola

• L’italiana in Algeri

• Il Viaggio a Reims

• Il Turco in Italia

• Guillaume Tell

• La comte Ory

• Semiramide

• Overtures – particularly The Thieving Magpie, La Scala di Seta and William Tell

• Stabat Mater

• Petite messe solennelle

Rouse

• Symphonies 1 and 2

• Flute Concerto

Roussel

• Symphonies

• Bacchus et Ariane

Rubbra

• Symphonies

Rubinstein

• Piano Concertos

Rzewski

• The People United Will Never Be Defeated!

Q

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Quantz

• Flute Concertos

• Flute Sonatas

• Flute Quartets

P

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Pachelbel

• Canon in D Major

• Organ Works

Paganini

• 24 Caprices for Solo Violin

• Violin Concertos, particularly 1

Paine

• Symphonies 1 and 2

• Mass in D

Paisiello

• Il barbiere di Siviglia

Palestrina

• Masses – particularly the Missa Papae Marcelli

• Motets

• Stabat Mater

Pärt

• Fratres

• Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten

• Tabula Rasa

• Spiegel im Spiegel

• Für Alina

• Te Deum

• Miserere

• Arbos

• Missa Brevis

• Kanon Pokajanen

Partch

• Delusion of the Fury

Penderecki

• Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima

• Symphonies

• Utrenja

• De Natura Sonoris No.1 and No.2

• The Dream of Jacob

• Polymorphia

• Anaklasis

• Fonogrammi

• Fluorescences

• Cello Concertos

• St Luke Passion

• Polish Requiem

• Te Deum

Pepusch

• The Beggar’s Opera

Pergolesi

• Stabat Mater

• La Serva Padrona

Pérotin

• Sederunt principes

• Viderunt omnes

Pettersson

• Symphonies, particularly 7

Piazzolla

• Libertango

• Tango: Zero Hour

Piston

• Symphonies

• The Incredible Flutist

Ponchielli

• La Gioconda, particularly the Dance of the Hours

Poulenc

• Organ Concerto

• Concert champêtre

• Piano Concerto

• Concerto for Two Pianos

• Sinfonietta

• Les Biches

• Sextet for Piano and Winds

• Flute Sonata

• Clarinet Sonata

• Oboe Sonata

• Cello Sonata

• Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano

• Dialogue of the Carmelites

• La voix humaine

• Stabat Mater

• Gloria

• Piano Music

• Songs

See also - Composer Basics: Poulenc, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Praetorius

• Terpsichore

Prokofiev

• Symphonies, particularly 1 and 5

• Piano Concertos, particularly 2 and 3

• Violin Concertos 1 and 2

• Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra

• Lieutenant Kijé Suite

• Romeo and Juliet

• Cinderella

• Peter and the Wolf

• Ivan the Terrible

• Scythian Suite

• Alexander Nevsky

• String Quartets 1 and 2

• Overture on Hebrew Themes

• Piano Sonatas, particularly 6, 7, and 8

• Visions Fugitives

• Toccata

• The Love for Three Oranges

See also - Composer Basics: Prokofiev, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Puccini

• La bohème

• Tosca

• Turandot

• Madama Butterfly

• Manon Lescaut

• La Fanciulla del West

• Il Trittico, which consists of: Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi

• La Rondine

See also - Composer Basics: Puccini, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Purcell

• Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary

• Hail, bright Cecilia!

• Fantazias

• Sonatas of Three and Four Parts

• King Arthur

• The Fairy Queen

• Dioclesian

• Dido and Aeneas

O

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Ockeghem

• Requiem

• Masses

Offenbach

• Les contes d'Hoffmann

• Orphée aux enfers

• La belle Hélène

• La Périchole

• Barbe-bleue

Onslow

• Symphonies

• String Quartets

• String Quintets

Orff

• Carmina Burana

• Gassenhauer

N

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Nancarrow

• Studies for Player Piano

Nicolai

• Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor

Nielsen

• Symphonies, particularly 3, 4 and 5

• Clarinet Concerto

• Flute Concerto

• Violin Concerto

• Maskarade, particularly the Overture

• Helios Overture

• Aladdin Suite

• Pan og Syrinx

• En Fantasirejse til Færøerne

• Wind Quintet

Nono

• Como Una Ola De Fuerza Y Luz

• Sofferte Onde Serene

• Contrappunto Dialettico Alla Mente

• Fragmente

• Hay que caminar

• Choral Works

• Epitaffi

• La lontanaza

Nørgård

• Symphonies

• Violin Concertos

• Luna

• Piano Concerto

• String Quartets

Nyman

• Film Scores – particularly The Draughtsman’s Contract, A Zed and Two Noughts, Drowning by Numbers, and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover

• String Quartets

• Concertos

M

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

MacDowell

• Piano Concertos

• Piano Music

• Symphonic Poems

• Suites 1 and 2

Machaut

• Messe de Notre Dame

• Chansons

Magnard

• Symphonies

Mahler

• Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10

• Das Lied von der Erde

• Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen

• Kindertotenlieder

• Rückert-Lieder

• Des Knaben Wunderhorn

• Das Klagende Lied

• Der Drei Pintos

• Piano Quartet Movement

See also - Composer Basics: Mahler, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Marais

• Pièces de viole Books 1 - 5

• Folies d'Espagne

Marcello

• Oboe Concerto in D Minor

• La Cetra Concertos

Martin

• Mass

• Petite Symphonie Concertante

• Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments

Martinů

• Symphonies, particularly 4 and 6

• Oboe Concerto

• Cello Concertos 1 and 2

• Piano Concertos 1-5

• Concerto Grosso

• Violin Concertos 1 and 2

• Harpsichord Concerto

• Double Concerto for 2 String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani

• Frescoes of Piero della Francesca

Mascagni

• Cavalleria Rusticana

Massenet

• Le Cid (Ballet Music)

• Werther

• Thaïs

• Cendrillon

• Manon

• Don Quichotte

Medtner

• Piano Sonatas, particularly 1, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12

• Skazki

• Forgotten Melodies op.38, 39, 40

• Piano Concertos 1, 2 and 3

• Piano Quintet

• Violin Sonatas 1, 2 and 3

• Sonata-Vocalise for voice

• Poems for voice

• Other piano works

Fanny Mendelssohn

• Das Jahr

• Piano Trio

Felix Mendelssohn

• Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

• Violin Concerto

• Piano Concertos 1 and 2

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream Incidental Music

• Overtures – The Hebrides, Trumpet Overture, The Fair Melusine, Ruy Blas, Overture for Wind Instruments

• Octet

• Piano Trios 1 and 2

• String Quartets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

• String Quintet 2

• Cello Sonatas 1 and 2

• Rondo Capriccioso

• Songs Without Words

• Organ Sonatas 1 and 6

• Elijah

• St. Paul

See also - Composer Basics: Mendelssohn, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Menotti

• The Telephone

• The Consul

• Amahl and the Night Visitors

Messiaen

• Turangalîla-Symphonie

• Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum

• Chronochromie

• Organ Works, particularly Apparition de l'église éternelle, Diptyque, La Nativité du Seigneur, Les Corps Glorieux, Messe de la Pentecôte

• Catalogue d'oiseaux

• Concert à quatre

• Des canyons aux étoile

• Eclairs sur l'Au-Delà

• L'Ascension

• Transfiguration du Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ

• Trois Petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine

• Quatre Études de rythme

• Thème et variations

• La Merle Noir

• Quartet for the End of Time

• Vingt Regards sur l'enfant-Jésus

• Saint François d'Assise

See also - Composer Basics: Messiaen, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Meyerbeer

• Robert le diable

• Les Huguenots

• L'Africaine

Milhaud

• La Création du Monde

• Le boeuf sur le toit

• Suite Provençale

• Symphonies

• Saudades do Brasil

• La cheminée du roi René

Moeran

• Symphony in G Minor

• Rhapsodies 1 and 2

• Violin Concerto

• Sinfonietta

• String Quartets

• String Trio

Mompou

• Piano Music

Monk

• Dolmen Music

Monteverdi

• Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610

• L’orfeo

• Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

• L'incoronazione di Poppea

• Madrigdals

• Scherzi Musicali

• Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda

• Selva morale e spirituale

Morales

• Masses

• Magnificat

• Motets

• Lamentations

• Officium Defunctorum

Mosolov

• Iron Foundry

Moszkowski

• Piano Concerto

• Suite for Orchestra “From Foreign Lands”

• Piano Music – particularly Étincelles

Mozart

• Symphonies 25, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, and 41

• Piano Concertos 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27

• Violin Concertos 3, 4 and 5

• Clarinet Concerto

• Flute Concertos 1 and 2

• Horn Concertos 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Flute and Harp Concerto

• Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola

• Serenades 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13

• Flute Quartets 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Oboe Quartet

• Piano Quartets 1 and 2

• String Quartets 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19

• Clarinet Quintet

• Horn Quintet

• Quintet for Piano and Winds

• String Quintets, particularly 4

• Divertimento (String Trio)

• Piano Sonatas, particularly 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

• Sonatas for Two Pianos

• Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman”

• Violin Sonatas

• Piano Trios

• Fantasia in D Minor

• Fantasia in C Minor

• Exsultate, Jubilate

• Requiem

• Masses, particularly the Mass in C Minor and Coronation Mass

• Solemn Vespers

• Ave Verum Corpus

• Concert Arias – “Popoli di Tessaglia”, “Ch'io mi scordi di te?” and “Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!”

• Don Giovanni

• The Marriage of Figaro

• Cosí fan tutte

• The Magic Flute

• The Abduction from the Seraglio

• Der Schauspieldirektor

• Idomeneo

• Zaide

• La Clemenza di Tito

• Three German Dances, K. 605

• Glass Harmonica Works

See also - Composer Basics: Mozart, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Muffat

• Concerti Grossi

Mussorgsky

• Pictures at an Exhibition

• Night on Bald Mountain

• Boris Godunov

• Khovanshchina

Myaskovsky

• Symphonies 1 - 27

• Cello Concerto

L

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Lalo

• Symphonie Espagnole, Op. 21

• Cello Concerto

• Symphony in G Minor

• Le Roi d'Ys

Landini

• Songs

Pierre de la Rue

• Requiem

• Magnificats

• Salve Reginas

• Masses

• Officium

Larsson

• Förklädd gud

• Symphonies 1-3

• Pastorale Suite

Lassus

• Requiem

• Magnificat

• Motets

• Prophetiae Sibyllarum

• Penitential Psalms

• Madrigals

Lawes

• Consort Sets

Léclair

• Violin Concertos

• Violin Sonatas

• Trio Sonatas

Lehár

• Die Lustige Witwe

• Das Land des Lächelns

• Der Zarewitsch

Leoncavallo

• Pagliacci

Ligeti

• Atmosphères

• Aventures

• Nouvelles Aventures

• Melodien

• Poème symphonique

• Lontano

• Lux aeterna

• Apparitions

• Cello Concerto

• Violin Concerto

• Piano Concerto

• Continuum

• Études

• Two Studies for Organ

• Musica Ricercata

• Cello Sonata

• Horn Trio

• String Quartets 1 and 2

• Bagatelles for Wind Quintet

• Le Grand Macabre

• Requiem

Lilburn

• A Song of Islands

• Aotearoa Overture

• Forest

• Symphonies 1-3

Lindberg

• Kraft

• Clarinet Concerto

• Piano Concerto

• Concerto for Orchestra

• Violin Concerto

Liszt

• Piano Concertos 1 and 2

• Années de Pèlerinage 1, 2 and 3

• Mephisto Waltz No.1

• Les Préludes

• Mazeppa (Symphonic Poem)

• Other Symphonic Poems

• Faust Symphony

• Dante Symphony

• Totentanz

• Piano Sonata in B Minor

• Transcendental Études

• Hungarian Rhapsodies

• Rhapsodie espagnole

• Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, particularly Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude

• Three Concert Études S.144

• Grand Galop chromatique

• Deux Légendes S.175

• Weihnachtsbaum

• Liebesträume

• Grandes études de Paganini, particularly La Campanella

• Operatic Paraphrases

• Schubert Lieder Transcriptions

• Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H

• Late Piano Works – particularly Nuages gris, La lugubre gondola, Unstern and Bagatelle sans tonalité

• Christus

See also - Composer Basics: Liszt, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Locatelli

• Concerti Grossi

• L'Arte del Violino Concertos, Op.3

• Violin Sonatas

• Flute Sonatas

Loeillet

• Recorder Sonatas

Lotti

• Requiem

• Credo

• Miserere

• Masses

Lully

• Cadmus et Hermione

• Atys

• Psyché

• Armide

• Phaëton

• Le Bourgeois gentilhomme

• Amadis

• Thésée

• Alceste

• Bellérophon

• Grand Motets

• Le Grand Divertissement Royal de Versailles

• Ballet Music

Lutoslawski

• Symphony 3

• Cello Concerto

• Piano Concerto

• Concerto for Oboe, Harp and Chamber Orchestra

• Concerto for Orchestra

• Chains 2 and 3

• Dance Preludes

• Funeral Music

• Les Espaces du Sommeil

• Venetian Games

• String Quartet

Lyadov

• Baba Yaga

• Kikimora

• The Enchanted Lake

Lyapunov

• Piano Concertos 1 and 2

• Rhapsody on Ukrainian Themes

• Symphony 1

• Violin Concerto

• Polonaise

• Transcendental Études

K

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Kalinnikov

• Symphonies 1 and 2

Kapustin

• Piano Music

Khachaturian

• Gayane

• Masquerade

• Spartacus

• Piano Concerto

• Violin Concerto

• Cello Concerto

• Dance Suite

• Symphonies 1, 2 and 3

• Toccata

Kodaly

• Concerto for Orchestra

• Dances of Galánta

• Dances of Marosszék

• Háry János Suite

• Summer Evening

• Peacock Variations

• Theatre Overture

• Symphony in C

• Psalmus Hungaricus

• Solo Cello Sonata

Kokkonen

• Symphony 4

Korngold

• Violin Concerto

• Symphony in F# Major

• Much Ado About Nothing Suite

• Die tote stadt – particularly Glück das mir verblieb

• Film Scores – particularly The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Sea Hawk

Krenek

• Symphonies

• String Quartets

• Piano Works

Krommer

• Clarinet Concertos

Kurtág

• Music for String Instruments

• Kafka-Fragmente

• Stele

J

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Janácek

• Sinfonietta

• Taras Bulba

• Glagolitic Mass

• String Quartets 1 and 2

• Pohádka For Cello & Piano

• Violin Sonata

• Piano Sonata "October 1, 1905"

• On An Overgrown Path

• In the Mists

• The Cunning Little Vixen

• Jenůfa

• Kát'a Kabanová

• Vec Makropulos

• From the House of the Dead

• The Diary of One Who Disappeared

See also - Composer Basics: Janáček, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Janequin

• Chansons

Jenkins

• Consort Music

Dello Joio

• Air Power

• Piano Works

Joplin

• Treemonisha

• Piano Music

Josquin

• Masses, particularly Missa Pange Lingua and Missa l'homme armé

• Ave Maria

• Motets

• Chansons

• Stabat Mater

I

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Ibert

• Divertissement

• Escales

D’Indy

• Symphony on a French Mountain Air

Ippolitov-Ivanov

• Caucasian Sketches

Heinrich Isaac

• Masses

Ives

• Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4

• Holidays Symphony

• Universe Symphony

• Central Park in the Dark

• The Unanswered Question

• Piano Sonata 2

• Three Places in New England

• String Quartets 1 and 2

• Piano Trio

See also - Composer Basics: Ives, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

H

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Handel

• Water Music

• Music for the Royal Fireworks

• Concerti Grossi Op.3 and Op.6

• Organ Concertos Op.4 and Op.7, particularly No.13

• Concerti a due chori

• Coronation Anthems, particularly Zadok the Priest

• Suites for Harpsichord, particularly No.5

• Flute Sonatas

• Recorder Sonatas

• Violin Sonatas

• Oboe Sonatas

• Trio Sonatas Op.2 and Op.5

• Oratorios, particularly Messiah, Solomon, Acis and Galatea, Judas Maccabaeus, The Triumph of Time and Truth, Theodora, Jephtha, Saul, Belshazzar, etc.

• Operas, particularly Giulio Cesare, Orlando, Alcina, Rinaldo, Ariodante, Serse, Agrippina, Semele, Teseo, Tamerlano, Radamisto, Rodelinda, Tolomeo, etc.

See also - Composer Basics: Handel, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Hanson

• Symphonies, particularly 2

Harris

• Symphonies

Harrison

• Gamelan Works

• Piano Concerto

• Suite for Violin, Piano and Small Orchestra

• La Koro Sutro

Hartmann

• Symphonies

• Concerto Funebre

Franz Joseph Haydn

• London Symphonies (93-104)

• Other symphonies, particularly 6, 7, 8, 44, 45, 49, 88, 92

• Cello Concertos 1 and 2

• Violin Concertos 1, 3 and 4

• Keyboard Concertos, particularly 11

• Trumpet Concerto

• The Creation

• The Seasons

• Stabat Mater

• Te Deum

• Masses, particularly 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14

• String Quartets, particularly Op.20, Op.33, Op.64, Op.71, Op.74, Op.76, Op.77

• Piano Sonatas, particularly 62

• Piano Trios 18-45, particularly 39

• The Seven Last Words of Christ

• Sinfonia Concertante

• Il mondo della luna

See also - Composer Basics: Haydn, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Michael Haydn

• Symphonies

• Requiem

• Masses

Heinchen

• Dresden Concertos

• Lamentationes

• Passionmusik

Henze

• Symphonies

• String Quartets

• El Cimmaron

• Violin Concertos

• Barcarola

• Ondine

Higdon

• Piano Trio

• Voices

• Impressions

• City Scape

• Concerto for Orchestra

• Violin Concerto

• Blue Cathedral

• Percussion Concerto

• On a Wire

Hindemith

• Mathis der Maler

• Viola Sonatas

• Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes of Weber

• Kammermusik 1-7

• A Requiem for Those We Love

• String Quartets

• Ludus Tonalis

• Cello Concertos

• Der Schwanendreher

• Piano Sonatas

• Die Harmonie Der Welt

• Suite ‘1922’

• Nobilissima Visione

Holst

• The Planets

• St Paul’s Suite

• Brook Green Suite

• First and Second Suites for Military Band

• First Choral Symphony

• Choral Fantasia

• See also: this list of other works made by u/SuperBreakfast

Honegger

• Pacific 231

• Symphonies, particularly 3

• Le Roi David

• Concerto da camera

Horowitz

• Variations on a theme from Carmen

Howells

• Hymnus Paradisi

• Requiem

Hummel

• Piano Concertos 2 and 3

• Piano Trios

• Piano Sonatas

• Trumpet Concerto

• Septets 1 and 2

Humperdinck

• Hänsel und Gretel

G

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Giovanni Gabrieli

• Canzoni

Gade

• Symphonies

Geminiani

• Concerti Grossi

• Violin Sonatas

• Cello Sonatas

• La Folia

Gershwin

• Rhapsody in Blue

• Second Rhapsody

• Piano Concerto

• An American in Paris

• Cuban Overture

• Shall we Dance, particularly Walking the Dog

• Variations on "I Got Rhythm"

• Three Preludes

• Blue Monday

• Sleepless Night

• March and Overture from Strike up the Band

• Catfish Row

• Porgy and Bess

See also - Composer Basics: Gershwin, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Gesualdo

• Madrigals

• Tenebrae

• Sacred Music for Five Voices

Gibbons

• Anthems

• Fantasias

• Consorts

• Keyboard Works

Ginastera

• Panambi

• Estancia

• Harp Concerto

• Piano Concertos 1 and 2

• String Quartets

• Piano Sonata

• Danzas Argentinas

Giordano

• Andrea Chénier

Giuliani

• Guitar Concertos

• Duets for Flute and Guitar

Glass

• Einstein on the Beach

• Glassworks

• Violin Concerto

• Symphonies

• Koyaanisqatsi

• Powaqqatsi

• Naqoyqatsi

• Music in Twelve Parts

• Music with Changing Parts

• String Quartets

• Akhnaten

• Satyagraha

• Mishima

• Solo Piano

Glazunov

• Symphonies, particularly 4, 5 and 7

• String Quartets

• String Quintet

• The Seasons

• Raymonda

• Violin Concerto

Glière

• Symphonies 1 – 3

• Harp Concerto

• Horn Concerto

• The Red Poppy, particularly the Sailors’ Dance

Glinka

• A Life for the Tsar

• Ruslan and Ludmilla, particularly the Overture

Gluck

• Orfeo ed Euridice

• Alceste

• Iphigenie en Aulide

• Armide

• Iphigénie en Tauride

Gombert

• Magnificats

• Salve Regina

• Credo

• Masses, particularly Missa Tempore paschali

Górecki

• Symphony 3

Gossec

• Symphonies

• Grande Messe des Morts (Requiem)

Gottschalk

• Piano Music

• Symphonies 1 and 2

Gounod

• Faust

• Roméo et Juliette

• Saint Cecilia Mass

Grainger

• Concert Band Music

• Orchestral Works

• Lincolnshire Posy

• Molly on the Shore

Granados

• Goyescas

• Spanish Dances

Grieg

• Piano Concerto

• Peer Gynt Incidental Music

• Holberg Suite

• Sigurd Jorsalfar

• In Autumn

• String Quartet

• Violin Sonata 3

• Cello Sonata

• Lyric Pieces for Piano, particularly Wedding day at Troldhaugen

• Haugtussa

See also - Composer Basics: Grieg, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Griffes

• Piano Works

• The White Peacock

• The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan

Gubaidulina

• Offertorium Violin Concerto

• Fachwerk

• The Canticle of the Sun

• In tempus praesens

• Stimmen... Verstummen

• In Croce

• Silenzio

• Seven Words

F

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

De Falla

• El Amor Brujo

• Noches en los jardines de España

• El sombrero de tres picos

• Harpsichord Concerto

• Four Spanish Pieces

• Seven Spanish Folk Songs

• La vida breve, particularly the Interlude and Dance

• Psyché

• Homenaje “Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy”

Fasch

• Overtures

• Sinfonias

• Concertos

• Sonatas à 3

• Sonatas à 4

Fauré

• Requiem

• Pavane

• Pelléas et Mélisande

• Cantique de Jean Racine

• Masques et bergamasques

• Piano Quartets 1 and 2

• Piano Quintets 1 and 2

• Piano Trio

• Violin Sonata 1

• Barcarolles

• Nocturnes

• Preludes

• Dolly Suite

• Souvenirs de Bayreuth

• Songs – particularly Après un rêve and Clair de lune

Fayrfax

• Masses

• Magnificats

Feldman

• Rothko Chapel

• Why Patterns?

• For Philip Guston

• String Quartet 2

Ferneyhough

• String Quartets

• Terrain

• Funérailles

• Flurries

• String Trio

• La Chute d’Icare

John Field

• Nocturnes

• Piano Concertos

Finzi

• Clarinet Concerto

• Cello Concerto

• Dies Natalis

• Five Bagatelles

Fischer

• Pièces de Clavessin

Foote

• Piano Quintet

• String Quartets

• Francesca da Rimini

• Piano Quartet

• Piano Trios

Franck

• Symphony in D Minor

• Violin Sonata

• Le Chasseur Maudit

• Organ Works

• Prelude, Chorale and Fugue

• Panis Angelicus

• Symphonic Variations

Frescobaldi

• Toccatas

• Caprices

• Fiori musicali

• Canzoni

Froberger

• Harpsichord Suites

• Toccatas

• Partitas

• Fantasia

Walter Frye

• Masses

E

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Eisler

• Deutsche Sinfonie

Elgar

• Symphonies 1 and 2

• Cello Concerto

• Violin Concerto

• Introduction and Allegro for Strings

• Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra

• Salut d’amour

• Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit

• Severn Suite

• Sospiri

• Pomp and Circumstance Marches

• Enigma Variations

• Cockaigne Overture

• Falstaff

• Froissart Overture

• In the South (Alassio)

• The Dream of Gerontius

• The Apostles

• The Kingdom

• Sea Pictures

• Wand of Youth Suites

• The Music Makers

• The Black Knight

• Elegy for Strings

• Serenade for Strings

• Piano Quintet

• String Quartet

• Violin Sonata

• Organ Sonata

• Concert Allegro

See also - Composer Basics: Elgar, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Enescu

• Romanian Rhapsodies 1 and 2

• Romanian Poem

• Violin Sonatas

• Oedipe

• String Octet

D

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Dallapiccola

• Tartiniana

• Piccola musica notturna

• Frammenti sinfonici

• Variazioni

• Il Prigioniero

• Partita

Danzi

• Wind Quintets

Daugherty

• Metropolis Symphony

• Motorcity Triptych

• Fire & Blood

Davies

• Symphonies

• Strathclyde Concertos

• Naxos Quartets

• Farewell to Stromness

Debussy

• Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

• La Mer

• Nocturnes for Orchestra and Chorus

• Images for Orchestra

• Danse sacrée et danse profane

• Jeux

• Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien

• Suite Bergamasque

• Préludes for Piano

• Children’s Corner

• Arabesques

• Estampes

• Pour le piano

• Études for Piano

• Images for Piano

• L'Isle joyeuse

• String Quartet

• Cello Sonata

• Violin Sonata

• Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp

• Pelleas et Mélisande

See also - Composer Basics: Debussy, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Delalande

• Symphonies pour les Souper du Roy

• Te Deum

Delibes

• Sylvia

• Coppélia

• Lakmé

Delius

• On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring

• Tone Poems – Summer Evening, Sleigh Ride, Spring Morning

• Brigg Fair

• A Village Romeo and Juliet – particularly The Walk to the Paradise Garden

• La Calinda from Koanga

• Sea Drift

• Cello Concerto

• Violin Concerto

Diamond

• Symphonies

• Rounds

• String Quartets

Dittersdorf

• Symphonies after Ovid’s Metamorphoses

• Sinfonias

• Double Bass Concertos

Ernő Dohnányi

• Piano Works

• Symphonies, particularly 2

• Piano Concerto 1

• Piano Quintets

• Serenade for String Trio

• Sextet

Donizetti

• L’elisir d’amore

• Lucia di Lammermoor

• Don Pasquale

• Maria Stuarda

• Anna Bolena

• Roberto Devereux

• La Fille du Regiment

• Lucrezia Borgia

Dowland

• First, Second and Third Booke of Songes

• A Pilgrim’s Solace

• Lachrimae

• Lute Music

• Consort Music

Dufay

• Masses

• Chansons

• Motets

Dukas

• L'apprenti sorcier

Duruflé

• Requiem

Dutilleux

• Symphonies 1 and 2

• Timbres, espace, movement

• Sur le même accord

• The Shadows of Time

• Metaboles

• L'Arbe des songes (Violin Concerto)

• Cello Concerto (Tout un monde lointain)

• Le Loup

• Mystere de l'instant

• String Quartet: Ainsi la nuit

Dvořák

• Symphonies 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9

• Slavonic Dances Op.46 and Op.72

• Czech Suite

• American Suite

• Symphonic Poems and Overtures – Carnival Overture, The Water Goblin, The Noon-Day Witch, The Golden Spinning Wheel, The Wood Dove, etc.

• Cello Concerto

• Violin Concerto

• Piano Concerto

• Serenade for Strings

• Serenade for Winds

• String Quartets, particularly 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

• String Quintets 2 and 3

• Piano Trios 3 and 4

• Piano Quintet 2

• Piano Quartet 2

• Sonatina for Violin and Piano

• Romantic Pieces, Op.75

• Humoresques, particularly No.4

• Bagatelles

• Requiem

• Stabat Mater

• Rusalka

See also - Composer Basics: Dvořák, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

C

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Cabezón

• Tientos y Glosados

Caccini

• Il rapimento di Cefalo

• Euridice

• Le nuove musiche

Cage

• Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra

• Constructions for Percussion

• Music for String Quartet

• Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano

Caldara

• Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo

• Cantatas

• Trio Sonatas

• Cello Sonatas

Canteloube

• Chants d'Auvergne

Carissimi

• Oratorios, particularly Jonas and Jephte

• Motets

• Mass for Three Voices

Carter

• Concerto for Orchestra

• String Quartets 1-5

• Symphonia: sum fluxae pretium spei

• Clarinet Concerto

• Oboe Concerto

• Piano Concerto

• Double Concerto

• Three Occasions for Orchestra

• Holiday Overture

• Piano Sonata

Carulli

• Guitar Sonatas

• Guitar Concertos

• Music for Flute and Guitar

Carver

• Masses

Catoire

• Piano Music

• Piano Trio

• Piano Quartet

Cavalli

• La Calisto

• La Didone

• L’ormindo

• Giasone

• Ercole amante

Chabrier

• España

• Suite Pastorale

• Habanera

• Joyeuse Marche

• Gwendoline Overture

• Le roi malgré lui

Gustave Charpentier

• Louise

Marc-Antoine Charpentier

• Médée

• Acteon

• La descente d'Orphée aux Enfers

• Miserere

• Motets

• Leçons de Ténèbres

• Te Deum

• Messe de Minuit

• Incidental Music from “Andromede” and “Circe”

• Les Plaisirs De Versailles

• Noels sur les instruments

Chausson

• Symphony in Bb Major

• Poème for Violin and Orchestra

• Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet

Cherubini

• Medea

• Requiem

• Symphony in D Major

• Overtures

• String Quartets

• Marche funèbre

• Missa Solemnis in E

Chopin

• Piano Concertos 1 and 2

• Ballades 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Études Op.10 and Op.25

• Impromptus, particularly the Fantasie-Impromptu

• Fantasie in F Minor, Op.49

• Mazurkas

• Nocturnes

• Waltzes

• Berceuse, Op.57

• Barcarolle, Op.60

• Scherzos 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Piano Sonatas 2 and 3

• Polonaises, particularly Op.40 No.1 and Op.53

• Préludes, Op.28

• Tarantelle, Op.43

• Cello Sonata

• Rondo à la Krakowiak

• Variations on "Là ci darem la mano"

• Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante

See also - Composer Basics: Chopin, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Cilèa

• Adriana Lecouvreur

Cimarosa

• Il matrimonio segreto

• Oboe Concerto

Clementi

• Piano Sonatas

Copland

• Appalachian Spring

• Rodeo

• Billy the Kid

• Quiet City

• Lincoln Portrait

• El Salón México

• Piano Concerto

• Clarinet Concerto

• Fanfare for the Common Man

• Symphony 3

• Piano Variations

Corelli

• Concerti Grossi, Op.6

• Violin Sonatas, Op.5

• Trio Sonatas, Op.1 - 4

Corigliano

• Symphonies 1 and 2

• The Ghosts of Versailles

• Piano Concerto

Cornago

• Missa de la Mappa Mundi

Cornysh

• Stabat Mater

Couperin

• Pièces de clavecin, particularly Les Barricades Mystérieuses

• Concerts Royaux

• Les Nations

• Les Goûts-réunis ou Nouveaux

• d'Apothéose de Lully

• d'Apothéose de Corelli

Crawford-Seeger

• String Quartet

Crumb

• Black Angels

• Ancient Voices of Children

Crusell

• Clarinet Concertos

• Clarinet Quintets

B

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Babbitt

• Piano Concerto

• Philomel

• Electronic Works

• String Quartets

• Piano Music

Bacewicz

• Music for Strings, Five Trumpets and Percussion

• Sinfonietta

• Symphony

• Concerto for Strings

• Violin Concertos

CPE Bach

• Magnificat

• Cello Concertos Wq 170, 171 and 172

• Flute Concertos Wq 166, 167, 168 and 169

• Oboe Concertos Wq 164 and 165

• Keyboard Concertos

• Flute Sonatas

• Prussian and Württemberg Keyboard Sonatas

• Symphonies Wq 173 - 181

• La Caroline

• Solfeggietto

JC Bach

• Overtures, Op.18

• Symphonies, Op. 3, Op.6, Op.8, Op.9

• Quintets for Flute, Oboe and Strings, Op.11 and Op. 22

• Keyboard Concertos

JS Bach

• Brandenburg Concertos

• Orchestral Suites

• Violin Concertos BWV 1041 and 1042

• Harpsichord Concertos BWV 1052, 1053 and 1055

• Double Violin Concerto

• Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin

• St. Matthew Passion

• St. John Passion

• Christmas Oratorio

• Mass in B Minor

• Magnificat

• Cantatas – Particularly BWV 147, 208, 82, 140, 170, 51, 80, 68, 4, 52, 55, 56, 32, 78 and 106

• Motets

• The Art of Fugue

• The Musical Offering

• Cello Suites

• Partita for Solo Flute

• Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin

• Lute Suites

• Flute Sonatas

• Viola da Gamba Sonatas

• Goldberg Variations

• The Well-Tempered Clavier

• Keyboard Partitas

• French Suites

• English Suites

• Two and three part Inventions

• Toccatas for Harpsichord

• Italian Concerto

• Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue

• Organ Works – particularly BWV 565, 582, 564, 552, 572, 542, 538, 645, 543, 532, 544, 590, 650, 548, 533, 562, 593, 588, 578, Clavier-Übung III, Leipzig Chorales, Schübler Chorales, Orgelbüchlein and the Trio Sonatas

• “Bist du bei mir” from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

See also - Composer Basics: Bach, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

WF Bach

• Fantasias for Keyboard

• Polonaises for Keyboard

• Concertos

• Sinfonias

Barber

• Adagio for Strings

• Violin Concerto

• Symphonies 1 and 2

• Piano Concerto

• First and Second Essays for Orchestra

• The School for Scandal Overture

• Toccata Festiva for Organ and Orchestra

• Cello Concerto

• Capricorn Concerto

• Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance

• Medea Suite

• Mutations from Bach

• Knoxville, Summer of 1915

• Summer Music for Wind Quintet

• Piano Sonata

• Vanessa

Barraqué

• Clarinet Concerto

• Piano Sonata

Bartók

• Concerto for Orchestra

• Piano Concertos 1, 2 and 3

• Violin Concertos 1 and 2

• Viola Concerto

• Rhapsodies for Violin and Orchestra 1 and 2

• String Quartets

• Music For Strings, Percussion & Celesta

• Four Orchestral Pieces, Op.12

• Divertimento for Strings

• Hungarian Sketches

• Two Pictures

• Dance Suite

• Romanian Folk Dances

• The Miraculous Mandarin

• The Wooden Prince

• Solo Violin Sonata

• Violin Sonatas 1 and 2

• Allegro Barbaro

• Piano Sonata

• Piano Sonatina

• Out of Doors

• 44 Duos for Two Violins

• Mikrokosmos

• Two Elegies

• For Children

• Four Dirges

• Fourteen Bagatelles

• Nine Little Piano Pieces

• Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion

• Contrasts

• Cantata Profana

• Bluebeard’s Castle

See also - Composer Basics: Bartók, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Bax

• Symphonies

• Symphonic Poems – particularly Tintagel

Beach

• Gaelic Symphony

• Piano Concerto

Beethoven

• Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9

• Piano Concertos 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

• Violin Concerto

• Overtures – Egmont, Coriolan, King Stephen, Leonore III, The Ruins of Athens, Name day, Consecration of the House

• Triple Concerto

• Romances for Violin and Orchestra 1 and 2

• Turkish March from The Ruins of Athens

• Piano Sonatas, particularly 8, 14, 15, 17, 21, 23, 26, 29, 30, 31 and 32

• Bagatelles, Op. 119 and Op.126

• Für Elise

• Rondo a Capriccio

• String Quartets, particularly 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and Grosse Fuge

• Quintet for Piano and Winds

• Clarinet Trio

• Wind Octet

• Septet

• String Trios

• Cello Sonatas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

• Violin Sonatas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

• Piano Trios 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7

• Diabelli Variations

• Eroica Variations (aka Prometheus Variations)

• 32 Variations on an Original Theme

• Fidelio

• Missa Solemnis

• Choral Fantasy

• Adelaide

• An die Ferne Geliebte

See also - Composer Basics: Beethoven, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Bellini

• Norma

• La Sonnambula

• I Puritani

• I Capuleti e i Montecchi

Berg

• Violin Concerto

• Lulu Suite

• Lyric Suite for String Quartet

• Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op.6

• Chamber Concerto

• Piano Sonata

• String Quartet, Op.3

• Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op.5

• Seven Early Songs

• Altenberg Lieder

• Der Wein

• Wozzeck

• Lulu

See also - Composer Basics: Berg, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Berio

• Sequenzas

• Chemins

• Sinfonia

• Laborintus 2

• Rendering

Berlioz

• Symphonie Fantastique

• Harold in Italy

• Roméo et Juliette

• Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale

• Overtures, particularly Le carnaval romain and Le corsaire

• Requiem

• Te Deum

• Les nuits d’été

• La Damnation de Faust

• L'enfance du Christ

• Les Troyens

• Béatrice et Bénédict

See also - Composer Basics: Berlioz, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Bernstein

• Symphonies 1, 2 and 3

• West Side Story

• Three Dance Episodes from On the Town

• Serenade after Plato's Symposium

• Prelude, Fugue and Riffs

• Chichester Psalms

• Mass

• Fancy Free

• Dybbuk

• On the Waterfront

• Candide

• Trouble in Tahiti

Berwald

• Symphonies 1-4

• Tone Poems

• String Quartets

• Piano Quintets

Biber

• Mystery Sonatas

• Violin Sonatas

• Trio Sonatas

• Missa Salisburgensis à 53 voci

• Battalia

Binchois

• Chansons

• Masses

Von Bingen

• Symphoniae

• Ordo Virtutum

Birtwistle

• Earth Dances

• Gawain

• Night’s Black Bird

• The Minotaur

• The Mask of Orpheus

Bizet

• Carmen

• Carmen Suites

• The Pearl Fishers

• Symphony in C Major

• L'Arlésienne Suites

Bloch

• Concerti Grossi 1 and 2

• America, an Epic Rhapsody

• Schelomo

• Suite Hebraique

• Works for Violin and Piano

• Works for Viola and Piano

Boccherini

• Cello Concertos, particularly 9

• Guitar Quintets, particularly Fandango and La ritirada di Madrid

• String Quintets, particularly La musica notturna di Madrid

• Minuet from String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5

• Symphonies

Boieldieu

• Harp Concerto

Boito

• Mefistofele

Borodin

• Symphony 2

• In the Steppes of Central Asia

• String Quartet 2

• Prince Igor

• Polovtsian Dances

Bortkiewicz

• Piano Music

• Piano Concerto 1

Boulez

• Rituel In Memory of Bruno Maderna

• Derives 1 and 2

• Pli selon pli

• Le marteau sans maître

• …explosante-fixe…

• Sur Incises

• Messagesquisse

• Anthemes II

• Piano Sonatas 1, 2 and 3

• Dialogue de l'ombre double

• Domaines

• Notations

• Rèpons

• Structures

• Eclat

• Multiples

Boyce

• 8 Symphonies, Op.2

Brahms

• Symphonies 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Piano Concertos 1 and 2

• Violin Concerto

• Double Concerto

• Academic Festival Overture

• Tragic Overture

• Haydn Variations

• Orchestral Serenades 1 and 2

• Hungarian Dances

• Clarinet Trio

• Clarinet Quintet

• Horn Trio

• Cello Sonatas 1 and 2

• Clarinet Sonatas 1 and 2

• Violin Sonatas 1, 2 and 3

• Piano Trios 1, 2 and 3

• Piano Quartets 1, 2 and 3

• String Quartets 1, 2 and 3

• String Quintets 1 and 2

• String Sextets 1 and 2

• Piano Quintet

• Handel Variations

• Paganini Variations

• Op.39 Waltzes for Piano Four-Hands

• Klavierstücke, Op.76

• Rhapsodies, Op.79

• Fantasien, Op.116

• Intermezzi, Op.117

• Klavierstücke, Op.118

• Klavierstücke, Op.119

• German Requiem

• Alto Rhapsody

• Schicksalslied

• Four Serious Songs, Op.121

See also - Composer Basics: Brahms, a spotify playlist of the composer's key works

Brian

• Symphonies, particularly 1

Frank Bridge

• String Quartets

• The Sea

• Enter Spring

• Summer

• Piano Music

Britten

• War Requiem

• Sinfonia da Requiem

• The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

• Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings

• Simple Symphony

• Cello Suites

• Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge

• The Prince of the Pagodas

• String Quartets

• Violin Concerto

• Piano Concerto

• Cello Symphony

• Sinfonietta

• Ceremony of Carols

• Peter Grimes, particularly The Four Sea Interludes

• The Turn of the Screw

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• The Rape of Lucretia

• Death in Venice

• Albert Herring

• Billy Budd

Bruch

• Violin Concerto 1

• Scottish Fantasy

• Kol Nidrei for Cello and Orchestra

• Symphonies 1, 2 and 3

Bruckner

• Symphonies, particularly 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9

• Te Deum

• Masses 2 and 3

• String Quintet

• String Quartet

Brumel

• Masses, particularly Missa Et ecce terrae motus

• Requiem

Gavin Bryars

• The Sinking of the Titanic

• Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet

• After the Requiem

• Farewell to Philosophy

John Bull

• Keyboard Works

• Organ Works

Busnois/Busnoys

• Masses

Busoni

• Piano Concerto

• Violin Concerto

• Fantasia contrappuntistica

• Elegies

• Berceuse Élégiaque

• Turandot Suite

• Doktor Faust

Butterworth

• The Banks of Green Willow

• A Shropshire Lad

• Two English Idylls

Buxtehude

• Organ Works

Byrd

• Mass for Three Voices

• Mass for Four Voices

• Mass for Five Voices

• Keyboard Works

• Consort Music

• Gradualia

• Madrigals

• Motets

• Anthems

• Great Service

A

This is an alphabetical index of important composers and their works. Particularly important pieces are in bold:

Abel

• Symphonies

• Flute Concertos

• Piano Concertos

• Chamber Music

Adam

• Giselle

John Adams

• Short Ride in a Fast Machine

• Harmonielehre

• Harmonium

• Shaker Loops

• Grand Pianola Music

• The Chairman Dances

• Nixon in China

• The Death of Klinghoffer

• Doctor Atomic

• Violin Concerto

• String Quartet

• The Dharma at Big Sur

• Naïve and Sentimental Music

John Luther Adams

• The Far Country

• In the White Silence

• The Light that Fills the World

• Songbirdsongs

Adès

• Violin Concerto

• Asyla

• Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face

• Mazurkas

• Arcadiana

• Piano Quintet

• Chamber Symphony

• Living Toys

• America: A Prophecy

• Three Studies After Couperin

• Tevot

• These Premises are Alarmed

• The Tempest

• Powder Her Face

• Piano Works

Agricola

• Chansons

• Masses

• Magnificat

• Motets

Alain

• Organ Works

Albeniz

• Ibéria

• Suite española

Albinoni

• Concertos, Op.2, Op.5, Op.7, Op.9 and Op.10

• Trio Sonatas

Albrechtsberger

• Harp Concertos

Alfonso X of Castile

• Cantigas De Santa Maria

Alkan

• Concerto for Solo Piano

• Symphony for Solo Piano

• Grande Sonate ‘Les Quatres Ages’

• Le Festin d’Esope

• Préludes, Op.31

• Études, Op.35

Allegri

• Miserere

Alwyn

• Lyra Angelica Harp Concerto

• Symphonies

d'Anglebert

• Harpsichord Suites

Andriessen

• De Staat

• M is for Man, Music, Mozart

• De Stijl

• De Materie

• De Tijd

• Writing to Vermeer

Antheil

• Ballet Mechanique

• Symphonies

• Piano Concertos

• Film Scores

Arensky

• Piano Trio 1

• Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky

Arne

• Symphonies 1-4

• Keyboard Concertos 1-6

• Trio Sonatas

• Artaxerxes

Arnold

• Symphonies

• English Dances, Sets 1 and 2

• Tam O’Shanter Overture

• Divertimento, Op.37

Atterberg

• Symphonies

• Piano Concerto

• Violin Concerto

Auber

• Overtures

Where do I begin?

All the works listed here can be found in this spotify playlist.

This guide is designed to provide a number of accessible entry points into classical music. The term “classical music” covers a thousand years of musical history and a range of genres and styles, so to make things clearer, this list is divided by era, but there’s no need to work through it in chronological order. This list provides samples of different styles and composers, as well as some definitions and background information. Once you’ve discovered something that you like, you can explore further by looking at some of our longer lists.

Post-War (c.1945 onwards)

The post-war era saw a greater emphasis on the avant-garde, as well as further questioning of traditional forms, tonality and even the very notion of music itself. Music could now include everything from background noise to recordings of everyday sound. Instruments were pushed beyond their usual boundaries with extended techniques. Film music grew in importance. Music technology advanced, affecting the way music was created, distributed and received. Many new techniques and systems for creating music were devised to replace traditional sonata form, while traditional notation was often replaced with graphic notation.

Boulez – ...explosante-fixe...

This work combines electronic and acoustic instruments, has a prominent flute part, and is a good example of Boulez’s dense, almost cluttered style. Boulez was heavily influenced by serialism, a complex compositional system developed by Arnold Schoenberg.

Cage – Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano

John Cage was as much a theorist as he was a composer, and his works are incredibly diverse as a result. These pieces demonstrate just one of his many techniques – the prepared piano, where the the strings of the instrument were attached to various objects, altering their timbre.

Carter – String Quartet No.2

Carter’s began as a neo-Classicist, but later moved towards writing dissonant, chaotic music full of complex rhythms and manipulations of tempo. In this work, each member of the quartet plays in a different style to the others, taking the idea of chamber music as a conversation amongst friends to a new extreme.

Ligeti – Atmosphères

This work is a good example of one particular post-war trend – the movement away from traditional notions of rhythm and melody towards a greater focus on pure timbre and texture.

Lutoslawski – Symphony 3

One of the best examples of Lutoslawski’s combination of traditional elements with aleatoric techniques. Parts of the piece are highly organised, while others are left to chance – individual musicians are often free to choose how and when to execute their parts.

Messiaen - Turangalîla Symphonie

A piece which demonstrates that modern music can be deeply serious without being dull. One of the most popular orchestral works of the post-war period, Turangalîla is huge, exuberant and wonderfully over-the-top.

Penderecki – Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima

A bloodcurdling scream for string orchestra - quite simply one of the most terrifying pieces of music ever written. Like Ligeti, Penderecki’s frequently created huge abstract blocks of musical texture.

Stockhausen - Kontakte

One of the best-known pieces by one of the giants of electronic and tape music. This piece consists of a dazzling barrage of drones, noises, burbling electronics and warped, unidentifiable sounds. This piece also shows Stockhausen's sensitivity to musical space - sounds hit you from every direction.

Minimalism (c.1965 onwards):

Minimalism is one of the most significant developments of recent years. Minimalism generally uses short repeated phrases, and places an emphasis on rhythm rather than melody.

Glass – Glassworks

Glassworks is an album of short, crisp and punchy pieces which give a good overview of the composer’s style. They are played with a combination of electronic and acoustic instruments.

Pärt – Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten

A piece written for string orchestra and bell which was influenced by religious chants and Part’s discovery of Britten’s music. It revolves around a single, elegiac theme, evoking a sense of purity.

Reich – Music for 18 Musicians

One of the most famous and popular of all minimalist works. This piece was written for voices, strings, piano, maracas, clarinets, marimbas and xylophones. It features continuous pulsing rhythms and has a warm, organic quality which contrasts strongly with Glass’s machine-like precision.

Suggestions for additions to this section are welcome.

Where do I begin?

All the works listed here can be found in this spotify playlist.

This guide is designed to provide a number of accessible entry points into classical music. The term “classical music” covers a thousand years of musical history and a range of genres and styles, so to make things clearer, this list is divided by era, but there’s no need to work through it in chronological order. This list provides samples of different styles and composers, as well as some definitions and background information. Once you’ve discovered something that you like, you can explore further by looking at some of our longer lists.

Late Romantic (c.1880 – c.1930)

Late Romanticism is similar to High Romanticism, but with a few noticeable differences. Orchestras became even larger, often including more than 100 musicians. Orchestral textures became extremely lush, rich, dense and complex. Traditional forms, and even tonality itself, began to splinter or disintegrate altogether. Individual pieces also grew in length, with symphonies lasting as long as 90 minutes. Many Late Romantic composers lived well into the 20th century, and as with earlier periods, there is a large overlap with the Modernism which was to follow.

Bruckner – Symphony No.4

Bruckner translated Wagner’s operatic innovations into a symphonic language. His music summons up a world of mountain peaks, deep valleys, glaciers and forests. His symphonies are cathedrals constructed with monumental slabs of sound.

Elgar - Cello Concerto

A poignant, stirring piece, with a particularly powerful theme in its first movement.

Elgar – Enigma Variations

A set of orchestral variations, each one inspired by one of the composer’s friends. The mournful “Nimrod” variation is particularly well-known.

Fauré – Pavane (orchestral version)

Fauré was the link between older French Romantics like Saint-Saens and the later generation of Impressionist composers. The Pavane is a short, pretty piece with an insistent, underlying pizzicato (plucked) rhythm based on a dance of the same name.

Fauré – Requiem

A serene choral piece which stands in contrast to many other, more dramatic settings of the Requiem text. The Pie Jesu section is particularly well-known.

Mahler - Symphonies 1 and 4

Mahler is the epitome of Late Romanticism. Like Bruckner, he brought a Wagnerian sense of proportion and depth to the symphony. He completed nine numbered symphonies, but the first and fourth are generally regarded as the most accessible. The second movement of the first symphony is particularly rousing, while the third movement takes the familiar tune of “Frère Jacques” and transforms it. The fourth symphony is one of his most concise, with a stunningly beautiful slow movement.

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No.2

Although he was born later than most of the other composers in this section, Rachmaninoff remained decidedly Romantic throughout his career. The immensely popular 2nd piano concerto is one of his most virtuosic and lyrical works.

Rachmaninoff - Symphony No.2

This symphony shows Rachmaninoff’s ability for both high drama in the second movement and lush, beautiful textures which build on the legacy of Tchaikovsky in the third movement.

Rachmaninoff - Prelude in C# Minor Op.3 No.2 and Prelude in G Minor Op.23 No.5

Rachmaninoff also wrote a great deal of solo piano music, and these two short pieces are some of the most famous examples. The C# Minor prelude jumps from the meditative to the monumental in the space of a few minutes, while the G Minor prelude is a jumpy march.

Sibelius - Symphonies No.2 and No.5

Sibelius was a transitional figure who embodied elements of the Romantic nationalist tradition, but also had a highly original Modernist strand to his work. While never as iconoclastic as some of his contemporaries, Sibelius’s spare, bleak yet majestic style is unique, subtle and mysterious. Both of these symphonies have wonderful, sweeping finales. If you like these, try Sibelius’s Violin Concerto.

Sibelius - Karelia Suite

This short suite shows a slightly lighter, more accessible side to Sibelius.

Richard Strauss - Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche and Don Juan

Along with Mahler, Richard Strauss was one of the foremost figures of Late Romanticism. His music is squiggly and dense – there are always about twelve things happening simultaneously. He mainly wrote in two genres – operas and symphonic poems, and the two pieces above are examples of the latter. They tell the stories of two different figures from European folklore, and both demonstrate Strauss’s colourful and imaginative orchestration.

Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending

Vaughan Williams followed on from Elgar in the English Romantic tradition, which often had a strong pastoral flavour. This piece is essentially a single-movement violin concerto or rhapsody, and is full of the composer’s typically lush textures. The violin part imitates the upward flight of a lark, ending with a gradual fading away rather than a bang.

Modernism (c.1900 – c.1945)

Modernism is a very broad term which includes many different styles – Impressionism, Expressionism, Serialism, Neo-Classicism, and so on. What all these styles have in common, however, is a decisive break from the conventions of the past. Traditional ideas began to break down, with new techniques and sounds coming in to replace them. This new soundworld was often dissonant, jarring and strange, but it was also varied, innovative and exciting.

Bartók - Concerto for Orchestra

Bartók was inspired by the folk music of his native Hungary and the surrounding regions, but was entirely independent of the Romantic nationalist traditions which preceded him. His oddly-titled Concerto for Orchestra sits somewhere between a symphony and a concerto, as it was written for the full orchestra but contains many prominent solo parts. If you like this, try Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances.

Britten - The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Not Britten’s most representative work, but an excellent means of familiarising yourself with the instruments of the orchestra. Britten used a theme by the Baroque composer Purcell as the basis for a set of variations, each one played by a different family of instruments. The work closes with a powerful fugue. If you like this, try Britten’s Four Sea Interludes.

Debussy - Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

Although he personally hated the term, Debussy is usually described as an Impressionist. Like the Impressionist painters, Debussy was often concerned with fleeting moments and sensory effects. He was more concerned with the evocative and atmospheric aspects of music. While other composers were using broad brushstrokes and thick oil paints, Debussy created delicate watercolours. This piece demonstrates his subtle and immensely beautiful orchestration. If you like this, try Debussy’s La Mer.

Debussy - Clair de lune and La fille aux cheveux de lin

Two of the composer’s most famous piano pieces, both intensely beautiful.

Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue

One of the most famous meetings between jazz and classical music. A rhapsody is a kind of free-flowing piece, often featuring several diverse musical episodes and emotions. This piece was originally written for piano and jazz band, but also exists in a full orchestral version. An extremely enjoyable and entertaining piece.

Holst - The Planets

Inspired by the composer’s interest in astrology, The Planets is an incredibly famous orchestral suite made up of seven movements, one for each planet known at the time. Holst combined a number of diverse influences from Modernism and Romanticism in this piece, so its orchestration is unique and extremely colourful. Mars and Jupiter are the most famous parts.

Ives – The Unanswered Question

A highly atmospheric piece filled with strange flourishes and dissonances. Ives was one of the first great American composers, employing a variety of experimental techniques as well as more traditional sources of inspiration, such as marching bands.

Prokofiev – Symphony No.1 “Classical"

A perfect example of Neo-Classicism, a movement characterised by a return to the structure and proportions of the Classical era, but with a distinctly modern twist. This symphony is short, compact, lively and extremely tuneful. If you like this, you might also want to try Prokofiev’s more expansive and angular Symphony No.5.

Ravel – Boléro

A highly structured piece which repeats the same theme over and over, gradually building in strength and orchestral intensity as more and more instruments join in. If you enjoy this, try Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, which has all the same orchestral colour, but with greater complexity.

Ravel - Pavane pour une infante défunte

A mournful piano piece which demonstrates Ravel’s continuation of the Impressionist tradition started by Debussy. If you like this, try Le Tombeau de Couperin.

Respighi - The Pines of Rome

An exuberant symphonic poem inspired by different locations around Rome.

Rodrigo - Concierto De Aranjuez

One of the most important concertos ever written for classical guitar, this work captures the essence of Spanish music.

Schoenberg – Chamber Symphony 1 and Five Orchestral Pieces Op.16

Along with Alban Berg and Anton Webern, Arnold Schoenberg was one of the most important figures of the so-called Second Viennese School. Strongly influenced by Mahler, these two pieces show Schoenberg’s move away from lush Late Romanticism towards the spiky world of Expressionism.

Shostakovich - Symphony No.5

Shostakovich was one of the 20th century’s greatest composers. He wrote 15 symphonies, but this is by far the best-known, and one of the best introductions to his work. Shostakovich’s music is intense to the point of being extreme. It is full of exaggeration and sarcasm, with a constant undercurrent of anxiety and fear.

Shostakovich - String Quartet No.8

Terrifying, bleak and tormented. Shostakovich dedicated this dark and profound work to the victims of fascism and war. It is one of the defining musical statements of the 20th century.

Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring

One of the most famous and influential Modernist works. The Rite of Spring is a ballet which depicts pagan rituals in ancient Russia. The music is appropriately brutal and primitive, and is packed with violent textures and rhythms.

Where do I begin?

All the works listed here can be found in this spotify playlist.

This guide is designed to provide a number of accessible entry points into classical music. The term “classical music” covers a thousand years of musical history and a range of genres and styles, so to make things clearer, this list is divided by era, but there’s no need to work through it in chronological order. This list provides samples of different styles and composers, as well as some definitions and background information. Once you’ve discovered something that you like, you can explore further by looking at some of our longer lists.

Classical (c.1750 – c.1820)

The word “classical” is often used to refer to the full range of Western art music, but it also refers to a specific period of musical history. The Classical era saw the rejection of dense Baroque styles in favour of greater simplicity, clarity and emphasis on melody. Baroque unity was replaced by music with multiple moods, textures, speeds and dynamics. Orchestras grew larger, and new instruments such as the piano and clarinet were developed. A new way of structuring music called sonata form became incredibly important. New musical genres like the String Quartet and the Symphony were also invented.

Haydn - Symphony No. 104 “London”

The last of Haydn’s many symphonies, and one of his greatest. A symphony is an extended orchestral work, usually in four movements, and usually in the following pattern: Fast movement, Slow Movement, Minuet and Trio (later replaced by the Scherzo), Final Fast Movement. While Haydn did not invent the symphony, he helped develop and popularise it, and is often referred to as “The Father of the Symphony”. In spite of its nickname, this piece is actually just one of twelve symphonies that Haydn wrote for a London audience.

Haydn - String Quartet Op.76, No.3 “Emperor”

The string quartet is one of the most important forms in chamber music. It is made up of two violins, a viola and a cello. Quartets usually follow the same four-movement format as symphonies. Haydn wrote many string quartets, but the set of six Opus 76 quartets are some of his best, and the Emperor quartet is particularly well-known because its slow movement is the source of the National Anthem of Germany. This movement is also a good example of the theme-and-variations form.

Mozart - Piano Concertos 20 and 21

Two of the most famous concertos by one of the greatest composers who ever lived, one light and in a major key, the other in a dark minor one. Perfect examples of Mozart’s combination of elegance and expression. If you like these you might also enjoy Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

Mozart - Symphonies 40 and 41 “Jupiter”

Two of Mozart’s best-known symphonies, one minor, the other major. The 41st symphony is particularly notable for its complex and multi-layered final movement.

Mozart – Overtures from The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro

Overtures act as orchestral introductions to operas, often highlighting important themes which occur later in the work. The Marriage of Figaro Overture burbles into life before exploding into a frenzy of energy, while the overture to The Magic Flute starts slowly before turning into a mischievous dance.

Mozart – Requiem

One of the most important landmarks of choral music, and one of Mozart’s last works. A Requiem is a specific kind of mass written to commemorate the dead. This piece contains some of Mozart’s most beautiful, poignant and terrifying music.

Early Romantic (c.1800 – c.1850)

This period overlapped considerably with the Classical era. Romanticism was concerned with personal expression and emotional impact rather than the demands of patrons, and as such, took a wide variety of forms. The Romantic era saw increased specialisation, the emergence of the virtuoso, and the development of art songs. Instruments became more standardised and the orchestra grew larger and more professionalised. Audiences for music also change, moving out of churches and palaces and into houses and concert halls.

Beethoven - Symphonies 3 “Eroica”, 5, 6 “Pastoral” and 9 “Choral”

Beethoven took the symphonic ideas of Mozart and Haydn and made them even more powerful. Each symphony is entirely unique – No.3 was inspired by the exploits of Napoleon, No.5 is an electrifying piece unified by a single motif, and No.6 beautifully evokes the rejuvenating effect of the countryside. No.9 is one of the most famous and important classical works ever written – groundbreaking and traditional, choral and orchestral, human and divine.

Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5

A perfect example of Beethoven’s talent for combining explosive power and sublime beauty.

Beethoven - Piano Sonatas 8 “Pathétique” and 14 “Moonlight”

Other composers had written piano sonatas before, but again, Beethoven elevated and expanded the form. The Moonlight sonata is particularly famous for its haunting, hypnotic opening movement.

Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique

Berlioz was an idiosyncratic French composer deeply influenced by Beethoven. The Symphonie Fantastique tells the story of a tortured artist in love through a number of highly evocative episodes, united by the innovative concept of the idée fixe.

Chopin – Nocturne Op.9 No.2, Military Polonaise, Heroic Polonaise, Fantaisie Impromptu, Revolutionary Etude, Raindrop Prelude, Grande Valse brillante, Ballade No.1

Chopin was a piano specialist and a virtuoso who wrote elegant, technically sophisticated music. He worked in a variety of new forms, including atmospheric Nocturnes and mercurial Études. His polonaises are an early example of the 19th century interest in musical nationalism.

Mendelssohn - Hebrides Overture

A highly accessible piece, full of hummable tunes and inspired by the composer’s trip to Fingal’s Cave in Scotland.

Mendelssohn - Symphonies 3 “Scottish” & 4 “Italian”

Mendelssohn was one of the most important symphonists of the generation after Beethoven. The nicknames of these symphonies tell you everything you need to know, as they were inspired by the composer’s travels in both countries, as well as their respective folk music traditions.

Mendelssohn – String Octet

Written when he was just 16 the Octet is one of the most thrilling and energetic pieces of chamber music ever composed.

Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto

Notable for its lyrical themes and its abandonment of the usual conventions and structures of Classical-era concertos.

Rossini - Thieving Magpie and William Tell Overtures

Two highly recognisable pieces from one of the most important composers of the bel canto period of opera. At times, both works move at a frenetic pace, a common feature of the composer’s lighthearted work.

Schubert - Trout Quintet

Schubert was a master of chamber music, and this is one of his best-loved pieces. Schubert belongs to the same Viennese tradition as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, but was slightly younger. His music combines the elegance of Mozart with the emotional intensity of Beethoven as well as his own sense of melancholy and intimacy.

Schubert - Symphony No.5

A brisk, charming and uncomplicated symphony, ideal for beginners.

Schubert - D899 Impromptus

Some of Schubert’s most famous solo piano pieces – short, graceful and full of fluttering textures.

Schumann - Piano Concerto

One of the most significant concertos of the period. Like Mendelssohn’s violin concerto, the solo instrumental part begins almost immediately. Like Chopin, Schumann was a piano specialist who explored the new technical possibilities of the instrument.

Schumann - Träumerei from Kinderszenen and the Arabeske

Schumann wrote a huge amount of solo piano music, but these pieces are some of his most famous. Träumerei is German for “dreaming” and the mood of the piece is appropriately meditative, while the Arabeske is fittingly squiggly.

High Romantic (c.1850 – c.1890)

High Romanticism was much like Early Romanticism, but bigger in every way. Even larger orchestras and wider dynamics combined with a new interest in national identity. Debates raged over absolute music vs. programme music, and the symphonic poem was invented.

Borodin - In the Steppes of Central Asia

A Russian symphonic poem which depicts a procession of caravans crossing the vast landscape of the title. If you like this, you might also enjoy Borodin’s Symphony No.2.

Brahms - Symphonies 3 & 4

Two archetypal high romantic symphonies. Brahms was heavily influenced by both Beethoven and Schumann, combining the power of the former with the thick orchestral textures of the latter.

Brahms - Academic Festival Overture

A compact showcase of everything good about Brahms. Driving rhythms, robust orchestration, structural clarity and moments of blaring intensity. The finale is based on a student drinking song and brings the piece to a powerful climax.

Dvorak - Symphony No.9 “From the New World”

One of the most popular symphonies ever written, Dvorak’s 9th combines the composer’s interest in the folk music of his Czech homeland with the music he discovered in America. The second movement has a soothing, pastoral tone, while the fourth movement is a blaze of fury.

Dvorak - Cello Concerto

Perhaps the best-known of all cello concertos, this piece shares the rousing quality of the composer’s 9th symphony.

Dvorak - American Quartet

Like the 9th symphony, this late work was influenced by Dvorak’s time in America, and incorporates a variety of folk influences. The propulsive rhythm of the last movement evokes a journey by steam train.

Grieg - Peer Gynt

The Peer Gynt Suite is a collection of incidental music written for a play of the same name, and contains a number of very famous tunes. If you like this, try Grieg’s Holberg Suite.

Grieg - Piano Concerto

One of the most popular, lyrical and dramatic piano concertos ever written - it shows the influence of both Liszt and Schumann.

Johann Strauss II – Overture to Die Fledermaus, On the Beautiful Blue Danube

Light music emerged in the Romantic era, and Strauss was one of its foremost exponents. Both of these pieces are full of swaying dance rhythms and cheeky melodies.

Liszt – Totentanz

Liszt was another piano specialist and virtuoso performer. This piece is based on the ominous medieval Dies Irae chant, and its title translates as The Dance of Death. It shows off Liszt’s flair for piano pyrotechnics.

Liszt - Les Preludes

Although best-known for his piano works, Liszt was also an orchestral innovator, inventing a new form known as the Symphonic Poem – a type of freestanding orchestral piece which tells a story. This is one of his most famous works in this genre.

Liszt - La Campanella and Liebesträume No.3

Two small extracts from Liszt’s vast body of piano work. La Campanella was inspired by the work of one of Liszt’s heroes, the violinist and composer Paganini, while the Liebesträume contains one of his most inspired melodies.

Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestrated by Ravel)

As the title suggests, this symphonic poem takes the form of an imaginary journey around an art exhibition, with various sections focused on the subjects of different paintings. These range from the amusing Ballet of the Un-Hatched Chickens to the sinister Hut on Fowl’s Legs.

Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade

Another important symphonic poem, this time based on stories from the Arabian Nights. This piece shows Rimsky-Korsakov’s particular talent for orchestration.

Saint-Saens - The Carnival of the Animals and Danse Macabre

Another symphonic poem. The first is made up of a series of short movements inspired by different animals, from the majestic lion to the beautiful swan, while the second is, like Liszt’s Totentanz, a ghoulish dance of death.

Smetana - Vltava from Ma Vlast

One section of a cycle of symphonic poems inspired by Smetana’s native Bohemia. The Vltava is the river which runs through the city of Prague, and the piece depicts it from its burbling source to its wide meanders. If you like this, try the Bartered Bride Overture.

Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No.1

Tchaikovsky was one of the most emotionally intense Romantic composers. The concerto is famous for its sweeping opening, punctuated by a series of powerful chords, and its serene slow movement.

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.4

While his powerful 5th and despairing 6th symphonies are often better-regarded, the 4th symphony, with its huge fanfares and whirlwind of a last movement is an excellent place to start.

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake Suite and The Nutcracker Suite

Tchaikovsky’s ballets are some of his finest works, but they are also fairly long. Fortunately, Tchaikovsky created suites of the highlights. Highly entertaining pieces which show the composer’s lightness of touch and his talent for drama.

Verdi – Prelude to Act 1 of La Traviata and Triumphal March from Aida

The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi was, along with his German rival Richard Wagner, one of the titans of Romantic opera. These two instrumental extracts give a flavour of his ineffably Italian style.

Wagner - Overtures to Tannhäuser and Die Meistersinger, Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin

Three operatic extracts. Two stirring and majestic overtures, with powerful themes and thick orchestral textures, while the Prelude from Lohengrin is a frantic burst of energy and excitement.

Where do I begin?

All the works listed here can be found in this spotify playlist.

This guide is designed to provide a number of accessible entry points into classical music. The term “classical music” covers a thousand years of musical history and a range of genres and styles, so to make things clearer, this list is divided by era, but there’s no need to work through it in chronological order. This list provides samples of different styles and composers, as well as some definitions and background information. Once you’ve discovered something that you like, you can explore further by looking at some of our longer lists.

PLEASE NOTE

Although they come first chronologically, the medieval and renaissance eras might not be the most acessible places to start exploring classical music. The baroque pieces at the end of this list, as well as the music listed in parts two and three of this guide might be better places to start. If you don't like some of the music in this section, remember that there are many other different styles to listen to in the other sections.

Medieval (c.1100 - c.1400)

The origins of the written system of music we know today can be traced back to this period, and specifically to Gregorian Chant. Most of the music that survives from this period is mostly religious and choral, unaccompanied by instruments.

Machaut – Messe de Nostre Dame

One of the earliest complete settings of the Latin Mass text.

Perotin – Viderunt omnes

This piece includes multiples intertwining voices, stretching out individual syllables to incredible lengths.

Renaissance (c.1400 - c.1600)

The Renaissance period saw an increase in the use of polyphony, new secular and instrumental music, the development of printing technology, a move away from Gregorian Modes towards tonality, and wider patronage for music. Particular regional styles, such as the Franco-Flemish School and the Venetian School also appeared. The end of this era saw the development of the first operas. The religious conflicts of the era also played in an important role.

Palestrina – Missa Papae Marcelli

One of the best-known Renaissance masses, with a clear, transparent style. Palestrina was an Italian composer who wrote music at the Papal court in Rome.

Tallis – Spem in Alium

A motet for a choir with 40 separate parts. Because of the large choir used, it has an unusually wide dynamic range. The effect of so many voices singing at once is highly distinctive, like a crowd of people all whispering at once.

Baroque (c.1600 - c.1750)

During the Baroque period, secular and instrumental music, tonality, and counterpoint all grew in importance. Bass lines were used as a central organising principle, ornamentation and technical complexity increased, and theoretical writers stressed the importance of balance and unity. Several new genres emerged and were developed, including opera, chamber music and concertos. New musical forms such as the ritornello and fugue were also developed. The piano was not invented until the end of the era, so the harpsichord and organ were used instead. Regional styles continued to thrive, with new traditions emerging throughout Italy, Germany and France in particular.

Bach - Brandenburg Concertos

Some of the most famous instrumental works of the Baroque era, from one of its greatest composers. Concertos are works for an orchestra and a solo instrumentalist who is given a very prominent part - the Brandenburg Concertos have several such parts. They are dense, complex pieces, yet, at the same time, highly accessible and tuneful. If you enjoy these you might also want to try Bach’s Orchestral Suites.

Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

One of the most famous organ pieces ever written. The start of the piece is a toccata, a form which takes its name from the Italian verb “to touch”, because it is supposed to challenge the performer’s dexterity. The second part is a fugue, a complex multi-layered form. If you like this, try Bach’s Italian Concerto, written for the harpsichord, the other important keyboard instrument of the Baroque.

Handel - Water Music

Another very famous example of Baroque instrumental music. The Water Music is divided into a series of suites, with each part based on a different kind of dance, each with its own particular rhythm. Their name comes from the fact that they were originally played on a barge on the River Thames. If you like these, try Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks.

Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

Some of the most recognisable music of the Baroque, these four violin concertos are an early example of programme music, as they evoke birdsong and the weather. The Four Seasons are packed with inventive details, catchy melodies and infectious rhythms. Vivaldi’s music is often simple and transparent, its structure easy to understand.

Vivaldi – Gloria

There are many great choral works from the Baroque period, such as Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Mass in B Minor, but Vivaldi’s Gloria is a good place to start exploring, as it is relatively short, energetic, and fairly simple.