The 50 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music – Various Artists

1

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 "Fate": I. Allegro con brio

Bernhard Güller, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra & Ludwig van Beethoven

7:36

2

Nocturnes, Op. 9: No. 2 in E-Flat Major

Peter Schmalfuss

4:42

3

Xerxes, HWV 40, Act I: Largo "Ombra mai fu"

Rudolph Palmer, Jennifer Lane, Brewer Baroque Orchestra & George Frideric Handel

2:48

4

Bagatelle in A Minor, WoO 59 "Für Elise"

Leonard Hokanson & Ludwig van Beethoven

2:47

5

Canon and Gigue in D Major, P. 37: I. Canon

Mary Jane Newman, Musica Antiqua New York & Johann Pachelbel

4:49

6

The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 1 in E Major, RV 269 "Spring": I. Allegro

Alun Francis, Emmy Verhey & Camerata Antonio Lucio

3:32

7

Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068: II. Air

Valentin Radu, Ama Deus Ensemble & Johann Sebastian Bach

4:28

8

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23: I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso - Allegro con spirito

Eduardo Marturet, Niek van Oosterum & Berliner Symphoniker

20:46

9

Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: I. Allegro molto

Ernest Bour, SWR Symphony Orchestra & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

7:48

10

Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30: I. Introduction "Sunrise"

Leonard Slatkin & Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra

1:42

11

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331: III. Alla Turca

Walter Klien & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

3:08

12

Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King

Maurice Abravanel, Utah Symphony Orchestra & Edvard Grieg

2:21

13

Adagio for Strings, Op. 11a

Andrew Schenck, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra & Samuel Barber

9:04

14

Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467 "Elvira Madigan": II. Andante

Helmut Müller-Brühl, Evgeni Koroliov, Cologne Chamber Orchestra & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

6:08

15

14 Romances, Op. 34: No. 14, Vocalise (Lentamente)

Markus Stocker & Viktor Yampolsky

6:29

16

Carmina Burana, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: No. 1, O Fortuna

Ilya Stupel & Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra

2:40

17

Suite Bergamasque, L. 75: III. Clair de lune

Peter Frankl

4:56

18

Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525 "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik": I. Allegro

Francesco Macci, Camerata Salzburg & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

6:34

19

Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a: Scéne, Moderato

Peter Falk

2:53

20

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight": I. Adagio sostenuto

Dubravka Tomsic & Ludwig van Beethoven

6:04

21

Hungarian Dances, WoO 1: No. 5, Allegro

Christian Ehwald & Kosice Philharmonic Orchestra

2:46

22

Liebesträume, S. 541: No. 3, O lieb so lang' du lieben kannst

Jerome Rose

4:19

23

Die Zauberflöte, K. 620, Act II: "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" (Queen of the Night's Aria)

Klaus Arp, Maszella Holzapfel, SWR Symphony Orchestra & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

2:54

24

Spartacus Suite No. 2: I. Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia

Ivan Marinov & Sofia Symphony Orchestra

9:32

25

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565

Klemens Schnorr & Johann Sebastian Bach

8:55

26

Boléro, M. 81

Arpad Joó, London Symphony Orchestra & Maurice Ravel

15:34

27

Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 "From the New World": II. Largo

Hugo Rignold, London Philharmonic Orchestra & Antonín Dvořák

11:45

28

Turandot, Act III: Nessun Dorma

Wilfrid Pelletier, New York Stadium Symphony Orchestra & Giacomo Puccini

3:02

29

Pavane, Op. 50

A. Robert Johnson, Frank Morelli, Humbert Lucarelli & Susan Jolles

5:11

30

Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, Pt. 2: X. Chorale, Jesu bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring) (Arr. for Organ)

Susanne Doll & Johann Sebastian Bach

3:12

31

Adagio in G Minor for Strings and Organ

Ross Pople

6:52

32

Thaïs: Meditation

Café Concerto & Jules Massenet

4:51

33

Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64: I. Allegro molto appassionato

Jaime Laredo, Scottish Chamber Orchestra & Felix Mendelssohn

13:08

34

Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor, Pt. 3: IV. Adagietto

Harold Farberman, London Symphony Orchestra & Gustav Mahler

12:05

35

Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. II: No. 44, Hallelujah

Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Chorus & George Frideric Handel

3:33

36

Le Carnaval des Animaux, R. 125: XIII. Le Cygne

Stockholm Chamber Duo & Camille Saint-Saëns

2:54

37

Concierto de Aranjuez: II. Adagio

John Lubbock, Michael Conn, Orchestra of St. John's & Joaquín Rodrigo

10:54

38

Ave Maria, D. 839

Calvin Wiersma, Amy Butler, Mary Jane Newman & Franz Schubert

5:59

39

The Planets, Op. 32: No. 4, Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

Sir Charles Groves & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

8:17

40

Two Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34: II. The Last Spring

Heribert Beissel, Bonn Classical Philharmonic & Edvard Grieg

4:40

41

Rhapsody in Blue

Leonard Slatkin, Jeffrey Siegel & Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra

17:58

42

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique": II. Adagio cantabile

Alfred Brendel & Ludwig van Beethoven

5:41

43

Rinaldo, HWV 7, Act II: Lascia ch'io pianga

Rudolph Palmer, Madeleine Tsingopoulos, Brewer Baroque Orchestra & George Frideric Handel

3:45

44

Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004: V. Chaconne

Conrad von der Goltz & Johann Sebastian Bach

15:55

45

Romeo and Juliet, Ballet Suite No. 2, Op. 64: I. Montagues and Capulets

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Minnesota Orchestra & Sergei Prokofiev

5:23

46

Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: IIIf. Sequenz, Lacrymosa

Kaszimierz Kord, SWR Symphony Orchestra, Baden-Baden State Chorus & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

3:25

47

Festival Overture in E-Flat Major, Op. 49 "The Year 1812"

Maurice Abravanel & Utah Symphony Orchestra

15:44

48

Die Walküre, WWV 86B, Act III: Ride of the Valkyries

Jerzy Semkow, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra & Richard Wagner

5:30

49

Gianni Schicchi: "O mio babbino caro"

Andrew Lane, Victoria Anderson, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra & Giacomo Puccini

2:17

50

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral": IV. Presto - Allegro assai - Choral Finale (Ode to Joy)

Josef Krips, London Symphony Orchestra & Ludwig van Beethoven

24:35