Classical Music

Classical music can enrich our lives immeasurably!

 

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

- Berthold Auerbach (1812-1882) 

 

Here are my favorites:



Richard Addinsell
Hugo Alfvén
Leroy Anderson
Malcolm Arnold
Kurt Atterberg
Johann Sebastian Bach
Granville Bantock
Samuel Barber
Béla Bartók
Ludwig van Beethoven
Leonard Bernstein
Georges Bizet
Ernest Bloch
Léon Boëllmann
Alexander Borodin
Lili Boulanger
Johannes Brahms
Max Bruch
Anton Bruckner
Emmanuel Chabrier
Frédéric Chopin
Aaron Copland
Gyula Dávid
Claude Debussy
Frederick Delius
Ernö Dohnányi
Paul Dukas
Antonín Dvořák
Edward Elgar
George Enescu
Gabriel Fauré
César Franck
George Gershwin
Vittorio Giannini
Alexander Glazunov
Reinhold Glière
Mikhail Glinka
Jerry Goldsmith
Percy Grainger
Edvard Grieg
Ferde Grofé
Howard Hanson
Franz Joseph Haydn
Gustav Holst
Alan Hovhaness
Stevan Hristic
Engelbert Humperdinck
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
Gordon Jacob
Leos Janácek
Dmitri Kabalevsky
Sigfrid Karg-Elert
Aram Khachaturian
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Edouard Lalo
Franz Liszt
Anatoly Lyadov
Gustav Mahler
Jules Massenet
Paul McCartney
Felix Mendelssohn
James Moody
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Modest Mussorgsky
Carl Nielsen
Francis Poulenc
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Maurice Ravel
Ottorino Respighi
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Joaquín Rodrigo
John Rutter
Camille Saint-Saëns
Peter Schickele
Franz Schubert
Clara Schumann
Robert Schumann
Dmitri Shostakovich
Jean Sibelius
Bedrich Smetana
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Richard Strauss
Igor Stravinsky
Josef Suk
Francisco Tárrega
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Virgil Thomson
Isao Tomita
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Giuseppe Verdi
Richard Wagner
Peter Warlock
John Williams
Miscellaneous

 

Richard Addinsell (1904-1977)

Warsaw Concerto [with Roy Douglas (1907-)]

Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960)

Drapa, for Large Orchestra

Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)

Sleigh Ride

Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006)

Commonwealth Christmas Overture

Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974)

Symphony No. 3, "West Coast Pictures"

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Brandenburg Concerto No. 2

Puer natus in Bethlehem, for children's chorus, cello, and organ

Granville Bantock (1868-1946)

The Witch of Atlas, Tone Poem for Orchestra No. 5

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

Adagio for Strings

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

Romanian Folk Dances

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Overture "Leonora" No. 3

Piano Sonata, Op. 13, "Pathétique"

Piano Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, "Moonlight"

Piano Sonata, Op. 57, "Appassionata"

Piano Sonata, Op. 81a, "Les Adieux"

Symphony No. 3, "Eroica"

Symphony No. 5

Symphony No. 7

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Music from West Side Story

Overture to Candide

Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

Carmen, Suites 1 & 2

Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)

Concerto Grosso No. 2 for String Orchestra

Schelomo: Hebraic Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra

Léon Boëllmann (1862-1897)

Suite Gothique, for Organ

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

Polovtsian Dances, from Prince Igor

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2

Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)

D'un Matin de Printemps

D'un Soir Triste

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

A German Requiem

Cello Sonata No. 1, op. 38

Cello Sonata No. 2, op. 99

Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra, "Double Concerto"

Intermezzo, op. 118, no. 2 (piano)

Piano Concerto No. 1

Piano Concerto No. 2

Rhapsody, op. 119, no. 4 (piano)

String Quartet No. 1

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2

Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 4

"Tragic" Overture

Variations on a Theme by Haydn

Violin Concerto

Max Bruch (1838-1920)

Violin Concerto No. 1

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)

Symphony No. 9

Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894)

Feuillet d'album (piano)

Habanera (piano)

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Étude, op. 10, no. 3 in E Major, "Tristesse"

Étude, op. 10, no. 12 in C minor, "Revolutionary"

Étude, op. 25, no. 12 in C minor

Fantasie Impromptu in C-sharp minor, op. 66

Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, op. 35

Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, op. 58

Three Nocturnes, op. 9

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

Fanfare for the Common Man

Our Town

Gyula Dávid (1913-1977)

Viola Concerto

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Clair de lune

La Mer

Nocturnes

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Frederick Delius (1862-1934)

Closing Scene from Hassan

La Calinda from Koanga

Ernö Dohnányi (1877-1960)

Variations on a Nursery Song, op. 25

Paul Dukas (1865-1935)

La Péri

Symphony in C

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)

Cello Concerto

Czech Suite

Nocturne for Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass, op. 40

Notturno for Strings, op. 40

Scherzo capriccioso

Serenade for String Orchestra, op. 22

Symphonic Variations

Symphony No. 7

Symphony No. 8

Symphony No. 9

The Noonday Witch, Symphonic Poem

The Water Goblin, Symphonic Poem

The Wild Dove, Symphonic Poem

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Variations on an Original Theme ("Enigma")

George Enescu (1881-1955)

Orchestral Suite No. 2, op. 20

Orchestral Suite No. 3, op. 27, "Villageoise"

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)

Elégie, for Cello and Piano

Requiem

Sicilienne, for Cello and Piano

César Franck (1822-1890)

Violin Sonata

George Gershwin (1898-1937)

An American in Paris

Piano Concerto in F

Vittorio Giannini (1903-1966)

Symphony No. 3, for Symphonic Band

Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)

Stenka Rasin, Symphonic Poem

Reinhold Glière (1875-1956)

Russian Sailors' Dance from The Red Poppy ballet

Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)

Capriccio brillante on the Jota aragonesa, Spanish Overture No. 1

Chernomor's March from Ruslan and Lyudmila

Overture to A Life for the Tsar

Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila

Valse-Fantaisie

Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004)

Soundtrack from Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Percy Grainger (1882-1961)

Blithe Bells

Fisher's Boarding-House

"The Duke of Marlborough" Fanfare (BFMS No. 36)

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

Holberg Suite

Lyric Suite

Norwegian Bridal Procession, op. 19, no. 2

Peer Gynt

Piano Concerto

Sigurd Jorsalfar

Symphonic Dances

Two Elegiac Melodies for String Orchestra

Ferde Grofé (1892-1972)

Grand Canyon Suite

Howard Hanson (1896-1981)

Symphony No. 2, "Romantic"

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Symphony No. 45, "Farewell"

Symphony No. 94, "Surprise"

Symphony No. 102

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

A Dirge for Two Veterans

Egdon Heath

The Hymn of Jesus

The Perfect Fool, Ballet Music

The Planets

Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)

Symphony No. 2, "Mysterious Mountain"

Stevan Hristic (1885-1958)

The Legend of Ohrid, Ballet Suites

Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921)

Overture to Hansel and Gretel

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935)

Armenian Rhapsody

Caucasian Sketches

Gordon Jacob (1895-1984)

Concerto for Bassoon and Strings with Percussion

Leos Janácek (1854-1928)

Schluck und Jau, Incidental Music

Sinfonietta

Taras Bulba

Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987)

The Comedians

Violin Concerto

Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)

Marche triomphale, "Nun danket alle Gott" (for organ)

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)

Gayaneh, Ballet Suites

Masquerade Suite

Piano Concerto

Spartacus, Ballet Suites

Violin Concerto

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)

Violin Concerto

Edouard Lalo (1823-1892)

Cello Concerto

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Les Préludes, Symphonic Poem

Piano Concerto No. 1

Piano Concerto No. 2

Anatoly Lyadov (1855-1914)

Kikimora

The Enchanted Lake

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"

Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

Meditation from Thaïs

Paul McCartney (1942-)

Liverpool Oratorio [with Carl Davis (1936-)]

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream

Overture to The Hebrides

Symphony No. 3, "Scottish"

James Moody (1907-1995)

Little Suite for Harmonica and Orchestra

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Ave Verum Corpus

March from The Marriage of Figaro

Overture to The Marriage of Figaro

Piano Concerto No. 21

Symphony No. 25

Symphony No. 27

Symphony No. 36, "Linz"

Symphony No. 40

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)

A Night on Bald Mountain

Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)

Pan and Syrinx

The Fog is Lifting, for Flute and Harp

Two Fantasias, op. 2, for Oboe and Piano

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

Concerto for Piano

Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in D minor

Gloria

Sonata for Flute and Piano

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Alexander Nevsky - Cantata

Autumnal Sketch, Op. 8

Lieutenant Kijé, Suite

Love for Three Oranges, Suite

Peter and the Wolf

Piano Concerto No. 1

Piano Concerto No. 3

Romeo and Juliet, ballet

Scythian Suite

Sonata for Cello and Piano

Symphony No. 5

Symphony No. 7

Ten Pieces (for piano), op. 12

The Stone Flower, ballet

Violin Concerto No. 1

Violin Concerto No. 2

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Piano Concerto No. 2

Piano Concerto No. 3

Prélude, op. 3, no. 2 from Morceaux de fantaisie

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2

Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-)

Cantus Arcticus, Concerto for Birds and Orchestra

Lintukoto (Isle of Bliss)

Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), for String Orchestra

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2

Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet, and Strings

Mother Goose Suite

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)

Ancient Airs and Dances

Roman Festivals

The Fountains of Rome

The Pines of Rome

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)

Capriccio espagnol

Le Coq d'Or, Suite

Russian Easter Festival Overture

Scheherazade

Symphony No. 2, "Antar"

The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Suite

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999)

Concerto Madrigal, for Two Guitars and Orchestra

John Rutter (1945-)

Beatles Concerto, for Two Pianos and Orchestra

Requiem

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

Carnival of the Animals

Cello Concerto No. 1

Danse macabre

Piano Concerto No. 1

Piano Concerto No. 4

Symphony in A Major

Symphony No. 3, "Organ"

Peter Schickele ["P.D.Q. Bach"] (1935-)

Liebeslieder Polkas

Twelve Quite Heavenly Songs

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Ave Maria, Op. 52, No. 6

Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 7

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Manfred Overture

Piano Concerto

Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish"

Symphony No. 4

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a

Festive Overture

Piano Concerto No. 2

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 5

Symphony No. 6

Symphony No. 9

Symphony No. 11, "The Year 1905"

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Finlandia

High are the Snowdrifts, op. 1 no. 5, for children's chorus and organ

Karelia Suite

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2

Symphony No. 4

Symphony No. 5

Violin Concerto

Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884)

Má Vlast ("My Country")

Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899)

The Blue Danube

Tritsch Tratsch Polka

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Also Sprach Zarathustra

Dance of the Seven Veils, from Salome

Death and Transfiguration

Don Juan

Ein Heldenleben

Four Last Songs

Ruhe, Meine Seele (orchestral song; op. 27, no. 1)

Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Pastorale for Violin and Piano

The Firebird

Josef Suk (1874-1935)

A Fairy Tale

Asrael Symphony

Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 6

Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909)

Recuerdos de la Alhambra, for solo guitar

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Francesca da Rimini

Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture

Slavonic March

Swan Lake Suite

Symphony No. 2, "Little Russian"

Symphony No. 4

Symphony No. 5

Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique"

The Nutcracker Suite

Violin Concerto

Virgil Thomson (1896-1989)

Suite from The Plough That Broke the Plains

Isao Tomita (1932-)

Firebird Suite [electronic music; Stravinsky]

Pictures at an Exhibition [electronic music; Mussorgsky]

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun [electronic music; Debussy]

Snowflakes Are Dancing [electronic music; Debussy]

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Aristophanic Suite, The Wasps

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Fantasia on "Greensleeves" [arranged by Ralph Greaves (1889-1966)]

In the Fen Country

Romance, for Harmonica and Orchestra

Serenade to Music

Songs of Travel

Symphony No. 2, "A London Symphony"

Symphony No. 7, "Sinfonia Antartica"

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

Overture to I vespri siciliani

Prelude, Act 1, from La Traviata

Sinfonia, from Luisa Miller

Sinfonia, from Nabucco

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde

Prelude to Act 1 from Parsifal

Peter Warlock (1894-1930)

Balulalow

John Williams (1932-)

Born on the Fourth of July, Theme

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Suite

Empire of the Sun, "Cadillac of the Skies"

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Flying Theme

Home Alone, "Somewhere in My Memory" Main Title

Olympic Fanfare and Theme

Raiders of the Lost Ark, "Raiders March"

Return of the Jedi, "Luke and Leia"

Rosewood, "Look Down, Lord" Reprise and Finale

Star Wars, Main Title

Superman, Main Title [orchestrated by Herbert Spencer (1905-1992)]

The Empire Strikes Back, "Imperial March"

The Empire Strikes Back, "Yoda's Theme"


And here are some outstanding movements...

 

Dominick Argento - Winter (4th movement) from A Ring of Time

Johann Sebastian Bach - Adagio (2nd movement) from Brandenburg Concerto No. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven - Grave, ma non troppo tratto - Allegro (4th movement) from String Quartet in F Major, op. 135

Leonard Bernstein - Glitter And Be Gay, Quiet, Eldorado, Make Our Garden Grow, from Candide

Johannes Brahms - Rondo alla Zingarese (4th movement) from Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25

Benjamin Britten - Balulalow from A Ceremony of Carols

Antonin Dvorak - Allegro ma non troppo (1st movement) from String Quartet No. 12, "American"

Antonin Dvorak - Cavatina (1st movement) from Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola, op. 75a

George Enescu - Lentement (3rd movement) from Octet for Double String Quartet, Op. 7

Reinhold Glière - The Boundless Ukrainian Steppe, from Taras Bulba, Ballet Suite

Howard Hanson - Overture & Children's Dance, from Suite from Merry Mount

Gustav Holst - Hymn to the Dawn (1st movement) from Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26 (Third Group)

Alan Hovhaness - Andante espressivo (2nd movement) from Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra, Op. 267

Gustav Mahler - Adagio (4th movement) from Symphony No. 9

Carl Nielsen - Intermezzo (3rd movement) from Violin Concerto

Sergei Prokofiev - Introduction, Cinderella's Departure for the Ball, Grand Waltz, Entertainment of the Guests, Duet of the Sisters with the Oranges, Duet of the Prince and Cinderella, Amoroso, from Cinderella, Ballet Suite

Einojuhani Rautavaara - Marjatta, Lowly Maiden, a Finnish Mystery Play (concluding children's choral section)

Ottorino Respighi - The Hen (3rd movement) from The Birds

Franz Schubert - Sanctus (4th movement) from Mass No. 6

Franz Schubert - Scherzo (3rd movement) from Piano Quintet in A Major, "Trout"

Franz Schubert - Quartettsatz (Movement for String Quartet) in C minor, D. 703

Robert Schumann - Adagio espressivo (3rd movement) from Symphony No. 2

Robert Schumann - Finale: Allegro brillante from Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13

Dmitri Shostakovich - Winter, From Jewish Folk Poetry

Dmitri Shostakovich - Scene on the Moors, The Catastrophe Begins, The Voice of Truth, Water, and Lunch at Gonerilja, from King Lear, Incidental & Film Music

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, from The Nutcracker Suite

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Scherzo (2nd movement) from Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher, op. 42, for Violin and Orchestra (arranged by Glazunov)

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Mélodie (3rd movement) from Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher, op. 42, for Violin and Orchestra (arranged by Glazunov)

Antonio Vivaldi - Crucifixus etiam pro nobis (3rd movement) from Credo, RV 591

Antonio Vivaldi - Gloria in excelsis (1st movement) from Gloria, RV 589