However, each piece on this list is great for different reasons, and each is iconic either for the history of music, for society, or for a particular composer. Once you've listened to them all, you'll have barely scratched the surface. classical music.
All of these compositions are a good start to gaining deeper knowledge of music.
Some of them are very long and have several parts, so listen to at least one part of the whole piece.
Top 50 pieces of classical music
1.Beethoven, Symphony 5, Movement I - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IRMYuE1hI
2. Tchaikovsky, 1812 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BbT0E990IQ
3. Beethoven, Symphony 9, Movement IV (Ode to Joy) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kcOpyM9cBg
4. Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnuq9PXbywA
5. Orff, Carmina Burana - Fortune - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNWpZ-Y_KvU
6. Strauss, Blue Danube Waltz - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CTYymbbEL4
7. Verdi, Requiem - Dies Irae - https://youtu.be/up0t2ZDfX7E
8. Mozart, Requiem - Dies Irae - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1C-GXQ1LdY
9. Offenbach Orpheus in Hell - Infernal Gallop - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okQRnHvw3is
10. Beethoven, 7.th Symphony - Movement II - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgHxmAsINDk
11. Strauss, Thus spoke Zarathustra - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szdziw4tI9o
12. Bizet, Carmen - Chanson de Toreador - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRyNi9Qaq9w
13. Ravel Bolero - https://youtu.be/dZDiaRZy0Ak
14. Grieg, Peer Gynt - In the Hall of the Mountain King - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrIYT-MrVaI
15. Wagner, Ring of the Nibelung - Ride of the Valkyries - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGU1P6lBW6Q
16. Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet - Montagues and Capulets - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RFq7cOVDF0
17. Brahms, Hungarian Dance No. 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X9LvC9WkkQ
18. Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H25ocDrqGs
19. Beethoven, Symphony 5, Movement III - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYQ0Zaelmt0
20. Mozart, Requiem - Lacrimosa - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1-TrAvp_xs
21. Strauss Sr., Radetzky March - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eab_eFtTKFs
22. Khachaturian, Masquerade - Waltz - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpqwCUkysCs
23. Sour cream, My homeland - Moldavia rivers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdtLuyWuPDs
24. Dvorak Symphony 9, Movement IV - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoKMkDxIAts
25. Chopin, Revolutionary Etude - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk1JQk90UbY
26. Mahler, Symphony 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URKGIa0b_jI
27. Mozart, Requiem - Requiem Aeternam - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVnpVqokp5I
28. Vivaldi, Seasons - Winter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGdFHJXciAQ
29. Rosas, Above the Waves - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzCCQZFDkJk
30. Mussorgsky, Night on Bald Mountain - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCEDfZgDPS8
31. Mozart Symphony 40 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hJf4ZffkoI
32. Canvas, Planets - Mars, harbinger of war - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I
33. Beethoven, Symphony 9, Movement II - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BDlqlhcCIk
34. Chopin, Fantasia Improptu - https://youtu.be/Gus4dnQuiGk
35. Tchaikovsky, Slavic March - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5poSw7tFLB4
36. Verdi, Aida - Triumphal March - https://youtu.be/EkktfPo0Gqg
37. Shostakovich, second waltz - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmCnQDUSO4I
38. Grieg, Peer Gynt - Death to Ose - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aKxf1h5r4g
39. Mozart Symphony 25 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lC1lRz5Z_s
40. Pergolesi, Stabat Mater Dolorosa - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNt13Vw-K6Q
41. Verdi, Nabucco - Va Pensiero (Chorus of Jewish Slaves) - https://youtu.be/XttF0vg0MGo
42. Khachaturian, Saber Dance - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqg3l3r_DRI
43. Dvorak, Slavic dance 8 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrOosUb0shw
44. Fuchik, Exit of the Gladiators - https://youtu.be/_B0CyOAO8y0
45. Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tr0otuiQuU
46. Rossini, William Tell Overture - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7O91GDWGPU
47. Grieg, piano concerto - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKfGDqXEFkE
48. Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWerj8FcprM
49. Grieg, Peer Gynt - Morning. Mood - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCEzh3MwILY
50. Tchaikovsky, Waltz of the Flowers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg1dMpu4v7M
Russian classical music: Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin and others
Comments after listening to music
John Baptist
Russian music is certainly the greatest
Prudence Sidecafe
The continent produced a lot of wonderful music during this period, but personally I feel that it was the Russian composers who turned silver into gold.
Mauricio
Perhaps this is due to my visit to this beautiful and great country - Russia.
A miracle of musical works... great!!!
Mimi McLee
It's like a musical without words... I can hear the whole story... Wow, really wonderful!!!
Electro Mago
Wonderful Russian music, gliding between swimming swans, weapons of battle, Spanish castanets or Arabian balance; few nations have such famous composers with such versatility; with such strength and subtlety at the same time.
Raul poeta
Thank you, this is very close to alchemical happiness, pure existential magic
Musical selection “Top 100 in classical music”
This list of the main works of classical music was compiled by the Kultura.RF portal together with the Moscow State Philharmonic and the Yandex service.
It includes works by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky, Mikhail Glinka, Alexander Borodin, Sergei Rachmaninov, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and other famous Russian composers. Selected arias from operas, piano and violin concertos, symphonies, romances form the basis of the Russian musical culture. The list was supplemented by unique recordings of singers Ivan Kozlovsky and Sergei Lemeshev, as well as outstanding performers of the 20th century - Mstislav Rostropovich, David Oistrakh and Svyatoslav Richter. The total playing time of the selection exceeds 10 hours.
Top 200 pieces of classical music
List of the 200 best works of classical music. ever written.
100 musical compositions with which you need to start listening to classics
A program list of 100 works that will make you fall in love with the classics, compiled by music critic Ilya Ovchinnikov.
75 pieces of music with which you need to start listening to classics
Real masterpieces of classical music, with which you need to start getting acquainted with the world of classical music.
Brief information about some famous musical compositions
Ludwig van Beethoven. Symphony No. 5
Perhaps the most famous of all symphonies is Beethoven's classic. If you like this symphony, try listening to the other 8 symphonies composed by Beethoven.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. "Marriage of Figaro"
Perhaps the pinnacle of Mozart's work in opera, based on Beaumarchais's comedy "Crazy Day or The Marriage of Figaro", a magnificent cocktail of wonderful music and comic situations.
Ludwig van Beethoven. "Moonlight Sonata"
In the summer of 1801, the brilliant work of L.B. was published. Beethoven, who was destined to become famous throughout the world. The title of this work, “Moonlight Sonata,” is known to absolutely everyone, from old to young. But initially, the work had the title “Almost a Fantasy,” which the author dedicated to his young student, his beloved Juliet Guicciardi. And the name by which it is known to this day was invented by the music critic and poet Ludwig Relstab after the death of L.V. Beethoven. This work is one of the composer's most famous musical works.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. "Turkish March"
This work is the third movement of Sonata No. 11, it was born in 1783. Initially it was called “Turkish Rondo” and was very popular among Austrian musicians, who later renamed it. The name “Turkish March” was assigned to the work also because it is in tune with the Turkish Janissary orchestras, for which the sound of percussion is very characteristic, which can be seen in the “Turkish March” by V.A. Mozart.
Franz Schubert. "Ave Maria"
The composer himself wrote this work for the poem “The Virgin of the Lake” by W. Scott, or rather for its fragment, and did not intend to write such a deeply religious composition for the Church. Some time after the appearance of the work, no one famous musician, inspired by the prayer “Ave Maria,” set its text to the music of the brilliant F. Schubert.
Frederic Chopin. "Fantasy-impromptu"
F. Chopin, the genius of the Romantic period, dedicated this work to his friend. And it was he, Julian Fontana, who disobeyed the author’s instructions and published it in 1855, six years after the composer’s death. F. Chopin believed that his work was similar to the impromptu of I. Moscheles, a student of Beethoven, famous composer and a pianist, which was the reason for the refusal to release Fantasia-Impromptus. However, no one has ever considered this brilliant work to be plagiarism, except the author himself.
Johann Strauss (junior). "On the beautiful blue Danube" (The Blue Danube)
This elegant waltz has become the unofficial anthem of Austria (where Mozart is “our everything”), gracefully capturing the beauty of the big city of Vienna.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. "Flight of the Bumblebee"
Composer of this work was a fan of Russian folklore - he was interested in fairy tales. This led to the creation of the opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” based on the story by A.S. Pushkin. Part of this opera is the interlude “Flight of the Bumblebee”. Masterfully, incredibly vividly and brilliantly, N.A. imitated the flight sounds of this insect in the work. Rimsky-Korsakov.
Niccolo Paganini. "Caprice No. 24"
Initially, the author composed all his caprices solely to improve and hone his violin playing skills. Ultimately, they brought a lot of new and previously unknown things to violin music. And the 24th caprice - the last of the caprices composed by N. Paganini, carries a rapid tarantella with folk intonations, and is also recognized as one of the works ever created for the violin, which has no equal in complexity.
Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov. "Vocalise, Opus 34, No. 14"
This work concludes the composer’s 34th opus, which combines fourteen songs written for voice with piano accompaniment. Vocalise, as expected, does not contain words, but is performed on one vowel sound. S.V. Rachmaninov dedicated it to Antonina Nezhdanova - opera singer. Very often this work is performed on the violin or cello accompanied by piano accompaniment.
Claude Debussy. "Moonlight"
This work was written by the composer under the impression of the lines of a poem by the French poet Paul Verlaine. The title very clearly conveys the softness and touchingness of the melody, which affects the soul of the listener. This popular work by the brilliant composer C. Debussy is heard in 120 films of different generations.
Gioachino Rossini "The Barber of Seville"
A wonderful comic opera from the great Italian composer. Rossini used the famous overture from this opera in two of his other operas.
Richard Wagner. "Siegfried Idyll"
A symphonic piece created as a birthday gift for his wife and named after his newborn son, who was named after the hero of the opera Siegfried. The main theme of this play is taken from the opera "Siegfried" from the cycle "Ring of the Nibelung".
Hector Berlioz. "Fantastic Symphony" (Symphonie Fantastique)
The greatest contribution of the French composer Hector Berlioz to orchestral music,
"Fantastic Symphony" is a surprisingly colorful and expressive work.
Robert Schumann. "The Poet's Love" (Dichterliebe)
One of the greatest song cycles for piano and voice.
A set of 16 poems by Heinrich Heine, set to music by Schumann, revives in the heart hope and pride in the wonderful ability and destiny of man - to love!
Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich. Symphony No. 10
After Stalin's death in 1953, Shostakovich, after a long period of forced creative restriction, was finally able to freely create an epoch-making work.
The result was one of the great symphonies of the 20th century, in which the composer summed up the era of Stalinism and is considered to have created a unique musical portrait Stalin.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Symphony No. 6
Tchaikovsky's final work is a masterpiece of emotional anguish.
It seems that such deep scenes of spiritual life, despair and hopelessness have never been expressed in music with such incomparable talent and beauty.
Johannes Brahms. Concerto for violin and cello and orchestra
In the history of music, not many concertos have been created for violin and cello, and the brightest among them is Brahms’ Double Concerto, which incorporates the best features of his symphonic and chamber works. The concert is full of beautiful melodies and, despite all the outward restraint, is unusually emotional.
Antonio Vivaldi. "Seasons"
One of the most popular works of classical music, known to almost everyone. Four seasons - four violin concertos, each better than the other.
Georges Bizet. "Carmen"
Overture, habanera, Toreador couplets, seguidilla, “Gypsy Dance” - hits in this work follow with such frequency that no other great opera can boast. One can only envy those who have not heard them yet.
Richard Strauss "Don Juan"
This symphonic poem is one of the greatest masterpieces of all creative biography composer. From the pen of Strauss comes a character of astonishing brightness - a portrait of Don Juan. Four horns intone the theme in unison against the backdrop of excitedly tremulous violins, and it sounds like a bold and captivating challenge.
Giuseppe Verdi. "La Traviata"
“Don Giovanni”, “Carmen” and “La Traviata” are one of the three best operas in the world. The charm of La Traviata is impossible to resist, even if you are indifferent to Italian opera: the music is so delightful. Famous story love that is born and dies before our eyes.
Gustav Holst Suite "The Planets"
Monumental musical composition, dedicated to the planets of the solar system and the gods of the same name.
The suite describes seven planets, the composer missed Earth, and Pluto had not yet been discovered, and now it is no longer a planet.
50 classical masterpieces on Yandex.Music
"Of the pleasures of life, music is second only to love; But love is also a melody". A.S. Pushkin "The Stone Guest"
Classical music
Classical music- This....? No, you are not reading a music history textbook. Everyone here knows what it is, otherwise you wouldn’t have come to this section with the opportunity to download classical music to your computer or listen to classical music online for free directly on the website.
Stereotypes about classical music
When the words “classical works” are mentioned, each of us will imagine our own images. For some, beautiful classical music is certainly associated with Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” and the opening chords of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. For others, it’s Paganini’s caprices or Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March.” Arias and romances, operas and operettas, symphonies, quartets, and this is not a complete list of the genres that come to mind when we talk about classics.
However, the majority of listeners participating in surveys to determine their favorite type of music prefer other types of music. Only a small percentage of respondents will give an answer in favor of classical music. Based on this, there is a common opinion that this music is “elite” - high music, that it is accessible to a few, or even that it is music for highbrow intellectuals and snobs.
What is this opinion based on? On what facts? Or is this rather a consequence of the emotional reaction of people who did not delve into the essence of the matter, but simply accepted the opinions of others as a given? Acceptance of stereotypes leads to rejection and reluctance to become more familiar with this broad and important, perhaps the most important of all musical movements. All this is reminiscent of an episode that happened in a restaurant, when a guest, not having had time to fully taste the ordered dish, already calls the chef to express his complaints to him.
Before we truly recognize the essence of a thing, we have already formed our own opinion regarding it or we have borrowed it. Why do people use stereotypes that lead to such widespread beliefs that classical music cannot be understood without special education, or that it is boring and that it would be better to listen to something easy and not waste time trying to understand the real possibilities of classical music, what a rich can she offer a choice to everyone, for every taste and for every mood?
Classical music as a basis for other styles and directions
In order to understand the essence, you just need to open up to the music, discarding preliminary conclusions made about it, clear your mind of previously perceived ideas, the roots of which you can no longer find, and hear what is there. Classical music has a lot to offer, because over the centuries its rich repertoire has been formed, consisting of instrumental and vocal works, solo and ensemble music, from a variety of styles and genres, complemented by the technical and stylistic individuality of various composers.
It was she who laid the foundation for the development of modern music, from which such trends as minimalism, popular music and even electronic and many others grew. Yes, but how could it be otherwise? It couldn't have been any other way. We just have to trace the historical chain of development of music, and then all of the above becomes obvious.
As long as classical music has existed, it has been honing its means and stylistic devices. It would be surprising if other musical movements, newer ones that appeared much later, did not take advantage of the arsenal of means that the classics have at their disposal. She, like a kind parent, gives everything she has so that the younger generation can take advantage of the fruits and create something new and unique from them.
Listen to classical music online
Listen to classical music for the soul
Why think that to listen to classics you need to try to understand something, make some effort? They are not needed at all! Music itself will reveal itself to you through sounds, images and states. She is just waiting for this, she wants to be heard. The section of the site contains a collection of classical music with its best examples, from baroque compositions by Vivaldi and Bach to concerts by Beethoven, as well as works by romantic and impressionist composers.
In this selection, calm classical music is represented by compositions written in different eras and marked by stylistic diversity: the philosophical music of Brahms and Beethoven side by side with the pure serenity of Mozart’s piano concertos or the pleasantly relaxing melancholicity of Chopin’s nocturnes, the nostalgic-spatial Rachmaninoff opuses will remind those living in distant lands of their native spaces, and the impressionistically shaky play of colors in Debussy’s music will open up to you in "Moonlight" and the piano prelude "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair".
Schumann's miniature, 3-minute masterpiece "Träumerei" will open the door to the Universe of dreams and classical music, which you can listen to again and again, surrendering to your dreams and letting the music gently, like a fluffy cloud, envelop your consciousness. Fairy-enchantress, never before has classical music online been presented by those chosen by the delicate taste of a connoisseur best examples works of various historical eras, helping to create a mood and thereby have a beneficial effect on your psyche.
(estimates: 51
, average: 3,98
out of 5)
In Russia, literature has its own direction, different from any other. The Russian soul is mysterious and incomprehensible. The genre reflects both Europe and Asia, which is why the best classical Russian works are extraordinary, striking in their soulfulness and vitality.
Main actor- soul. For a person, his position in society, the amount of money is not important, it is important for him to find himself and his place in this life, to find the truth and peace of mind.
The books of Russian literature are united by the features of a writer who has the gift of the great Word, who has completely devoted himself to this art of literature. The best classics saw life not flatly, but multifacetedly. They wrote about life not of random destinies, but of those expressing existence in its most unique manifestations.
Russian classics are so different, with different destinies, but what unites them is that literature is recognized as a school of life, a way of studying and developing Russia.
Russian classical literature was created by the best writers from different parts of Russia. It is very important where the author was born, because this determines his formation as a person, his development, and it also affects writing skills. Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky were born in Moscow, Chernyshevsky in Saratov, Shchedrin in Tver. Poltava region in Ukraine is the birthplace of Gogol, Podolsk province - Nekrasov, Taganrog - Chekhov.
The three great classics, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Dostoevsky, were absolutely not similar friend different people, had different destinies, complex characters and great talents. They made a huge contribution to the development of literature, writing their best works, which still excite the hearts and souls of readers. Everyone should read these books.
Another important difference between the books of Russian classics is that they ridicule the shortcomings of a person and his way of life. Satire and humor are the main features of the works. However, many critics said that this was all slander. And only true connoisseurs saw how the characters are both comical and tragic at the same time. Such books always touch the soul.
Here you can find the best works classical literature. You can download books of Russian classics for free or read them online, which is very convenient. 
We present to your attention 100 best books Russian classics. IN full list The books included the best and most memorable works of Russian writers. This literature known to everyone and recognized by critics from all over the world.
Of course, our list of top 100 books is just a small part that brings together best works great classics. It can be continued for a very long time.
A hundred books that everyone should read in order to understand not only how they used to live, what were the values, traditions, priorities in life, what they were striving for, but to find out in general how our world works, how bright and pure the soul can be and how valuable it is for a person, for the development of his personality.
The top 100 list includes the best and most famous works of Russian classics. The plot of many of them is known from school. However, some books are difficult to understand at a young age and require wisdom that is acquired over the years.
Of course, the list is far from complete; it can be continued endlessly. Reading such literature is a pleasure. She doesn’t just teach something, she radically changes lives, helps us understand simple things that we sometimes don’t even notice.
We hope you liked our list of classic books of Russian literature. You may have already read some of it, and some not. A great reason to make your own personal list of books, your top ones that you would like to read.
Concertos for soloists and orchestra
Each part of this list is accompanied by a playlist with all the works mentioned in it
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg concerts
A simultaneously large-scale and compact cycle of six chapters ranging from ten to twenty minutes in length. Six completely different concerts, united by Bach's pure joy of life, each of which became the first of its kind: for example, the Fifth Brandenburg - the first ever concert for clavier and orchestra.
Alban Berg
"In Memory of an Angel"
If the opera Wozzeck is one of the highest achievements of the new Viennese school in the field of musical drama, then the Violin Concerto is a masterpiece of lyrical expression. It will not leave you indifferent, although there are no memorable melodies; but the finale of the concert is based on a quote from Bach, organically woven into the fabric of the work.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto for violin and orchestra
Forget everything you've heard about the heaviness of Beethoven's symphonies - this concert seems to speak to you personally, and there is not a penny in it. If you get bored in the middle, you will be rewarded in the finale: it will give you such a beautiful and sad melody that you can hardly restrain yourself from grateful tears. One of the greatest violin concertos in the world.
Johannes Brahms
Concerto for violin and cello and orchestra
If there are not as many concertos for cello and orchestra created as for violin or piano, then there are even fewer concertos for violin and cello, and the more valuable each one is. The brightest among them is Brahms' Double Concerto, which incorporates the best features of his symphonic and chamber works. Full of the most beautiful melodies and, despite all the outward restraint, unusually emotional.
Antonio Vivaldi
"Seasons"
One of the most popular works of classical music, an absolute hit, known to everyone. Four seasons - four violin concertos, each better than the other.
George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blues
The first successful attempt to cross classical and jazz, which gave rise to more than one new direction and yet remained unique.
Antonin Dvorak
Concerto for cello and orchestra
One of the first large-scale works with cello in leading role, where the harmony and sophistication of the composition are combined with the incredible accessibility of melodies that fall on the ear without any effort.
Felix Mendelssohn
Concerto for violin and orchestra in E minor
Everyone knows the wedding march from A Midsummer Night's Dream, although it is by no means Mendelssohn's main composition. He owns excellent Italian and Scottish symphonies, beautiful trios, quartets and oratorios, as well as the Violin Concerto: no less important than Beethoven’s, but much more intelligible.
Sergei Rachmaninov
Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 3
The music of Rachmaninoff and Mahler do not have much in common, but it was Mahler who conducted one of the first performances of the concerto. Although the Third Concerto initially remained in the shadow of the famous Second, it also ranks among the highest achievements of the genre and is one of the most serious tests for participants in piano competitions. And its main theme is one of the best melodies in all musical literature.
Jean Sibelius
Concerto for violin and orchestra
TO end of the 19th century century, the primacy of the Austro-German tradition in music was called into question: one after another, new national schools declared themselves - Hungarian, Czech, Polish. The founder of another, Finnish, one of the most advanced in the world today, was Sibelius, whose concert is unlike any other and yet hits the heart.
Opera: from Monteverdi to Bizet and masterpieces of the 20th century
Georges Bizet
"Carmen"
It's hard to believe that the premiere of Carmen was not a success: the hits here follow one another with such density that no other great opera can boast of. Overture, habanera, Toreador couplets, seguidilla, "Gypsy Dance" - just to name a few. One can only envy those who have not heard them yet.
Richard Wagner
"Tannhäuser"
You probably shuddered as a child at the sounds of “Ride of the Valkyries” and heard a lot of unpleasant things about Wagner. Try to make up about his music own opinion; If Wagner's operas are too long for you, the orchestral fragments will suffice as a starting point. The incredibly beautiful overture from the opera “Tannhäuser” is a valuable masterpiece in its own right, which you will surely enjoy, regardless of your sympathy for the socio-political views of the author.
Giuseppe Verdi
"La Traviata"
“Don Giovanni”, “Carmen” and “La Traviata” are one of the three best operas in the world. The charm of La Traviata is impossible to resist, even if you are indifferent to Italian opera: the music is so delightful - bright and at the same time permeated with a foreboding of disaster. A famous love story that is born and dies before our eyes.
Claudio Monteverdi
"Orpheus"
It makes no sense to place any of Monteverdi’s three operas on any list of the best operas: this Italian genius, who actually founded opera as a genre, is so original. Start with “Orpheus,” especially since the toccata that opens it sounds from everywhere and is probably familiar to you: you won’t be able to tear yourself away.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
"Don Juan"
Opera of operas, the main one for all times and peoples. No other great opera has maintained such a balance between the tragic and the comic, the high and the low, the will to life and the inevitability of death. As Svyatoslav Richter said, “Così fan tutte” is a greater mysticism than “Don Juan”. There, it’s all the statue’s fault that it came to life... But here it’s the woman’s fault that she was born in the first place.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“This is what all women do” (“Così fan tutte”)
The middle-aged cynic Don Alfonso undertakes to prove to two young men that the fidelity of their brides is a relative concept. The guys supposedly go to war, return in the guise of foreigners in love, and each courtes the other’s bride. The girls, not without pleasure, submit to their new fate and get married, but then the real suitors return. Two weddings decide to go ahead, although no one looks happy. The opera is about the fact that women are more mysterious and unpredictable than men.
Leos Janacek
"The Adventures of a Trickster Fox"
According to the writer Milan Kundera, Janáček accomplished a feat by opening up the world of prose to opera. Indeed, Janáček’s melodies are based on human speech in all the fullness of its psychological nuances. "The Adventures of a Trickster Fox" is the most lyric opera Czech composer, which tells about the coexistence of two worlds - the world of people and the world of animals - and calls for their rapprochement.
Alban Berg
"Wozzeck"
Music unlike anything you've heard before. On the second or third try, you will discover that the language of this opera about a mad soldier is not so strange: the composer simply does not compose melodies, but bases the music on the natural intonations of human speech. The difference with Janacek, according to Kundera, is obvious: “ German Expressionism characterized by a preferential attitude towards excess mental states, delirium, madness. Janacek’s expressionism is a rich fan of emotions, a close opposition of tenderness and rudeness, rage and calm.”
Kurt Weill
"The Threepenny Opera"
The composition, which formally belongs to the classics of the 20th century, was sold out into hits, covered dozens of times, starting with the brilliant “Macky Knife” - one of the melodic symbols of the century. Although Weill is a major innovator in the field of academic music, no composer of his generation has received such attention from pop and rock performers.
Igor Stravinsky
"Oedipus the King"
The dissimilar “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring” still do not seem to be the works of two different authors, while in the opera-oratorio “Oedipus Rex” you certainly will not recognize the creator of “Petrushka”. It is no coincidence that Stravinsky was called a chameleon and a man of 1001 styles. In "Oedipus" they sing in Latin, and the music - perhaps Stravinsky's most beautiful - goes back to the late Baroque: no Russian archaism, no pancakes.
Dmitry Shostakovich
"Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk"
The main themes of one of the key operas of the twentieth century were sex and violence; that is why, shortly after its triumphant premiere in 1934, it was officially banned by Stalin himself in 1936. Pay special attention to the dancing of the guests in the third act and the singing of the convicts in the fourth - once you hear it, it is no longer possible to forget it.
Richard Strauss
"Electra"
The opera is based on the story of the death of King Agamemnon, who was killed by his wife and her lover. The king's daughter hates her mother and lives in hope of retribution. Driven by noble motives, the heroine feels like an instrument in the hand of God, and this obsession turns her into a monster. At the very first moment of such a gloomy story, the orchestra unleashes music so hopeless on the listeners that the hair stands on end. The opera, which runs for almost two hours without an intermission, is like a grandiose symphony that you cannot tear yourself away from.
Solo. Piano and violin
Charles Ives
"Sonata "Concord"
More than a sonata, a whole study on the topic: can music express anything beyond what it sounds? One of the most important piano works of the 20th century remained unfinished only because the author himself decided so: “The sonata seems unfinished to me every time I play it. Perhaps I will not deny myself the pleasure of not finishing it at all.” The sonata is imbued with Beethoven’s “theme of fate,” either restoring order in the midst of chaos or turning the narrative 180 degrees.
Johann Sebastian Bach
“The Well-Tempered Clavier” (HTK)
Probably the most perfect work in the history of music: two cycles of 24 preludes and fugues in all existing keys are like two colossal Gothic cathedrals, each more beautiful than the other. The first Prelude in C major can be played by almost anyone on the piano; however, the cycle gradually becomes more complex. And everything gets more interesting.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Sonatas and partitas for solo violin
Isn't it boring to listen to a lonely violin for a long time? Not at all - she can do much more than we can imagine. At the very least, Bach strives to fully embrace its possibilities. The pearl of the cycle is the famous chaconne, more piercing than which there is no music in the world.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 14
Among Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, "Moonlight" may not be the best, but it is certainly the most famous; it was quoted by many - from Shostakovich to The Beatles. Few works in the world have outgrown their boundaries to such an extent, becoming a symbol of unrequited love.
Claude Debussy
Preludes
A condensed encyclopedia of the great composer's work, a bizarre combination of romanticism and impressionism, long traditions of piano music and paradoxes of the 20th century. The titles of each prelude are placed not at the beginning, but at the end of the notes, as if asking the listener riddles, checking whether he correctly grasped the mood of the piece, be it “Sails”, “Steps in the Snow”, “Mists” or “Fireworks”.
Olivier Messiaen
"Twenty Views of the Baby Jesus"
One of Messiaen’s main opuses, even in the year of his centenary, was more often played in fragments than in its entirety: this cycle requires too much dedication. The largest piano work of the era, with which only Shostakovich’s 24 preludes and fugues can be compared, is a creation atypical for the mid-twentieth century: where is the irony and reflection, where is the rigor and calculation? This is a grandiose prayer, two and a quarter hours of mostly major music with numerous repetitions.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Sonata No. 11
The well-known Turkish Rondo is in fact not an independent piece, but the finale of one of Mozart’s sonatas, the other parts of which are no less delightful. Like, in fact, Mozart’s other piano sonatas, not to mention his “Fantasies”.
Modest Mussorgsky
"Pictures at an Exhibition"
This cycle is best known for its orchestration by Maurice Ravel, which is perceived today as a brilliant, but very pop hit. Listen to the original version of "Pictures", originally written for piano: you will be shocked by how unusual and not at all a hit music it is.
Niccolo Paganini
24 caprices for solo violin
A new word in discovering the possibilities of the violin and violinists, which has remained a test of virtuosity for the third century. The last, twenty-fourth caprice is better known than others - a short but brilliant theme, variations on which many great composers wrote.
Erik Satie
Gymnopedies and other works for piano
Although Satie is a composer of the 20th century, many of his works appeared in the previous century: in 1888, gymnopedies were written that anticipated the genre of listening easy. Satie also had the idea of music as an unobtrusive background - today there is nowhere to escape from it, but a hundred years ago it was new.
Frederic Chopin
24 preludes for piano
An encyclopedia of musical romanticism and at the same time a motley kaleidoscope of genres: elegy, mazurka, march, song without words and much more. The main means of expressiveness that attracts the listener’s attention is the contrast of major and minor in each adjacent pair of preludes.
Robert Schumann
"Kreysleriana"
A cycle of fantasy plays, the name of which was given by the image of Johannes Kreisler, a crazy bandmaster invented by Hoffmann, frightening those around him with his devotion to music. One of best essays Schumann, the most romantic composer who ever lived.
Masterpieces of vocal music
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantatas
In addition to the magnificent “Passion” and the Mass in B minor, Bach wrote over two hundred cantatas. Even more than this entire list, they deserve the words “ The best music in the world". You'll fill up a playlist for months to come if you decide to listen to them all one by one. Since it is impossible to single out the best from the best, we will note three: “Heaven rejoices, earth rejoices” (BWV 31) with a magnificent trumpet solo in the finale, “Who will believe and be baptized” (BWV 37) with the wonderful aria “Faith gives us wings for the soul” and the most famous is probably “I’ve had enough” (BWV 82).
Luciano Berio
Folk songs
A truly universal composition; Berio, the most prominent avant-garde artist of the second half of the twentieth century, processed a number of original songs from Europe and Asia, adding a couple of his own to them. A listener who is far from the avant-garde will be glad that avant-garde artists also have works that seem simple and understandable.
Benjamin Britten
War Requiem
Unusual composition: two orchestras with two conductors, two choirs, three soloists and an organ. A tenor, baritone and chamber orchestra are responsible for the “military” part of the requiem, which is based on the poems of a poet who died in the First World War. A symphony orchestra, choir and soprano perform the traditional parts of the requiem from "Requiem æternam" and "Dies irae" to "Agnus Dei" and "Libera me". An amazing result, unlike both the funeral masses of previous eras and the unconventional requiems of the twentieth century.
Antonio Vivaldi
Arias from operas
You should listen at least to know: “The Seasons” is not the only and, perhaps, not even the best work of Vivaldi. At the very least, a collection of his arias performed by Magdalena Kozena will make you forget about the evergreen hit for a while.
Valery Gavrilin
“Russian notebook. German notebooks"
The “Russian Notebook” reflected the experience of Gavrilin the folklorist, and this deeply national work is an analogue of the great cycles of Schubert and Schumann. But with what can we compare “German Notebooks”, written on Heine’s poems - the most Schumannian material? How to explain the appearance of such a wonderful cycle as “The First German Notebook” by a second-year student from whom the professor, under the threat of a bad mark, demands “something vocal”? Probably only by miracle.
George Frideric Handel
"Messiah"
On the eve of religious holidays, “Messiah” is performed all over the world; A true story about one orchestra member is connected with this. To the question “What happened to you?” he replied: “I had a nightmare! I dreamed that I was playing “Messiah” again! Moreover, when I woke up, it turned out to be true!” The best performances of “Messiah” have nothing in common with this reality; it is truly divine music. Having completed Messiah in three weeks, Handel said: “I thought that the sky had opened and I saw the Creator.”
Gustav Mahler
Songs about dead children
One of the most terrible compositions in the history of music: whether we believe in fate or not, however, shortly after the creation of this vocal cycle, Mahler lost his beloved daughter. Five incredibly beautiful and inexpressibly sad songs.
Gustav Mahler
"Song of the Earth"
The first symphony, where they sing from beginning to end, and the large orchestra sounds chamber-like - so that all the instruments can be heard. The author considered the last part - “Farewell” - suicidal, but I want to return to it again and again.
Olivier Messiaen
Three Little Liturgies of the Divine Presence
Catholicism, the study of the language of birds and attention to non-European cultures - these are the features that make up Messiaen’s work, a separate direction in the music of the twentieth century. Although Messiaen's language is unlike anyone else's, his music is unusually infectious: listen to the liturgies at least once and you will find yourself humming them.
Alfred Schnittke
"The Story of Doctor Johann Faust"
Schnittke’s cantata has nothing in common with Goethe’s “Faust”: it is based on the “People’s Book of Faust” of the 16th century. A brilliant find - Mephistopheles, appearing in two guises: the seducing devil (countertenor), the mocking and punishing devil (contralto). Although Alla Pugacheva’s planned participation in the Moscow premiere was cancelled, mounted police were on duty outside the hall. The hero's humiliation reaches its peak in a rollicking tango with saxophones, unexpectedly invading the harsh music.
Dmitry Shostakovich
Symphony No. 14
Although Shostakovich's penultimate symphony is dedicated to Britten, it is more closely associated with Mahler. Essentially a continuation of his Song of the Earth, a cantata symphony with two singers is entirely dedicated to death. Even among Shostakovich's gloomy symphonies, this one in particular is full of depression and a sense of loneliness. The two voices unite only to sing in the finale: “Death is sovereign. She is on guard and in a happy hour.”
Franz Schubert
"Winter Retreat"
The pinnacle of world vocal music: 24 songs united by a common bitter mood and gloomy images of nature. The final one, “The Organ Grinder,” is one of Schubert’s most hopeless songs (and he has about 600 of them!): a melancholy melody sounds against the backdrop of the dull, monotonous sounds of an organ grinder.
Great symphonies
Hector Berlioz
Fantastic Symphony
One of the first - perhaps the most striking - examples of program music: that is, music that is preceded by a specific scenario. The story of Berlioz's unrequited love for the Irish actress Harriet Smithson formed the basis of a masterpiece, which includes "Reverie", and "Ball", and "Scene in the Fields", and "Procession to Execution", and even "Dream on the Night of the Sabbath".
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7
Of Beethoven's three most famous symphonies, it is better to start neither with the Fifth with its "theme of fate" nor with the Ninth with its finale "Embrace, Millions." In the Seventh there is much less pathos and more humor, and the brilliant second part is familiar even to listeners who are far from the classics from the arrangement of the Deep Purple group.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 3
Brahms's first symphony was called Beethoven's Tenth Symphony, referring to the continuity of tradition. But if Beethoven's nine symphonies are unequal, then each of Brahms' four symphonies is a masterpiece. The pompous beginning of the Third is just a bright cover for a deeply lyrical statement, reaching its climax in an unforgettable allegretto.
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 7
Mahler is considered Bruckner's successor; Compared to his rollercoaster-like canvases, Bruckner's symphonies can seem a little boring - especially their endless adagios. However, each adagio is followed by an exciting scherzo, and the Seventh Symphony will not let you get bored from the very first movement, thoughtful and drawn-out. No less good are the finale, scherzo and dedicated to memory Wagner Adagio.
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 45 “Farewell”
It seems impossible to write simpler than Haydn, but this deceptive simplicity lies the main secret of his mastery. Of his one hundred and four symphonies, only eleven were written in a minor key, and the best among them is “Farewell,” at the end of which the musicians leave the stage one by one. It was from Haydn that the group Nautilus Pompilius borrowed this technique to perform the song “Goodbye, America.”
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 90
Compared to the impetuous Farewell, Haydn's later symphonies are much more balanced and positive. They are full of special warmth, artless beauty and harmony. And, of course, humor: the last part of the symphony is crowned with a “false” ending, which even the sophisticated audience takes for the real one and begins to applaud while the orchestra is still playing.
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
While collecting material for the symphony, Dvorak studied the national music of America, but did without quoting, trying primarily to embody its spirit. The symphony in many ways goes back to both Brahms and Beethoven, but is devoid of the pomposity inherent in their opuses.
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 5
Mahler's two best symphonies seem similar to each other only at first. The confusion of the first movements of the Fifth leads to a textbook adagietto, full of languor, repeatedly used in cinema and theater. And the ominous fanfare of the introduction is met by a completely traditional optimistic ending.
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 6
Who would have thought that Mahler's next symphony would represent the darkest and most hopeless music in the world! The composer seems to be mourning all of humanity: such a mood is established from the very first notes and only worsens towards the finale, which does not contain a ray of hope. Not for the faint of heart.
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 7
The trilogy ends with a mystery symphony. It is generally considered inconvenient to perform and perceive, although it is a real celebration of music: if in the rest of Mahler’s symphonies you still look for conflict, willy-nilly, it is almost impossible to find it here. One can only guess why between the outer movements of the Seventh there is, as it were, another internal symphony of two octurnes and a central scherzo.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 25
Among Mozart’s forty-odd symphonies, only two were written in a minor key, and in the same key: G minor unites whole line his key works. The Twenty-Fifth and the Forty are separated by fifteen years, in the case of Mozart - almost half his life. Both are equally sad, but while the Fortieth unfolds thoughtfully and leisurely, the Twenty-Fifth comes at you with all the speed of the Sturm und Drang era.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 40
Another super hit, the beginning of which causes involuntary irritation. Try to tune your ears as if you are hearing the Fortieth for the first time (even better if you are): this will help you experience the brilliant, although completely hackneyed, first part and know that it is followed by no less wonderful second, third and fourth.
Sergei Prokofiev
Classical symphony
Prokofiev explained the name of the symphony this way: “Out of mischief, to tease the geese, and in the secret hope that ... I will beat it if over time the symphony turns out to be such a classic.” After a series of daring compositions that excited the public, Prokofiev composed a symphony in the spirit of Haydn; it became a classic almost immediately, although his other symphonies have nothing in common with it.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 5
Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony is not as popular as his ballets, although its melodic potential is no less; Any two or three minutes of it could be turned into a hit by, for example, Paul McCartney. If you want to understand what a symphony is, listen to Tchaikovsky’s Fifth, one of the best and most complete examples of the genre.
Dmitry Shostakovich
Symphony No. 5
In 1936, Shostakovich was defamed at the state level. In response, calling on the shadows of Bach, Beethoven, Mahler and Mussorgsky for help, the composer created a work that became a classic at the time of its premiere. According to legend, Boris Pasternak said about the symphony and its author: “He said everything he wanted - and he didn’t have anything for it.”
Dmitry Shostakovich
Symphony No. 7
One of the musical symbols of the twentieth century and certainly the main musical symbol of the Second World War. A subtle drum roll begins the famous “invasion theme,” illustrating not only fascism or Stalinism, but any historical era, the basis of which is violence.
Franz Schubert.** Unfinished Symphony
The Eighth Symphony is called the Unfinished Symphony - instead of four movements there are only two; however, they are so rich and strong that they are perceived as a complete whole. Having stopped work on the work, the composer did not touch it again.
Bela Bartok.
Concerto for orchestra
Bartok is known primarily as the author of countless plays for music schools. The fact that this is not all Bartok is evidenced by his concert, where parody is accompanied by severity, and sophisticated technique is accompanied by cheerful folk melodies. In fact, it is Bartók’s farewell symphony, as is Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances.”
Sergei Rachmaninov
"Symphonic Dances"
Rachmaninov's last opus is a masterpiece of unprecedented power. The beginning seems to warn of an earthquake - it is both a harbinger of the horrors of war and an awareness of the end of the romantic era in music. Rachmaninov called “Dances” his best and favorite composition.
Chamber Music Treasures
Johannes Brahms
Sonata for violin and piano No. 3
A chamber ensemble is one of the most subtle types of music making: a violin sonata, piano trio or string quartet can often express much more than a ballet or symphony. A synonym for chamber music is the name of Brahms, whose every chamber composition is a masterpiece. Including this sonata, the unforgettable beginning of which is born from a phrase, as if interrupted mid-sentence.
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 11 “Serioso”
Beethoven's late quartets are one of the pinnacles of chamber music. Before this, the composer had not written them for almost fifteen years, taking a pause after the brilliant quartet in F minor with the subtitle “Serioso” - “Serious”. Despite its brevity, it is incredibly rich in ideas and changes of mood, especially the fast part, the intonation of which constantly rushes between interrogative and affirmative.
Johannes Brahms.
Quartet for piano, violin, viola and cello No. 1
Another gem, where each of the chapters is full of surprises, especially the last two: isn’t that jubilant march in the middle of the lyrical part surprising? Doesn't the final "Rondo in the Hungarian style" leave any of the "Hungarian Dances" far behind? The quartet was created by Brahms long before his First Symphony, but the four instruments were given such a wealth of melodies and harmonies that it would be enough for an entire orchestra.
Antonin Dvorak
Quintet for piano, two violins, viola and cello No. 2
Dvorak's second quintet was created in 1887, a quarter of a century after Brahms' quartet. Another one late romantic essay, even more contrasting and even more densely flavored with Eastern European motifs - there is a place for both Ukrainian duma and Bohemian dances. There are three main characters here: the cello and viola, whose solos open the first and second movements, as well as the piano, which connects the fabric of the quintet with invisible threads.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata for violin and piano No. 21
The saddest music in the world.
Cesar Frank
Sonata for violin and piano
One of the best violin sonatas ever written is a completely romantic composition, striving with all its might to go beyond the boundaries of romanticism. Without a doubt, you will remember the amazingly beautiful first phrase the first time, and not only that.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
"In memory of the great artist"
For many, Tchaikovsky is “The Nutcracker”, “Sleeping Beauty”, First Piano Concerto. The trio “In Memory of the Great Artist” has nothing in common with these works - a tragic, deeply intimate statement, devoid of any heaviness or pomp. You've never heard Tchaikovsky like this before.
Dmitry Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 8
The title “In Memory of the Victims of Fascism and War” is only a cover for the real title that Shostakovich had in mind: “In Memory of the Author of this Quartet.” Not at all last essay The composer nevertheless became his monument to himself: a mournful epitaph, layered with quotations from Shostakovich’s best works.
Franz Schubert
Piano trio No. 2
Schubert's chamber works are no less expressive and soulful than his vocal ones. An example of this is the trio for piano, violin and cello: the main theme of its second movement is remembered the first time and for the rest of your life, check it out.
Classics of the 20th century
Charles Ives
"The Unanswered Question"
A small masterpiece is the key to all the music of the twentieth century: strings play one thing, flutes another, trumpet another. There is no memorable melody, but it sounds beautiful and bewitching.
Arnold Schoenberg
Serenade
Another example, along with “Wozzeck,” of “dodecaphony with a human face.” Although hardly anyone will be able to sing a few bars of the serenade, it is full of drive and humor: among the instruments are a guitar and a mandolin, giving the chilly sound of the ensemble some informality and even nationality.
Arnold Schoenberg
"Lunar Pierrot"
If the serenade is an example of a strict, established style, then Pierrot Lunaire is only his search: Schoenberg had not yet discovered dodecaphony, but had already abandoned tonality, major and minor. To the accompaniment of a small ensemble, a vocal part sounds in the manner of speech singing - halfway between singing and excited human speech. One of the most revolutionary works of the twentieth century.
Pierre Boulez
"A Hammer without a Master"
The musician who created the master recordings of Schoenberg's works responded to his death with an article with the provocative title "Schoenberg is Dead." And three years later, “The Hammer without a Master” appeared for voice and ensemble, a kind of “Pierrot Lunaire” of the second half of the twentieth century. Stravinsky, who defined Pierrot Lunaire as the solar plexus new music, would later without hesitation call “The Hammer Without a Master” the best modern composition, sounding "like ice cubes clinking as they collide in a glass."
Claude Debussy
"Afternoon of a Faun"
The day of the composition's premiere - December 22, 1894 - became the birthday of musical impressionism. “Faun” begins with an unforgettable flute solo that opened new horizons in world music.
Zoltan Kodaly
"Dancing from Galanta"
A spectacular piece based on authentic folk melodies, where slow tempos are replaced by such fast ones that it takes your breath away. This change of pace - characteristic feature Verbunkos, a Hungarian dance performed at recruitment points and at the farewell to the army. Fifteen minutes of pure joy.
Darius Milhaud
"World creation"
The French composers of the Six offered a European version of what Gershwin had accomplished: combining the classical tradition with jazz and big-city sounds, turning to simple forms and catchy melodies. Milhaud was especially successful with his ballets Bull on the Roof and The Creation of the World. “What, this is also a classic!?” - you ask. Absolutely yes.
Arthur Honegger
"Pacific 231"
Another musical symbol of the twentieth century in general and technological progress in particular. Having finished the energetic orchestral piece, the author, as a joke, gave it the name of the most powerful steam locomotive in the world. The public took the joke seriously, hearing in Pacifica a sound portrait of a steam locomotive accelerating, humming, and then braking; excellent music that gives a lot of scope to the imagination.
Krzysztof Penderecki
"Cry for the victims of Hiroshima"
The play, like Pacific 231, was made famous primarily by its title. Written in the most advanced language for the mid-twentieth century, the score was not successful under its original name “8.37”, but under the new name it became very popular, although not a single note was changed. As positive as “Pacific” is, “Crying” is just as depressive, although you should definitely get to know it.
Sergei Prokofiev
"Romeo and Juliet"
The best of the musical incarnations of Shakespeare's tragedy, numbering several hits - first of all, the well-known theme “Dance of the Knights” (popular under the name “Montagues and Capulets”). It's amazing that Grand Theatre, who commissioned the ballet, initially rejected it, considering the music unscenic and unthinkable for the theater.
Maurice Ravel
"Bolero"
The drum roll and the flute play a deceptively simple theme, which is gradually picked up by other instruments in the orchestra. It seems like a simple scheme, but the listener will still be left with his mouth open, even if he knows “Bolero” by heart.
Maurice Ravel
Waltz
A typical Viennese waltz gradually emerges from the vague hum. The dancers spin faster and faster, and finally the spring of this enraged music box bursts. An eerie and perfect depiction of the end of a beautiful era, which was replaced by a century of world wars.
Arvo Pärt
"Frates"
Pärt - most performed contemporary composer, his works are heard around the world hundreds of times a year. In the mid-1970s, Pärt moved from the avant-garde to quiet, slow music, which turned out to be incredibly in demand: many Pärt lovers are far from the classics and perceive his works as a kind of musical sedative. The reference composition is “Fratres”, which sounds different in each of the numerous editions, but does not lose the intonation of a sad question mark.
Steve Reich
"Different Trains"
Another living classic, once considered an avant-garde artist. “Other Trains” is a monument to the victims of the Holocaust: Reich contrasts the trains of his childhood, on which he crossed America more than once, with others that sent his European peers to concentration camps. The work was written for a string quartet and a soundtrack that includes the sound of wheels, locomotive whistles, and stories of Holocaust survivors. Fragments of human speech, recorded in notes, became the basis of instrumental parts. Ideal for your first meeting with Reich.
Igor Stravinsky
"Parsley"
One of the most perfect expressions of the Russian spirit in music: Maslenitsa, barrel organ, accordion, gypsies, trained bear, “Along the Piterskaya Street”, “Oh you, my canopy, canopy”, carnival, fun, pancakes.
Igor Stravinsky
"Sacred spring"
The complete opposite of “Petrushka”: paganism, fear of death, slow dark round dances, sacrifice in the hope of appeasing the elements, completely mind-blowing harmonies - one of the most revolutionary and scandalous scores in the history of music.
Alfred Schnittke
Concerto grosso №1
The calling card of the main Soviet composer after Shostakovich: elements of mutually exclusive styles merge here into a single whole. “Within the Concerto grosso, I introduced a lively children’s chorale, a nostalgic-atonal serenade - a trio guaranteed to be an authentic Corelli (made in the USSR) and my grandmother’s favorite tango, played by her great-grandmother on the harpsichord.”
Alfred Schnittke
"Revision's Tale"
An ideal introduction to Schnittke's music for those who find it too difficult. The combination of the harpsichord with pop instruments creates a multifaceted space where there is a place for Beethoven’s “theme of fate”, and a parody of Haydn, whose intonations are brought to the point of sweetness, and the shadows of Mozart and Tchaikovsky dancing tango and cancan.
Simply masterpieces
Johann Sebastian Bach
Suites for orchestra No. 2 and 3
Compared to HTC, the two suites sound like light music, especially since each contains at least one super hit: “Joke” and “Aria”, respectively, which have long been distributed as ringtones and TV and radio screensavers. However, this could also happen with other fragments of these suites, which are replete with bright melodies.
Johannes Brahms
"Hungarian dances"
If a symphony orchestra plays an encore, in one case out of three the conductor will choose the First “Hungarian Dance”; V as a last resort- fifth. Two dozen miniatures for two pianos, later arranged for orchestra, were created based on authentic Hungarian melodies; result - 21 exemplary encores.
Edvard Grieg
"Peer Gynt"
Ibsen's drama "Peer Gynt" is world famous, and Grieg's music, written for its premiere, is even more popular: "Solveig's Song" and "In the Cave of the Mountain King" you undoubtedly know. Do not deny yourself the pleasure of listening to “Peer Gynt” in its entirety.
Alexander Scriabin
"Prometheus"
In his last and perhaps most significant symphonic work, Scriabin sought to express the idea of the triumph of the spirit, to achieve the utmost radiance. Therefore, “Prometheus” (aka “Poem of Fire”) was written not only for orchestra, piano, organ and choir, but also for a light keyboard, immersing the concert hall in the radiance of one color or another. However, the music of “Prometheus” itself is literally overflowing with sunlight.
Bedřich Smetana
"My motherland"
The cycle of symphonic poems is a musical portrait of the Czech Republic, its history, nature and legends. “Vltava” is especially popular, in which you can hear the flow of the river, hunting in the forest on its banks, and the night dances of mermaids. main topic dates back to the 17th century Italian song "La Mantovana". Later, the same melody formed the basis of the Israeli anthem.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
"Scheherazade"
First, the author gave the parts of the suite names: “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship”, “The Fantastic Story of Prince Kalender”, “The Prince and the Princess”, “The Baghdad Holiday. Sea. The ship crashes on a rock with bronze horseman. Conclusion,” but later decided to remove them. Nevertheless, they are well known, and, listening to music, we involuntarily associate the violin with the voice of Scheherazade, the exclamations of the winds with a storm at sea, the solo flute with the ship of Sinbad the Sailor. One of the best examples of program music.
Richard Strauss
"Don Quixote"
The most famous of Strauss’s works is the poem “Thus Spake Zarathustra,” the introduction of which serves as the intro for the program “What? Where? When?". However, “Don Quixote,” where the cello sings on behalf of the famous knight, is much richer in unexpected turns and, like little other music in the world, resembles an exciting movie.
1. “Symphony No. 5”, Ludwig van Beethoven
According to legend, Beethoven (1770-1827) for a long time could not come up with an introduction to Symphony No. 5. But when he lay down to take a nap, he heard a knock on the door, and the rhythm of this knock became the introduction to this work. Interestingly, the first notes of the symphony correspond to the number 5, or V in Morse code.
2. O Fortuna, Carl Orff
Composer Carl Orff (1895-1982) is best known for this cantata with dramatic vocals. It is based on the 13th century poem “Carmina Burana”. It is one of the most frequently performed classical pieces around the world.
3. Hallelujah Chorus, George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) wrote the oratorio Messiah in 24 days. Many melodies, including "Hallelujah", were later borrowed from this work and began to be performed as independent works. According to legend, Handel had music played in his head by angels. The text of the oratorio is based on biblical stories, Handel reflected the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
4. “Ride of the Valkyries”, Richard Wagner
This composition is taken from the opera "Die Walküre", which is part of the cycle of operas "The Ring of the Nibelung" by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The opera "Valkyrie" is dedicated to the daughter of the god Odin. Wagner spent 26 years composing this opera, and it is only the second part of a grandiose masterpiece of four operas.
5. “Toccata and Fugue in D minor”, Johann Sebastian Bach
This is probably the most famous work by Bach (1685-1750) and is often used in films during dramatic scenes.
6. “Little Night Serenade”, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791) wrote this legendary 15-minute composition in just a week. It was officially published in 1827.
7. “Ode to Joy”, Ludwig van Beethoven
Another of Beethoven's masterpieces was completed in 1824. This is the most famous fragment of Symphony No. 9. The most amazing thing is that by that time Beethoven had already become deaf and... nevertheless, he managed to compose such an outstanding work.
8. “Spring”, Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - composer of the Baroque era, wrote four works in 1723, each of which personified one season. The Seasons are still very popular, especially Spring and Summer.
9. “Pachelbel Canon” (Canon in D major), Johann Pachelbel
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) was a composer of the Baroque era and is considered the most influential composer of this period. He amazed the world with his sophisticated and technical music.
10. Overture from the opera “William Tell”, Gioachino Rossini
This 12-minute composition by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) is the last part of a four-movement overture. The other pieces are less well known today, but the composition was made famous by its use in Warner Brother's Disney Looney Tunes cartoons.
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