- William Tell Overture- Rossini (Most famous part at 8:45, but why not listen to the whole thing?)
- Also Sprach Zarathustra- Strauss
- Eine Kleine Nachtmusik- Mozart
- Symphony 94, Mvt. 2 “Surprise Symphony”- Haydn
- Toccata and Fugue in d Minor-Bach
- Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2- Chopin
- Rondo alla Turca- Mozart
- Sinfonie de Fanfares: Rondeau- Jean-Joseph Mouret
- The Four Seasons: Spring- Vivaldi (I just linked to the whole thing because it’s great)
- Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring- Bach
- O Fortuna (from Carmina Burana)- Carl Orff
- Funeral March- Chopin
- Orpheus in the Underworld: Infernal Galop (A.K.A. Can Can)- Offenbach
- Pomp and Circumstance (You probably graduated to this)- Elgar
- Gayane: Sabre Dance- Aram Khachaturian
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Wedding March- Mendelssohn
- Carmen: Les Toreadors- Bizet
- The Ride of the Valkyries- Wagner
- Für Elise- Beethoven
- Dance of the Hours- Ponchielli
- Rigotello: La Donna e Mobile- Verdi
- Night on Bald Mountain- Mussorgsky
- Romeo and Juliet: Love Theme- Tchaikovsky
- Entry of the Gladiators- Julius Fucik
- Lakmé: Flower Duet- Delibes
- Peer Gynt: In the Hall of the Mountain King- Greig
- Rodeo: Hoedown- Copland
- Peer Gynt: Morning Mood- Greig
- New World Symphony Mov. [2][4]- Dvorak
- Ave Maria (You knew this, but did you know that it was by Schubert?)
- Canon in D- Pachelbel
- Jupiter (from The Planets) - Holst
Add others if you want! Have fun!
cough syrup (acoustic) // young the giant
life’s too short to even care at all, oh
So the thing about this ask is that, there’s…no wrong or right way to get started in classical music. (no there iSN’T
FIGHT ME MUSIC SNOBS) “Classical music” is a term we toss around to mean a lot of different sounds over a 500 year period, and just like with all the other types of music, you’re going to like some and not others.So, since I can’t know what kind of classical music you might like, I thought I’d give you some non-classical guidance:
If you like KANYE WEST you might like BEETHOVAN
A natural pairing: both have become known for their larger than life personalities, and for changing forever the way music is thought about and made. Additionally, they explore many of the same themes—when Beethovan began losing his hearing, he entered what has been called his “heroic” period, where he wrote grandiose symphonies in the high Romantic tradition, exploring sentiment and the individual. Symphony No. 5, by far his most famous, is basically the 19th century Yeezus.
[recommended listening: Symphony No. 3, the “heroic” symphony]
If you like HOZIER you might like SHOSTAKOVICH
Much like Hozier, Shostakovich’s composition is notable for the use of contrasts, atonality, and the grotesque. His few operas are characterized by absurd and dark imagery, as well as forceful orchestration. He was highly influenced by the neoclassical style (as in Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms) and later, Mahler’s post-Romanticism (like in Symphony No.9)
[recommended listening: Symphony No. 5]