Old, elitist, middle-class, pretentious, boring. Classical music has, for some people, got a real image problem. Just the name ‘classical’ suggests an outmoded, out-of-fashion art form that needs specialist knowledge to really understand. So let’s get all that out of the way right now.
Classical music is simply the most life-enhancing, profound, tear-jerking, joy-inducing music in the world. It can be instrumental or vocal, it could be just one player or a full orchestra. Above all, it is the music of the past 1,000 years that had the eternal power to move people, to connect with them, to help them make sense of their emotions and enrich their lives.
Nicola Benedetti. If you don’t know your Romanticism from your Expressionism, then fear not. This list is for you
Suzy Klein presents ‘Our Classical Century’, Thursday, BBC Four, 9pm, and Essential Classics on BBC Radio 3, Mon-Fri 9am
I started out listening only to pop music. It was all I knew and loved, until one day my mum (to stop four kids fighting in the car) stuck on a cassette of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, and the 14-year-old me was hooked by its beauty. I started listening to other stuff and began to learn slowly about the composers I liked and I didn’t. So if you don’t know your Romanticism from your Expressionism, and couldn’t recognise a masterpiece of musical modernism if it hit you in the face, then fear not. This list is for you.
Why not turn on BBC Radio 3 on weekday mornings and you’ll find me there for company with some amazing music? Or go along to one of the classical festivals around the UK, not least the 75 concerts of the BBC Proms, and experience the might of a symphony orchestra in full throttle? I promise you’ll never look back.
Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra. Used to brilliant effect by Stanley Kubrick in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey
This list is just a drop in a vast ocean – 50 pieces to represent the greatest music written in the history of mankind.
So you’ll forgive me if it’s partial, incomplete or doesn’t include your favourite. What I guarantee is that you will find something that speaks to you, that makes you feel – and think – differently. So consider it an opportunity to dip your toes in the waters of that vast ocean and enjoy!
Perfect start to the day.
For a rousing start, a gentle wake-up or something to sort you out after a sleepless night
1 Rossini: ‘Largo Al Factotum’, The Barber Of Seville A brilliant, show-off song. Listen out for the repeated super-fast calls of ‘Figaro’ and have a go at singing along in the shower.
2 Aaron Copland: Fanfare For The Common Man About the quiet dignity of the everyday man (and woman) going about their business. A gentle clarion call for the day ahead.
Carl Orff: ‘O Fortuna’, Carmina Burana Famously featured in the Seventies Old Spice TV ad, this roaringly macho music features an apocalyptic chorus and a thumping beat
3 Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra Used to brilliant effect by Stanley Kubrick in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick knew instinctively that this was music that takes you soaring with it.
4 Michael Torke: Javelin Composed for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The energy and optimism of Michael Torke’s music will make your morning fly by.
5 Handel: Zadok The Priest The most famous of Handel’s coronation anthems, written for King George II in 1727 and performed at every coronation since.
6 Puccini: Nessun Dorma Famously sung by Pavarotti and used in TV coverage of the 1990 World Cup – if you’ve had a restless night, try this song of victory in the face of defeat.
7 Hubert Parry: Jerusalem Written to ‘brace the spirit of the nation’ during the First World War. A song about not resting until you’ve achieved the impossible.
8 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No 3 The perfect warm-up for a job interview. This is one of several pieces Bach sent to impress the Margrave of Brandenburg, who didn’t even bother to reply. If someone as brilliant as Bach could fail, you can give it your best shot in the interview room.
Pumped-up classics.
Perfect for getting the blood pumping, whether in the gym or just to get you through a boring day at the office
9 Stravinsky: The Rite Of Spring Crazy, offbeat, pumping rhythms and a mad ritualistic energy make this 20th-century ballet one of the most high-octane pieces of music ever written.
Puccini: Nessun Dorma. Famously sung by Pavarotti and used in TV coverage of the 1990 World Cup – if you’ve had a restless night, try this song of victory in the face of defeat
10 John Adams: Short Ride In A Fast Machine The contemporary American musician John Adams conjures up the hair-raising speed and thrill of a ride in a supercar.
11 Grieg: In The Hall Of The Mountain King If you’re a fan of Game Of Thrones, sci-fi movies or fantasy novels, this is the one for you. Trolls, gnomes and goblins go crazy as their king sits on his throne.
12 Carl Orff: ‘O Fortuna’, Carmina Burana Famously featured in the Seventies Old Spice TV ad, this roaringly macho music features an apocalyptic chorus and a thumping beat.
13 Holst: ‘Mars’, The Planets The god of war, conjured up by British composer Gustav Holst, has some real anger-management issues. This is music full of fury, and it’s become the shorthand for movie baddies. Darth Vader’s march in Star Wars (composed by John Williams) directly references Holst’s Mars.
14 Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique A journey into the mind of a drug-addled fantasist, this symphony was written while Berlioz was madly in love. It tells the story of a man who takes opium, nearly dies and then hallucinates that he is guillotined and visited by witches. Truly brilliant.
15 Beethoven: Symphony No 5 Opening with the four most muscular, in-your-face, famous notes in the whole of musical history – dah-dah-dah-daaaaaah! – this symphony is the thing to go for if you want to get your heart beating faster.
Perfect for love and romance.
Trying to impress someone you fancy? Stick these on and let the classics work their magic on your love life
16 Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 2 The second movement is a masterpiece of lush melody, aching harmonies and piano writing so beautiful it makes you want to weep. If you think you recognise it, it’s because Eric Carmen’s 1975 hit, All By Myself, borrowed the tune.
Beethoven, Symphony No 5. Opening with the four most muscular, in-your-face, famous notes in the whole of musical history – dah-dah-dah-daaaaaah! – this symphony is the thing to go for if you want to get your heart beating faster
Bizet, ‘Habanera’, Carmen. Bold, brassy, beautiful Carmen singing about love in the blinding sunlight of Spain
17 Wagner: Siegfried Idyll Richard Wagner was so madly in love with his wife Cosima he wrote this as a surprise present on her birthday: Christmas Day in 1870. That morning, he gathered a group of musicians on the staircase at their house, and she was woken by this stirring, luscious music.
18 Monteverdi: ‘Pur Ti Miro’, L’Incoronazione Di Poppea This duet gives you a pair of lovers desperate for each other. It comes at the close of the opera as Poppea is crowned. She stares into Emperor Nero’s eyes and they sing, ‘I gaze at you, I possess you.’ Sexy stuff.
19 Ravel: Boléro Whether you’re reminded of Torvill and Dean’s ice-skating routine or Dudley Moore and Bo Derek in 10, Boléro is irresistible, with its relentless rhythm and sinuous, sexy melody.
20 Clara Schumann: Three Romances Wife, concert pianist, mother to eight children and composer, Schumann is the ultimate multi-tasking musical superwoman. Her Three Romances for violin and piano are tender and sweet, lyrical and utterly charming.
Perfect for summer evenings
Fizzing with life, these essential classics are perfect with a sundowner after work or as the prelude to a great night out
21 Verdi: ‘Libiamo’, La Traviata If you ever needed convincing that opera is great, how about this: it even has its own class of drinking song – the Brindisi. This big, rowdy drinking song from one of Verdi’s greatest operas encourages us all to raise a glass. Who could resist?
Mascagni: ‘Intermezzo’, Cavalleria Rusticana. Famously used in the film Raging Bull, this is both grand and at the same time intimate, nostalgic and full of romance
Ravel, Boléro. Whether you’re reminded of Torvill and Dean’s ice-skating routine or Dudley Moore and Bo Derek in 10, Boléro is irresistible
22 Tailleferre: ‘Fandango’ Tailleferre was one of the leading lights in 1920s Paris, and this fandago is typical of her. The music is charming, full of scrunchy piquant harmonies and guaranteed to make you smile with its wit and Gallic gaiety.
23 Duke Ellington: Black, Brown And Beige If you already love jazz, make this your entry point to classical music. This portrait of black America takes us from slaves in the cotton fields to Twenties Harlem. A stunning, sun-filled tribute to the brilliant richness of African-American music.
24 Bizet: ‘Habanera’, Carmen Bold, brassy, beautiful Carmen singing about love in the blinding sunlight of Spain.
Hot-blooded musical hedonism
25 Manuel de Falla: Nights In The Gardens Of Spain Gypsy dancing in Córdoba and the gardens of the Alhambra in Granada – you can almost taste the rioja.
26 Mascagni: ‘Intermezzo’, Cavalleria Rusticana Famously used in the film Raging Bull, this is both grand and at the same time intimate, nostalgic and full of romance.
27 Chevalier De St-Georges: Violin Concerto No 2 In D major Perfect for a dinner party, this is refined, beautiful, full of summery sunshine. Born in Guadeloupe, St-Georges was brought to France where he became known as ‘The Black Mozart’. He was also Marie Antoinette’s violin teacher.
28 Borodin: Polovtsian Dances Exotic and sensuous, these orchestral dances come from an opera set in the sunny climes of central Asia.
Perfect for a good cry
These classical weepies are so beautiful they’ll fix you in no time
29 Purcell: ‘When I Am Laid In Earth’, Dido And Aeneas Weep along as Queen Dido laments her fate, pleading with us to remember her after death, as she sings the saddest melody ever written.
30 John Tavener: Song For Athene A modern choral classic, written in 1997 and performed in Westminster Abbey at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Mahler: ‘Adagietto’, Symphony No 5. Devastatingly beautiful, it’s become synonymous with the movie that heavily featured it – Visconti’s 1971 classic, Death In Venice
31 Henryk Gorecki: Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs [Symphony No 3] Listen out for the second movement where Gorecki takes a prayer written by an 18-year-old girl, found scribbled on the wall of a Gestapo prison in 1944, and sets it to heartbreaking music.
32 Mahler: ‘Adagietto’, Symphony No 5 Written by Mahler after he’d been so ill he’d almost died, only to recover and then fall in love. Devastatingly beautiful, it’s become synonymous with the movie that heavily featured it – Visconti’s 1971 classic, Death In Venice.
33 Mozart: ‘Soave Sia Il Vento’, Cosi Fan Tutte A trio of voices wishing goodbye to a boat setting sail on the ocean. In the hands of Mozart this parting is turned into such sweet sorrow.
Perfect for nature lovers
The ideal soundtrack if you’re off for a walk in the great outdoors
34 Delius: ‘The Walk To The Paradise Garden’, A Village Romeo And Juliet This interlude from Delius’s opera isn’t about a garden at all, but a pub called – you’ve guessed it – The Paradise Garden. Ten minutes of bucolic bliss.
35 Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Conjuring up the heat-haze of a summer afternoon in the forest, there’s a mythical faun, nymphs and naiads and the shimmer of sunlight.
36 Vivaldi The Four Seasons If you’re an all-weather walker, this is the one for you. Rain, snow, thunder – you get it all in Vivaldi’s series of concertos depicting the changing weather as the year rolls by.
37 Delibes: ‘Flower Duet’, Lakmé Known as the British Airways theme tune since the Nineties. As beautiful, calming and fragrant as a floral bouquet.
38 Scott Joplin: Fig Leaf Rag The master of ragtime: upbeat American music from the early 20th century, designed to delight. Pop on your playlist and stride into the great outdoors.
39 Sibelius: Final Movement, Symphony No 5 Jean Sibelius was a great nature lover and this movement was inspired by him seeing a flock of swans take flight. Magnificent.
40 Britten: Four Sea Interludes Portraits of the sea, depicted by an orchestra that captures the swirling weather, rolling waves and the cold bite of the North Sea in Britten’s home town of Aldeburgh in Suffolk.
41 Schubert: Trout Quintet Having spent the summer fly-fishing and having fun in the Austrian river town of Steyr, Schubert wrote this piece, conjuring up delicious cool waters and a trout splashing about as it swims upstream.
42 Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending A violin takes on the role of a lark lazily in the skies above rural England. As it winds its way upwards catching thermals, we hear the bittersweet sound of Old England.
Perfect for bedtime
Let these wonders ease you into a deep, dreamy slumber
43 Couperin: Les Barricades Mysterieuses One of the great earworms, it seems to have no beginning and no end, lulling you into deeply contemplative calm and rest.
44 Bill Evans: Peace Piece In 1958 jazz pianist Evans created these painterly, impressionistic washes of colour.
45 Hildegard Von Bingen: Veni Creator Spiritus The 12th-century abbess spent most of her life in a convent. This is what heaven sounds like.
46 Arvo Pärt: Spiegel Im Spiegel Meaning ‘Mirror in the mirror’, this violin and piano piece goes round and round, turns in on itself, and is full of reflections.
47 Brahms: Wiegenlied This lullaby for piano has been soothing people to sleep since it was written in 1868.
48 Tallis: Spem In Alium A huge choral mass in 40 parts – a spectacular achievement of complexity and beauty.
49 Morten Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium A recent classic, it layers voices, creating a luminous, deep spirituality. Utterly blissful.
50 Amy Beach: Invocation A lilting romance for violin and piano by one of America’s great female composers.
Suzy Klein presents ‘Our Classical Century’, Thursday, BBC Four, 9pm, and Essential Classics on BBC Radio 3, Mon-Fri 9am