# What's Your Favourite Piece of Classical Music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193 "2015-03-17T12:42:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Why_Bother)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/1 "2015-03-17T12:42:30Z")
I’m trying to learn a bit more about classical music. Unfortunately, I’m far too lazy and impatient to go about this in any kind of systemised way, so I figured I’d just get a bunch of recommendations and go from there. I know the question’s kind of broad, but I don’t really know enough about classical music yet to have much of a preference for any particular time period/style/powdered wig, so any and all recommendations are welcome. Cheers all! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/2 "2015-03-17T12:46:19Z")
For well-known pieces, I’d go with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. For more obscure, there’s Darius Milhuad’s _[Le Boeuf sur le Toit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZLfIKYg0Pg)_ ETA: I forgot the [Dvorak Piano Quintet in A Major.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn7VmoJ7_AQ) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/3 "2015-03-17T12:51:34Z")
Try the Classic FM Top 300, which is broadcast over the Easter weekend. ---
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/4 "2015-03-17T12:54:22Z")
You should seek out a subset generally called “Light Classical.” You’ll find selections in that category to be shorter and more familiar. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/5 "2015-03-17T13:00:11Z")
Holberg Suite, by Edvard Grieg, last movement in particular. Can listen to it over and over. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/6 "2015-03-17T13:08:03Z")
Haendel’s _ **Music for the Royal Fireworks** _. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/7 "2015-03-17T13:08:22Z")
Beethoven’s _Symphonies_, especially the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th. J.S. Bach. _Little Fugue in G_, the infamous and overexposed _Toccata and Fugue in D_, lotsa other stuff Sergei Prokofieff _Scheherazade_ Anton Dvorak _New World Symphony_ and others Gustav Holst _The Planets Suite_ Ottorino Respighi _The Pines of Rome_ (and the other [whatevers] of Rome0 ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/8 "2015-03-17T13:14:52Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > ETA: I forgot the [Dvorak Piano Quintet in A Major.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn7VmoJ7_AQ) Great choice! I love piano quintets in general – the best ones just happen to have wonderful melodies, interesting progressions, and delightful contrasting sections. My favorites would be Brahms’ F minor Piano Quintet, and Borodin’s under-appreciated C minor Piano Quintet. Check out the Borodin – it’s a treat. Gorgeous, galloping Russian folk melodies, with clever and satisfying expositions. Schumann wrote a terrific piano quintet as well. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/9 "2015-03-17T13:25:20Z")
Beethoven’s _Symphonies_, especially the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th. J.S. Bach. _Little Fugue in G_, the infamous and overexposed _Toccata and Fugue in D_, lotsa other stuff Sergei Prokofieff _Scheherazade_ Anton Dvorak _New World Symphony_ and others Gustav Holst _The Planets Suite_ Ottorino Respighi _The Pines of Rome_ (and the other [whatevers] of Rome0 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/10 "2015-03-17T13:25:40Z")
Vivaldi’s _The Four Seasons_. In particular the 1st movement of Winter. In particular I love the Itzak Perlman version I have. I think it is about the best solo violin part ever written. I have heard it played in a very flashy mechanical manner. Perlman plays with a depth of feeling that others lack. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/11 "2015-03-17T13:26:04Z")
The William Tell Overture [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xoBE69wdSkQ/hqdefault.jpg "ROSSINI: William Tell Overture (full version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoBE69wdSkQ) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/12 "2015-03-17T13:35:40Z")
Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, “The Pastoral.” (the one from Fantasia with the unicorns & such) Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis.” Antonin Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/13 "2015-03-17T13:50:58Z")
Not strictly “Classical”, because it’s Romantic, but I like Sibelius - give the _[Karelia Suite](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adKwG9ZuzFw)_ a listen. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/14 "2015-03-17T14:03:14Z")
Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Handels Messiah bringing in a really close second. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/15 "2015-03-17T14:06:28Z")
Even after all these years, I still don’t know the names of classical music pieces very well. I am fond of Ravel’s ‘Bolero’, and I enjoy much of Beethoven and Vivaldi. I used to have an LP ‘Hooked on Classics’ and that was the only way I found out some names of some pieces, even if they were only minute-long bits, like the French can-can music, the William Tell Overture, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/16 "2015-03-17T14:07:37Z")
Picking just one piece is impossible so I’ll customize 10 imaginary CDs from one composers each ranging from Baroque to Contemporary. Think of it as “10 imaginary desert island discs”. Almost as impossible but I’ll try. **Bach** : _St Matthew Passion_. The full version lasts almost 3h but it’s some of the most moving music that Bach ever wrote. You can find several CDs that contain only the “highlights”. Just make sure that you have the opening and closing choruses (_“Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen”_ and _“Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder”_) + the aria _“Erbame dich”_. **Beethoven** : _Piano sonatas n°14 (“Moonlight”) + 15 (“Pastoral”) + 26 (“Les adieux”) + 32_. **Mozart** : Highlights from _Don Giovanni_ (must include _“Madamina, il catalogo è questo”_, _“Là ci darem la mano”_ and first and foremost _“Don Giovanni! A cenar teco m’invitasti”_) **Schubert** : _Winterreise (Winter Journey)_ **Brahms** : _Clarinet Quintet in B minor op. 115_ + _Three Intermezzi for piano op. 117_ + _Six Pieces for piano op.118_. **Tchaïkovsky** _Piano concerto n°1_ + _Violin concerto_. **Debussy** : _Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun_ + _Syrinx for solo flute_ + _Préludes Book 1 for piano_ + _Images Book 2 for piano_. **Stravinsky** : _The Firebird_ + _The Rite of Spring_ **Prokofiev** : _Romeo and Juliet_ (the highlights can fit on a single CD). **Ligeti** : _Musica Ricercata_ + _Lux Aeterna_ + _Lontano_ + _Violin concerto_ ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/17 "2015-03-17T14:08:47Z")
Hands down, Beethoven’s _Ode to Joy_. Coming in second is anything JS Bach wrote for the pipe organ, and third is Handel’s _Hallelujah Chorus_. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/18 "2015-03-17T14:15:00Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, “The Pastoral.” (the one from Fantasia with the unicorns & such)… That’s what I came in to say. Also, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are worth a listen. And anything by Strauss. (The “Blue Danube” Strauss; I think there are several of those guys) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/19 "2015-03-17T14:39:00Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Great choice! I love piano quintets in general – the best ones just happen to have wonderful melodies, interesting progressions, and delightful contrasting sections. I first discovered the Dvorak when it was played by the instructors of a music camp near my home town – including Itzhak Perlman (the camp was the Perlman Music Program). I’m also a fan of the Rossini overtures, especially _The Barber of Seville, William Tell, La Gazza Ladra._ Since it sneaks into the classical repertoire, there’s also Gershwin’s _Rhapsody in Blue,_ Second Rhapsody,\* and _An American in Paris_. \*The best version I’ve ever heard was by Nachito Herrera and the Cuban Symphony Orchestra. Herrera did some amazing things with the piano part. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193/20 "2015-03-17T14:42:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Beethoven’s _Symphonies_, especially the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th. Ditto. I actually think the 5th is the best of the bunch. And while with the 7th Symphony, the second movement gets all the love, I’m a big fan of the first movement. I love the way he builds up the anticipation, and then, after the first, understated, statement of the main theme, he pulls the trigger, brings the whole orchestra in, and you’re off on this wild, wonderful ride. Handel’s _Water Music_ is a longtime favorite of mine. Ditto Vivaldi’s _The Four Seasons_. Anyone here listened to Beethoven’s Wig? A guy named Richard Perlmutter added lyrics to various classical pieces, and the results are a lot of fun. Here’s “[Please Don’t Play Your Violin At Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay1K5Ek0TLo)” to the tune of Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” and “[Please Keep Your Bull Outside the China Shop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYoxNh4D1J8)” to the Toreador Song from Bizet’s _Carmen_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-piece-of-classical-music/715193.md?page=2)