Greatest Classical Music Pieces

Classical pieces no longer than 10 minutes, composed before 1850.

1. Ludwig Van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata

   

   Honestly, this is the best thing I've ever heard! It's a masterpiece. If I don't feel good, I just listen, and it takes all the stress away, clears my mind, and helps me think. So if you haven't listened yet, you really missed something big. Listen to it right now!

   The most romantic, melodramatic masterpiece ever. Some theories say that the Moonlight Sonata (the notes) is compatible with the mathematical structure of electricity.

   It filled my heart when I first heard it and it took all my sadness away. It sounds like I'm really under the moonlight.

2. A. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

   

   The classical piece par excellence. I'm listening to it right now.

   Vivaldi is a beautiful musician and a person I wish I knew.

3. Ludwig Van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5

   

   Let's be honest and in simple terms, what's not to love about this epic apotheosis of music?

   This is one of the most well-known pieces of all time. I highly recommend listening to this piece as it shows passion. This is an example of music at its finest.

   The-the-the-daaa. The-the-the-daaa. This four-note motif is literally known by everyone. I think this piece should receive a higher position.

4. J. Pachelbel - Canon In D Major

   

   My favorite classical piece by far. Possibly the most beautiful music ever written in any genre. Whenever I feel sad or angry, I play Canon, and it just makes me feel better. I tear up every time I listen to it.

   It leaves such an impression after listening to it the first time. It leaves even more after the second time. No matter how many times you have listened to it, it will continue to inspire you forever.

   This is the only classical music piece that even non-connoisseurs of classical music recognize. Most of all, it is the most haunting, moving, captivating, and inspirational music I've ever heard.

5. Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125: "Ode to Joy"

   

   I learned to play this at school. Unfortunately, I don't think I could still do it now. I still think it's one of the greatest classical pieces (as if I have any authority to say that), and making it the European anthem was a stroke of genius.

   That choir part is absolutely mind-blowing! It makes me feel truly joyful every time I hear it! This is the best classical piece ever!

   This is a very great song. Go to YouTube and listen. My friend visiting cried... weird.

6. J.S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue In D Minor

   

   It is indeed a legendary composition. Listening to the intro makes me feel as if I am witnessing the Big Bang, something huge, massive, and spectacular. The transition in the music is as smooth as butter. It needs to be ranked much higher!

   Wow. Many people know this better as "The Vampire Song" or Toccata and Fugue in D "Dracula" minor. This piece is so intense yet so beautiful.

   This music proves that from chaos, order emerges, and yet, they are the same.

7. Edvard Grieg - In the Hall of the Mountain King

   

   This music is suspenseful and really cool. If you've never heard this piece, you should!

   This one puts a smile on your face and gets you all charged up with its amazing intensity!

   Really powerful! I love this piece.

8. George F. Handel - Hallelujah Chorus

   

9. Ludwig Van Beethoven - Bagatelle In A Minor, WoO 59 - "Für Elise": Poco moto

   

   Why is this so low? Hasn't anybody heard it?

   This is as popular on piano as Smoke On The Water is on guitar. It's a beginner's favorite. Everyone thinks they are cool if they can play either SOTW or Für Elise.

10. W. A. Mozart - Eine kleine Nachtmusik K525

    

    I am a descendant of Mozart. When I was a kid, my father told me amazing stories about him.

    There is not one single incorrectly placed note in this famous masterpiece!

    This reminds me of my childhood. It's such an amazing piece.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Barber of Seville Overture - Gioachino Rossini

    

    This piece is a grandiose masterpiece. It is the greatest classical piece ever, in my opinion. It is suspenseful, lively, and energetic.

    The best arrangement of the piece was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It is still a masterpiece in general, but the LPO version is beyond words. I added this, by the way.

12. ?

    Scott Bradley - Drag-A-Long Droopy

The Contenders

13. G. Rossini - William Tell Overture

    

    Incredible at the end of the film "Brassed Off," like a force of nature!

14. Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture

    

    As someone with a background in classical, jazz, and metal, I think this is one of the greatest musical pieces of all time, in any genre - arguably number one, although that spot is impossible to determine.

    Although, Tchaikovsky, being Tchaikovsky, didn't like this piece at all.

    Surprised this is ranked so low. It's one that everyone has heard at one point or another, and it really gets you pumped.

    Truly empowering and magnificent. It contains such power within it.

15. W. A. Mozart - Requiem

    

    The last piece of music Mozart ever wrote, he put all of his knowledge he gained throughout his years into writing it on his deathbed. Only when someone is in such a situation can they truly convey real emotions into a piece of music, and that's exactly what Wolfgang did in Requiem.

    He made some very pretty classical music. He is also very interesting.

    It is said that it's his best work, but he didn't finish it. A pupil did.

16. Franz Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No.2

    

    If this masterpiece was created in any of the Western or elegant societies, the world would know it as the best classical music piece ever composed. And so well do we now.

17. Claude Debussy - Clair de Lune

    

    I don't know how this piece could be so low. Yes, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and 5th Symphony are incredible. But this is, in my opinion, better. It's so beautiful and well-rounded, and I could listen to it on repeat for the rest of my life.

    The antithesis of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Beautiful piece, has a vibe that's not as dark. The mood conjured can only be summed up as immersive.

    Better than that overplayed "Moonlight Sonata." This piece is the best music about the moon ever written.

18. Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies

    

19. Richard Wagner - Die Walküre

    

20. Chopin - Nocturne No.20 In C (Violin)

    

    It is an insult that this, the most beautiful piece of music ever written, is at #130. It should at least be in the top 5. The best violin version is played by Yueun Gema Kim. It is on YouTube.

21. F. Chopin - Fantaisie Impromptu Op.66

    

22. Johann Strauss II: an Der Schönen Blauen Donau

    

    Such joy and excitement are shown in this piece. The orchestration is pure magic.

23. Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake Suite

    

24. Aram Khachaturian - Sabre Dance

    

25. Beethoven - Symphony No.7 in A major op.92 - II, Allegretto

    

26. Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor

    What?! This should totally be in the top 10. It's so powerfully elegant, blossoming with passionate grandeur. A flawless composition.

    One of the most emotionally stirring pieces of all time.

27. Dvorak - New World Symphony ( Symphony n°9)

    

    Beautiful, just beautiful, especially the 2nd movement. This one piece inspired three of the greatest film scores of all time: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Jaws. What other pieces here can you say that about?

    I love the whole symphony! My favorite part is the second movement. It has a cor anglais solo, and I love cor anglais solos. The second movement is my favorite piece out of all music in the world.

    The second movement has an amazingly beautiful English horn solo.