What are the absolute best Classical pieces?
Wrong question to ask. Rather, this article is Classical music for newbies. So, we expect the reader to not know Classical that well. And you don’t want to introduce them to hard-core Classical music that will just turn them off to Classical music.
For instance, I’m not going to say “dude! You need to listen to Wagner’s entire…”
That will guarantee the newbie won’t listen to Classical for another five years.
So instead, let’s start with something accessible.
I’m not a fan of Baroque. But a few Baroque pieces make sense for the Classical newbie. Start off with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue and Air on G String and Pachelbel’s Canon. Then work in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Those pieces are great to get started with, simply because they’re accessible.
Then I’d dive into Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and 1812 Overture. Once again, we’re shooting for accessibility. They’re not his best works, but the easiest to get started with.
I also think some lovely piano pieces would be great to get you going. How about Chopin’s Nocturne Opus 9 No 2 and Beethoven’s Fur Elise? Both lovely pieces, and both accessible. If you like those two pieces, you could try Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, which is a little bit more involved.
Then I would recommend Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture. It’s a very accessible piece.
I’m not going to recommend symphonies, concertos, or operas just yet. These are after you got some short pieces under your belt.
So yes, this is a very short list. It’s just a splash. It’s a list to get you going into Classical music.
I’ll write a part II to this later. Stay tuned…
