ESSENTIAL CLASSICS

You might want to take a look at what we think are 104 “Essential Classics,” pieces of music that are integral to what we refer to as “classical” music.  Even if you’re new to classical music, we’re sure you’ll recognize some of the pieces on the list, and we’re doubly sure that you’d like a lot of the other pieces, as well. You can hear these and other essential classics weeknights at 8:00 PM on WCLV.

And , don’t forget that you can easily order recordings of this great music by clicking on the ArkivMusic button on the left. 

1. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (6)
2. Bach: Double Violin Concerto, BWV 1043
3. Barber: Adagio for Strings
4. Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
5. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 4
6. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 5
7. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No 14 “Moonlight”
8. Beethoven: Symphonies (9)
9. Beethoven: Violin Concerto
10. Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
11. Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
12. Bernstein: Candide Overture
13. Bizet: L’Arlésienne—Suites Nos 1 & 2
14. Bizet: Carmen—Suites Nos 1 & 2
15. Brahms: Piano Concerto No 1
16. Brahms: Symphonies (4)
17. Brahms: Violin Concerto
18.  Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
19. Bruch: Violin Concerto No 1
20. Bruckner: Symphony No 4
21. Chopin: Piano Sonata No 2
22. Copland: Appalachian Spring—Suite
23. Debussy: La Mer
24. Debussy: Nocturnes
25. Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
26. Dvořák: Cello Concerto
27. Dvořák: Symphony No 8
28. Dvořák: Symphony No 9
29. Elgar: Enigma Variations
30. Falla: Three-Cornered Hat—Suites 1 & 2
31. Fauré: Requiem
32. Franck: Symphony in D Minor
33. Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
34. Grieg: Peer Gynt—Suites 1 & 2
35. Grieg: Piano Concerto
36. Handel: Messiah
37. Handel: Royal Fireworks Music
38. Handel: Water Music
39. Haydn: Symphony No 94 (“Surprise”)
40. Haydn: Symphony No 101 (“Clock”)
41. Haydn: Trumpet Concerto
42. Holst: The Planets
43. Janácek: Sinfonietta
44. Lalo: Symphonie espagnole
45. Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No 2
46. Liszt: Piano Concerto No 1
47. Mahler: Symphony No 1
48. Mahler: Symphony No 4
49. Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night’s Dream (selections)
50. Mendelssohn: Symphony No 4
51. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
52. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto
53. Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik
54. Mozart: Piano Concerto No 21
55. Mozart: Requiem
56. Mozart: Symphony No 40
57. Mozart: Symphony No 41
58. Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
59. Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel): Pictures at an Exhibition
60. Orff: Carmina Burana
61. Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé Suite
62. Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet—Suites Nos 1, 2 & 3
63. Prokofiev: Symphony No 1
64. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 2
65. Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
66. Rachmaninoff: Symphony No 2
67. Ravel: Boléro
68. Ravel: Pavane pour une Infante défunte
69. Ravel: La Valse
70. Respighi: The Fountains of Rome
71. Respighi: The Pines of Rome
72. Rimsky‑Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnole
73. Rimsky‑Korsakov: Scheherazade
74. Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
75. Rossini: William Tell Overture
76. Saint-Saëns: Symphony No 3
77. Satie: Gymnopédies
78. Schubert Piano Quintet (“Trout”)
79. Schubert: String Quartet No 14
80. Schubert: Symphony No 8
81. Schubert: Symphony No 9
82. Schumann: Piano Concerto
83. Schumann: Symphonies (4)
84. Shostakovich: Symphony No 5
85. Shostakovich: Symphony No 10
86. Sibelius: Finlandia
87. Sibelius: Violin Concerto
88. Smetana: Má Vlast
89. Strauss, R.: Also Sprach Zarathustra
90. Stravinsky: Firebird—Suite
91. Stravinsky: Pétrouchka
92. Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker—Suite
93. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No 1
94. Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture
95. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 4
96. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
97.  Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
98. Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
99. Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 2
100. Verdi: Aida—Grand March
101. Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No 5
102. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
103. Wagner: The Ring—Ride of the Valkyries
104. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde—Prelude and Liebestod
     

ALBERT PETRAK AND THE  BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMPOSERS 

We'd like to call your attention to a remarkable e-book brought to WCLV's attention by its editor, former WCLV staffer Albert Petrak, The Biograpical Encylopeida of  Composers by David Mason Greene.  He lists 127l composers in over 1500 pages (in PDF) in a restoration of a once-published book by Greene, Head of the Music Dept. at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.  Greene was a much admired musicologist, and his preface outlines his procedures in providing a book (primarily for the layman) of biographies, unusually structured to be chronological....that is composers listed by birth date.  This way provides some information about colleagues and other composers and in a general way could be described as a general once-over of Western classical music during eight centuries.

Among the useful aspects of this project is phonetic renderings of composers' names. Dr. Greene, moreover, enlightens his efforts with not only a masterful command of the material, but also a combination of wit and wisdom.  If you'd like information and detail, access the web site of the presenter: www.rprf.org.