My favorite classical works, Top 1000

Submitted by Nance on Sat, 09/23/2006 - 07:12
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My 1000 favorite classical works.
It was long to make, but fun to relisten some of them.
I'll update as I discover (or remember) better songs.

The updates are in highlight.
Updated 2013-04-30.

My top 20:
Antonin Dvorak - Serenade for Strings in E Major
Charles Ives - 3 Quarter-Tone Pieces
Charles-Valentin Alkan - Etudes, Op. 39
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 5
Einojuhani Rautavaara - Symphony No. 3
Francis Poulenc - Sonata for Flute and Piano
Frederic Chopin - Fantaisie-Impromtu
Giuseppe Verdi - Requiem
Gustav Holst - The Planets
Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 1
Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
JS Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier
Jean Sibelius - The Swan of Tuonela
Jean-Francois Le Sueur - Unxerunt Salomonem
John Coolidge Adams - The Chairman Dances
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14, Moonlight Sonata
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6, Pathetique
Richard Wagner - Tristan und Isolde
Unknown - Carmina Burana
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - The Magic Flute

vera11/03/2006

This is certainly an exhaustive list with many fine examples. Just to interject my measly 2c: your label of 'classical,' as simply an exclusion of all types of 'popular music' I can agree with, but most of these - originals culled from film scores, are really contemporary incidental music - since the express purpose of their composition was to enhance and assist the film. Not a classical purist am I - mad props to Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Yann Tiersen, John Williams, and the like, I've got lots of their stuff - but as a catch-all genre, classical is pretty vague.

Nance11/03/2006

I think classical genre was right, maybe global but I didn't want to create a list for each specific classical type (orchestral/choral/baroque/piano/opera/movie score/...). I still think classical can be consider as a genre, take a look at the list "Every style of music ever created (about 95% complete)" by darktremor.
But your right, my list contains a broad variety of classic music, on purpose.

I really think that soundtrack is more than just assist the film since we listen of the music without see the movie. Same thing for music made for the opera, ballet,...

vera11/03/2006

Point taken - I guess that was just my 'miss know it all' moment of the day. Trying to keep it down to one, you know. May I humbly recommend as a recent favorite, and certainly quite dramatic - Shostakovich's Concerto No 1 for Piano and Orchestra in C Minor, op 35. Cheers!

Nance11/03/2006

Sure I will take a look, I like suggestions. ~_^

Nance12/05/2007

Since last year, I add a lot more typically classical tracks.
I became a die hard fan of Antonin Dvorak.

Nance06/26/2011

I will make soon two lists: one for original classic works and another for original scores, because there is too many to choose and I'm tired to cut from one or another.

Nance07/01/2011

My god, this is done! And I remove all the most polemic ones too (broadway musicals...), this is the closest as a classical music list as I can get!

kenji11/20/2006

Quite extraordianry to come up with 1000! And plenty of food for thought, new things to explore. Good to see Double Life of Veronique, others by Preisner, + Once upon a Time in America. I'd have picked more Sibelius, Puccini, Verdi, but just taste...

Nance11/20/2006

That’s interesting. During the week, I’ll take a look at your top 100. I had tried to do a search on Listology to discover some ideas for classic music, that’s almost impossible. The search feature is almost useless or it’s just me and I don’t know how to use it well.

For the suggestions, Sibelius, that name reminds me something. I just can’t put my finger on it, I will take a look. For Verdi, I had a very big problem about him. I’m always confusing him with Mozart vice-versa, this is hard to explain, I will try to do something about that.

I can’t believe I forgot Puccini (I’d just put Mme Butterfly), I love him, I forget Turnadot, Tosca … (I’ll add them later). This is because when I made the list I could not remember everything, so I update it later as I remember them.

Nance11/20/2006

I've made another update.

I can now made a difference between Requiem/Dies irae of Verdi and Mozart (or almost). Not secure about this one.

lolitascorne02/12/2007

Oh, my god. I'm just about to kiss you. I've been searching for literally two years for the name of that pretty little piano piece played in "The Hole" -- and judging by this, it's called "Can We Talk", correct? Do you, by any chance, have it? I've been waiting so long for it... it's such a beautiful tune...

Nance02/16/2007

There's no piano in "Can We Talk", mostly violin.
I don't know about the piano piece you are talking about, maybe another track or maybe this is not Clint Mansell.

And take a look at the "Author Comments":
I won't take any request of mp3, but you can find it on p2p or on a commercial CD site...

cse03/24/2007

Hello,
Nice track list. I was wondering if you can please help me...Im not very knowledgeable in classical pieces but Ive been trying to identify a classic song/remix that I heard a long time ago on some TV ads. I was able to make a recording of the ad: http://home.exetel.com.au/kb/misc/classical-techno.zip

Apologies for the really bad recording quality and also being a zip file as my ISP unfortunately deletes all mp3 files automatically. I assure you there is no virus or anything inside.

Basically after several years of searching for the tune's identity, Ive narrowed it down to sounding something very similar to X-ray dog's Revolutionary Mix track. It also seems to have a distinctive vivaldi/violin feel to it (quite similar to four seasons - winter). Also note the sample above appears to be a techno/breakbeat remix of the original. I would be very grateful if you or anyone else could please identify the tune.

Nance03/29/2007

I will try to do samples for most of them.
Amazon is a great source of samples...

Nance03/29/2007

With the 64000 characters limit I can't really do more.
Maybe I will split the list in two parts as I do for paintings...

Nance04/15/2007

I email the Webmaster and this is a database thing.
So I split the list in two parts.

Chelcihow08/14/2007

Nice list. I have had something on my mind and I can't quite picture what it's from. Has anyone heard the "Chillin' with the Family" remix of "Here with Me" by Dido? It sounds like a sample, but I can't place it!

Any help?

AlexWalkerSmith09/22/2009

Great list! I'm a film score nut, and so many of my favorites are in there. But you're missing one in particular. Have you heard the soundtrack to The Land Before Time by James Horner? (first movie only! Sequels are bad..) Anyway, it's probably some of the greatest music every written, and definitely makes my top 10 soundtracks!

Nance09/22/2009

I never heard of it, I will try to take a look. Thanx!

kingmarkiii07/22/2010

haha thanks for helping me discover Philip Glass, i love Pruit Igoe

Nance07/23/2010

Really? You're welcome. I didn't know that some people can discover stuffs from my huge list, plus in the middle of it!

I discover Glass mostly by movies trailer music, he's very recognizable each time. His Mishima score is playing in the beginning of the Embrace of the Vampire movie trailer and you can hear his music in a lot of them. I think Pruit Igoe was also in one of the Watchmen trailer.

Nance04/18/2013

Ok, I begin to have a lot that I don't want to cut, so I will try to put just one from one work.

Nance04/18/2013

This mean, as I add new ones, I will cut the ones that have more that one track attached.