Every classical music collection deserves certain pieces as its cornerstones. To that end, we've taken on the admittedly daunting task of creating what we're dubbing "The Essential 25": 25 pieces of music in a given genre (here, orchestral pieces) that you simply must hear, or even revisit. Although there are dozens--and in many instances, hundreds!)--of interpretations available for each of these works, we’ve suggested specific recordings to get you started.
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1. Bach, Orchestral Suite No. 3 Of all Bach’s six orchestral suites, there’s no doubt that No. 3 is the most popular by far, thanks to the continuing omnipresence of the “Air on the G String.” This recording led by Martin Pearlman is bright and lively, and makes for perfect listening. |
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2. Barber, Adagio for Strings Samuel Barber was one of the all-time great American composers, and his sorrowful Adagio for Strings is by far his best-known work; you’ll undoubtedly know it from its use in the film "Platoon”. Besides Thomas Schippers’ impeccable direction, what makes this recording particularly worthwhile is the inclusion of several more wonderful Barber pieces, such as the song “Dover Beach,” sung by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and the languid wind quintet called Summer Music. |
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3. Bartok, Concerto for Orchestra Though essentially a symphony in its formal structure, Bela Bartok created a virtuosic, hugely colorful showpiece that highlights each section of the orchestra. Fritz Reiner, a close friend and advocate of Bartok, harnesses the players of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brilliantly; the pairing of the wonderful, folkish Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste is an added bonus. |
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4. Beethoven, Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony might well be the most famous classical work ever written—and this is probably the all-time classic recording, full of power and depth. (Check out the Seventh Symphony, too: if the second movement doesn’t tear you to bits emotionally, you’ve got a heart of stone.) |
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5. Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 “Choral” There’s a certain alchemy at play here that is just magnificent: one of the indisputably greatest works ever written, in a recording that is truly joyous—conductor Georg Solti is transcendent here. |
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6. Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique Berlioz’ opium-drenched nightmare of an orchestral work is played with staggering ferocity and vividness by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, led by Charles Munch. If there’s any work that proves how overwhelmingly visceral and whole-bodied classical music can be—so far removed from the prim-and-proper stereotype—this is it. |
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7. Brahms, Symphony No. 2 There’s a gorgeous singing quality to Brahms’ music, even when he wrote for an orchestra—and that’s an element that conductor Charles Mackerras very much brings to the fore in this vibrant recording. |
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8. Britten, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra English composer Benjamin Britten did indeed have a youthful audience in mind when he penned this, but it’s a wonderful introduction to the orchestra for listeners of any age. This sprightly recording led by Andre Previn also includes Prokofiev’s always charming Peter and the Wolf, also aimed at young listeners. |
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9. Copland, Appalachian Spring Few classical works are so closely associated with the idea of America as Aaron Copland’s ballet Appalachian Spring, written for Martha Graham. Here, the composer himself helms the performance; while the performance isn’t as kinetically propulsive as Bernstein’s later account, it’s a more gentle—and enchanting—creation. |
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10. Debussy, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun Far from being a painterly composer of soothing pastel tones, Claude Debussy was a revolutionary before his time, a composer who played with traditional notions of tonality fearlessly. The famous Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is both unsettling and sinuousness—and completely beguiling. |
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11. Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue Gershwin’s music limned between classical music and popular styles, but few conductors manage to successfully navigate both facets of his compositions. A clear exception was Leonard Bernstein, who was just as much at home in theater and even jazz as Gershwin was. This recording is an American classic. |
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12. Gorecki, Symphony No. 3 When this recording of Polish composer Henryk Gorecki’s “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” was first released, it sold well over a million copies—an incredible success story for a new composition, and perhaps all the more so given its difficult subject matter: the bonds between mother and child, and death. Conductor David Zinman leads gracefully, but the real center of gravity here is soprano Dawn Upshaw, who is radiant and moving beyond measure. |
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13. Handel, Water Music We’ve all heard this as pleasant, if a tad soporific, background music thousands of times. But why not revisit Handel’s music in a performance that bursts at the seams with real energy and excitement? This performance, led by Jordi Savall, is a reminder of Handel’s ineffable grace. |
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14. Holst, The Planets 20th-century film scores wouldn’t be what they are today if this piece didn’t exist; there’s a cinematic thrill and drama in Gustav Holst’s imagining of the universe that resonates deeply with audiences and influenced generations of movie composers--and this is a really fun interpretation, full of all the bombast inherent in this piece. |
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15. Mahler, Symphony No. 1 Few symphonists beguile many new listeners the way Mahler does; there’s something about his often jarring juxtapositions of sweet and bitter, the way that he tries to express the whole of humanity’s emotions within a single work. Mahler’s first symphony, gargantuan in scope and reach, is his first articulation of the obsessions that preoccupied him for the rest of his life. This classic Kubelik recording pairs the Symphony No. 1 "Titan" with a very moving account of the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer). |
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16. Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik If there were ever classical music to just sit back and enjoy, this would be it—in fact, that was very much what Mozart had in mind for his “little night music.” Andrew Manze, a fantastically sharp-witted violinist and conductor, brings exhilarating joy to this performance. |
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17. Mozart, Symphony No. 40 Mozart’s last symphonies are perfectly crafted and emotionally brilliant; the Fortieth is an excellent place to begin your explorations, and the Berlin Philharmonic’s big, lush sound is simply luminous. |
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18. Reich, Music for 18 Musicians Steve Reich’s famous piece Music for 18 Musicians, structured solely around eleven chords, achieves a very tricky balance: as structurally limited as it seems on paper, it creates an exhilarating, nearly transcendent experience for listeners and performers alike. This recording, helmed by Reich himself, is pure joy. |
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19. Schubert, Symphony No. 9 “Great” Robert Schumann famously noted that this symphony was of “heavenly length, like a great novel in four volumes.” Bernstein is perhaps not an obvious choice as a top interpreter, but the American conductor’s sense of Schubert’s depth and meaning is stunning. |
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20. Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 “The creative reply of a Soviet artist to justified criticism” is what Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich is said to have dubbed his Fifth Symphony; in truth, it is a sly, ironic, and ultimately wrenching narrative of suffering under a totalitarian regime. Bernard Haitink leads the Royal Concertgebouw players with bracing spirit and trenchant force. |
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21. Sibelius, Finlandia The fabulous tone poem Finlandia chronicles the proud history of the Finnish people and, not incidentally, was meant as a protest of Russian colonialism. But even stripped of its historical context, this stirring work is a testament to struggle and triumph. The superb Finnish conductor Osmo Vanska and his forces bring real heart to this piece. |
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22. Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra With one of the most famous openings in music history (think the theme to the film "2001: A Space Odyssey"), Richard Strauss’ Thus Spoke Zoroaster is a magisterial, mysterious creation, and even sixty years after this recording was made, Reiner conjures up electrifying power and immediacy. |
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23. Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring The wild, primeval, and still staggeringly modern sound of this ballet still electrifies, almost 100 years after it was written. Moreover, Stravinsky’s superb use of rhythm and orchestral coloring make the tale of a young girl’s sacrifice totally harrowing. Moreover, Monteux is one of the best conductors to have worked with Stravinsky, and grasped the torment that lies at the heart of this piece. |
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24. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique” There’s nothing pitiful about this display of Russian super-romanticism, despite the often misinterpreted title of this piece (the correct translation means something like “passionate” or “emotional”). Tchaikovsky had a great gift for memorable melodies, and Karajan’s conducting here—of a piece he recorded at least five different times over his career—is thrilling. |
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25. Vivaldi, The Four Seasons This is another of those pieces that has most unfortunately been for the most part relegated to our collective memory as a pretty—if shallow—Baroque trifle. But here, violinist Giuliano Carmignola and conductor Andrea Marcon, with the Venice Baroque Orchestra, positively throw off sparks. |
by Anastasia Tsioulcas
