Classical music is not what you think… And pieces I would recommend!

Hi Charlie!

 

Today I wanted to write a general article about classical music, and more specifically about what

are misconceptions about it, about accessible pieces I would recommend to start listening to this 

genre. And I think I will write another article (otherwise it would be too long) just for fun, I will give 

pieces that I don't find accessible at the end, especially for non musicians.

Classical music is often seen as "boring", "only for intellectuals or a small elite", ad music, music you 

hear when a villain appears in a movie, background music / relaxing music to study or sleep… 

Pretty bad reputation right? You will see later in the article that classical music is not so serious :D 

And for a start, I found a pretty recent video about this topic by the great conductor and humorist 

Rainer Hersch with his orchestra. I really recommend you watch this one: 

https://youtu.be/uEybws6Fnw0

But I am not against the fact people use it to relax at all as it is what it is meant for for many pieces, 

but it is also not meant to make you sleep unless it is entitled "lullaby". I think the pieces I really like 

have more depth than just music to relax to. Also we should not categorize music classic into the 

"relaxing" box, for instance you all know: 

https://youtu.be/GXFSK0ogeg4

So not everything is relaxing, plenty of pieces seek the opposite with representations of death, 

violence, madness etc… or some pieces are just made to be complex to show off your techniques 

like the 4rth caprice of Paganini (I put that one but all of his compositions are made to impress 

people):

https://youtu.be/H5qpfp-AjPQ

Or the well known campanella by Liszt (same for this composer, but on the piano):

https://youtu.be/MD6xMyuZls0

As some of you might know, I really like the YouTube channel of two australian violinists, Twosetviolin. 

I was just writing this very article when one of their videos on elitism was uploaded. I think it reflects 

really well the stigmas of classical music on that point, how it is considered wrongly inaccessible. 

https://youtu.be/ldBlc1HHCGA

And by the way, watching this channel or others such as "Heart of the keys" or Nahre Sol’s channel for 

composition, can be a great way to discover classical music in a fun and humoristic way! If you are 

interested let me know in a comment below, as I know a few more. 

Though I put a lot of known pieces above that you might have recognized, the misconceptions 

about classical music come from famous pieces we all know that are often stereotypes. I myself can't 

listen to some pieces because I feel I listened to them too many times, or that it is really cliche. 

Musicians or people just into classical music don't listen to the turkish march of Mozart, the summer 

by Vivaldi as it is presented in mainstream competitions, the various waltz of Vienna etc… or at least 

rarely. Of course I must know them but it is just not what I listen to in my everyday life. Classical 

music is a very wide term that went through centuries, starting at the very beginning of music 

creation. As a consequence, the repertoire is absolutely gigantic, so it should not be reduced to 

a few works. These choices will be forcingly reductive, but I can’t put and talk about a hundred 

pieces, so these are just suggestions. Most of them are also quite famous for musicians, but my 

goal is not to pick videos with the least views either!

I am not a specialist in all musical periods (especially the classical and renaissance ones) so my choices

will be influenced by my instruments and my musical tastes (mostly german and french baroque as 

well as post-romantic / modern french and russian music), though I will try to vary the repertoire. 

Also if you decide to listen to one of the pieces below, please take the time not to do anything, 

close your eyes and listen to the melodies or try to invent a story with it! You are not forced to 

listen to the whole piece, you can just stop anywhere you want and just listen for a few minutes, so

don't be impressed by the long 40 minutes long videos. I will give the pieces + some extra 

compositions/ composers in the same style if you like one of them, and you can ask me for any advice 

in the comments. If you don’t know which one to pick, read my description.

As I will talk a lot about musical periods here is a vague chronology for those of you who don’t know: 

But anyway, here are some pieces I think would be great if you want to start listening to classical: 

1. Piano concerto no 2 - S. Rachmaninoff:

Played by Alexander Malofeev: https://youtu.be/0CW6cxApOBg

Played by Nobuyuki Tsujii: https://youtu.be/dGX3temma5Q

Ok I said I would try not to be too influenced by my tastes as this is my favorite concerto 

of them all, but I think this particular piece could really be a great start! It is a piano concerto, 

meaning a piece written for an orchestra and a piano as a soloist, in that case with 3 movements

(as if it was 3 different pieces but within 1 big piece, and with all of them linked by the 

atmosphere, the way of writing, the theme etc…). If you don’t know this composer from the 

post-romantic period yet, go and read my blog article on him :) In my opinion, it is at the 

same time mysterious, romantic, dreamy, melancholic and happy at the same time. But we 

can’t really caracterize this piece in a few words because it would be too reductive, as it is 

infinitely rich musically speaking. Rachmaninoff wrote this after a long period of depression, 

and this work marks the end of this period of his life, like a recovery. That is why we could 

imagine this work as a conversation of the composer with himself, thinking back on what he 

went through but also thinking ahead. The first version I have selected is by the young russian

pianist Alexander Malofeev, as he was only 15 when he performed this! Not to mention the 

difficulty of this piece and of playing by memory a 30 minutes long piece, he delivered 

an incredible interpretation with the Baltic Sea Philharmonic full of understanding and emotions. 

The second version is played by the blind pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii. I already tried to play closing 

my eyes and it is not that complicated, except when there are jumps. And in this piece, the 

opening chords are only jumps, not to mention the following parts. I was really amazed by 

this performance when I first saw him, and I thought of what the pianist must have gone through 

in his life. And this is one of the reasons why it is amazing, there is a real link with the music of 

Rachmaninoff himself.

If you like this work, you can go and listen to his other piano concertos (less good but still 

amazing) notably the 3rd one with the ossia cadenza, but also his preludes or his  etudes 

tableaux for piano. You can listen to Valentina Lisista’s arrangement of the second piano 

concerto for piano solo, playing both the soloist and the orchestra’s part at the same time!

Though it is crazy, I think it is still missing something. There is also Shostakovich second 

piano concerto especially the andante, his dark string quartets, or scriabin’s etude op 8 no 12 

(for piano solo). In the same period but with spanish influences, there is also Albeniz’s 

Asturias for piano solo. And I have to mention “Reveille'' from Pushkin’s Garland by the neo 

romantic and Russian composer Georgy Sviridov, even though it is vocal music.

2. Chaconne - JS. Bach

Played by Hilary Hann (violin): https://youtu.be/ngjEVKxQCWs

Piano version of Busoni played by Helene Grimaud: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOHiI_5yycU

Going back in time to the baroque period, here is a piece I love for violin solo, and apparently 

one of the hardest to play. Bach is another one of my favorite composers, both a composer 

and a mathematician, he wrote his compositions in a very structured way. But this frame leaves 

room for his religious beliefs, as well as emotions and beauty. I won’t say too much about this 

one, but go and listen to it and you will understand!

I chose the interpretation of Hilary Hann, which I believe there is an article about on the blog. 

She is an incredible violinist, with a more romantic interpretation of the piece (whereas 

it is baroque). Though from a completely different time, it gives me the same impression 

of depth, uniqueness and poetry like in the music of Rachmaninoff. I love the interpretation 

of Helene Grimaud of the arranged version by Busoni as well. If you don’t know, she has a very 

interesting life as she rises and protects wolves in addition to being a pianist.

Among the other pieces of this same period, and similar to this one, there is the Chaconne 

by Vitali, or the partitas for violin like the first one, bwv 1002 for instance. Otherwise 

you can listen to the fantasia and fugue in g minor for organ played by Leo Van Doeselaar 

or the passacaglia for organ, very close to the passacaglia of Buxtehude or of the trio in 

passacaglia of André Raison. 

3. Concerto for Flute and Harp KV 299 - WA. Mozart

Only the second movement by Anna Komarova (flute) and Alisa Sadikova (harp, she was only 

9 in the video!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00iO7FXWhx8

The whole concerto by Tamara Coha Mandić (flute) and Diana Grubišić Ćiković (harp): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nheif2BuFz0

You may know I am not the biggest Mozart’s fan, though some music he composed is just 

extraordinary. This is one of the pieces I really like, as well as my little sister’s suggestion. 

As you can see in the title, there is not one soloist but two, one flute and one harp. Though it is 

not a duo but a concerto as the orchestra accompanies them except in the cadenzas. 

I really like the combination of both of these instruments, I think it makes the piece sound a 

bit magical or dreamy. I could easily imagine a beautiful landscape or an imaginary world with 

birds singing answering each other. What do YOU imagine? 

And I just wanted to add that I was really shocked to discover the ridiculous suggestions 

when you write “Mozart” on youtube, like “for babies” “brain power” and then “for baby brain 

development”. Because it is really fitting the cliches concerning classical music, that it makes 

kids or people smarter. I really don’t think that it should be the way we look at this particular 

music, though it is good for kids to listen to classical but not for the same reasons. 

 

Among the pieces close to this one I know, I would recommend Mozart’s requiem in its entirety

if you don’t know it already, the adagio of his piano concerto no 23 played by Helene 

Grimaud, and pieces by other classical composers. For instance the “pathétique” or the 

“moonlight” sonata by Beethoven (he is between the classical and romantic period), 

Schubert’s trio, or Haydn’s trumpet concerto. 

4. The moldau - B. Smetana

Arranged harp version: https://youtu.be/TnYCW8eWqQo

Orchestral (original) version: https://youtu.be/l6kqu2mk-Kw

Before knowing this piece, I did not know any other pieces by this composer, as he is well 

known for this one in particular, and a lot less for the other pieces he wrote. He is part of 

the romantic movement, and likes composing orchestral works with often solo parts for harp. 

The Moldau describes the course of the Vltava, a huge river in Czech Republic. It first starts 

in two small springs, but then gets bigger and bigger. The theme always gets stuck in my 

head when I listen to it, and I really like the visual aspect the story gives. I think it is great to 

imagine water flowing with fishes in it, and it really gives a vivid impression of a landscape. 

And this time I think the arranged version for harp does the work complete justice, to the 

point of preferring it over the original and I really like this performance too! Like the symphonic 

poem, it is very delicate and gives this pittoresque aspect. 

For this one I would recommend “The fountain” by Marcel Lucien Grandjany played by Alisa 

Sadikova (still 9), or the symphonic poem Mazeppa by Liszt, another orchestral that gives a 

story (you can look it up online) even though it is much more violent. In the same period you 

can listen to Meldelssohn’s violin concerto by Hilary Hann, Brahms’ epic violin concerto.

5. Pelleas and melisandre - C. Debussy

Version of the grand theater of Geneve: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOI3C15AisQ

Version of the opera of Lille: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqF7GKNkG2I

WARNiNG: it is in French, shocking I know. But if you don’t already know, opera is a genre that 

tells a story through music, and it is generally very hard to understand a word of what the 

characters say. It depends on the singer, of the piece, or the fact you focus or not on 

understanding. And that is why if you ever went to see an opera in real life, you will always have

subtitles on screens above the scene. But hopefully, you can activate subtitles on the video 

in English!

 

I had to put on opera, because it is a big sub-genre, even though I’ve got to admit I don’t often 

listen to opera. But nonetheless, it is still pretty appealing as it is like theater with a story, 

costumes, texts inspired by poetry, decors, acting, dancing etc... but with beautiful music. 

And I think the story helps to imagine what the music is about, but the music also helps to 

understand the story. But the downside (or upside) is that it is 3 hours long.

According 

to the description of the video, the story is about a prince meeting a mysterious young 

woman in dark woods, and taking her home to a dark castle haunted by repressed longings. 

There she grows fonder of her new husband's half-brother, sparking a fatal love triangle 

between the three of them. I did watch the whole opera but I thought that it resumed 

the story really well. I have a preference for the first version, but the second is really 

good too, and there are plenty of other interpretations.

 

I picked this one in particular, because Debussy is from the modern period, and he has a 

really unique way of composing, using modes, polyrhythms... I remember one meme I 

found on the internet, showing composers with different hands in function to their way of 

composing. Debussy was pictured with feathers instead of hands, reflecting the light 

impression we have when listening to is music. Though for premieres et terminales, you could 

recognize many elements of the gothic genre in this work, especially the first version ;)

If you like this opera, you can go and listen to the famous opera “The magic flute” by Mozart 

performed by the Royal Opera house. It is a classic but the story is great and the costumes 

and I really liked this version, highlighting all the irony and humor Mozart implied. If you like 

music more than the genre, you can listen to Debussy’s other compositions like his book 

“Children’s Corner” with “The snow is dancing” I really like, or other compositions that sounds 

a bit jazzy, his orchestral work “La Mer” or his compositions for voice and accompaniment 

like “romance” or “les angelus” etc...

6. “Sento un certo non se che” - C. Monteverdi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6195KCenTjQ

If you noticed, I did not put any works from the renaissance and medieval period yet, the 

reason being it is nearly always religious, so not the most accessible especially for non religious 

people, but also most of the works are anonymous. However I will put some religious 

pieces at the end to represent this genre. Here is one piece probably composed at the end 

of the renaissance even though the youtube channel is called “total baroque”. I hear it 

because it sounds almost baroque with the harpsichord, but it still has some instruments 

of the renaissance. Moreover, Monteverdi is considered one of the most influential composers 

of the Baroque period. What is accessible is more the performance than the music itself, as 

it is quite a humoristic performance, in which you feel the musicians are just having fun! 

Both voices could surprise you, both the contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux  and especially 

the famous french countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. 

This chart is not that precise as all voices are different but it explains voices register pretty well. 

Soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto are the registers for women whereas tenor, baryton and bass 

are the ones for men. Here M.N. Lemieux is a contralto, meaning she can sing lower than the lower 

register for women, and P. Jaroussky is a countertenor meaning he can sing higher than the higher 

register for men. This is why it could appear surprising, both of them have pretty much the same voice. 

Among other renaissance works (this time not so close to the baroque) and if you want a laugh, here is 

part of the miserere allegri but with a little something (though you can listen to the full work afterwards):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1410 × 739ukDAfF0-8q8

Or organ renaissance music (you will notice at the time the air system was not automatic and the 

temperament not equal) put the video at 50:40 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T103Nw-0-k&list=PLcY1BXUowWMjzxlfSBM08nX9WjWA9jaaW&index=59

Or if you like high male voices like me you can listen to P. Jaroussky or other countertenors / boy sopranos 

like Jakub Jozef Orlinski or Aksel Ryykvin on Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Purcell, Haendel or Mozart. I would 

recommend the youtube channel “baroque and beyond” with plenty of comparisons between singers but 

also a way to discover great pieces. A few examples would be “Sì dolce è'l tormento" by Monteverdi, Purcell’s 

“Strike the Viol” or Vivaldi’s “Furibondo spira il vento”. If you prefer low female voices you can listen to 

Nathalie Stutzmann singing works by roughly the same composers. There are several of her recordings on 

the same channel.  

7. Keyboard Concerto no.1 bwv 1052 - JS. Bach 

played by Glenn Gould and Leonard Bernstein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZX_XCYokQo

(the playing starts at 5:08)

Sorry this is Bach again, but I had to put this historical recording in here! If the music itself was not already 

incredible because it’s Bach, the performers make this piece a true wonder. Glenn Gould was a Canadian 

pianist, very revolutionary in the way he played because of his unconventional phrasing, clarity of the notes. 

But more than playing differently he became a personality himself for his singing, his memory, his awful 

posture, his compositions or again the number of recordings he made. He had an ease in front of the 

cameras, for talking or playing whereas if I try to record myself I always waste my time as I am never 

satisfied. I don’t think you can hear him sing in this recording as the mics did not catch that, but in all his 

recordings you can always hear the humming. This video of him playing and singing in his house is pretty 

famous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB76jxBq_gQ

The conductor which is also the person presenting is called Leonard Bernstein. He is one of the most 

famous conductors, if not the most famous, for holding a TV show explaining the music as you can hear 

at the beginning, but also for the way he understands music and conducts it of course. I recommend you 

watch the beginning in which he discusses interpretation, but if you don’t have the time you can jump 

straight to the performance. 

For this one I would recommend Bach double violin concerto (with an orchestra of course) by Ray Chen, 

Diego Matheuz and Christian Vasquez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNZKwKRUb7U

This is a crazy performance of the Bach double violin concerto with an exalted public so beware if you 

are using headphones! Or if you don’t like Bach even if I don’t know how that could happen, you can try 

listening to Rameau with “les cyclopes” or the well known “les sauvages” or other pieces by Bach like 

the gigue, played by Grigory Sokolov. In the same period I have not mentioned yet, there are also 

orchestral pieces by Telemann, or sonatas for harpsichord (or piano in more modern takes) or for 

guitar. You could also like Bach’s Goldberg variation or inventions played by Glenn Gould for piano 

(even though this instrument did not exist yet, Bach played the organ and the harpsichord).

8. Chopin ocean etude

Played by Grigory Sokolov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhLunFajgwg

Played by “Rousseau” with a reactive visualizer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRlHKQXjzZY

This is a short one, but very intense and quite hard to play. As the title indicates, it is supposed to 

represent the ocean. And Chopin does so by hiding the melody in the low register, played and 

accentuated by the left hand as if it was underwater. The visible part of the ocean, the waves are 

depicted by the arpeggios. I picked this one because like some other ones I thought it was very visual 

so I hope you will enjoy it!

The first recording is played by Grigory Sokolov, a great master and very respected russian pianist. 

What I like in his playing is the clarity of each note even in high speed pieces like this one, as well as the 

voices that we hear very clearly. I already mentioned a few recordings he did above so go listen to that! 

For the second one, if you don’t know what a reactive visualizer is, it is a complicated term for a program 

that shows the notes and the rhythm of a piece in a visual way. It is a bit hard to explain but it speaks for 

once you see it and it looks a bit like the visual of a synthesia but prettier. The sound of the recording is 

much better than the previous one as it is more recent. 

You can also check out Schumann’s fantasia, Chopin’s ballades, nocturnes, or his other etudes such as 

the revolutionary or the famous fantaisie impromptu, Wieniawski’s Scherzo Tarantelle for piano and violin,

or Liszt’s transcendental etudes played by Trifonov.

9. Three movements for organ and flute  - Jehan Alain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmDYrVcSwBk 

With a piano accompaniment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBrQpbfssZQ

Sorry for the image quality as the video is old, but the sound quality is great. I realized I did not put any duos, 

trios or little ensembles, whereas there are plenty great pieces for them. This is one of them by one of my 

favorite composers. Jehan Alain was a French organist, artist and composer who lived during the two wars. 

Though he survived the first one as he was still a child, he died as a hero during the battle of Saumur taking 

the lives of 16 german soldiers by himself before being shot. His compositions are very unique, resembling 

a bit to Debussy, very light and soft. He also drew caricatures or ink drawings I really like, you can search it 

up online. The first movement makes me think of a calm garden with a bird singing alone. In the second he 

could have encountered a cat and in the third, he could have teased him because he can’t fly. 

I recommend you listen to his other pieces such as “choral dorien”, “le jardin suspendu” or his 3 dances. I 

already mentioned Debussy above, but I think it also sounds like Satie’s compositions. He is a French 

composer that had a lot of humor, mocking the titles or the expression markings. I remember on one of his 

partition it said: “With the corner of the hand”, “don’t be proud”, “provide yourself with clairvoyance” or 

“with astonishments” instead of the normal markings such as “intimate”, “grave”, “dark”, “heroique” 

etc… There are his famous gymnopedies and gnossiennes, his “sonatine bureaucratique” with funny 

markings as well, his gothic dances...

10. Stabat Mater - GB. Pergolesi

Version with Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor), Emöke Barath (soprano), Nathalie Stutzmann (conductor), 

Orfeo 55 (orchestra): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzOmPUu-F_M

Version with Margaret Marshall (soprano), Lucia Valentini Terrani (contralto), Claudio Abbado (conductor), 

London Symphony Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHQVtYzjLao

The Stabat Mater is a Christian hymn to Mary, who suffers as a mother of the Christ during the Passion 

time. I listened to the introduction by the countertenor (that I won’t put because it is in French) and he 

said the text was particularly hard to interpret as sometimes Pergolesi wrote music that sounded joyful 

on passages particularly sad, and I thought that it was very interesting. He said as well that the music was 

built really well in terms of structure, as the composer reserves emotion for certain passages of the pieces 

and not constantly. I think the whole piece is an absolute masterpiece that more than deserved a mention 

here. I love this version the most but you can find others. I already talked about the countertenor Philippe 

Jaroussky for the renaissance piece, but I also really enjoy the voice of the soprano Emöke Barath. They 

interpret the music without too much vibrato but just a little bit. I like the other version with a contralto 

and a soprano less because I think it is not as light as the interpretation of Nathalie Stutzmann, but it is 

always good to compare and listen to different versions. However I have to say that the recording sounds 

really good considering it was recorded in 1985.

Other religious I recommend would be St John's Passion by Bach as I wanted to put this one but 3 pieces 

by Bach was a bit too much! But also all of his cantatas, his mass in b minor and the “orgelbüchlein”. You 

can find plenty of Bach pieces on the youtube channel and website of the Netherland Bach society. There 

is also the Stabat Mater of Vivaldi sung by Tim Mead, or the pieces I mentioned above in the part on 

Monteverdi. The majority of renaissance and baroque works are religious so there are plenty you can 

listen to. Or from completely different periods, the prayer of Camille St Saens for organ and cello, the 

Litanies (they sound a bit jazzy) by Jehan Alain. 

 

There you have it, hope you enjoyed it and that it will be useful if you want to discover classical music! 

Thank you for reading,

Astrid