Classical Music “Greatest Hits” – for music-listening goals

Alphabetical by composer; those with *’s are currently broken links, but you can search for them on YouTube.

Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Movement 1
(ca. 1721, Baroque Period)

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5, First Movement
(ca. 1807, Classical/Romantic Period)

Georges Bizet
Farandole from L’Arlésienne Suite
(ca. 1885, Romantic Period)
Alternate: music from “Carmen”

Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dance No. 5
(ca. 1869, Romantic Period)

Benjamin Britten
Playful Pizzicato from Simple Symphony
(ca. 1934, Modern Period)

Frédéric Chopin
“Military” Polonaise in A Major
(ca. 1838, Romantic Period)

Aaron Copland
“Simple Gifts” from Appalachian Spring
Variations on a Shaker Tune
(ca. 1944, Modern Period)

Aaron Copland
Hoe-Down from “Rodeo”
(ca. 1942, Modern Period)

Claude Debussy
Children’s Corner Suite
Golliwog’s Cakewalk
(ca. 1908, Impressionist Period)

Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 7
(ca. 1878, Romantic Period)

George Gershwin
Andante from Rhapsody in Blue
(ca. 1924, Modern Period)

Edvard Grieg
In the Hall of the Mountain King from The Peer Gynt Suite
(ca. 1875, Romantic Period)

George Frideric Handel
Water Music: Hornpipe
(ca. 1717, Baroque Period)

Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 94, “Surprise”: Second Movement
(ca. 1791, Classical Period)

Gustav Holst
Jupiter from The Planets
(ca. 1914, Modern Period)

Dmitri Kabalevsky
Galop from The Comedians
(ca. 1940, Modern Period)

Zoltán Kodály
Háry János Suite
Viennese Musical Clock
(ca. 1926, Modern Period)

Felix Mendelssohn
Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(ca. 1843, Romantic Period)
Alternate: Violin Concerto in E minor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Turkish Rondo from Piano Sonata No. 11 in A
(ca. 1783, Classical Period)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, maman”
(ca. 1781, Classical Period)
Alternate: “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” or Symphony #40 in G minor

Modest Mussorgsky
“Gnomes” from Pictures at an Exhibition
(ca. 1874, Romantic Period)

Modest Mussorgsky
Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition
(ca. 1874, Romantic Period)

Jacques Offenbach
“Can-Can” from Orpheus in the Underworld
(ca. 1858, Romantic Period)

Sergei Prokofiev
Troika from Lt. Kijé Suite
(ca. 1933, Modern Period)
Alternatives: “Peter and the Wolf” or music from “Romeo and Juliet”

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Flight of the Bumblebee
(ca. 1899, Romantic Period)

Gioachino Rossini
William Tell Overture
(ca. 1829, Romantic Period)

Franz Schubert
Marche Militaire
(ca. 1822, Romantic Period)

Robert Schumann
The Happy Farmer from Album for the Young
(ca. 1848, Romantic Period)

John Philip Sousa
The Stars and Stripes Forever
(ca. 1896, Romantic Period)

Johann Strauss Jr.
Tritsch-Tratsch Polka
(ca. 1858, Romantic Period)

Igor Stravinksy
Infernal Dance from The Firebird
(ca. 1910, Modern Period)

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Russian Dance from The Nutcracker
(ca. 1891, Romantic Period)

Giuseppe Verdi
Triumphal March from Aida
(ca. 1871, Romantic Period)

Antonio Vivaldi
Spring from The Four Seasons
(ca. 1723, Baroque Period)

Other pieces to look for:

Elgar, “Enigma Variations,” Romantic Period

Saint-Saens, “Carnival of the Animals,” Romantic Period

Strauss, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” [“Also Sprach Zarathustra”], Late Romantic Period

Ferde Grofé, “Grand Canyon Suite,” Modern Period