# 100 Classical Pieces You Must Hear Before You Die -- **PROJECT**



## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

*100 Classical Pieces You Must Hear Before You Die -- **PROJECT***

The goal of this project is to come up with a list of 100 works that we collectively consider to be essential listening for the human race.

_Lists like this abound on the internet relating to novels, movies, places to visit, foods to eat, etc, etc. Why not a classical music list? (Actually several already exist, but I don't believe we've done one on TalkClassical, yet)._

*Rules*
Each participant can list between 1-50 works. Each work listed will get one vote. I will keep track of which works get the most votes and the top 100 will make our list. We'll set a deadline of March 1, 2018 for all entries.

I hope it won't be necessary, but in the event that certain eras are under-represented, our final list will need a minimum number of entries for each era. *This is open to discussion* but I think initially we say that the final list needs to include at least 15 from each of these musical eras:
Baroque (1600-1760)
Classical era	(1730-1820)
Romantic era	(1815-1910)
20th century	(1900-2000)

A minimum of 5 from the:
Renaissance	(1400-1600)

And at least 2 from:
Medieval (476-1400)
21st century	(since 2000)

Your thoughts are welcome!

_PS 1 -- Once you have posted your list, please do not make separate entries detailing changes or substitutions. (You can however edit your original list entry as long as TC will let you). This will make keeping track of votes much easier.

PS 2 -- Do we need to limit the number of compositions included in the final list by an individual composer?_


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Keep in mind that this is not a list of favorites, per se, but a list of pieces you feel *everyone should hear* -- an important difference. For example, I love Louis Andriessen's piece De Staat and Prokofiev's Symphony no.6 but I would NOT consider them works everyone should hear. Similarly, I don't consider Gregorio Allegri's Miserere to be one of my all time favorites, BUT, it is a piece everyone should definitely hear.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Renaissance: 
Victoria Requiem
Gesualdo Tenebrae Responsoria
Monteverdi Vespers

Baroque:
Vivaldi Four Seasons
Bach St. Matthew Passion

Classical:
Haydn Nelson Mass
Mozart Don Giovanni
Beethoven Violin Concerto

Romantic:
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
Wagner Tristan und Isolde
Debussy Prelude afternoon of a faun

20th Century:
Stravinsky Rite of Spring
Prokofiev Piano Sonata 6
Bartok Music for Strings Percussion and Celesta
Varese Hyperprism
Shostakovich String Quartet 8
Vaughan Williams Symphony 5
Ravel String Quartet

21st Century:
Rihm Deus Passus


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Question: 
What audience are we targeting? Novices? Experienced classical music listeners? The choice of works would be largely different. 

Remark:
I like 21st century classical music, but to offer it five spots for 17 years seems a bit too generous.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Art Rock: 

Target Audience? Good question. This is open to interpretation and I think if some participants think "beginner" and some people think "experienced" we will get a beautifully diversified list.

Personally, I think a list like this would be most useful to those who are less experienced in classical music but have a basic understanding and strong interest — someone who has the spark but isn’t sure where to go. It could also be quite helpful to a so-called intermediate level listener as a tool for exploration.

I am also curious to see what pieces are selected in the areas I don't know as well - namely the Baroque Era and to some extent the Classical Era. So, in that sense, I think this list is a selfish desire of mine.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I organized something like this on another forum six years ago. After asking forum members to choose the works, I asked for nominations of performances. I then searched for those performances on MOG, which subsequently morphed into Beats and then Apple Music. I didn't use Spotify because its licensing arrangement with UMG at that time (at least in the U.S.) was problematic - you couldn't stream longer tracks. I then created a playlist that I made public.

Edit - I should add that I also started a thread that linked to the playlist.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Satie's ASLSP is on my list. I intend to hear its completion in Halberstadt before I begin my midlife crisis.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

science said:


> Satie's ASLSP is on my list. I intend to hear its completion in Halberstadt before I begin my midlife crisis.


That's Cage. Last year I stood outside the church where it was playing, but could not go in. Could not hear a single note. On the other hand, that was quite Cage-y.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I'm preparing a first draft, trying not to pour too much of my own preferences into the list, and limiting myself to 1 per composer. I have 50 right now, but dozens other composers that really need to be added. And I even cut out opera altogether.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

A list of just 50 is really hard! (I think if the goal is to produce a final list of 100, then everyone should be nominating _at least_ 100 each). I found the TC Project list is useful for organising one's thoughts.

I've decided to limit the works to 1 per composer to maximise the variety.

Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116
Beethoven: Symphony #5 in C minor, op. 67
Berg: Violin Concerto
Berio: Sinfonia
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, op. 14
Biber: Mystery (Rosary) Sonatas
Bizet: Carmen
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, op. 115
Bruch: Violin Concerto #1 in G minor, op. 26
Bruckner: Symphony #9 in D minor
Chopin: 24 Preludes, op. 28
Debussy: La Mer, L 109
Dowland: Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares
Dvořák: Symphony #9 in E minor, op. 95 "From the New World"
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 85
Fauré: Requiem in D minor, op. 48
Górecki: Symphony #3, op. 36 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs"
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16
Handel: Messiah, HWV 56
Haydn: String Quartets, op. 76 "Erdödy"
Holst: The Planets, op. 32
Janáček: Sinfonietta
Josquin: Miserere mei Deus
Ligeti: Chamber Concerto
Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178
Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame
Mahler: Symphony #6 in A minor "Tragic"
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 64
Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time)
Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
Puccini: La Bohème
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto #2 in C minor, op. 18
Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
Satie: Gymnopédies
Schubert: Winterreise, D. 911
Shostakovich: Symphony #5 in D minor, op. 47
Sibelius: Symphony #2 in D, op. 43
Strauss, R.: Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs)
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Tallis: Spem in Alium
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6 in B minor, op. 74 "Pathétique"
Verdi: La Traviata
Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde


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## josquindesprez (Aug 20, 2017)

Renaissance:
Dufay, Missa se la face ay pale
Dufay, Nuper rosarum flores
Obrecht, Missa Maria Zart
Obrecht, Salve Regina
Ockeghem, Missa Prolationum
Gesualdo, Responsoria
Gombert, Missa Media Vita in Morte Sumus
Josquin, Miserere
Josquin, Missa Gaudeamus
Josquin, Nymphes des bois
Josquin, Qui Habitat
Tallis, Felix Namque
Tallis, Spem in alium

Baroque:
Allegri, Miserere
Bach, Art of the Fugue
Bach, Cello Suites
Bach, English Suites
Bach, Violin Sonatas and Partitas
Biber, Mystery Sonatas
Frescobaldi, Fiori Musicali
Monteverdi, Madrigals Book 8
Monteverdi, Selva Morale et Spirituale
Monteverdi, Vespers of 1610
Pergolesi, Stabat Mater
Purcell, Fantazias
Purcell, Funeral Sentences
Zelenka, Litaniae de Sancto Xaverio
Zelenka, Miserere

Classical:
Gluck, Orphée et Eurydice
Mozart, Piano Concerto 23

Romantic:
Beethoven, Grosse fuge
Beethoven, Symphony 9
Bizet, Carmen
Bruckner, Symphony 7
Grieg, Piano Concerto
Verdi, Requiem
Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde
Weber, Der Freischütz

20th Century:
Bartók, String Quartets
Janacek, Glagolitic Mass
Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde
Poulenc, Dialogues of the Carmelites
Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto 2
Ravel, Daphnis et Chloe
Schoenberg, String Quartets
Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht
R. Strauss, Four Last Songs
Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Villa-Lobos, Bachianas Brasileiras


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

jegreenwood said:


> I organized something like this on another forum six years ago. After asking forum members to choose the works, I asked for nominations of performances. I then searched for those performances on MOG, which subsequently morphed into Beats and then Apple Music. I didn't use Spotify because its licensing arrangement with UMG at that time (at least in the U.S.) was problematic - you couldn't stream longer tracks. I then created a playlist that I made public.
> 
> Edit - I should add that I also started a thread that linked to the playlist.


20centrfuge may not want to include them in the final list, but for the purposes of this thread it might be nice if people added their preferred recordings in parentheses. It gives participants things to look into even if they're familiar with most or all of the works in people's lists.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Nerrefid:

A different final list results from having each participant submit 100, 50, 10, 1, or even 200 entries. Is one better than another? Who knows? I went with 50 for two reasons: 1) So those who only list 10 or 20 don’t feel like their vote is less consequential and 2) to encourage more participants (thinking that 100 might feel like too much work for some and would then be a disincentive to participation.)


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Adams: The Dharma at Big Sur
Bach: Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012
Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846-893
Beethoven: String Quartet #14 in C-sharp minor, op. 131
Berg: Lulu
Boulez: Anthèmes II
Boulez: Répons
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, op. 115
Brian: Symphony #1 in D minor "The Gothic"
Bridge: Piano Sonata, H.160
Britten: War Requiem, op. 66
Cage: Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp
Gesualdo: Madrigals
Górecki: Symphony #3, op. 36 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs"
Haas: in vain
Harvey: Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco
Haydn: String Quartets, op. 76 "Erdödy"
Hildegard: Ordo Virtutum
Honegger: Symphony #3 "Liturgique"
Ligeti: Le grand macabre
Ligeti: Études pour piano
Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat, K. 452
Mozart: Symphony #41 in C, K. 551 "Jupiter"
Poulenc: Oboe Sonata
Pärt: Für Alina
Rebel: Les élémens
Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of J.S. Bach, op. 81
Reich: Different Trains
Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
Schmitt: La tragédie de Salomé
Schnittke: Concerto Grosso #1
Schnittke: Piano Quintet
Schnittke: Viola Concerto
Schoenberg: A Survivor from Warsaw, op. 46
Schoenberg: String Quartet #4, op. 37
Schubert: Fantasia in F minor, D. 940
Schubert: Piano Sonata #21 in B-flat, D. 960
Schubert: String Quintet in C, D. 956
Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, op. 87
Shostakovich: String Quartet #15 in E-flat minor, op. 144
Stockhausen: Gesang der Jünglinge
Stockhausen: Kontakte
Varèse: Amériques
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
Webern: String Quartet, op. 28
Webern: Symphony, op. 21
Wolfe: Anthracite Fields


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Here's 50, max one per composer, no opera, a mix of war horses and less well-known pieces. I tried to make it "accessible" for people who have a little experience with classical music, while veterans can probably enjoy most of these as well. Or not. I will make a 100 composers list for my blog.

Alwyn (W) - Harp Concerto 'Lyra Angelica' (1954)
Bach (JS) - Solo Cello Suites BWV 1007-1012 (1723)
Barber (S) - Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Op. 24 (1947)
Bax (A) - November Woods (1917)
Beethoven (L van) - Piano Sonata No. 14 in Cis minor Op. 27- 2 'Moonlight Sonata' (1802)
Berg (A) - Violin Concerto (1935)
Berio (L) - Folk Songs (1964)
Berlioz (H) - Symphonie Fantastique Op. 14 (1830)
Brahms (J) - Clarinet Quintet in B minor Op. 115 (1891)
Britten (B) - War Requiem Op. 66 (1962)
Bruch (M) - Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor Op. 26 (1866)
Bruckner (A) - Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1896)
Chopin (F) - Three Nocturnes op. 9 (1832)
Corigliano (J) - Percussion concerto 'Conjurer' (2007)
Debussy (C) - Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894)
Dvorak (A) - String Quartet in F major Op. 96 'American' (1893)
Falla (M de) - Noches en los Jardines de España (1916)
Fauré (G) - Requiem in D minor Op. 48 (1890)
Górecki (H) - Symphony No. 3 Op. 36 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' (1976)
Grieg - Holberg Suite for string orchestra Op. 40 (1985)
Gubaidulina (S) - Jetzt Immer Schnee (1993)
Haydn (J) - Six String Quartets, Op. 76 (1798)
Liszt (F) - Piano Sonata in B minor S.178 (1853)
Mahler (G) - Das Lied von der Erde (1909)
Mendelssohn (F) - Violin Concerto in E minor Op. 64 (1844)
Messiaen (O) - Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1941)
Moeran (EJ) - Cello Concerto (1945)
Mozart (WA) - Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor K. 466 (1785)
Mussorgsky (M) - Pictures at an Exhibition, original piano version (1874)
Nielsen (C) - Clarinet Concerto op. 57 (1928)
Pärt (A) - Fratres (1977)
Penderecki (K) - Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1960)
Prokofiev (S) - Alexander Nevsky Cantata Op. 78 (1939)
Rachmaninoff (S) - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Op. 18 (1901)
Ravel (M) - String Quartet in F major (1903)
Reich (S) - Different Trains (1988)
Rimsky-Korsakov (N) - Scheherazade Op. 35 (1988)
Saint-Saëns (C) - Symphony No. 3 in C minor Op. 78 (1886)
Schubert (F) - String Quintet in C major D. 956 (1828)
Schumann (R) - Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 54 (1845)
Shostakovich (D) - String Quartet No. 8 in C minor Op. 110 (1960)
Sibelius (J) - Tapiola Op. 112 (1926)
Smetana (B) - Má vlast (1879)
Strauss (R) - Four Last Songs (1948)
Stravinsky (I) - Petrushka (1911)
Suk (J) - Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Asrael' Op. 27 (1906)
Takemitsu (T) - From Me Flows What You Call Time (1990)
Tchaikovsky (PI) - Serenade for Strings in C major Op. 48 (1880)
Vaughan Williams (R) - The Lark Ascending for violin and orchestra (1920)
Verdi (G) - Messa da Requiem (1874)


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Yup Portamento, pare it down to 50


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## R3PL4Y (Jan 21, 2016)

19th Century:
Beethoven 3
Beethoven 5
Beethoven 9
Bizet: Carmen
Brahms 4
Wagner: Tristan
Wagner: Parsifal
Wagner: Die Walkure
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Schubert Unfinished
Verdi: La Traviata
Bruckner 9
Dvorak 9
Mahler 2
Mahler 3
Elgar: Enigma Variations
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Saint-Saens 3
Strauss: Don Juan
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
Tchaikovksy: The Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky 6
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov
Gounod: Faust
Borodin: Prince Igor

20th Century:
Mahler 6
Mahler 9
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 3
Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances
Stravinsky Rite of Spring
Elgar 2
Bartok Concerto for Orchestra
Copland: Rodeo
Strauss: Salome
Hindemith: Mathis Der Maler Symphony
Barber: Violin Concerto
Berg: Violin Concerto
Schoenberg: Violin Concerto
Ives: The Unanswered Question
Messiaen: Turangalila
Messiaen: Eclairs sur l'au Dela
Nielsen 4
Vaughan Williams 5
Shostakovich 5
Prokofiev 5
Sibelius 7
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe
Debussy: La Mer
Varese: Ameriques
Gershwin: An American in Paris


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

20centrfuge said:


> Nerrefid:
> 
> A different final list results from having each participant submit 100, 50, 10, 1, or even 200 entries. Is one better than another? Who knows? I went with 50 for two reasons: 1) So those who only list 10 or 20 don't feel like their vote is less consequential and 2) to encourage more participants (thinking that 100 might feel like too much work for some and would then be a disincentive to participation.)


It's your show, your rules! My point would only really be relevant if there's just a small number of participants, which hopefully won't be the case.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I look at it like this: are there some works that an educated, thoughtful person should hear? When colleges required a humanities course, at some schools students did get exposed to great music, but no longer. So here's my wish (and I'll keep it short).

1. Bach: B minor mass
2. Mozart: symphony 41
3. Beethoven: symphonies 3, 5, 9
4. Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique
5. Wagner: bleeding chunks from The Ring
6. Brahms: symphony 1
7. Dvorak: From the New World
8. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto 1, Nutcracker Suite, Symphony 6
9. Stravinsky: Rite of Spring
10. Prokofieff: Romeo and Juliet
11. Shostakovich: Symphony 5
12. Copland: Rodeo
13. Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
14. Puccini: La Boheme
15. Bizet: Carmen


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I will give this some thought. I don't know how you people came up with a list so quickly. I will need to write this list on another machine, as all that typing on my iPad mini I have at home is a challenge. Please give me a few days. 

Do you plan on determining from our lists which pieces we have in common, and that becomes the list you must hear before you die?


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

"Do you plan on determining from our lists which pieces we have in common, and that becomes the list you must hear before you die?"

Yes


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## Trout (Apr 11, 2011)

1.	Pérotin: Viderunt omnes (1198)
2.	Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame (c. 1364)
3.	Josquin: Missa Pange Lingua (c. 1514)
4.	Tallis: Spem in Alium (c. 1570)
5.	Monteverdi: L'Orfeo (1607)
6.	Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (1677-88)
7.	Bach: Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012 (c. 1717-23)
8.	Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846-893 (1722)
9.	Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni (1725)
10.	Handel: Messiah, HWV 56 (1741)
11.	Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (1748-49)
12.	Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 (1785)
13.	Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro, K. 492 (1786)
14.	Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 (1787)
15.	Haydn: Symphony No. 104 in D "London" (1795)
16.	Haydn: String Quartets, op. 76 "Erdödy" (1796-97)
17.	Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat, op. 106 "Hammerklavier" (1818)
18.	Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 "Choral" (1822-24)
19.	Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, op. 131 (1826)
20.	Schubert: Winterreise, D. 911 (1827)
21.	Schubert: String Quintet in C, D. 956 (1828)
22.	Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (1830)
23.	Chopin: 24 Preludes, op. 28 (1835-39)
24.	Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 64 (1844)
25.	Verdi: La Traviata (1853)
26.	Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (1857-59)
27.	Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (1848-74)
28.	Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op. 98 (1884)
29.	Franck: Violin Sonata in A (1886)
30.	Fauré: Requiem in D minor, op. 48 (1887-90)
31.	Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, op. 115 (1891)
32.	Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, op. 74 "Pathétique" (1893)
33.	Debussy: La Mer, L 109 (1903-05)
34.	Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2, op. 10 (1907-08)
35.	Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit (1908)
36.	Mahler: Symphony No. 9 (1909-10)
37.	Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps (1913)
38.	Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 85 (1919)
39.	Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C, op. 105 (1922-24)
40.	Bartók: String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91 (1928)
41.	Varèse: Ionisation (1929-31)
42.	Berg: Violin Concerto (1935)
43.	Messiaen: Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps (1940-41)
44.	Boulez: Le marteau sans maître (1955)
45.	Stockhausen: Gesang der Jünglinge (1955-56)
46.	Berio: Sinfonia (1968-69)
47.	Glass: Einstein on the Beach (1975)
48.	Reich: Music for 18 Musicians (1974-76)
49.	Takemitsu: From Me Flows What You Call Time (1990)
50.	Ligeti: Études pour piano (1985-2001)


This was really hard, but interesting to make. My methodology was simply selecting the most important and diverse works of classical music. I tried to make the list provide a good survey and representation of each classical sub-genre, including opera, symphony, concerto, string quartet, other chamber, solo piano, vocal (both sacred and secular), tone poem, and electronic. This was done in coordination with considering the most significant composers and their most significant areas of contribution. In cases where I thought of two or more equally worthy representative pieces, e.g. Beethoven's opus 106 and 111, Mahler's symphonies, or Sibelius's symphonies, I went with my own subjective preference.

Another consideration was geography as I included a few pieces to provide a bit more diversity than just the standard European countries, even if it's still heavily Euro-centric. I'm sorry for the lack of Czech, Spanish, Asian, Australian, or South American representation, in spite of each of their rich classical music heritages.

While this may not be a very "accessible" list, I think it's a pretty good "essentials" list.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

I think it would be interesting to take everyone's input and see what it generates in terms of a 50 item list, a 100 item list, and also a 25 item list.

I can imagine a lot of people might actually being more interested in a 25 or 50 item list -- something they could potentially knock out during a summer vacation or something like that.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Trout said:


> This was really hard, but interesting to make. My methodology was simply selecting the most important and diverse works of classical music. I tried to make the list provide a good survey and representation of each classical sub-genre, including opera, symphony, concerto, string quartet, other chamber, solo piano, vocal (both sacred and secular), tone poem, and electronic. This was done in coordination with considering the most significant composers and their most significant areas of contribution. In cases where I thought of two or more equally worthy representative pieces, e.g. Beethoven's opus 106 and 111, Mahler's symphonies, or Sibelius's symphonies, I went with my own subjective preference.
> 
> Another consideration was geography as I included a few pieces to provide a bit more diversity than just the standard European countries, even if it's still heavily Euro-centric. I'm sorry for the lack of Czech, Spanish, Asian, Australian, or South American representation, in spite of each of their rich classical music heritages.
> 
> While this may not be a very "accessible" list, I think it's a pretty good "essentials" list.


I love the methodology you used! I intend to emulate some of it in my own list - especially in terms of different genres.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I realize questions like these tend to draw subjective favorites but, when reviewing many of these lists, it appears to me the question must have been, "What 100 pieces must one hear to ensure their interest in classical music is killed?"

I'd recommend consulting an expert on such a question:

https://www.amazon.com/Masterpieces-Music-Composers-Dolphin-reference/dp/0385057210


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

Here's mine. Alphabetical by composer.

Abrahamsen	let me tell you
Adams	Harmonielehre
Adams	Nixon in China
Allegri	Miserere
Bach	Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041
Barber	Violin Concerto
Barber	Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Bartók	Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123
Beethoven	Piano Sonata No. 8 "Pathetique"
Beethoven	Symphony No. 9
Bernstein	West Side Story
Brahms	Symphony No. 3
Chopin	24 Preludes, op. 28
Copland	Appalachian Spring
Debussy	Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), L 86
Debussy	Suite Bergamasque
Dvořák	Symphony No. 9 in E minor, op. 95 "From the New World"
Dvořák	Serenade for Strings
Elgar Enigma Variations, Op. 36
Fauré	Requiem, Op. 48
Gershwin	Rhapsody in Blue
Glass	Koyaanisqatsi
Grieg	Concerto for Piano in A minor, Op. 16
Handel	Concerto for Oboe no.3
Harvey	Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco
Haydn	Concerto for Trumpet in E flat major, H 7e no 1
Hindemith	Konzertmusik for Brass and Strings, Op. 50
Holst	First Suite in E-flat for Military Band
Holst	The Planets
Mendelssohn	Violin Concerto
Messaien	Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps
Milhaud	Creation of the World
Mozart	Don Giovanni
Mozart	Piano Concerto No. 20
Mussorgsky (Ravel, orch.)	Pictures at an Exhibition
Palestrina	Missa "Papae Marcelli"
Prokofiev	Lt Kije
Prokofiev	Romeo and Juliet
Puccini	Tosca
Rachmaninoff Variations on a Theme of Paganini 
Schubert	Symphony no. 8 "Unfinished"
Schubert	Winterreise, D 911/Op. 89
Shostakovich	Violin Concerto
Sibelius	Symphony No. 2 in D, op. 43
Sibelius	Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 82
Stravinsky	The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps)
Tallis	Spem in Alium
Tchaikovsky	Symphony No. 5
Van der Aa	Up-Close
Vivaldi	Four Seasons


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

I stopped at 100. Couldn't go any lower. Some works I paired together as a set.

Bach, Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6
Bach, Violin concertos
Bach, Cello suites
Bach, Violin sonatas & partitas
Bach, Organ works: Toccata & fugue in D minor, Passacaglia and fugue in C minor
Bach, Goldberg variations
Bach, Well-tempered Clavier
Bach, Mass in B minor
Bach, St Matthew Passion
Barber, Adagio
Bartok, Concerto for orchestra
Bartok, String quartets Nos. 1-6
Beethoven, Symphony No. 3
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5
Beethoven, Symphony No. 6
Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 
Beethoven, Symphony No. 9
Beethoven, Piano concerto No. 5
Beethoven, Violin concerto
Beethoven, String quartets Nos. 1-16
Beethoven, Piano sonatas Nos. 8, 14 & 23
Beethoven, Missa Solemnis
Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique
Bizet, Carmen
Brahms, Symphony No. 1
Brahms, Symphony No. 3 
Brahms, Symphony No. 4 
Brahms, Piano concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Brahms, Violin concerto
Brahms, Requiem
Bruch, Violin concerto
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8
Chopin, Nocturnes
Chopin, Waltzes
Debussy, Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
Debussy, String quartet
Debussy, Claire de lune
Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 
Dvorak, Cello concerto
Gershwin, Rhapsody in blue
Grieg, Piano concerto 
Handel, Messiah
Haydn, Symphonies Nos. 93-104
Haydn, String quartets, Op. 76, Nos. 2 & 3
Holst, The Planets 
Josquin, Missa Pange Lingua
Liszt, Piano sonata
Mahler, Symphony No. 5
Mahler, Symphony No. 9
Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde
Mendelssohn, Violin concerto
Monteverdi, Vespers of 1610
Mozart, Symphony No. 40
Mozart, Piano concerto No. 20
Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Mozart, Requiem
Mozart, Don Giovanni
Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro
Mozart, Die Zauberflöte
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an exhibition
Orff, Carmina burana
Pachelbel, Canon
Palestrina, Missa Papae Marcelli
Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet
Puccini, La bohème
Puccini, Tosca
Rachmaninoff, Piano concertos Nos. 2 & 3
Ravel, Bolero
Ravel, String quartet
Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherezade
Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia
Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht
Schubert, Symphony No. 8
Schubert, String quartet No. 14
Schubert, Trout quintet
Schubert, Piano sonata No. 21
Schubert, Lieder: Erkonig, An die Musik, Ständchen
Schubert, Winterreise
Schumann, Piano concerto
Schumann, Dichterliebe
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5
Shostakovich, String quartet No. 8
Sibelius, Violin concerto
Smetana, Ma Vlast
Strauss, J., Waltzes: An der schönen blauen Donau, Kaiser-Walzer
Strauss, R., Four Last Songs
Stravinsky, The Rite of spring
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6
Tchaikovsky, Piano concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky, Violin concerto
Tchaikovsky, 1812 Overture
Tchaikovsky, Ballet suites: Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty
Verdi, Requiem
Verdi, Aida
Verdi, Otello
Verdi, Rigoletto
Verdi, La Traviata
Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde


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