Essential Listening Repertoire

In my previous post, I talked about why listening to music was important, and here I want to give you a bunch of music to practice with! Some videos have just pictures of the composer, some some an orchestra playing them. This will allow you to actively listen, and make your own pictures in your head.

I am organizing the music by ease of listening. The level 1 music has musical ideas and flow that are clear and easy to follow. The music will get more nuanced and subtle with each level. Be aware that as you get better at listening, or more familiar with a specific tune, it will be easier to listen for forms and ideas.

Level 1

Charles Gounod – Ave Maria (after J.S. Bach)

Georges Bizet – Carmen Suite No. 2: Habanera

Ludwig van Beethoven – Bagatelle in A minor, Wo Op. 59, "Für Elise"

Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (First Movement)

Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27:2, "Moonlight Sonata": Adagio Sostenuto

Benjamin Britton - Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Edward Elgar – Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39: Land of Hope and Glory

Edvard Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: In the Hall of the Mountain King

George Frideric Handel – The Messiah, HWV 56: Hallelujah Chorus

Swan Lake Finale, by Pyotr Ilyish Tchaikovsky

Jules Massenet – Thaïs: Meditation

Mozart Requiem Lacrimosa

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331: Rondo: Alla Turca

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Serenade No. 13 in G major, K. 525, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik": I. Allegro

Stanley Myers – Cavatina

Jacques Offenbach – The Tales of Hoffmann: Barcarolle

Jacques Offenbach -- Orpheus and the Underworld, Finale Le Galop Infernal "Can Can"

Johann Pachelbel – Canon in D major

Maurice Ravel - Bolero

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade [w/ score]

Gioachino Rossini – The Barber of Seville: Overture

Johann Strauss I – Radetzky March, Op. 228

Camille Saint-Saens - The Carnival of the Animals

Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite

Level 2

12th Century Polyphony in Aquitaine - O primus homo coruit

Hildegard von Bingen - Canticles of Ecstasy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6qFCYRQKVA

Brahms Symphony No. 1

Hector Berlioz "Symphonie Fantastique"

Chopin Nocturne in C # minor

Frédéric Chopin – Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat major, Op. 9

Elgar Enigma Variations Nimrod Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From the New World": II. Largo

Remo Giazotto – Adagio in G minor for Strings and Organ (after T. Albinoni)

Edvard Grieg – Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 Op. 46: Morning Mood

Handel See the Concurring Hero Comes! "Chorus from Judas Maccabaeus"

Holst The Planets: Mars

Gustav Holst – The Planets, Op. 32: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

Franz Joseph Haydn - "Surprise Symphony" No. 94

Thomas Grave and others - "Thirteen Famous English Madrigals" with Score

Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 5: Adagietto

Carl Orff – Carmina Burana: O Fortuna

Nicole Paganini -- Witches Dance

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Choral Music

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2, Op. 64ter (with Score)

Schubert – Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished Symphony”: I. Allegro moderato

Jean Sibelius – Finlandia, Op. 26

Johann Strauss II – On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Op. 314

Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture (sheet music)

Richard Wagner – The Valkyrie: Ride of the Valkyries

Giuseppe Verdi – Nabucco: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Va', Pensiero, Sull'ali Dorate)

Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, Op. 8, "Spring": Allegro

Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto de camera in G Minor, RV 104, "La Notte": VI. Allegro

Level 3

Johann Sebastian Bach – Double Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, BWV 1043: Vivace

Johann Sebastian Bach – Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: Air

Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048: Allegro

Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 140

Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings

Ludwig van Beethoven – Egmont, Op. 84: Overture

Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, "Choral" Finale Ode to Joy

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor ALL (this is an hour and 20 minutes long!)

Georges Bizet – L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1: Prelude

Luigi Boccherini – String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5 (G 275): Minuet)

Arcangelo Corelli – Concerto Grosso No. 8 in G minor, Op. 6: "Christmas Concerto": Allegro

Claude Debussy – Suite bergamasque, L 75: Clair de Lune

Antonín Dvořák – Slavonic Dance No. 2, Op. 72

Gabriel Fauré – Pavane

Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G Major, K. 550

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Requiem, K. 626: Lacrimosa Dies Illa

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467: II. Andante

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550: I. Allegro Molto

Claudio Monteverdi - L'Orfeo

Claudio Monteverdi - Madrigals "Altri canti d'amor, tenero arciero"

Henry Purcell: Pavan in B Flat, Voices of Music

Sergei Rachmaninoff – Vocalise, Op. 34

Bedřich Smetana – Má Vlast (My Fatherland): Vltava (The Moldau River)

John Williams Schindler's List

Giuseppe Verdi – Messa Da Requiem: Dies Irae – Tuba Mirum