THE CLASSICAL MUSIC SINFONIAS
The Classical Music Sinfonias Weekly Listening Home
Concert guide is a home concert program of three levels: beginners,
intermediate listeners, advanced listeners. It is designed for the
novice who likes classical music, would like to listen to it systematically and
progress but
does not know where to begin, what to listen to and in what order. The program is designed to offer the most popular
works that can be easily listened to for free on the Internet, be purchased on CD or
downloaded from online shops even in
high fidelity recordings (lossless FLAC files). As the goal of the selections is
the acquaintance of the novice with classical music, listeners with low budgets
could
download and listen on their computer/tablet/smart phone classical music on the cheaper but of
lower quality MP3 lossy file format. In this introduction, specific recordings are not
suggested as the emphasis is on the works themselves and not on specific
performances. At the end of each level there is a separate list of choral works
and operas.
The 100 selections per level in this guide are designed to be listened to once a week but of
course you can listen at your own pace, two or more selections per week or even
one per day. The average listening time per week/selection is about one hour
with some exceptions and the busy listener will spend 5 minutes per work to read
about the work(s) following the links. The composer's name and
the works are
linked to Wikipedia and classical music sites for more information.
This whole idea came to me during the Covid-19 isolation periods in 2020-2021
when I realized that although there were some Internet introductions to
classical music there was no practical and organized listening guide for the novice and
beyond. I
could listen to any work chosen among my 20.000 classical music CDs but what if
one had none or had just listened to the few owned and wanted to explore the
music land of classical music. So, I designed this listening program below by which
one can be introduced to the genre while building a basic classical music
library with the most popular works. Remember, you can just listen for free
and/or buy the music you like. I am not affiliated with any shop or classical
music outlet. I just make suggestions according to my very long experience with
listening and buying classical music.
Enjoy listening!
FREE WEB LISTENING OPTIONS
YouTube TIP: Search with composer's last
name and work (e.g. Beethoven symphony 3) and choose complete / full length recordings
as indicated in the title or by the time length of the video BUY MUSIC FROM (a few popular stores & streaming sites)
Amazon [US and country specific stores] Berliner
Philharmoniker Digital Concerts (video streaming, Germany)
(Listening list below to be completed and
finalized by June 2021)
Classical Music Glossary op. = opus Level 1: Beginners THE
CLASSICAL MUSIC SINFONIAS
WEEK
COMPOSER AND OPUS TITLE
TOTAL LISTENING TIME (approx. minutes)
1
Beethoven:
Symphony
no
5 op. 67. 32'
2
Vivaldi:
The 4 seasons,
Concerti RV269, RV315, RV293, RV297. 42'
3
Mozart:
Serenade
no 13 ('Eine kleine Nachtmusik') K525 AND
Symphony no 40 K550 OR
Symphony no 41 'Jupiter' K551. 46'
4
Tchaikovsky:
Ballet Suites -
Swan Lake op. 20
AND The
Nutcracker op. 71 OR
The Sleeping Beauty
op. 66. 44'
5 76'
6
Strauss,
Johann II:
Waltzes -
The
Blue Danube op. 314 AND
Emperor Waltz op. 437 AND any other selections
from overtures, waltzes, polkas 40'
7 60'
8
Saint-Saëns:
Le Carnaval des Animaux
AND Symphony no 3 'Organ' op. 78 56'
9
Beethoven:
Symphony
no 3
'Eroica' 45'
10
Rodrigo:
Concierto de Aranjuez
AND
Fantasia para un gentilhombre 41'
11
Mozart:
Symphony no. 39 K543
AND
Symphony no 40 K550 OR
Symphony no 41 'Jupiter' K551. 46'
12
Mussorgsky:
Pictures At An Exhibition
(orchestral version) AND
Night on
Bald [or Bare] Mountain 47'
13
Beethoven:
Symphony no 4 AND
Egmont Overture OR
Eleanor Overture OR
Coriolan Overture 42'
14 92'
15
Ravel:
Bolero AND
Le Tombeau de
Couperin (orchestral version) AND
Ma mère l'Oye 60'
16
Gershwin:
Rhapsody in Blue
AND Piano
Concerto AND
An American in Paris 60'
17
Strauss,
Richard:
Also sprach Zarathustra
op. 30 AND
Don Juan
op. 20 AND
Till
Eulenspiegels
lustige Streiche
op. 28 67'
18 40'
19 75'
20
Beethoven:
Piano Sonata no 14, op.
27 no 2 'Moonlight' AND
Piano Sonata no 23, op. 57 no 2 'Appassionata'
AND Egmont
Overture OR
Eleanor Overture OR
Coriolan
Overture 57'
21 70'
22
Mozart:
Clarinet Concerto K622
AND Oboe
Concerto K314 AND
Bassoon Concerto K191 68'
23
Albinoni:
Adagio (?) AND any concertos
from op. 5, op.7, op.9 AND
Pachelbel:
Canon 60' 24
25
Bach, J.S.:
The Brandenburg
Concertos nos 4-5-6 47'
26 43'
28
Mozart:
Serenade
no 6 K239 'Serenade Notturna' AND
Posthorn
Serenade K320 53'
30 61'
32 50'
33
Haydn:
Symphony no 22 "Der
Philosoph" AND
Symphony no 63 "La Roxelane" AND
Symphony no 80 62'
34 48'
35
Debussy:
La Mer AND
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune AND
Images pour orchestre 75'
36
Bach, J.S.:
Any
Great Organ Works
selected from BWV 525–530 and BWV 531–582) 60'
37 56'
39
Beethoven:
Piano Concertos 1 AND
Piano Concertos 2
40
Brahms:
Symphonies Nos.3 & 4
38
Ravel:
Daphnis et Chloe
39
Grieg:
Peer Gynt Suites;
Holberg Suites; Sigurd Jorsalfar
40
Elgar:
Cello Concerto op.85 ·
Enigma Variations · Pomp and Circumstance 1 8c 4 60'
41
Bach, J.S.: Orchestral
Suites nos 1-2-3-4
42
Britten The
Young Person's Guide to
the Orchestra; Four Sea Interludes etc
43
Prokofiev:
Romeo & Juliet, op.64 -
Selection
44
Haydn:
The Creation
45
Beethoven:
Symphonies N.l & No.2
46
Mozart:
Sinfonia Concertante F.
Violin & Viola & Orch, Violin Concerto 1,2
47
Sibelius:
Finlandia; Symphony No.2
48
Beethoven:
Symphony No. 6, Egmond,
Leonore
49
Dvorak:
Symphony Nos.8 & 9 "From
The New World"
50
Vivaldi:
Wind & String Concertos
51
Handel:
Music for the Royal
Fireworks; Water Music Suites
52
Tchaikovsky:
Symphony No. 6 op. 74
(Pathetique) / Romeo and Juliet Fantasy
53
Beethoven:
Piano Concerto No.5 –
"Emperor"; Piano Concerto No.4
54
Rachmaninov:
Piano Concerto No.2;
Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
55
Dvorak:
Violin Concerto;
Serenade
56
Bach, J.S.:
The Brandenburg Concerto
6, Conc. For Violin – Conc. For Oboe, Conc. For 2 Harpsichords, Conc.
For 3 Harpsichords
57
Mozart:
Symphonies Nos. 35, 36,
38
58
Shostakovich:
Symphony No.5/5;
Fragments, Op.42
59
Schumann:
Piano Concerto;
Kinderszenen
60
Chopin:
Piano Concertos Nos.l &
2
61
Schubert
The Symphonies
62
Brahms:
Ein deutsches Requiem
63
Bacb.
I.S.:
St. Matthew Passion.
RWV 244
64
Verdi:
Messa da Requiem
65
Mahler:
Symphony N.l
66
Chopin:
Etudes
67
Mozart:
Piano Concertos Nos. 20
& 21
68
Mozart:
Flute Concertos Nos.l &
2; Flute 8c Harp Concerto K.299
69
Brahms:
Piano Concerto No. 2
70
Liszt:
A Faust Symphony
71
Britten:
Cello Symphony; Sinfonia
da Requiem; Cantata Misericordium
72
Tchaikovsky:
Violin Concerto
73
Dvorak:
Cello Concerto /
Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto No.l
74
Bach, J.S.:
Violin Concertos
75
Beethoven:
Violin Concerto; 2
Romances
76
Mozart:
The Violin Concertos
3,4, 5
77
Mendelssohn:
Symphonies No. 1-4
78
Haydn:
Symphonies No.78 & No.
102
79
Bach, J.S.:
Goldberg Variations
80
Rachmaninov:
Symphony No.2; The Isle
Of The Dead
Continue to Level 2: Intermediate CHORAL AND OPERA SUGGESTIONS Week
COMPOSER AND OPUS TITLE
TOTAL LISTENING TIME 1
WEEKLY LISTENING HOME CONCERT PROGRAM
Internet Archive:
Unlocked Recordings. TIP: search in the box under the number of results with
composer's last name and work (e.g. Beethoven symphony 3).
ArkivMusic (USA)
Clotchet (U.K.)
Europadisc (U.K.)
hbdirect (U.S.A.)
JPC (Germany)
Presto Classical (U.K.)
Presto Music Classical (U.S.A.)
Classical Archives
iTunes
Primephonic
Idagio
medici.tv (video streaming, Europe)
Naxos Music Library
Abbreviations of
Composer Works by Catalogers
WEEKLY
LISTENING HOME CONCERT PROGRAM
Suggested by Demetris Loizos
Bach, J.S.:
The Brandenburg
Concertos nos 1-2-3
40'
27
Shostakovich:
Symphony no 10
60'
29
Tchaikovsky:
Piano Concerto no 1 AND
Violin Concert in D
op. 35
70'
31
Liszt:
Hungarian Rhapsodies
(any 6, preferably including no 2, no 6, no 10, no 12, no 14) for piano
or for orchestra
60'
38
Mozart:
Serenade no 7 K250 'Haffner'
61'
40
Mozart:
Serenade no 10 K361 'Gran Partita' AND any
Marches
( approx. hours : minutes)
1 : 20'
2
1 : 50'
3
0 : 55'
4
1 : 45'
5
Vivaldi:
Gloria; AND
Stabat Mater
0 : 48'
6
Bach, J.S.:
Mass in B minor
1 : 50'
Continue to Level 2: Intermediate