- Annaka Hogelin
Classical Music Listening Suggestions
Updated: Sep 4

Are you interested in listening to more classical music, but not sure where to start? Would you like to engage your child with classical music?
The following playlists are a great introduction to classical music - I've included a wide variety of pieces: relaxing, exciting, seasonal, and more! To make listening easy, each heading is a link to connect you to a Spotify playlist!
Energetic
Allegro from Piano Concerto No. 2 – Shostakovich
Festive Overture – Shostakovich
Overture to Candide – Bernstein
Overture to the Bartered Bride – Smetena
William Tell Overture – Rossini
Sabre Dance – Khachaturian
Flight of the Bumblebee – Rimsky-Korsakov
1812 Overture – Tchaikovsky
Hoedown from Rodeo – Copland
Polovtsian Dances Prince Igor – Borodin
Scaramouche – Milhaud
No. 1 & No. 8 from Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 – Dvorak
Mvt. III from Violin Concerto in E Minor – Mendelssohn
Relaxing
Three Gymnopedies for Piano – Satie
Adagio for Strings – Barber
Largo from Symphony No. 9 – Dvorak
Piano Concerto No. 2 – Shostakovich
Sleep – Whitacre
Peer Gynt Suite, I. Morning Mood – Grieg
Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat major, Op. 9 – Chopin
Vocalise, Op. 34 – Rachmaninoff
Spiegel Im Spiegel – Part
Meditation de Thais – Massenet
Famous
Symphony No. 5 – Beethoven
Gran Partita – Mozart
Carmen Suite – Bizet
Cello Suite in G Major – Bach
Appalachian Spring - Copland
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra – Britten
Holiday & Seasonal Music
Valentine's Day
Clair de lune – Debussy
The Blue Danube – Strauss
3 Romances, Op. 28, No. 2 – Schumann
Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture – Tchaikovsky
Easter
Easter Oratorio – Bach
Russian Easter Festival, Overture, Op. 36 – Rimsky-Korsakov
Fourth of July
Fanfare for the Common Man – Copland
Stars & Stripes Forever – Sousa
Variations on America – Ives
Halloween
Danse Macabre – Saint-Saens
Night on Bald Mountain – Mussorgsky
In The Hall of the Mountain King – Grieg
Christmas
Nutcracker Suite – Tchaikovsky
Messiah – Handel
Contemporary
Slalom – Pann
Short Ride in a Fast Machine – Adams
Histoire du Tango – Piazzola
Black Dog – McAllister
Trip – Lowenstern
Five Frogs – Brandon
Danzon No. 2 – Márquez
A Child's Garden of Dreams – Maslanka
Blue Shades – Ticheli
Strange Humors – Mackey
Strum – Montgomery
Programmatic (Tells a Story)
Peter and the Wolf – Prokofiev
The Sorcerer's Apprentice – Dukas
Carnival of the Animals – Saint-Saens
Syrinx for Solo Flute – Debussy
Enigma Variations – Elgar
Wings for Solo Clarinet – Tower
The Planets – Holst