violaboss:

I’ve seen a lot of curious people wanting to dive into classical music but don’t know where to start, so I have written out a list of pieces to listen to depending on mood. I’ve only put out a few, but please add more if you want to. hope this helps y’all out. :)

stereotypical delightful classical music:

• battalia a 10 in d major (biber)
• brandenburg concerto no. 5
• brandenburg concerto no. 3
• symphony no. 45 - “farewell” (haydn)
  

if you need to chill:

• rondo alla turca
• fur elise
• anitra’s dance
• in the steppes of central asia (borodin) (added by viola-ology)

if you need to sleep:

• moonlight sonata
• swan lake
• corral nocturne

if you need to wake up:

• morning mood
• summer (from the four seasons)
• buckaroo holiday (if you’ve played this in orch you might end up screaming instead of waking up joyfully)

if you are feeling very proud:

• pomp and circumstance
• symphony no. 9 (beethoven; this is where ode to joy came from)
• 1812 overture
• symphony no. 5, finale (tchaikovsky) (added by viola-ology)
• american (dvořák)

if you feel really excited:

• hoedown (copland)
• bacchanale
• spring (from the four seasons) (be careful, if you listen to this too much you’ll start hating it)
• la gazza ladra
• death and the maiden (schubert)

if you are angry and you want to take a baseball bat and start hitting a bush:

• dance of the knights (from the romeo and juliet suite by prokofiev)
• winter, mvt. 1 (from the four seasons)
• symphony no. 10 mvt. 2 (shostakovich)
• symphony no. 5 (beethoven)
• totentanz (liszt)
• quartet no. 8, mvt. 2 (shostakovich) (added by viola-ology)
• young person’s guide to the orchestra, fugue (britten) (added by iwillsavemyworld)

if you want to cry for a really long time:

• fantasia based on russian themes (rimsky-korsakov)
• adagio for strings (barber)
• violin concerto in e minor (mendelssohn)
• aase’s death
• andante festivo

if you want to feel like you’re on an adventure:

• an american in paris (gershwin)
  

if you want chills:

• danse macabre
• russian easter overture

if you want to study:

• eine kleine nachtmusik
• bolero (ravel)
• serenade for strings (elgar)
• scheherazade (rimsky-korsakov) (added by viola-ology)
• pines of rome, mvt. 4 (resphigi) (added by viola-ology)

if you really want to dance:

• capriccio espagnol (rimsky-korsakov)
• blue danube
• le cid (massenet) (added by viola-ology)
• radetzky march
  

if you want to start bouncing in your chair:

• hopak (mussorgsky)
• les toreadors (from carmen suite no.1)
  

if you’re about to pass out and you need energy:

• hungarian dance no. 1
• hungarian dance no. 5

if you want to hear suspense within music:

• firebird
• in the hall of the mountain king
• ride of the valkyries
• night on bald mountain (mussorgsky) (added by viola-ology)

if you want a jazzy/classical feel:

• rhapsody in blue

if you want to feel emotional with no explanation:

• introduction and rondo capriccioso
• unfinished symphony (schubert)
• symphony no. 7, allegretto (beethoven) (added by viola-ology)
• canon in d (pachelbel)
  

if you want to sit back and have a nice cup of tea:

• st. paul’s suite
• concerto for two violins (vivaldi)
• l’arlésienne suite

pieces that don’t really have a valid explanation:

• symphony no. 40 (mozart)
  
• cello suite no. 1 (bach)
• polovtsian dances
• enigma variations (elgar) (added by viola-ology)
• perpetuum mobile
  

pieces that just sound really cool:

• scherzo tarantelle
  
• dance of the goblins
• caprice no. 24 (paganini)
• new world symphony, allegro con fuoco (dvorak) (added by viola-ology​)

if you feel like listening to concertos all day (I do not recommend doing that):

• concerto for two violins (bach)
  
• concerto for two violins (vivaldi)
• violin concerto in a minor (vivaldi)
• violin concerto (tchaikovsky) (added by iwillsavemyworld)
• cello concerto in c (haydn)
  
• piano concerto, mvt. 1 (pierne) (added by iwillsavemyworld)
• harp concerto in E-flat major, mvt. 1 (added by iwillsavemyworld)

and if you really just hate classical music in general:

• 4′33″ (cage)

a lot of these pieces apply in multiple categories, but I sorted them by which I think they match the most. have fun exploring classical music!

also, thank you to viola-ology and iwillsavemyworld for adding on! if you would like to add on your own suggestions, please reblog and add on or message me so I can give you credit for the suggestion!