The Most Famous Classical Music Pieces of All Time

"Famous" and "beginner-friendly" overlap a lot, but they're not identical — this list is organized by era rather than by ease of listening, as a broader reference to the works most likely to come up in conversation, media, or a concert program. For a shorter, listening-order starter list, see best pieces for beginners instead.

Baroque

• Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and Mass in B Minor
• Handel's Messiah
• Vivaldi's The Four Seasons

Classical

• Mozart's Symphony No. 40 and The Magic Flute
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 9 ("Choral," with its famous "Ode to Joy" finale)
• Haydn's Symphony No. 94, "Surprise"

Romantic

• Chopin's Nocturnes
• Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and 1812 Overture
• Verdi's La Traviata and Requiem
• Wagner's Ring Cycle
• Puccini's La Boheme
• Brahms's Symphony No. 4

Late Romantic & 20th century

• Debussy's Clair de Lune
• Ravel's Bolero
• Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring
• Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2
• Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"

Contemporary

• John Williams's scores for Star Wars, Jaws, and Schindler's List
• Philip Glass's Glassworks

Browse the full Eras and Composers sections for everything that surrounds these highlights.