Music Appreciation

Although the appreciation of music can be taught, it is more often caught. Any classroom teacher can expose students to good music and encourage them to enjoy and appreciate it.

Passive exposure that occurs when classical music is played during rest times, silent-reading periods, or art classes helps to establish subconscious standards for each child.

Interesting anecdotes, such as the statement "Mozart wrote this symphony when he was fifteen years old," can be used to increase the interest of a child about the same age.

The following list of compositions is not exhaustive. It provides a repertoire of pieces with a variety of music for any student's musical experience.

Bach, Johann S. (1685-1750)

Brandenburg Concerti (6)
Organ music (numerous works)
Church cantatas (approx. 200)

St. Matthew Passion

St. John Passion

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

Piano concerti (5)
String quartets (16)
Piano sonatas (32)

Moonlight

Pathetique

Appassionata

Symphonies (9)
The fifth is one of the most popular

Brahms, Johannes (1833-1897)

German Requiem

Britten, Benjamin (1913-1976)

Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Bruckner, Anton (1824-1876)

Symphonies (9)

Chopin, Frederic (1810-1849)

Solo piano music

Copland, Aaron (1900-1990)

Appalachian Spring

Billy the Kid

Rodeo

Debussy, Claude (1862-1918)

La Mer and string quartet

Donzinetti, Gaetano (1797-1848)

L'Elisir d'A more

Lucia di Lammermoor

Dukas, Paul (1865-1935)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Dvorak, Antonin (1841-1904)

"Symphony No. 9" (from New World)

Franck, Cesar (1822-1890)

Symphony

Gilbert, William S. (1836-1911) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)

The Mikado

The Pirates of Penzance

Gounod, Charles (1818-1893)

Faust

Grieg, Edvard (1843-1907)

"Piano concerto in A Minor"
Peer Gynt Suites

Grofe, Ferde (1892-1972)

Grand Canyon Suite

Handel, George (1685-1759)

Messiah

Water Music

Haydn, Franz Joseph (1732-1809)

The Creation

Symphonies (104)
No. 94 (Surprise)
No. 104 (London)

Holst, Gustav (1874-1934)

The Planets

Humperdinck, Engelbert (1854-1921)

Hansel and Gretel

Mahler, Gustav (1860-1911)

Symphonies (9)

Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847)

Elijah

St. Paul

Incidental music to Midsummer Night's Dream
Violin Concerto
Symphonies (5)

Mozart, Wolfgang (1756-1791)

Piano concerti (25)

Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade, K 525)

Symphonies (41)

Mussorgsky, Modest (1839-1881)

Pictures at an Exhibition

Prokofiev, Sergei (1891-1953)

Peter and the Wolf

Classical Symphony

Rachmaninoff, Sergei (1873-1943)

Second Piano Concerto

Respighi, Ottorino (1879-1936)

The Fountains of Rome

The Pines of Rome

Roman Festivals

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai (1844-1908)

Scheherezade

Rossini, Gioacchino (1792-1868)

The Barber of Seville

Cinderella

Saint-Saens, Camille (1835-1921)

Carnival of the Animals

Samson et Dalila

Symphony No. 3 (Organ)

Schubert, Franz (1797-1828)

Trout Quintet
Songs (approx. 600)
Symphony No. 8

Unfinished

Schumann, Robert (1810-1856)

Solo piano works
Symphonies (4)

Sibelius, Jean (1865-1957)

Finlandia

Symphonies (7)

Smetana, Bedrich (1824-1884)

The Moldau

Sousa, John Philip (1854-1932)

Marches

Strauss, Richard (1864-1949)

Don Quixote

Ein Heldenleben

Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

Tchaikovsky, Peter (1840-1893)

Nutcracker Suite

First Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor

1812 Overture

Symphonies (6)

Vaughan Williams, Ralph (1872-1958)

Fantasia on "Greensleeves"

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Verdi, Giuseppe (1813-1901)

II Trovatore

Aida

Otello

Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741)

Concerti (approx. 500)

The Four Seasons

Wagner, Richard (1813-1883)

Orchestral excerpts of operas

Reprinted from Teacher to Teacher, March 1998.

Used with permission from BJU Press. For permission to reproduce this article, please write BJU Press.