Table of Contents
The 11 Most Famous Classical Piano Pieces
The classical piano repertoire is extraordinarily broad and varied, with new pieces being added to it all the time to satisfy the appetites and tastes of pianists and audiences. Amidst this vast repertoire, there are pieces which are almost instantly recognisable to anyone: even if they may not know the title or composer of the piece, they will know it.
These are the piano pieces which have earned the status of “most famous” through their frequency and popularity in performance and on recordings, and, more recently, their use in film, TV and advertising soundtracks.
In addition, certain performing artists have become closely associated with certain piano pieces or composers and this undoubtedly contributes to the music’s fame: for example, Glenn Gould, András Schiff and Angela Hewitt with the music of J.S. Bach, Murray Perahia and Maria João Pires with the piano music of Mozart, Arthur Rubinstein with Chopin, Yuja Wang with Prokofiev…
But there’s more, because these famous classical piano pieces are instantly appealing, in all their myriad details, from haunting, lyrical melodies to extrovert rhythms and piquant harmonies or the expression of passionate emotions.
J.S. Bach: Prelude in C Major
This serenely beautiful Prelude is the first of J.S. Bach’s famous Preludes & Fugues, from the Well-Tempered Clavier. Its beauty lies in its simplicity – built from a series of broken chords, Bach uses harmonic progressions and modulations, from major to minor and back again, to create a dramatic processional quality in the music. The piece is popular at weddings and has been transcribed and adapted, perhaps most famously by Gounod in his Ave Maria.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op 27, No. 2 ‘Moonlight’, 1st movement
The opening movement of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata is, like Bach’s C Major Prelude, instantly recognisable, with its repeating pattern of hushed broken chords and simple but haunting melody. It is so famous that people often forget it is followed by two other movements! The piece was popular even in Beethoven’s day and remains amongst his most famous works.
It is unusual for a classical piano sonata to begin with a slow movement and although the nickname ‘Moonlight’ was given to the work after Beethoven’s death, it is perfectly suited to the expressive nature of this twilight first movement whose harmonies shimmer and shift. It’s an amazing gesture, created by a composer poised on the threshold of change in the early years of the nineteenth century.
Wolfgang Amadues Mozart: Rondo alla Turca
This is actually the final movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 11, K.331, but it is often performed as a stand-alone piece. Mozart gave it the title Alla Turca (Turkish style), and it imitates the sound of Turkish Janissary (military) bands whose music was very popular at the time of the sonata’s composition.
Frédéric Chopin: ‘Minute’ Waltz
Like Mozart’s Rondo alla Turca, Chopin’s Waltz in D-flat Major, Op 64, No. 1, nicknamed the ‘Minute’ waltz, is a test of the pianist’s fleet fingers – although the piece is not intended to be played in the space of just 60 seconds!
It is also known as the Valse du petit chien (French for “Waltz of the puppy”) and is said to have been inspired by the gleeful antics of George Sand’s little dog ‘Marquis’, whom Chopin mentions in some of his letters. It’s easy to imagine an excitable dog chasing its tail in the twirling, seemingly never-ending quavers in the outer sections of the waltz, and the joyous mood of the music. It is one of Chopin’s most famous piano pieces and is also a popular encore.
Sheet Music Download.
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
Composed at the very start of the twentieth century, this piece confirmed Rachmaninoff as a great composer and also one of the greatest pianists of all time. It’s phenomenally difficult to play, with hand-splitting chords and vertiginous virtuosity, but it’s also very beautiful, profoundly emotional and hauntingly romantic.
Hugely popular with pianists, it regularly appears in concert programs and piano competitions, and was made even more popular by its use in the soundtrack of the film Brief Encounter (1945), where it is cleverly employed to express the true emotions of the leading characters.
Claude Debussy: Clair de Lune from Suite Bergamasque
Another “moonlight” piece, Debussy’s Clair de Lune is perhaps his best-loved and most well known piece. It’s the third movement of his Suite Bergamesque, but, like Mozart’s Rondo alla Turca, it’s acquired a life of its own outside of the suite, and is regularly performed as a solo work.
It has a remarkable serenity, only briefly interrupted by a more florid middle section. Debussy drew inspiration from a poem by Paul Verlaine, and the piece is an example of impressionism in music – here, capturing the essence of the haunting beauty of moonlight in sound.
Claude Debussy: Suite bergamasque – III. Clair de lune (Nikolai Lugansky, piano)
Scott Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag
Although the ragtime music of Scott Joplin is generally regarded as the pre-cursor to Jazz, his music falls into the category of “classical music”, and his Maple Leaf Rag is one of his most famous piano pieces.
This jaunty, athletic rag with its infectious melody is a challenge for the pianist, with its big chords, leaps and syncopated rhythms, but for the listener it’s an almost perfect example of the rag genre. Find a recording with a more leisurely tempo (which is how Joplin intended his music to be played) and enjoy all the details he puts into his score.
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Instantly recognizable from the opening clarinet glissando, as famous as the opening measures of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is one of the most famous piano pieces of the twentieth century, and also one of the greatest in its evocation of the exuberance of the jazz age.
Composed in 1924, it established Gershwin’s reputation as a significant composer, and has since gone on to become one of the most popular all American concert works. It synthesizes jazz effects (syncopated rhythms and jazz chords) with classical elements (for example, the cadenza in the piano) to create a work of enormous vibrancy and musical color, beloved of performers and audiences everywhere. George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop, cond.)
Robert Schumann: Traumerei
A miniature gem from Schumann’s collection Scenes from Childhood, a collection of 13 short pieces intended as the composer’s adult reminiscences of childhood, Traumerei (‘Dreaming’) is a peaceful picture in music of a child’s daydreams. Tender, nostalgic and lyrical, with a graceful ascending melody, it’s almost perfect in its construction and is as emotionally powerful as any large-scale work.
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 ‘Emperor’
The last of Beethoven’s concertos for piano, this work could easily claim the title of greatest piano piece ever written. Composed between 1809 and 1811, the concerto is dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven’s patron and pupil, who gave the work its first performance in a private recital in Vienna in January 1811. The nickname ‘Emperor’ was not Beethoven’s, but was given to the work by Johann Cramer, the English publisher.
It’s certainly the most famous of Beethoven’s five piano concertos and one of the most famous piano concertos of all time. Its colossal, propulsive first movement opens with a virtuosic statement by the piano. This is followed by a contrasting slow movement with a nocturne-like serenity which flows directly into the finale, a triumphant rondo in which the piano has the spotlight.
It’s been performed and recorded by countless pianists and is a staple of the concert repertoire, perennially popular with performers, orchestras and audiences alike.
Franz Liszt: Liebesträum No. 3 in A flat
Franz Liszt is often unfairly dismissed as a showman, whose often complex piano music was written to allow him to display his exceptional pianistic bravado. While it’s true that some of his piano pieces are highly virtuosic, he also wrote a great deal of music which is intimate, romantic and deeply poetic.
He composed three Liebesträum (Love’s Dream) for solo piano, but the third, in warm A-flat major, remains his most famous. Based on the poem by German writer Ferdinand Freliligrath O Lieb, so lang du lieben kannst (Love as long as love you can), the music illustrates themes of love and the loss of love.
It’s a challenge for the pianist as the right hand is effectively split into two hands – one playing the melody, the other a flowing, arpeggiated accompaniment. Heart-wrenching and troubled, Liszt melds complex harmonies and melody with dramatic dynamics to create a powerful and achingly beautiful musical narrative. Elvis Presley was a fan of this piece and used it as inspiration for his song ‘Today, Tomorrow and Forever’ in the film Viva Las Vegas.
Browse in the Library:
Artist or Composer / Score name | Cover | List of Contents |
---|---|---|
Timbaland – Way I Are | ||
Time (Inception) – Hans Zimmer – Solo Piano (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Time is like a dream (Interlude OST) Georges Delerue | ||
Time Travel Theme – Secret (Jay Chou) | ||
Timothy Brown – Daydreaming | ||
Timothy Brown – Lyric Expressions Solo Piano | ||
Timothy Brown – Soliloquy | ||
Tina Arena – Burn | ||
Tina Turner – I, Tina (Book) | ||
Tina Turner – The Best Of Simply The Best Piano Vocal guitar Chords | Tina Turner – The Best Of Simply The Best Piano Vocal guitar Chords – – | |
Tina Turner – What’s Love Got To Do With It | Tina Turner – What’s Love Got To Do With It | |
Tina Turner – What’s Love Got To Do With It.mscz | ||
Tina Turner Goldeneye (James Bond frilm Theme) | ||
Titanic – My Heart Will Go On (James Horner) | ||
Titanic – James Horner Full songbook | Titanic – James Horner | |
Titanic Movie Theme – My Heart Will Go On – Piano Guitar Vocals | Titanic Movie Theme – My HeArt Will Go On – Piano Guitar Vocals | |
To Be Pleasing You Jazz Piano Solo arr. sheet music | ||
To love you more (Celine Dion) | ||
To Zanarkand Final Fantasy X | ||
To Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
TOCH, E. – La Melodía(Spanish) 1923 | ||
Tom Jobim Girl from Ipanema | Tom Jobim girl from ipanema | |
Tom Jobim Agua de Beber | Tom Jobim Sheet Music – Agua de Beber | |
Tom Jobim Desafinado | ||
Tom Jobim Ligia | ||
Tom Jobim Samba Verao | ||
Tom Jobim songbook 1 Guitar (by Almir Chediak) | Tom Jobim songbook I (Guitar) | |
Tom Jobim songbook 2 Guitar (by Almir Chediak) | Tom Jobim songbook I (Guitar) | |
Tom Jobim songbook 3 Guitar (by Almir Chediak) | Tom Jobim songbook I (Guitar) | |
Tom Jobim Triste | ||
Tom Jobim Vivo Sonhando | ||
Tom Jones Greatest Hits | Tom Jones Greatest Hits | |
Tom Kolb – Chord Progressions for Guitar (with audio MP3) | Tom Kolb – Chord Progressions for Guitar (with audio MP3) | |
Tom Odell Another Love | ||
Tom Petty Anthology Guitar Anthology Series with TABs | Anthology Tom Petty Guitar | |
Tom Petty Sheet Music Anthology – Tom Petty | Tom Petty Sheet Music Anthology – Tom Petty | |
Tom Petty, Best of (Songbook), The – Tom Petty sheet music | Tom Petty, Best of (Songbook), The – Tom Petty sheet music | |
Tom Turpin The Harlem Rag | Tom Turpin Harlem-Rag | |
Tom Waits -Alice (entire album songbook) Piano-vocal-guitar | Tom Waits -Alice (entire album songbook) Piano-vocal-guitar | |
Tom Waits Anthology 29 Titres | Tom Waits Anthology | |
Tom Waits Beautiful Maladies | Tom Waits Beautiful Maladies | |
Tom Waits Blood Money | Tom Waits Blood Money | |
Tommy Emmanuel The Mystery Transcriptions Mel Bay Presents Guitar TAB | Tommy Emmanuel The Mystery Transcriptions Mel Bay Presents Guitar TAB | |
Tommy Flanagan – Moritat Mack The Knife Solo transcription | Tommy Flanagan – Moritat Mack The Knife Solo transcription | |
Tommy Flanagan Wee Dot sheet music transcription | ||
Tommy Flint – Best Of Country Guitar Solos with audio MP3 with TABs | Tommy Flint – Best Of Country Guitar Solos with audo content | |
Tommy Shaw – Boat On The River from Styx | ||
Tomorrow (Europe) | ||
Tomorrow (From Annie) Sheet Music – Charles Strouse | ||
Tomorrowland Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack Piano Solo by Michael Giacchini | Tomorrowland Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack Piano Solo by Michael Giacchini | |
Tomoya Naka Rainy Song | Tomoya | |
Tonari no Totoro – My Neighbor Totoro (Joe Hisaishi) | ||
Toni Braxton – Unbreak My Heart | ||
Tonight from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein) Easy Piano Solo arr. sheet music | Tonight from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein) Easy Piano Solo arr. sheet music | |
Tonight From West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein) Easy Piano Solo Arr. Sheet Music (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Tony Alonso Mass Of Joy And Peace For Sab Voices And Accompaniement | ||
Tony Bennett Life Is a Gift The Zen of Tony Bennett (Book) | ||
Top 10 22 Pop Hits Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | Top 10 22 Pop Hits Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | |
Top 10 Classical Favorites | Top 10 Classical Favorites | |
Top Christian Hits Of 2019 2020 Piano Vocal Guitar 20 Powerful Songs | Top Christian Hits Of 2019 2020 Piano Vocal Guitar 20 Powerful Songs | |
Top Hits For Piano Solo 20 Great Songs | Top Hits For Piano Solo 20 Great Songs | |
Top Hits Of 2011 | TOP HITS 2011 | |
Top Hits Of 2013 | Top Hits Of 2013 | |
Top Hits Of 2017 Sheet Music 18 great songs Piano Vocal Guitar | Top Hits Of 2017 Sheet Music 18 great songs Piano Vocal Guitar | |
Top Hits of 2018 Songbook – sheet music | Top Hits of 2018 Songbook – sheet music | |
Top Movie Hits SongBook | Top Movie Hits SongBook | |
Top Rock Volume 2 (Guitar) | Top Rock songbook guitar | |
TOP TEN – N°1 | TOP TEN – N°1 | |
Top Ten – N°2 | Top Ten – N°2 | |
Top Ten 40 (Guitar) | Top ten 40 guitar songbook | |
Top Ten 43 (Guitar) | Topp ten 43 guitar songbook | |
Top Ten Slow (Guitar) | Top Ten Slow (Guitar) | |
TOP TEN X3 (5) Guitar piano | TOP TEN X3 (5) Guitar piano | |
Toquinho – A Arte Brasilera de – sheet music songbook Guitar Tabs | Toquinho – A Arte Brasilera de – sheet music sogbook Guitar Tabs | |
Toquinho – Aquarela Guitar with TABs | ||
Tori Amos – Silent All These Years | ||
Tori Kelly Paper Hearts Piano | ||
Torna A Surriento Traditional Neapolitan Song By Ernesto De Curtis (Easy Piano Solo With Lyrics In English) | ||
Torna a Surriento.mscz | ||
Toshifumi Hinata End Title (Tokyo Love Story) | ||
Toshihiko Sahashi Fuuki Iinchou Hibari Kyoya | Toshihiko Sahashi Fuuki Iinchou Hibari Kyoya | |
Toshihiko Sahashi Katekyo Hitman Reborn Hibari Kyoyas Theme | Toshihiko Sahashi Katekyo Hitman Reborn Hibari Kyoyas Theme | |
Toshihiko Sahashi Tsuna Awakens Ost Katekyo Hitman Reborn | Toshihiko Sahashi Tsuna Awakens Ost Katekyo Hitman Reborn | |
Total Guitar – The ultimate scale book | ||
Toto Guitar Anthology Authentic Guitar Tab | Toto Guitar Anthology Authentic | |
Toto – Africa (Easy Piano Solo Arr. Sheet Music) | Toto – Africa (Easy Piano Solo Arr. Sheet Music) | |
Toto – Africa (Intermediate Piano Solo arr.) | Toto – Africa | |
Toto – Childs Anthem (Intermediare Piano Solo arr.) | Toto – Childs Anthem (Intermediate Piano Solo arr) | |
Toto – The Best Of Toto (Guitar, Kbds, Bass, Drum, Vocal) | Toto – The Best Of Toto (Guitar, Kbds, Bass, Drum, Vocal) | |
Tournemire op. 33 Po me Mystique | ||
TOY STORY – Randy Newman – You’ve Got A Friend In Me | ||
Toy Story – When She Loved Me – Sarah Mclachlan | ||
Toy Story Easy Piano Collection (Songbook) 8 Songs From The Popular Movies | Toy Story Easy Piano Collection (Songbook) 8 Songs From The Popular Movies | |
Tracy Chapman – Complete Songbook | Tracy Chapman – Complete Songbook | |
Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman music songbook | Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman music songbook | |
Tracy Chapman Fast Car Sheet Music | ||
Traditional – Swing Low Sweet Charriot | Traditional – Swing Low Sweet Charriot | |
Traditional Dona Nobis Pacem (Piano Solo Arr.) Give Us Peace Musescore File.mscz | ||
Traditional English Carol – The First Noel | Traditional English Carol – The First Noel | |
Traditional English Carol The First Noël (Piano Solo).mscz | ||
Trailer Park The Musical Piano Vocal Score by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso | ||
Train – Drops Of Jupiter | ||
Transparent Theme (Solo Piano) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Tratado de Armonia – Arnold Schoenberg (Spanish-Español) | Book Theory | |
Travelin Soldier – Dixie Chicks | ||
Trepat , Carles – Homenaje A Baden Powel | ||
Trepat, Carles Nana De Sevilla Partitura (Guitar, Guitarra) | ||
Trinity – Pop and Rock Guitar Grade 1 Contemporary & Classic songs with TABs | Trinity – Pop and Rock Guitar Grade 1 Contemporary & Classic songs | |
Trinity – Pop and Rock Guitar Grade 2 Contemporary & Classic songs with TABs | Trinity – Pop and Rock Guitar Grade 2 Contemporary & Classic songs | |
Trinity – Pop and Rock Guitar Grade 3 Contemporary & Classic songs with TABs | Trinity – Pop and Rock Guitar Grade 3 Contemporary & Classic songs | |
Trinity – Pop and Rock Guitar Grade 4 Contemporary & Classic songs with TABs | Trinity – Pop and Rock Guitar Grade 4 Contemporary & Classic songs | |
Trinity 2010-2015 Guitar Grade 3 Pieces & Exercises | ||
Trinity Classical Guitar 2010-2015 Grade 07 | ||
Trinity Classical Guitar 2020-2023 Grade 01 | ||
Trinity Classical Guitar 2020-2023 Grade 02 | ||
Trinity Classical Guitar 2020-2023 Grade 03 | ||
Trinity Classical Guitar 2020-2023 Grade 04 | ||
Trinity Classical Guitar 2020-2023 Grade 05 | ||
Trinity Classical Guitar 2020-2023 Grade 06 | ||
Trinity Classical Guitar 2020-2023 Grade 08 |
Please, subscribe to our Library.
If you are already a subscriber, please, check our NEW SCORES’ page every month for new sheet music. THANK YOU!