Beethoven wrote a great deal of music during his life. He is to this day known as
the master symphonist, and his ideas and vision for music has arguably never been
surpassed by anyone. People often refer to his 32 piano sonatas as the new testament
of music, where Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is the old.
Some of the most memorable tunes in the world are composed by Beethoven whether
people can actually name the composer or not. The 5th symphony comes to mind. So
does the 9th. This page recommends more or less popular pieces you might enjoy,
especially if you like Für Elise.
One of Beethoven's strengths are his unrivaled piano solos. There is so much great music in this category that if we should list it this page would be more like a catalogue and not recommendations. If you enjoy the these pieces, please don't hold yourself back by looking further into his other works.
| Recommended Works for Solo Piano | |
| Piano Sonata No. 8 "Pathétique" | Sample A Sample B Sample C |
| Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight Sonata" | Sample A Sample B |
| Piano Sonata No. 15 "Pastoral" | Sample A |
| Piano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest" | Sample A |
| Piano Sonata No. 23 "Appassionata" | Sample A |
| Rondo Capriccio | Sample A |
To buy albums with the music above (new window):
· A selection of Piano Sonatas (includes all those above)
· An album including Rondo Cappricio
The symphonies are perhaps the most stunning of Beethoven's works. Being able to write music for an entire orchestra so great and groundbreaking that it still soundly stands as the best after two hundred years must be one of the greatest artistic accomplishments ever. Number 9 (sample C) is currently used as the anthem of the European Union, and number 5 has the most famous opening to a piece of music, ever (sample A).
| Recommended Works for Symphony Orchestra | |
| Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" | Sample A Sample B Sample C |
| Symphony No. 5 | Sample A Sample B Sample C Sample D |
| Symphony No. 7 | Sample A Sample B Sample C |
| Symphony No. 8 | Sample A |
| Symphony No. 9 "Choral" | Sample A Sample B Sample C Sample D |
To buy albums with the music above (new window):
· All 9 Beethoven Symphonies
Also contains the Egmont Overture listed under "Other Works"
Beethoven revolutionized perhaps every single music form that involved a piano. Below are some more recommendations of the piano together with other instruments, as well as some of his works without piano involvement.
| Miscellaneous Recommended Works | |
| Piano Concerto No. 1 | Sample A |
| Piano Concerto No. 2 | Sample A |
| Piano Concerto No. 3 | Sample A Sample B |
| Piano Concerto No. 4 | Sample A |
| Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" | Sample A Sample B |
| Violin Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer" | Sample A |
| Overture from Egmont | Sample A |
| Missa Solemnis | Sample A |
To buy albums with the music above (new window):
· All 5 Piano Concertos
· Missa Solemnis
· Kreutzer Violin Sonata