Skip to content
    skip to navigation

    Classic FM

    Listen

    On Air Now

    Classic FM's More Music Drive with John Brunning 4pm - 7pm

    Classic FM's More Music Drive with John Brunning

    Now Playing

    The Sound of Music - Main Title Richard Rodgers Download 'The Sound of Music - Main Title' on iTunes

    The Sound of Music - Main Title artwork
    • Playlist
    • Schedule
    • Home
    • Radio
    • News
    • Discover Music
    • Composers
    • Artists
    • Lifestyle
    • Win
    • Charity
    • Podcasts
    • Events
    • Dating
    • Follow us on:
      Follow Classic FM on Twitter
      Follow Classic FM on Facebook
      Follow Classic FM on Instagram
      Follow Classic FM on Youtube

    Composers

    Mozart

    • Mozart Home
    • Music
    • News
    • Pictures
    • Album reviews
    • Guides
    • More Composers

    Mozart’s best music: 15 of his greatest works

    Opera, piano music, symphonies or concertos – Mozart’s music has something for everyone. Here's our pick of 15 great pieces, so you listen for yourself and discover the essential Mozart downloads.

    1. horn concerto mozart

      1. Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major

      A cheery skipping horn tune coupled with playful strings – Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 is enough to put anyone in good mood. He wrote it for his friend Joseph Leutgeb to play on a natural horn, a predecessor to the modern French horn.

    2. The Marriage of Figaro

      2. The Marriage of Figaro

      Lively, cheeky, funny – Mozart had a sense of humour, and you can hear it from the word go in this cheerful opera. It’s a great love-story, with a few cases of mistaken identity, trickery, and practical jokes thrown in for good measure. Musical highlights include the ‘Sull’aria’ duet, and the soprano aria ‘Porgi, amor’.

    3. classical piano

      3. Piano Concerto No. 21 ('Elvira Madigan') in C major

      Mozart’s 1785 beautiful piano concerto is often used in films – you’ll hear it in Superman Returns, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Elvira Madigan, giving the music its unofficial nickname.

    4. oboe

      4. Oboe Concerto in C major

      Mozart captures the character of the oboe perfectly in his symphonies, so it’s surprising that this is his only oboe concerto. The flighty melodies in the fast movements are well suited to the instrument, but it’s also been reworked as a concerto in D major for the flute.

    5. mask cosi fan tutte mozart

      5. Così Fan Tutte

      Expect fiancée swapping, disguises, and trickery aplenty in this jaunty opera from Mozart. It’s one of the three operas composed to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, and the vocal writing captures the Italian flavour of the words perfectly.

    6. Clarinet quintet

      6. Clarinet Quintet in A major

      Mozart only wrote one clarinet quintet – a piece for string quartet plus clarinet – but he’s proven he knows how to get the best from the instrument. The lyrical tunes and the similarities to the clarinet concerto have ensured both pieces remain extremely popular: both are in A major, and they were written for the same clarinetist, Anton Stadler.

    7. Welsh National Opera

      7. The Magic Flute

      A handsome prince, a serpent, and three ladies who produce an enchanted flute with the power to change men’s hearts? Mozart's opera is a bit of a musical pantomime, with some brilliant songs thrown in for good measure: the famously difficult ‘Queen of the Night’ aria, ‘Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen’, is just one of them.

    8. jupiter

      8. Symphony No. 41 ('Jupiter') in C major

      A fitting conclusion to Mozart’s 41 symphonies, ‘Jupiter’ showcases the best of all the composer’s styles. It’s majestic and impressive with a playful lightness of touch and humour – a perfect mix of musical genius and friendly accessible tunes.

    9. stained glass

      9. Exsultate, jubilate

      If you like Mozart’s operas, this solo religious motet is bound to impress. Originally written for a male castrato singer, it’s now usually performed by a female singer. The final movement, setting just the word ‘Alleluia’ to fast running quavers, is a masterpiece.

    10. harp

      10. Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C major

      When Mozart wrote this concerto in 1778, the harp was still being developed. This is the only piece of music he wrote for the instrument, but the writing for each soloist is carefully crafted – it’s something of a showpiece for harpists who can get their fingers round the difficult passages.

    11. mozart clarinet

      11. Clarinet Concerto

      This brilliant piece is one of the last works Mozart wrote before he died in 1791. It seems he was saving the best ‘til last with this concerto for clarinet – it’s the only concerto he wrote for the instrument. Cheery yet graceful, the clarinet’s warm tone brings the beautifully simple tunes to life, and it’s always a high entry in the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

    12. graveyard mozart requiem

      12. Requiem

      An anonymous commission prompted Mozart to start writing his Requiem. After taking on the project, he started experiencing ‘very strange thoughts’, and began to fear he was writing a requiem for his own death. The result? A moving piece, with passages of fearful angst and resolute acceptance, left unfinished by the time Mozart died in 1791.

    13. church candles coronation mass

      13. Mass No. 15 in C major ('Coronation')

      This is a much lighter version of Mozart’s Mass settings, one where he wasn’t fearful of his own death. Regal and grand, the ‘Coronation’ mass shows classical choral writing at its best, and the flowing soprano solo in the ‘Agnus Dei’ may have inspired the ‘Dove Sono’ aria from The Marriage of Figaro, written seven years later.

    14. quartet smoke mozart

      14. Haydn Quartets

      Mozart composed 23 string quartets, but the set of six dedicated to Haydn are some of the best examples of the genre. From the mysterious ‘Dissonance’ Quartet, No. 19, to the lively ‘Hunt’, No. 17, the six quartets cover a wide emotional range. What’s more, Haydn loved them, saying Mozart was the greatest composer he knew.

    15. storm mozart great g minor

      15. Symphony No. 40 in G minor

      There’s a reason this stormy symphony is often called ‘The Great G minor’. It’s a powerful piece from the off, and it’s packed with catchy tunes. Rushing passages are appeased with relaxing heart-warming harmonies, until the piece comes to a close in a frenzied finish.

    Mozart News

    See more Mozart News

    An Australian professor has spent over a decade forensically analysing Mozart scores.

    Mozart claimed credit for his sister’s compositions, says former conductor turned professor

    finger clicking Mozart

    Student finger-snaps along to Mozart's Rondo alla Turca in record-breaking video

    Beethoven is more popular than Mozart

    Beethoven beats Mozart to the top spot as the most popular Classic FM composer of 2019

    Mozart Music

    See more Mozart Music

    Mozart's The Magic Flute in video game form

    Mozart's famous opera The Magic Flute is about to be transformed into a video game

    New releases: Morricone, Radulovic

    New releases: 60 years of iconic Morricone music and Nemanja Radulovic plays Bach

    Discover Music

    Mozart Jarvi

    Stressed tonight? You need this now...

    Mozart Pictures

    See more Mozart Pictures

    Mozart

    Mozart: 15 facts about the great composer

    Anna-Maria Mozart mother

    Famous composers' mothers

    Discover Music

    classical music on stamps

    The most beautiful classical music postage stamps

    Discover Music

    Mozart Album Reviews

    See more Mozart Album Reviews

    New releases 12th March 2018

    New Releases: Mozart's Violin Concertos performed by Nikolaj Znaider and Brahms' Piano Concertos played by Adam Laloum

    New releases 18th September

    New Releases: The debut album from The Ayoub Sisters and Noa Wildschut plays Mozart

    New Releases 4th September

    New Releases: 'Pavarotti: The People's Tenor' and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet plays Mozart

    Mozart Guides

    See more Mozart Guides

    Mozart and Allegri

    Did Mozart REALLY transcribe Allegri’s Miserere aged 14?

    Mozart

    6 of the best Mozart concertos to add to your playlist

    Did Salieri poison Mozart

    Was Mozart actually poisoned by Salieri? Here’s the truth

    Back to top

    Also on Classic FM

    • Listen to Global Player
    • Alexander Armstrong on Classic FM
    • Google Doodle
    • Quizzes
    • Mozart
    • Debussy
    • Music theory
    • Instruments
    • Classic FM Live
    • Brahms
    • Vivaldi
    • Bach
    • LBC News
    • Tchaikovsky
    • Chopin
    • Andrea Bocelli
    • Florence Price
    • Beethoven
    • Best classical music
    • Classic FM Requests
    • Best pianists
    • Harry Potter music
    • Saturday Night at the Movies
    • Star Wars soundtrack
    • Composer or pasta
    • Music for Studying
    • Best violinists
    • Classical music tearjerkers
    • Relaxing classical

    Useful Links

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • How To Listen
    • About Classic FM
    • Company Details
    • Cookies
    • Privacy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Advertise
    • Global Jobs

    Download the app

    Get it on the app store Get it on Google Play

    Follow Us

    Follow Classic FM on Twitter
    Follow Classic FM on Facebook
    Follow Classic FM on Instagram
    Follow Classic FM on Youtube
    © Global 2023
    30 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LA
    Privacy Manager