Discover Debussy's 1910 piano miniature The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (La fille aux cheveux de lin), a tender, dreamlike portrait perfect for quiet mornings, gentle focus, and unwinding. A beginner's listening guide.
Composed in 1824 for a forgotten six-string instrument, Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata survives as one of the most tender pieces in the cello and viola repertoire. A beginner's guide to its quiet ache and singing lines.
Composed in 1821 as Beethoven battled illness and isolation, the finale of Op. 110 moves from a broken lament to a soaring fugue. A beginner's guide to one of his most personal late works.
Massenet's 1894 Méditation from Thaïs is a wordless violin prayer marking one woman's spiritual transformation. A beginner's guide to its story, its melody, and the recordings worth hearing.
The 2001 piano theme from Spirited Away that turns ordinary mornings into something tender. A beginner's guide to Joe Hisaishi's most quietly devastating melody.
James Horner's main theme for Legends of the Fall (1994) carries an ache of memory and loss. A beginner's guide to why this melody feels like remembering something you never lived.
Tchaikovsky's 1876 piano miniature turns a crisp autumn hunt into galloping horns and racing hooves. A beginner's guide to one of his most thrilling short works.
Composed in 1888 by a 24-year-old Richard Strauss, Don Juan is a thrilling tone poem about desire, obsession, and downfall. A beginner's guide to its blazing opening, soaring love themes, and shattering silence.
Liszt's Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (1859–62) turns a tavern seduction scene into one of the most diabolically difficult piano pieces ever written. A beginner's guide to the music, the legend behind it, and where to start listening.
Mozart wrote this bouncing horn rondo for an aging friend who couldn't read music well. Discover the joke hidden in K.412 and why this 18th-century melody still makes listeners smile.