3 Eternal Songs from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Introduce You to Classical Music Greatness

When you’re young, you want the hits. Those songs that enliven you, connect you to pop culture and showcase some of the major players on the music scene who are shaping the future. But after you live a few decades, sometimes you want something more. Something classic. Something that has stood not only the test of a few months or years but of a few centuries. But where to start?

Here below, we wanted to explore three songs from the exquisite classical music composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Born January 27, 1756, in Austria, Mozart remains one of the catchiest artists ever in music. While it can be easy to turn your nose up at what might be perceived as stodgy sounds, Mozart was pop music before such an idea existed. And these tunes below will prove just that.

[RELATED: 3 Eternal Songs by the Incredible Guitarist Django Reinhardt]

“Lacrimosa Dies Illa” (1791)

For those looking for an entire album to listen to from the expert composer, look no further than his Requiem in D Minor, which is a funeral mass. It’s dark and brooding but also divine and haunting. He never completed the work as he died writing it at just 35 years old and was buried in a pauper’s unmarked grave. This movement, “Lacrimosa Dies Illa,” comes from that full work and it’s both lilting and pretty, and dour and piercing. The strings are like knives to your chest and the harmonizing voices are like angels mourning your loss.

“The Marriage of Figaro” (1786)

Lush and delightful, this song washes over you. It’s easy to imagine dancers pirouetting and frolicking to this energetic offering from one of the greatest composers of all time. But unlike some, Mozart, for all his heft and complicated work, could always shine some light on an occasion with his music. This is example No. 1 but there are many more including this (at the 2:55 mark) and this.

“Symphony No. 25” (1773)

Written when Mozart was just 17 years old, this song is about how being that age can have such big emotional swings. It’s dramatic and at times even a touch violent. The song also plays over the opening credits of Amadeus by director Milos Forman, the fabulous, Academy Award-winning movie about Mozart’s life. Today, it seems like the perfect song for a hip-hop producer to sample from and for an expert lyricist to write over. Nevertheless, the work remains one of Mozart’s most impactful and memorable, which is saying a lot.

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