Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy

If a piece was inspired by probably best French poem ever written (Mallarmé’s L'après-midi d'un faune) and was liked by King of Pop (yeah, Michael Jackson mentioned Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun as his favorite song!), you just can’t overlook it.

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is Debussy’s symphonic poem. Debussy had intended to complete Prelude with two more movements (Interlude and Final Paraphrase), but that never happened. If he had completed the suite, it would become event of universal significance, because even its third part was venturesome enough to influence modern music.

Sheet music of one of the most famous Debussy’s works is available here: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.

Pavane for a Dead Princess sheet music

Pavane for a Dead Princess is a piano piece by Maurice Ravel, French impressionist composer. Originally for solo piano, it was written by him in 1899. First performance was held three years later, and in 1910 Ravel arranged it for orchestra, probably unsatisfied with sluggishness of pianists who played it way too slow, as if they were anesthetized. Beauty of Pavane for a Dead Princess was proved by Marcel Proust, who chose it to be played at his funeral. Symphonic arrangement of this touching piece is available here: Pavane for a Dead Princess.

Peer Gynt. Morning Mood by Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg's Morning Mood is one of the most beautiful pieces ever. Portraying time when almost everybody light-heartedly sleeps, it helps even veteran-slugabed to feel awakening of nature in a predawn time. Morning Mood is a part of Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, op.46, which was originally written for Ibsen’s play. Grieg had a hard time composing it, because he had to follow guidelines of a playwright, and it was new to him. Howbeit, no one can say now it wasn't worth it - Grieg's first suite is all-time masterpiece.

Score of this triumphant and sublime composition is available here:
Peer Gynt. Morning Mood sheet music.

Sicilienne by Gabriel Fauré

Gabriel Fauré is no doubt one of the most prominent and foremost French composers. He composed orchestral, vocal, chamber, and piano music. Depending on period, his solo piano works range from unhurried and intimate to fast-paced and daedal. Fauré’s opuses served as inspiration for impressionists, were melodically expressional, and built a bridge between Romantic and modern music. His chamber music is beyond praise: it’s nearly impossible to left untouched by stirring cello in Sicilienne, his melancholic masterpiece. Download sheet music of this composition here: Sicilienne.

The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns

To each his own: Schoenberg played tennis and Webern collected crystals; Gustav Holst was inspired by astrology while Camille Saint-Saëns prefered representatives of fauna to heavenly bodies. The Carnival of the Animals is his famous fourteen-movement suite. Thinking it might damage his reputation, being not quite serious, Saint-Saëns deprecated to perform and publish the suite while he was alive. Who are we to blame a composer for having good sense of humor, though? Saint-Saëns may have been self-critical – and there’s nothing that wrong in it – but this piece is a superlative of composer's talent, so say listeners, period.

The Carnival of the Animals is especially liked by music teachers because children usually prefer lion’s roars spread in the zoo to morning wails of string quartets, and it is a perfect compromise in that sense. Joyous and lively, it’s one of the finest pieces ever written, and even most accomplished musicians can’t resist the temptation of having it in their repertoire - a video proof, featuring Sir Roger Moore, Julian Rachlin, and Mischa Maisky, is below.

Full score of the suite is available here: The Carnival of the Animals.

Symphonie Fantastique piano sheet music

We all know that drugs are dangerous and nothing good, but history is inflexible: opium played important part in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Smoking opium was pretty common in the 19th century, and historians suggest that this work was partly drug-influenced. It’s not a big deal, though: Colridge wrote Kubla Khan, his masterpiece poem, under similar circumstances. What really matters is how significant this symphony is: an early example of program music, Romantic period classical, favorite piece among listeners and performers worldwide…

Symphonie Fantastique was transcribed for piano by Franz Liszt in 1833. A brilliant performance of the piece is below. Sheet music of Liszt's arrangement, demanded and liked by pianists, is available here: Fantastic Symphony (Piano Transcription), H 48 Op.14

The Planets sheet music in high quality

The Planets is incomparably epic orchestral suite by Gustav Holst. It consists of seven movements, named after the planets of Solar System, and sounds just out of this world – rather intergalactic than earthen. Holst was introduced to astrology in 1913 and felt so inspired that completed The Planets three years later. Pluto was discovered soon, but Holst refused to compose another movement – a smart and prophetic move given that Pluto was demoted from the rank of planets recently.

Check out movement IV of the piece below – it looks (and sounds, of course!) impressive overall, but conductor's effort is especially admirable. Full score is available here: Planets, Op. 32.