I've said many times here that I think that the canon, whether we are referring to those pieces that are generally recognized as being "classic" or "core" or "mainstream" are those of the general public or of scholars and musicians, is always in a process of flux as some works and composers seem to diminish over times, while others become more widely recognized.
Over at The New Neo, she has a post up on Greatest Books in which she questions a lot of the choices made on another website. This is how it works on the individual level, so let me take a stab at it. Taking as a model, here is The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music according to Wikipedia. Just looking at the first few, it is obvious that this is the list corresponding to the tastes of the general public. I'm not sure where to find the scholarly equivalent as it is probably more spread around in various places. Who has the most coverage in the Oxford History would be a place to start. But let's just stick with the Wikipedia list for now.
Beethoven Symphony No. 5, certainly on everyone's list, though I don't listen to it much these days. Honestly, I would skip the next four: I don't listen much to Wagner or Grieg and I would listen to something else by Vivaldi. Barber Adagio, probably not. Chopin Nocturne? Sure, along with the Ballades and Scherzi. No to Pachelbel and Orff. Yes, to Bach of course, but the orchestral suites are not the most interesting works by him. The Mass in B Minor, the Passions and the Cantatas as well as the Well-Tempered Clavier is what I would put on my list. Holst is an interesting choice, and Debussy, of course, but La Mer and the Nocturnes as well as the Preludes for piano over the Suite bergamasque. Verdi? I'm moving in that direction, but I'm not there yet. Mozart, god yes, all the piano concertos, big thumbs up. More Bach, for sure. Massenet, Dvorak, Strauss, no. But I'm growing more and more fond of Brahms, but I prefer the symphonies, the Variations on a Theme by Haydn and the Ballades. Tchaikovsky and Satie, sure, but I don't listen to them very much. That takes us through the first twenty.
So now you guys want to weigh in?
For your listening enjoyment while you contemplate, here is Grigory Sokolov playing the Brahms Ballades, op. 10:
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