From the Narrow Desert

My appalling ignorance of classical music is something I have had occasion to mention before.

A few days ago I happened, in the course of my work, to listen to the Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem, and the spiritual effect was immediate and unmistakable -- a sudden plunge into a deeper, stiller level of consciousness. (Yes, I know "higher" consciousness is the standard metaphor, but that's not how I experience things.) I then went about the rest of my working day, returned home, and, as is my wont, put on some music while I did my evening chores -- the same sort of music I usually listen to, which is to say definitely not Mozart. At some point the contrast hit me, and I thought, What am I doing? Having just been touched by music of astonishing spiritual depth, and having basically all the music every recorded at my fingertips, here I am listening to the Temptations sing "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"! Granted, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a great song, perfectum in genere, but is it really what I need right now?

So, after thinking about such things for a bit, I've decided to make one more effort to become familiar with classical music, starting with the two composers generally acknowledged to be the greatest of the great, and working my way down from there.

After comparing and collating dozens of "top 10" lists, I've come up with the following shortlists of what are apparently the essential works of Mozart and Beethoven. However, I cannot overstate the depths of my ignorance in this field, so if anything seems strange about these lists, or if anything absolutely essential has been omitted, my more musically literate readers are invited to chime in in the comments.

Mozart

1. Clarinet Concerto
2. Piano Concerto No. 20
3. The Magic Flute
4. The Marriage of Figaro
5. Symphony No. 40
6. Symphony No. 41
7. Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra
8. Requiem
9. Don Giovanni
10. Piano Concerto No. 23
11. Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra

Beethoven

1. Symphony No. 3
2. Symphony No. 9
3. Piano Concerto No. 5
4. String Quartet No. 14
5. Symphony No. 5
6. Piano Sonata No. 23
7. Missa Solemnis
8. Symphony No. 6
9. String Quartet No. 15
10. Symphony No. 7
11. Piano Sonata No. 8