In this video, choreographer Mark Morris shares his five favorite dance scores. See which one he calls "the most astonishing, psychedelic, terrifying, hallucinogenic miracle of a piece of music."

Fortissimo just isn’t enough for some people. To show just how ear-shatteringly bombastic some composers want their music played, they have been known to double, triple and even quadruple those fortes. Here are our top five.

Despite a momentous career, critics often hated on Stravinsky. As such, we’ve culled Nicolas Slonimsky’s book Lexicon of Musical Invective for the five top written critiques of Stravinsky. We can only imagine people said even worse.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed over 600 pieces in a vast range of styles and genres. Watch conductor Louis Langrée discuss his top five in this video.

It seems counterintuitive that something as intimate and personal as music can be created using a formula. But here are five composers who wrote compelling works using complex mathematical principles.

On July 5, Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica staged a concert in Strasbourg, France that championed the cause of Russian political prisoners. It followed a tradition of using music to carry political messages.

There are a lot of anthems being sung this month with Canada Day, Bastille Day and Belgian National Day, not to mention July 4th all happening. Here are our top five anthems written by notable composers.

Before heading out to the beach or the country for some R&R this summer, we've put together a list of movies to watch just in case a rainy day or two keeps us indoors. Among them is a docu-drama on the life of Glenn Gould.

Steven Reineke, the Music Director of the New York Pops, shares his top five pops pieces, which touch on some personal memories and pay homage to his mentor, the late pops conductor Erich Kunzel.

As a salute to the orchestras that stepped outside the box when programming their concert seasons, here are our top five unlikely headliners -- from an ABBA tribute band to a NASA astronaut.

This week, the New York Philharmonic mounts Leos Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen in an anticipated, animal-themed production at Avery Fisher Hall. With no offense to Old Farmer MacDonald, here are our top five works with animals in starring roles.

Today at 3 pm outspoken actor John Leguizamo shares his favorite pieces. Watch a video preview.

In honor of Father’s Day, we list our top five fathers who greatly influenced the course of Western music through their progeny, and their children’s spouses.

After such a terribly long winter, it’s time to celebrate summer’s arrival. There's no better way to appreciate a balmy evening than taking in an outdoor concert in one of New York City’s parks. Here are our Top five picks.

It’s the time of year when beaches open, outdoor concerts begin and for hundreds of men and women in the Navy the time to spend six days in New York City for Fleet Week. Celebrate the week with our top five Naval-themed works of classical music.

As New Yorkers slog through a week of gray skies and wet weather, we're saluting the top five depictions of storms in classical music -- from Beethoven to Strauss.

The spiritual offspring of Anne-Sophie Mutter, today's most prominent violinists are, on the whole, female, ultra-virtuosic, career-focused and glamorous looking besides. Here are five standout recordings, plus a free download of violinist Tianwa Yang.

Composers get the lion’s share of the glory in the opera world. However, the Words First program at New York City Opera is bringing renewed attention to the librettist. We asked two wordsmiths to pick their top five opera librettos. 

Since we listed our Top Five Classical Music Apps in 2009, there's been an explosion in app development and devices that use them (iPad anyone?). Our new Top Five apps for the iPhone and iPad harness technology to enhance your musical consumption.