Right off the top of my head I would say:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, pretty much set the standard for all later symphonies.
Mozart: Requiem in D minor, K. 626, also set a standard for later music, and has generated a lot of mythology surrounding the circumstances of its composition.
Chopin: Preludes, Opus 28
But this is highly subjective and open to great debate.