The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

By Sofia Rizzi, ClassicFM London

 

Here are some of the world’s most famous classical music melodies and everything you need to know about them.

There’s nothing more annoying than humming a tune but not knowing what it’s called or where it’s from. Fear not – here are some of the most famous tunes from the history of music, complete with all the background information you need.

Read more: 30 of the greatest classical music composers of all time

1. Mozart – Eine kleine Nachtmusik

   The official name of this piece is the Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, and it was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1787. Mozart himself gave the piece its nickname, when he jotted this name down in the log book he kept detailing all the music he wrote.

   The music has been used in Charlie's Angels – Full Throttle, Alien, Ace Ventura and There's Something About Mary, as well as in countless TV programmes and adverts. It also featured prominently in the film Amadeus about the composer himself.

   Read more: Musical terms: A glossary of useful terminology

2. Beethoven – Für Elise

   This piece was never published during Beethoven’s lifetime and it wasn't even discovered until forty years after his death.

   As a result, no one’s quite sure who the Elise of the title was… and some musicologists even think the title might have been copied incorrectly and it was originally called ‘Für Therese’.

   But whoever the lucky recipient of this piece was, we can all agree that it’s one of the most charming pieces for piano ever written.

   Due to the music’s simple yet catchy melody, there have been countless reinterpretations of the piece including a cubist rendition and a jazzy cover.

3. Puccini – 'O mio babbino caro' from Gianni Schicchi

   O mio babbino caro performed by Susanna Hurrell

   Susanna Hurrell and pianist Jonathan Santagada performs the famous aria from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi

   There might be uncontacted tribes in the Amazon who haven't heard this piece, but there can't be many other people in the world who wouldn't recognise this famous aria by Puccini.

   It comes from his opera Gianni Schicchi, a one-act opera all about the lengths one family will go to to make sure they inherit money from an elderly relative. An unlikely source for a melody that has become famous as one of the most romantic ever writtten…

   ‘O mio babbino caro’ is performed by young Lauretta, who is pleading with her father to allow her to marry Rinuccio, the man she loves. And it’s fame has far outstripped that of the opera.

   It features on the soundtracks for Downton Abbey, Captain Correlli’s Mandolin, A Room with a View, and the list goes on.

4. J.S. Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D minor

   Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor - Amy Turk

   This piece by Bach might not have the catchiest title, but we guarantee you'll know the famous opening.

   It has become associated with scary moments in horror films, perhaps because it famously made an appearance in the opening credits of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931).

5. Beethoven – Symphony No.5 in C minor

   Beethoven's 5th, conducted by a 3-year-old boy

   Jonathan Okseniuk, an adorable and insanely talented 3-year-old, conducts to the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th symphony.

   This symphony by Beethoven opens with perhaps the four most famous chords of all time – the famous “da da da duuum”. Some critics have suggested that this opening represents the sound of Fate knocking at the door.

   Who knows if that's what Beethoven had in mind – but what's beyond a shadow of a doubt is that this piece has come so famous it's even featured in pop songs.

6. Vivaldi – The Four Seasons

   Vivaldi's 'Winter' from the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra

   Henning Kraggerud and The Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.

   The Four Seasons is actually a group of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Each gives a musical expression to a season of the year – listen out for the chattering teeth in Winter, the dramatic storm in summer, and the arrival of the hunt in autumn.

   All four of the concertos have become world famous. In fact, you may well have even heard this piece being used as a ringtone!

7. Bizet – ‘Carmen’

   Melodica Men play Carmen

   Bizet's masterpiece as you've never heard it before…

   Bizet's opera Carmen from 1875 is jam-packed with catchy tunes – from the 'Toreador's Song' to the 'Habanera' and the aria 'L'amour est un oiseau rebelle' to the Overture itself.

   Bizet's music has appeared most recently in the Pixar film Up. Sesame Street also did a pretty epic cover, not to forget Tom and Jerry's homage.

   What many might not know is that Carmen was a pretty groundbreaking opera in the 19th century. Bizet was seen as quite the rebel for having set his music to such a risqué plot. But the opera has gone on to become one of the most successful ever written.

8. Johann Strauss II – The Blue Danube

   The Blue Danube is the commonly used name for Johann Strauss II's waltz By the Beautiful Blue Danube. The Viennese connections with this song has made it almost an unofficial national anthem for Austria. However, film lovers might recognise it from Stanley Kubrick’s epic film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), where it's used in the stunning opening sequence.

9. Ravel – Boléro

   This tune was made famous when it was used by Torvill and Dean for their gold-medal-winning 1984 Olympic performance.

   Ravel’s music was actually originally composed as a ballet for the Russian dance Ida Rubinstein, so its rise to 20th-century fame through Torvill and Dean’s ice skating routine isn’t far from what the composer intended!

10. Delibes – ‘Flower Duet’ from Lakmé

    Belle Voci Perform 'Flower Duet' On The Voice UK 2018

    Credit: ITV / The Voice

    The ‘Flower Duet’ is from Léo Delibes’ opera Lakmé and the composer is a bit of a one-hit wonder. But that one hit has become a super hit – this duet is now one of the most famous ever written. It is traditionally sung by a soprano and mezzo-soprano but its rise to fame has resulted in many different interpretations of the song.

    This is by far the most famous section of the opera, and the duet might be best known as the soundtrack to a very memorable British Airways advert.

11. Grieg – ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ from Peer Gynt Suite

    Line Rider - In the Hall of the Mountain King

    Credit: Doodle Chaos.

    Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite was originally written as incidental music for a production of Ibsen's play Peer Gynt. But he later turned his music into two suites, which have become some of his best known work.

    This movement is particularly famous because of its incredibly catchy main theme. Modern pop and rock bands including Electric Light Orchestra, The Who and Savatage have used the melody in their music, and it has also been used for many years by the British theme park Alton Towers as a sort of theme tune, appearing in their adverts and on their YouTube videos.

12. Mozart – Overture from The Marriage of Figaro

    The melodies in this opera overture have been used time and time again in films, TV shows, adverts and even pop music. In the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory you’ll hear Willy Wonka opening the doors to his chocolate factory by playing the music from this overture on a miniature piano.

    The Marriage of Figaro tells the story of Figaro and Susanna, who work for the Count and Countess Almaviva, and whose plans to get married hit one or two obstacles along the way… It is one of the most frequently performed operas of all time.

13. Puccini – 'Nessun Dorma' from Turandot

    Pavarotti sings 'Nessun Dorma', with English translation

    We translated the lyrics to Puccini's Nessun Dorma.

    Puccini's opera aria Nessun Dorma was brought to a global audience when it was used as the anthem for the 1990 World Cup in Italy, in a recording by the legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

    It actually comes from Puccini's final opera Turandot, which was left unfinished when he died. It tells the story of the brutal princess Turandot and her murderous reign.

    Today, the piece has become a classic in the world of TV talent shows. Paul Potts, who won the first series of Britain's Got Talent, made this his calling-card aria

14. Prokofiev – 'Dance of the Knights' from Romeo and Juliet

    You may well recognise this if you're a fan of The Apprentice… The television series chose this section from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet as its theme music.

    The ballet tells the tragic story of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers and the war waged between the rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets. So it's no surprise that this centrepiece of the ballet is one of the most dramatic pieces of music ever written. Nor that the producers of The Apprentice wanted some of that drama for their theme music.

15. Rossini – Overture from 'William Tell'

    The finale of this overture is instantly recognisable for its galloping rhythm and trumpet solos. It reached an international audience when it was used as the theme music for The Lone Ranger films and television and radio shows.

    But the music has since become almost a cliché as the soundtrack for car chases and zany antics. And it's also featured in countless ads

    Rossini's opera doesn't actually have any other well-known melodies. And this section of the overture, called The March of the Swiss Soldiers, doesn't even make another appearance in the five-hour long opera.

16. 
    

Time of Day: Dawn

 Mussorgsky, Pigovat, Sviridov, Eller, Harris and Qin

by Maureen Buja  , Interlude

Mstislav Dobujisky: Act I design for Khovanshchina, 1950 (Met Opera Archives)

How do you take the morning, musically? Bright and brassy alarm bells, a gentle reminder from the buzzer, the shock of morning radio? We decided to survey music for the earliest time of day: Dawn.

We’ll start with Mussorgsky’s music to open Act I of his opera Khovanschchina. The prelude is Dawn on the Moscow River, which was orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov following the piano version. The opera opens in Moscow at dawn and is a highly romantic tone painting, with Russian folk song sounds, the gradual brightening of the sky, the bells sounding in the horns. In the opera house, it’s a wonderful way of waking up the stage and starting the opera.

Russian-Israeli composer Boris Pigovat (b. 1953) wrote his dawn piece in 2010 for violist Anna Serova. Pigovat was inspired by the description of sunrise in ancient Greece, as described by Nikolaj Kun in 1914:

The morning is near… There is a faint light in the East. Aeos and Pyrios, the morning stars and harbingers of Dawn, shine brightly in the East. There is a gentle breeze. The light in the East glows brighter and brighter… In vivid colours, on rosy wings, Dawn is soaring into the illuminated sky, drenched in rosy light. Dawn pours dew from her golden urn onto the Earth, and the dew sprinkles the grass and flowers with glistening, diamond-like drops. All is fragrant, all around. The waking Earth happily greets the sun god, Helios. (Kun: Legendy i Mify Drevnej Gretsii (Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece, 1914))

Percussion and harp are the twinkling stars and the breeze is in the woodwinds’ notes. The viola invokes the colours of the morning.

The Disappearance of Musical Forms

by Doug Thomas, Interlude

© Perennial Music and Arts

It is commonly believed that creating with no constraints is what is most fruitful; what the artist seeks; ultimate freedom in his creative choices. Contrary to this belief, what is often more productive — and tends to breed creativity and results — is to impose oneself some limits and constraints; rules and borders to define the parameters of creation. One way this takes place is through musical forms.

Musical forms are very useful tools in order for the composer to create and for the listener to find guidance and set the expectations of the music. A form can broadly be defined as the generic structure of a musical composition — or performance — and there are many different forms, which have been created and have evolved over the years.

Some works have benefited from the absence of form, such as the prelude, the impromptu or the fantasia, yet in their inner and microscopic structure one can often find some sort of coherent structure.

In other words, a form is a canvas for the musician, a structure or a blueprint in order for the composer to organise his musical ideas, find introduction, direction, development, and resolution.

Most musical forms were set during the baroque period and were the result of functional purposes; through dance suites — which were the main forms of entertainment in the 18th century — religious services —such as the oratorio, cantata or the mass — and later more musical centred forms such as the sonata or the partita. Vivaldi, Bach, Handel all used this format to develop their music.

During the classical period, additional forms emerged and took the centre of the stage — particularly the concerto, the symphony and the quartet — and provided a canvas for the works of Haydn and Mozart; it is through the romantic period that their development reached its pinnacle, eventually reaching its peak during the modern period after which it started its implosion; today they are merely a nostalgia.

© external-preview.redd.it

Today forms are still present, but well coated and hidden, and it is the listener’s role to find out which it is. When used in an obvious manner, it is a way for the composer to hint at something specific; a period, a reference, a composer or a musical intention – Adès’ Mazurkas spring to mind. Through the way classical music has evolved, it is no longer a case of function — the last music which really intends to carry a function is nowadays reserved to screen or daily life activity — but rather a form of entertainment, and therefore its necessity has somehow disappeared.

Interestingly enough, these forms seem to have been maintained in other genres of music; in pop for instance, it is quite observable — and at times critical — how these forms are used over and over, in a magic recipe on the quest of commercial success. It is quite understandable; whether with 18th century classical composers or current pop artists, one of the aims for the living musician, is for his music to be popular and successful, as well as fruitful. It is also under a strong business productive pressure, and forms in this instance are quite essential in order to reach success.

In any form of art, if the artist wishes to learn the rules, he undoubtedly rushes to break them and explore his creativity — and grow away from what seems to be at times, rigorous structures. One can only think of Picasso‘s career to illustrate this sentence. It is no surprise that progressively the forms which have been at the basis of all Western classical music would disappear. What remains to wonder is if the disappearance of these structures has in its turn created new forms of their own, which will eventually become their own standardised musical forms.

Six Types of Orchestral Musician

by Oliver Pashley, Interlude

Orchestral musicians are an odd bunch. It’s okay, I can say that – I speak as one of the oddest. Within any orchestra different personalities emerge, each with their own quirks and habits. Take this as a guide through the weird and wonderful world of orchestral musicians.

The foot shuffler

© violinist.com

Most musicians are foot shufflers at one point or another. For obvious reasons, musicians tend not to talk to each other while playing, so words transform into the foot shuffle, an inconspicuous gesture used to surreptitiously say ‘well done’ to other players after, for example, a big solo or exposed passage. However, foot shuffling can also signal a mistake. Context-dependent. Very confusing. Avoid if uncertain.

The last-minuter

For an orchestral musician, being ‘on time’ for a rehearsal means in effect being there half an hour early. Anything after that is considered by many to be cutting it fine. The last-minuter is that musician who drifts through the door five minutes before the rehearsal starts and is ready to go at the exact moment the tuning note sounds. Not at all worried by their last-minute approach to life. In fact, often much calmer and happier than most other musicians.

The question-asker

Every orchestra has that person, who can’t seem to hold back the irrepressible tide of questions bubbling up inside them. Bowings? Breath marks? Tempi? Articulation? There is no limit to the range of subjects the question-asker will address. Mostly harmless and good-intentioned.

The worrier

© houstonsymphony.org

Often but not exclusively confined to the world of reed instruments, the worrier frets about the state of their instrument, the state of their reed, the temperature and humidity in the room, what time of day it is, how illegible these old parts are, how long it took to get into work today, oh isn’t it awful with all this traffic and how do they expect us to see with this light and I think my chair is too low and don’t you think it’s really hard to hear in this room and I don’t like this piece very much how about you?

The tea break sprinter

That no-nonsense member of a section responsible for getting a round of refreshments in the break. Runs off as soon as the break is called in order to be at the front of the queue. Spends first half of rehearsal mentally planning quickest route to café with precision and detail of bank robber.

The warmer-upper

Ever had the calm background noise of orchestral musicians quietly warming up punctuated by the pyrotechnics of a Paganini caprice, or the brilliant passages of a virtuosic concerto? Then you might just be in the presence of a warmer-upper. Listen in amazement and contemplate how much harder their warm up sounds than yours. Sit in awe as they dazzle you with unnecessarily loud and fast playing. Roll your eyes when they can’t help but bring up that new concerto they’re learning. By some strange coincidence, often seated next to the tea break sprinter.

Looking Forward to 2022

by Maureen Buja, Interlude

© musement.com

After reviewing the less-than-brilliant 2021, we can now go to the optimism side for looking forward to 2022! Concert! Travel! So much to look forward to!

Opera seasons are opening! I think the first opera we would all like to see is Un ballo senza Maschera but it probably won’t happen. I’m going to Rigoletto en masque in January. And the Metrpolitan opera’s for January 1 are both Cinderella and Die Zauberflöte – both operas of transformation. Cinderella into a princess and Tamino into a follower of Sarastro.

Perhaps another opera that might be appealing would be The Flying Dutchman. To get back to travel, to go personally to help those poor needy tourist areas that have been longing for your return. That’s the 2022 spirit!

Other inspirational holiday music might include Charles Ives’ Holiday Symphony or even something like Copland’s Rodeo, for when you take that trip to the west to a dude ranch (do they still have those?). What about Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring to start the year off right? Shake off that snow and get Spring moving again! Avoid the dancing to your death part at the end, though.

Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel might be a better inspiration. The opening song, The Vagabond, with its marching tempo, gets us out of our chairs and out into the open again!

Tom Flaherty’s Time to Travel pushes us forward with a work for 2 pianos – also urging us to move and explore.

British-Australian composer Michael Easton took inspiration from Gershwin’s An American in Paris to write his version, An Australian in Paris. Unlike Gershwin’s confident city explorer, Easton’s traveler is a bit shyer. His third movement, Alone and Lonely, catches a feeling that happens to many a world traveller – you’ve done the obvious things and now it’s day 5 and all you want to do is talk with someone who understands you in your own language.

Perhaps the best music for walking around is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Set by Mussorgsky as a representation of a stroll around an exhibition of his friend Victor Hartmann’s drawing and watercolours made as the artist travelled around Italy, France, Poland, Russia, and the Ukraine – remember when we could do that too? Plan for where you can go in 2022!

© timesofindia.indiatimes.com

In his song cycle Sea Pictures, Edward Elgar takes us down to the sea and under the sea and in the sea with In Haven (Capri), linking the storms that sweep the sea with the discovery that no matter what happens, ‘love alone will stand,’ ‘…will last.’ ‘…will stay.’ The orchestral evocation of the waves is a lovely underlay to the text.

Canadian Composer Andrew Staniland, however, writes about a Dreaded Sea Voyage, inspired by a line in a Mahler biography about his dread of an impending sea voyage. The idea might have been the mental inspiration, but the other spark came from the music included on the Voyager space craft, which, some 36 years after its launch, was leaving our solar system. The music, from Bach’s Brandenburg No. 2 to Javanese gamelan music, all has its place in his composition. The dreaded sea is that of the universe, which will eventually be our final voyage.

You may not be heading for space and the final frontiers in 2022, but we hope you’re headed outside your house, outside your neighbourhood, and into wonderful new experiences.