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Classical Composers - A-P

Music

Johann Sebastian Bach - 1685-1750 - Germany


Brandenburg Concertos - Concerto No.3
Six Concertos of the Baroque Era. The name Brandenburg is often thought to originate from the Irish St. Brendan the Navigator. Concert No. 3 is on the 'Golden Record', a phonograph record containing a broad sample of Earth's common sounds, languages, and music sent into outer space with the two Voyager probes in 1977. The Voyager Crafts are currently the furthest Human made objects from Earth.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 on YouTube

Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
It is the 10th and last movement of the Cantata 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben' ('Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life') written in 1723.

Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring on YouTube


Toccata & Fugue
Church Organ Music. It is debated as to whether this was written by Bach or not.

Toccata & Fugue on YouTube

Thomas Haynes Bayly - 1797-1839 - England

Long, Long Ago
The song was written in 1833, but was not published until 1843 after Bayly's death. In 1939 the tune was given new words and a bouncier tempo. It became the 1942 Glenn Miller hit 'Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)'.
Long, Long Ago on YouTube

Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree on YouTube

Ludwig van Beethoven - 1770-1827 - Germany

Ode To Joy
Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras. Final Movement of the 9th Symphony. Used as the Anthem of Europe. Beethoven was completely deaf by the time it was complete, so never heard his most famous work.
Flash Mob playing Ode to Joy on YouTube

Moonlight Sonata
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor' was written in 1801. A well known German poet suggested that the music likened the effect of moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne, and the name stuck.
Moonlight Sonata on YouTube


Georges Bizet - 1838-1875 - France

Carmen Overture
Bizet was a composer of the Romantic period. This piece comes from the opera Carmen, an opera which is also famous for the pieces 'Toreador' and 'Habanera'.
Overture on YouTube

Toreador on YouTube

Habanera on YouTube


Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini - 1743-1805 - Italy

Minuet
Boccherini was a cellist and composer of the Classical Era. This piece is part of the 'String Quintet in E Major' written in 1771. It departs from E Major and becomes A Major.
Minuet on YouTube

Johannes Brahms - 1833-1897 - Germany

Hungarian Dance No. 5
The Hungarian Dances' by Brahms are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1869.
Hungarian Dance No. 5 on YouTube

Lullaby
This Johannes Brahms' piece called 'Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht' ('Good evening, good night'), was the original Cradle Song or Lullaby. It was composed in 1868.
Lullaby on YouTube

Waltz No. 15 in A Major
This piece comes from a set of 'Sixteen Waltzes' composed by Brahms in 1865. They were composed for piano, but are sometimes played on other instruments.
Waltz No. 15 on YouTube

Antonin Dvorak - 1841-1904 - Czech

New World Symphony
Symphony No. 9 in E Minor also known as 'From A New World'. It reflects Dvorak's interest in Native American music. Composed in 1893.
New World Symphony on YouTube

Humoresque No. 7
'Humoresques' are 8 pieces of music composed in the summer of 1894. Humoresque is a genre of romantic music. The name refers to the German term 'Humoreske', which was given from the 1800s onward to humorous tales.
Humoresque No.7 on YouTube

Joseph-Hector Fiocco - 1703-1741 - Belgium

Allegro
Fiocco was a composer and violinist of the high and late Baroque period. 'Allegro' is a tempo marking which means fast, quickly, and bright.
Allegro on YouTube

Edvard Grieg - 1843-1907 - Norway

Morning Mood - Peer Gynt
The melody in this piece of music alternates between Flute and Oboe. The piece depicts the rising of the sun.
Morning Mood on YouTube

Georg Friedrich Handel - 1685-1759 - Germany

Hallelujah Chorus - Messiah
Comes from Handel's work 'Messiah'. It was first performed in Fishamble Street in Dublin, on 13 April 1742.
Hallelujah Chorus on YouTube

Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
The location of the Kingdom of Sheba is uncertain, but it is referred to in Ethiopian tradition dating back to 1000BC. It comes from the Oratorio 'Solomon' written in 1748.
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba on YouTube

Sarabande
A 'Sarabande' is a type of slow dance that originated in Central America and travelled to Spain in the 15th & 16th Centuries.
Orchestral Version of Sarabande on Youtube

Sarabande Rock/Classical Version by Escala on YouTube

Franz Joseph Haydn - 1732-1809 - Austria

Andante Cantabile
Haydn was a composer of the Classical period. This piece comes from Haydn's 'String Quartet in F Major'. Joseph's brother Michael was also a renowned composer.
Andante Cantabile on YouTube

Gustav Holst - 1874-1934 - England

Jupiter - The Planets
Holst was an English composer of Latvian and German origin. The Planets Suite was composed by Gustav Holst between 1914 and 1916. It doesn't include Pluto, as that planet wasn't discovered until 1930.
Jupiter on YouTube

Aram Ill'yich Khachturian - 1903-1978 - Armenia, USSR

Sabre Dance
Comes from the Ballet 'Gayane' composed in 1942. It is based on Armenian Folk Music.
Sabre Dance on YouTube

Jules Massenet - 1842-1912 - France

Meditation from Thais
The opera 'Thais' was first performed in Paris in 1894. This piece is in D Major, and was written for solo violin and orchestra.
Meditation from Thais on YouTube

Felix Mendelssohn - 1809-1847 - Germany

Wedding March
Mendelssohn was a German pianist, organist and composer of the Early Romantic period. This piece was written as incidental music to Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. It is most frequent;y performed on a church Pipe Organ.
Wedding March on YouTube

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - 1756-1791 - Germany

Rondo Alla Turca
Piano Sonata No. 11, also known as the Turkish March, was written in the Turkish style that includes particular rhythmic patterns and often features piccolos cymbals, bass drums and triangles. 'Alla Turc' is Allegretto.
Rondo Alla Turc on YouTube

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
'Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G Major' by Mozart, is Chamber Music which means it was composed to be played by a small group of musicians rather than a full orchestra. The German title means 'a little serenade', though it is often translated more literally but less accurately as 'a little night music'. It was written for 2 violins, a viola, a cello and an optional double bass, but is often performed by String Orchestras.
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik on YouTube

The Marriage of Figaro Overture
'The Marriage of Figaro' is an 'Opera Buffa' which means a comic opera composed in 1786. The overture is in the key of D major; the tempo marking is presto, meaning very fast.
The Marriage of Figaro on YouTube

Jacques Offenbach - 1819-1890 - France

Orpheus in the Underworld - Can-Can
The correct name for this piece of music is 'The Infernal Galop', which is named after a horse's gallop. It is most commonly associated with the French dance, the 'Can-Can'. Offenbach was a German-born French composer and cellist of the Romantic Era.
The Infernal Galop on YouTube

Carl Orff - 1895-1982 - Germany

Carmina Burana - O Fortuna
The words come from a Medieval Latin poem, and are a complaint about Fate and the Roman Goddess of Fortune, Fortuna.
O Furtuna on YouTube

Johann Pachelbel - 1653-1706 - Germany

Canon in D Major
Baroque Music written for 3 Violins & Cello. It was forgotten for centuries and only rediscovered in the 20th Century. A Canon is a piece of music with a melody which is imitated many times throughout the piece. It was used in Coolio's 'C U When U Get There'.
Canon on YouTube

Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev - 1891-1953 - Russia

Romeo & Juliet - Montagus & Capulets
'Opus 64', is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev written in 1935 and is based on William Shakespeare's play 'Romeo and Juliet'. The Montagus and the Capulets were the two warring families in the play, whose children Romeo and Juliet fell in love. This piece known is also known by its proper name 'Dance of the Knights'.
Dance of the Knights on YouTube

Giacomo Puccini - 1858-1924 - Italy

Nessun Dorma
'Nessun Dorma' means none shall sleep. It is an Aria from the final act of Puccini's Opera 'Turandot'. It is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, (the unknown prince), who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot. However, any man who wishes to wed Turandot must first answer her three riddles; if he fails, he will be beheaded. The Opera was unfinished at the time of Puccini's death, and was completed in 1926 by another composer.
Nessun Dorma on YouTube


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