You often hear this piece on variety shows and the like.
It is the overture to Act III of Wagner’s music drama Die Walküre, composed in 1856.
“Valkyries” refers to multiple demi-goddesses from Norse mythology; in Japanese they’re sometimes called war goddesses.
This piece serves as the prelude to the scene where the Valkyries, mounted on winged horses and armed with shields and spears, race across the sky to carry the souls of fallen soldiers back to a rocky mountaintop.
This is Franz Liszt’s piano solo arrangement of Danse macabre, a symphonic poem by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns.
The symphonic poem originated from a song composed by Saint-Saëns based on a poem by the French poet Henri Cazalis, which he later orchestrated into the work known today.
Danse macabre depicts people and the Grim Reaper dancing wildly around graves in the face of death’s terror, and the image of the Reaper and skeletons rattling their bones and dancing frenetically past midnight atop the graves is brilliantly rendered even on the piano.
Seiji Ozawa conducts “Ode to Joy” for the first time in 15 years: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 “Choral” [On Sale Now!]
Beethoven’s exceedingly famous Symphony No.
9 in D minor, Op.
125 “Choral” is a monumental masterpiece that, while possessing a comprehensive quality reminiscent of a summation of pre-Classical music, also served as a signpost for the coming era of Romantic music.
The fourth movement is performed with soloists and chorus and is well known as the “Ode to Joy.” Although the original lyrics are in German, they have been translated into virtually every language around the world.
Conceived by Beethoven from the age of 22, the work was, so to speak, a lifelong endeavor, and its impact on not only the world of music but also on culture and the arts is immeasurable.
Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik | Gewandhaus Quartet with Stefan Adelmann (double bass)
In G major, K.
525, Eine kleine Nachtmusik is one of the serenades composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an extremely famous piece that has been featured in films and on television.
It feels like a work in which the genius Mozart simply jotted down the notes that descended to him.
It’s easy for anyone to understand, yet it possesses a high level of musical sophistication.
You can sense a different kind of talent from that of Beethoven, who is also called a genius.
“Winter” from The Four Seasons, a violin concertoAntonio Lucio Vivaldi
Vivaldi “The Four Seasons” – “Winter” | High Quality | FULL
“The Four Seasons” is the collective name for the first through fourth concertos of Vivaldi’s “The Contest Between Harmony and Invention,” titled Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
In the first movement of “Winter,” a scene of bitterly cold, fruit-freezing snow is depicted.
By contrast, the second movement portrays time flowing gently and peacefully inside a warm room with a fireplace.
The melody of the second movement has Japanese lyrics under the title “Shiroi Michi” (The White Road).
This song has also been broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” and is widely loved by people of all ages.
You’ve probably heard the opening melody at least once.
Because this piece was used in the 1934 German film “Farewell to the Past,” which depicts Chopin’s life, it’s affectionately known in Japan as “Farewell to the Past.” Around the time this piece was written, Chopin had left his native Poland and moved his base to Paris.
Perhaps the music reflects both his longing for success in Paris and his nostalgia for the countryside.
