[Orchestra] Introducing famous and popular pieces
Among classical music, the orchestra is the most opulent and offers the widest range of expression.
When a variety of instruments, each infused with the performer’s own sensibility, come together to create a single piece of music, it produces a unique allure found nowhere else.
In this article, we’ve picked out famous and popular orchestral pieces.
Even within orchestral music, there are many genres—from symphonies and concertos to operas.
We’re introducing everything from pieces everyone has heard to works well-known among classical enthusiasts, so be sure to check them out.
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[Orchestra] Introducing Famous and Popular Pieces (51–60)
Symphony No. 9 “Choral”Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven’s Symphony No.
9, also famously nicknamed “The Ninth.” It’s performed in many places at the end of the year.
You’ve probably heard the fourth movement with chorus at least once, right? The choral melody is also familiar in Japan as the song “Ode to Joy” with Japanese lyrics.
It has been translated into countless languages around the world and is sometimes sung in those languages as well.
Take this opportunity to experience “The Ninth” from beginning to end!
Serenade for StringsPeter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
You probably remember the Staff Service commercial with the “Corporate—Oh Jinji, Oh Jinji” jingle as background music.
It’s also been used in ads for Tokyo DisneySea and Kracie.
The melody gently soothes a mind and body tired from work or study.
The strings are beautiful, wrapping the listener’s heart in warmth.
For example, if you’re feeling stressed from human relationships, this piece can wash away that hazy feeling—it has that kind of power.
It’s great to listen to while taking a bath.
Symphonic Suite ScheherazadeNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
The symphonic suite Scheherazade was composed in 1888.
This piece is based on the famous One Thousand and One Nights.
The dignified melody that opens the work is the theme of King Shahryar, and the violin that enters to gently soften it is the theme of Scheherazade, which also gives the piece its title.
The work consists of four movements, each with a programmatic title.
Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral from the opera LohengrinWilhelm Wagner
This piece, with its majestic and sacred atmosphere, unfolds at a leisurely tempo and is distinguished by its rich orchestration.
The harmony between brass and strings is beautiful, leaving listeners deeply moved.
Premiered in August 1850, the work depicts a scene from an opera, superbly conveying the protagonist’s purity and the solemnity of the ritual.
It is often used as background music for weddings and religious ceremonies and is beloved by many.
It is recommended not only for those interested in classical music but also for anyone seeking a beautiful melody that resonates with the heart.
[Orchestra] Introducing famous and popular pieces (61–70)
strollHisaishi Joe
Azumi Inoue’s “Sanpo,” the signature song from Studio Ghibli’s emblematic film My Neighbor Totoro, is performed here with orchestra and chorus.
The footage is from “Joe Hisaishi in Budokan: 25 Years with the Animations of Hayao Miyazaki,” featuring numerous Ghibli masterpieces arranged and conducted by Joe Hisaishi himself.
The live texture of the orchestra is truly wonderful.
This piece was previously arranged for “Orchestra Stories: My Neighbor Totoro,” which includes a narrated performance—highly recommended as well.
Like an instrument introduction, it features sections where only the woodwinds or only the brass play, as well as sections for strings and percussion, plus solo passages, making it an arrangement that showcases the orchestra’s appeal.
It’s also recommended as an introductory piece for those new to orchestral music.
Dragon BoyHisaishi Joe
From Studio Ghibli’s hugely famous film Spirited Away, this is “The Dragon Boy.” The “dragon” refers to Haku, and the piece is used in the scene where Haku and Chihiro meet and then depart from the bathhouse.
In the film, the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra performs it: a mystical tone born from layered harp and piano leads into flowing horn lines, while the woodwinds stack in perfect fourths to evoke a traditional Japanese atmosphere.
This performance is a longer version than the one in the film, making “The Dragon Boy” even more powerful.
Symphonic Poem ‘Danse Macabre’Camille Saint-Saëns
A piece composed by Saint-Saëns based on his own song of the same name, which set to melody and piano accompaniment a poem by the French poet Henri Cazalis.
Danse macabre depicts people and the Grim Reaper dancing wildly atop graves, their bones clattering, in the face of the terror of death.
The piece follows the story’s timeline, with the music seeming to describe each scene as the narrative unfolds—so vivid that you can almost visualize it like a film.
Listen while imagining how the people and the Grim Reaper are dancing.