1. Barber – Adagio for Strings
Barber finished writing this in 1936.
The way it is written makes it feel like you are slowing climbing upwards.
Barber – Adagio for Strings

2. Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition
This piece has 10 movements.
It was written for piano.
It is about taking a trip to a museum and looking at the paintings.
Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition

3. Beethoven - Symphony No. 5
This is one of Beethoven’s best known compositions.
It begins with a distinctive four note ‘short-short-short-long’ motif.
Beethoven - Symphony No. 5

4. Beethoven wrote lots of music even though he went deaf.
This piece was not found until 40 years after he died.
Beethoven – Fur Elise

5. Mozart – Piano Concerto no. 21, Andante
This piece has muted string instruments.
It has a ‘dreamlike’ melody.
Mozart – Piano Concerto no. 21, Andante

6. Mozart – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
This is called ‘a little night music’.
It is written for a small group of string instruments.
It has 2 violins, viola and cello.
Mozart – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

7. Tchaikovsky – Nutcracker Suite
A ballet about a family at Christmas.
In the night all of the toys and the ‘Nutcracker Soldier’ come to life.
Tchaikovsky – Nutcracker Suite

8. Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake
A ballet about swans.
In the ballet there is a good, white swan and an evil, black swan.
Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake

9. Mozart – The Marriage of Figaro
This piece is an opera.
It is about life in a palace in Spain.
People trick each other and get married.
Mozart – The Marriage of Figaro

10. Dvorak – Symphony No.9, 2nd Movement, Largo
Known as the New World Symphony.
Neil Armstrong took a recording of this symphony to the moon.
Dvorak – Symphony No.9, 2nd Movement, Largo

11. Vivalidi – The Four Seasons, Summer
This is part of a piece about each of the seasons.
There is a thunderstorm at the end of Summer.
Vivalidi – The Four Seasons, Summer

12. Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring: The Augurs of Spring
This part is about the celebration of spring in the hills. An old lady comes and starts to tell the future.
Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring: The Augurs of Spring

13. Ravel - Bolero This is Ravel’s most famous musical composition.
It was first composed as a ballet.
It has a constant, unchanging ostinato.
Ravel - Bolero

14. Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf
A musical story featuring different instruments to represent different animals.
Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf

15. George Frederic Handel - Messiah

16. Palestrina – Missa Papae Marcelli

17. Debussy – Clair De Lune

18. Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue

19. Mendelssohn – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture

20. Johann Sebastian Bach – The Goldberg Variations

21. Beethoven Symphony No.4, Last Movement

22. Bizet - Carmen This is an opera.
It tells us about the life of a soldier and a lady he likes.
Bizet - Carmen

23. Britten – A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
It tries to show us what all of the different instruments in the orchestra can do.
Britten – A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra