# ID this piece of (classical) music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-piece-of-classical-music/576676 "2011-03-31T19:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-piece-of-classical-music/576676/1 "2011-03-31T19:56:16Z")
This has been on my mind for a week or two, and it’s driving me a little crazy. I’m not sure if I can explain it well enough for you guys to get it, and it might be obscure, but I’ll try my best. It’s either a classical piece or a film score, probably the former. If so, I would guess late 19th to mid 20th century. It’s pretty dramatic. At a fairly climactic point, violins and woodwinds play the melody. They are either 8th notes at a fairly quick tempo or 16ths andante. They run up a diatonic scale (major or minor I couldn’t tell you) for 8 notes, slurred, with a big crescendo, then modulate up a half step, then run down the scale with a decrescendo, modulate up a half step again and go up the scale again, etc. This happens several times. These might be the notes: CDEFGABC (crescendo) C#B#A#G#F#E#D#E#C# (decrescendo) DEF#GABC#D (crescendo) EьDCBьAьGFEь (decrescendo) Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-piece-of-classical-music/576676/2 "2011-03-31T22:16:05Z")
This may be far off, but is it possibly the overture to Mozart’s [Don Giovanni](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nemAKvtXL8w)? The part in question that reminds of me of what you’re talking about begins at 1:12. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-piece-of-classical-music/576676/3 "2011-03-31T22:45:06Z")
I think that’s it! Thanks. Obscure, indeed. I knew I heard it recently. I watched Amadeus last weekend. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-piece-of-classical-music/576676/4 "2011-03-31T23:19:55Z")
> [@choie](#): > > This may be far off, but is it possibly the overture to Mozart’s [Don Giovanni](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nemAKvtXL8w)? The part in question that reminds of me of what you’re talking about begins at 1:12. Very cool. Can you tell me what I’m thinking? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-piece-of-classical-music/576676/5 "2011-04-01T02:43:56Z")
> [@raindog](#): > > Very cool. > > Can you tell me what I’m thinking? 😉 James Levine is a better actor than F. Murray Abrahams is a conductor? The dirctor’s cut of Amadeus is a ridiculous 80s teen sex romp movie? Too many notes? Dude, I was just thinking the exact same thing! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-piece-of-classical-music/576676/6 "2011-04-01T04:32:24Z")
Thanks once again, **choie**. As it turns out, I’ve owned the score for this for many years, but I’ve never really studied it. It’s on page 2, measure 23, 1st violins and flute. It starts in D minor with a major 6th and 7th, then flats them on the way back down. Then it modulates up. I’m guessing that Mozart was pretty good at writing some tunes. Not as good as the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star guy, but we can hold some hope. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-piece-of-classical-music/576676/7 "2011-04-02T16:23:41Z")
You’re very welcome, **tdn**! You described the section very well, and as it happens I wrote a detailed analysis of the _Don Giovanni_ overture for a term paper back in college. So it wasn’t difficult to call up the piece in my head once I hummed your excellent notation aloud. Plus, I freakin’ adore _Amadeus_, so there’s that too. 🙂 (And LOL about _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_. Well played.)