# Musical passages that everyone knows or should know (with links) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612 "2010-06-26T16:46:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/21 "2010-06-27T16:05:52Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > For those old enough to remember the Huntley-Brinkley report on NBC, the opening of the [third](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAOTCtW9v0M)movement of Beethoven’s 9th (I think they used Toscanini’s recording). Second movement, actually. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Karl Jenkin’s Palladio Allegretto As a huge Soft Machine fan, I do know who Karl Jenkins is, but this tune sounds only vaguely familiar. Where should everyone know it from? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/22 "2010-06-27T16:22:56Z")
[Rhapsody in Blue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PRRzXBwXTY), notably the opening clarinet. For the William Tell Overture, not only is the finale well know, but so are the "[Storm](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt5hz8fc4Cw#t=01m00s) and “[Pastoral](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt5hz8fc4Cw#t=02m50s)” sections. Much of the Nutcracker, especially [Waltz of the Flowers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOzgVldYvps&feature=related), [Dance of the Reed Flutes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h94BdxnheeM), and [Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQemvyyJ--g&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/23 "2010-06-27T16:32:59Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > I’ll let others mention and link to Powerhouse, and of course that famous ‘Oriental theme’ music that we all know, but couldn’t find the name of…😛 Well, Powerhouse was what I thought of, so [here you go!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfDqR4fqIWE) The De Facto standard for any factory scene (and even non-factory scenes) in 40’s and 50’s WB cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/24 "2010-06-27T16:41:05Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > As a huge Soft Machine fan, I do know who Karl Jenkins is, but this tune sounds only vaguely familiar. Where should everyone know it from? DeBeers Diamond commercials. Perhaps this one is not quite as widespread as I might have thought. (It’s also very recent – from the early-mid-90s.) ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/25 "2010-06-27T16:43:07Z")
[Grand Canyon Suite](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf4tTydTgjo) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/26 "2010-06-27T16:52:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > DeBeers Diamond commercials. Perhaps this one is not quite as widespread as I might have thought. (It’s also very recent – from the early-mid-90s.) Over a decade ago is not ‘very recent’, man… Anyway, [here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vXHm8TzLzE) one of the ads. Family Guy hilariously parodied them with ‘Diamonds: She’ll pretty much have to.’ (I don’t think I’ve ever heard that Grand Canyon Suite.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/27 "2010-06-27T17:02:06Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Over a decade ago is not ‘very recent’, man… In the timescale of the songs in this thread, it qualifies as “very recent.” This thread is mostly classical or orchestral music and about music that’s been indelibly etched into the popular consciousness over decades or centuries. The Jenkins piece is the most recent of the ones mentioned in this thread and, by calling it “very recent,” I meant to imply that perhaps the song hasn’t quite been around long enough to be a classic piece of music that everyone should know. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/28 "2010-06-27T17:44:24Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > Richard Strauss’s \*Thus Spake Zarathustra _which was used as the opening to the movie \* 2001: A Space Odyssey_. > > Liza Lehman’s \*In A Persian Garden \*which is used in B-Westerns to indicate that the indians are coming. > > And I’m sorry, I don’t know how to make links. Here’s one, anyway: [Thus Spake Zarathustra](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWnmCu3U09w) I couldn’t find “In a Persian Garden”, but my Google-Fu is weak this morning. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/29 "2010-06-27T19:30:44Z")
The [Bridal Chorus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridal_Chorus) from Wagner’s _Lohengrin_ ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/30 "2010-06-27T20:43:00Z")
The grand finale of the 1812 Overture. The opening of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/31 "2010-06-27T21:51:48Z")
Much of _Carmen_, especially [Habañera](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whFUUFo1eXQ), I think. And [Les Toreadors](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DNGMoMNLRY). Ravel’s [Bolero](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWMs_663KUA&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/32 "2010-06-27T21:56:06Z")
[Classical Music Most Popular Top 100 (91-100)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPq4DmmeUSw) and others nearby can help with some well-known themes. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/33 "2010-06-27T21:58:39Z")
> [@CWN](#): > > [Aaron Copland, Hoedown From Rodeo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqah1rucyRg) More Copland: [The Simple Gifts section of Appalachian Spring](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiLTwtuBi-o&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/34 "2010-06-27T22:14:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Bach’s [Cello Suite #1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6yuR8efotI) Link to [Jaqueline du Pré’s version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_L8IP9KcMI), which is shivers-up-the-spine awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/35 "2010-06-27T22:41:50Z")
Some tunes by Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, [1st movement](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT7_Y1pIBb4) Symphony No. 40 in G minor, [1st movement](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hJf4ZffkoI) Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, 3rd movement “[Rondo alla turca](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdqK_w4I2iU&feature=related)” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/36 "2010-06-27T23:10:52Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Some tunes by Mozart The opening theme of [Piano Sonata #16](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._16_(Mozart)) pops up all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/37 "2010-06-28T00:25:08Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > The grand finale of the 1812 Overture. > > The opening of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Thanks for bringing the rock! I would add Santo and Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/38 "2010-06-28T02:20:43Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > Liza Lehman’s \*In A Persian Garden \*which is used in B-Westerns to indicate that the indians are coming. Now I’m curious. Which of the [20 (?) sections](http://books.google.com/books?id=YhYRAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22in+a+persian+garden%22+lehman&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=7AUoTLP_JMT9nQe2z4DmBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false) is used? I only know 3 and I’ve never heard any of them in that context. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/39 "2010-06-28T02:39:39Z")
More Mozart - The _Dies Irae_ from his _Requiem_. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DFq-HHA0k2E/hqdefault.jpg "Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor II - Dies Irae") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFq-HHA0k2E) Appears quite often in movies. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612/40 "2010-06-28T02:57:53Z")
> [@11811](#): > > Thanks for bringing the rock! I would add Santo and Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” This was the one I was trying to remember! Here ya go. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ogxTQXAgY3Q/maxresdefault.jpg "Santo & Johnny - Sleep Walk 1959 - RARE LIVE Performance") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogxTQXAgY3Q) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-passages-that-everyone-knows-or-should-know-with-links/544612.md?page=3)