# Please identify this piece of classical music?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-identify-this-piece-of-classical-music/942765>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** music\
**Created:** [May 24, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-identify-this-piece-of-classical-music/942765 "2021-05-24T00:03:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-identify-this-piece-of-classical-music/942765/1 "2021-05-24T00:03:07Z")

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Cued to start at 29:01, just before they show the French gardens:

[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IiFbJQmQkU)

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-identify-this-piece-of-classical-music/942765/2 "2021-05-24T00:16:12Z")

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It’s “The Great Gate of Kiev,” from Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Has nothing to do with French or English gardens.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-identify-this-piece-of-classical-music/942765/3 "2021-05-24T00:34:49Z")

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Uh, no, don’t think it is. I 'm familiar with Mussorgsky’s work.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Itdm46ZVLfA/maxresdefault.jpg "Mussorgsky - The Great Gate At Kiev - Pictures At An Exhibition") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itdm46ZVLfA)

Sounds a lot more French than Russian, to me anyway.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-identify-this-piece-of-classical-music/942765/4 "2021-05-24T01:12:53Z")

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Sorry, my bad. It’s the [Rondo in D Minor by Purcell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QwsT4GOVLo).

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-identify-this-piece-of-classical-music/942765/5 "2021-05-24T01:24:30Z")

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Yeah, that’s the ticket!

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/I0mNAlPjmLA/hqdefault.jpg "Henry Purcell - Abdelazar Suite - Rondo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0mNAlPjmLA)

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-identify-this-piece-of-classical-music/942765/6 "2021-05-24T01:42:30Z")

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It is originally by Purcell, but most people will be familiar with it from **Britten** ’s use in his **Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra**.

> **[The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_Person%27s_Guide_to_the_Orchestra)**
>
> The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34, is a 1945 musical composition by Benjamin Britten with a subtitle Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell. It was based on the second movement, "Rondeau", of the Abdelazer suite. It was originally commissioned for the British educational documentary film called Instruments of the Orchestra released on 29 November 1946, directed by Muir Mathieson and featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent; Sargent also conducted...

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GenWkFVSZXo/maxresdefault.jpg "Britten: The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra, Op. 34") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GenWkFVSZXo)

Here it is in **Moonrise Kingdom** :

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6yao1OCoRDc/hqdefault.jpg "Moonrise Kingdom: The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yao1OCoRDc)