# Recommend me some blood pumping orchestral music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2007, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210 "2007-05-23T12:41:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/21 "2007-05-23T15:18:24Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony has some blood-pumping passages, and of course the rousing _The 1812 Overture_. [/QUOTE] I would have suggested his Fourth, as one that starts out loud and forceful, in a Beethoven’s Fifth kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/22 "2007-05-23T15:46:00Z")
A little Bruckner cranked up to 11 is always a good way to wake the dead and bother the neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/23 "2007-05-23T17:11:27Z")
[QUOTE=Figaro] Here are a few not yet mentioned: Tchaikovsky - \*1812 Overture \* [/QUOTE] :dubious: Baldwin beat me to it - _Scheherazade_ and _Mars_ for sure! John Williams basically pirated _Mars_ for Darth Vader’s theme. It’s not always an orchestral piece (can be done on a pipe organ), but HAS been orchestrated - Bach’s _Toccata and Fugue in D_. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/24 "2007-05-23T17:26:46Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] It’s not always an orchestral piece (can be done on a pipe organ), but HAS been orchestrated - Bach’s _Toccata and Fugue in D_. [/QUOTE] Who orchestrated it? Ravel? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/25 "2007-05-23T17:33:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Who orchestrated it? Ravel? There are several orchestrations, but none I know of by anyone famous. The one I’m most familiar with is the used in **Fantasia**. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/26 "2007-05-23T17:38:23Z")
That’s exactly what I was thinking - _Fantasia_. _West Side Story_ has some great stuff, too. Plus _Officer Krupke_ to crack you up! ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/27 "2007-05-23T17:41:21Z")
The music from the Nightcrawler attack scene in _X2_, Mozart’s ‘Dies Irae’ from his _Requiem_, is pretty awesome. Give Beethoven’s “Rage Over the Lost Penny” (_Rondo a capriccio_ in G major, Op. 129) a shot as well, if you can find a decent recording of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/28 "2007-05-23T18:02:26Z")
I haven’t heard anything by Beethoven that’s _blood-pumping_ other than this, but the Egmont Overture by him qualifies, if a bit straightforward. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/29 "2007-05-23T18:17:55Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] :dubious: [/QUOTE] Dissing my powers of observation, eh? Well…hey…where did I put my keys…? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/30 "2007-05-23T19:07:54Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] _West Side Story_ has some great stuff, too. Plus _Officer Krupke_ to crack you up! [/QUOTE] Officer Krupke is, IMO, a very weak point in the show. The _Symphonic Dances from West Side Story_ is a good route to go if it’s pure orchestral music you’re after. [QUOTE=CalMeacham] There are several orchestrations, but none I know of by anyone famous. The one I’m most familiar with is the used in **Fantasia**. [/QUOTE] Stokowski made that arrangement. [This](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Stokowski-arrangements-Johann-Sebastian/dp/B000002S9M/ref=sr_1_1/026-9515850-2701250?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1179947209&sr=8-1) provides that and more of the same. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/31 "2007-05-23T21:23:21Z")
You can get free, decent-quality mp3s of several of the pieces mentioned as well as other good pieces at these sites: [http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/584](http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/584) [http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/743](http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/743) [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cuo/audio.html](http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cuo/audio.html) Wagner: Tannhäuser overture. Rienzi overture. Dvorak: Carnival Overture. Smetana: the Moldau. IMO the rest of _Ma Vlast_ is inferior to it. Ravel: _Daphnis and Chloe_ suites 1 and 2. The first suite ends with “danse guerrière” (“warlike dance” according to AltaVista translations) and the second with a bacchanal. Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole, last movement. Debussy: _La Mer_, especially the last movement; second nocturne for orchestra, _Fêtes_ (festivals). Liszt:_Totentanz_ (dance of death). Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from _Prince Igor_. Beethoven: Coriolan overture. Egmont overture (seconded). Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini. Symphony #2. This is a decent collection for the price: [Amazon.com: Symphonic Spectacular: CDs & Vinyl](http://www.amazon.com/Symphonic-Spectacular-Georges-Bizet/dp/B000003CUY/ref=sr_1_7/103-5286797-2981441?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1179952429&sr=1-7) All the selections are good. I like the Shostakovich and the Halvorsen pieces best. [QUOTE=GorillaMan] Officer Krupke is, IMO, a very weak point in the show. [/QUOTE] In what way? True, it’s basically comic relief and doesn’t continue the arc of the drama, but WSS is a musical, not an opera. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/32 "2007-05-23T21:26:47Z")
I used to have a collection called _Classical Thunder_ that was right up this alley, but I’m having a hard time remembering anything on it other than what’s already been mentioned… Oh, yeah, toss in Strauss’ _Also Sprach Zarathustra_. It’s very short, though, and most of Strauss’ other work isn’t nearly the same style. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/33 "2007-05-23T21:45:15Z")
A recording of The Internationale with orchestral accompaniment can be damned impressive stuff. There are a bunch of good ones here, all free: [http://www.hymn.ru/internationale/index-en.html](http://www.hymn.ru/internationale/index-en.html) I like the Russian ones from the Soviet era, but the French is arguably more “authentic” - the song was originally written in French. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/34 "2007-05-23T21:56:14Z")
I like Howard Shore’s music for any of the _Lord of the Rings_ movies, but I think my favorite piece is the heart-thumping dwarvish-sounding crescendo during the race for the bridge in Moria, and during the fall of Gandalf and the Balrog at the beginning of the second movie. Great stuff! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/35 "2007-05-23T21:56:29Z")
[QUOTE=rowrrbazzle] In what way? True, it’s basically comic relief and doesn’t continue the arc of the drama, but WSS is a musical, not an opera. [/QUOTE] It just seems to just be shoved in as unnecessary padding. And for me, the humour grates. [QUOTE=Chronos] Oh, yeah, toss in Strauss’ _Also Sprach Zarathustra_. It’s very short, though, and most of Strauss’ other work isn’t nearly the same style. [/QUOTE] Half an hour counts as very short, does it? 😉 (The bit from _2001_ that’s included on compilations is only the opening, ‘Sunrise’.) ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/36 "2007-05-23T22:45:28Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Even though it’s used a lot, I never get tired of Holst’s _Mars, Bringer of War_. [/QUOTE] I jumped in here to recommend that piece specifically. Mars is probably one of the most…emotionally blood-pumping orchestral pieces ever penned. _Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity_ is also emotional, but in a happy kind of way. Mars is scary. Hell, just buy the whole Planets symphony. It’s all great. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/37 "2007-05-23T22:56:09Z")
[QUOTE=SpazCat] Hell, just buy the whole Planets symphony. It’s all great. [/QUOTE] [unnecessary nitpick]Suite, not symphony[/unnecessary nitpick] I agree, though, it’s certainly a piece worth hearing in full. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/38 "2007-05-23T23:29:00Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] I haven’t heard anything by Beethoven that’s _blood-pumping_ other than this, but the Egmont Overture by him qualifies, if a bit straightforward. [/QUOTE] Put on the 5th symphony, 3rd movement. Crank up your speakers at the end where it gets very quiet (just pizzicatto strings, then tympany, going bum-ba-ba-bum; ba bum; ba bum…). Keep the volume up as it transitions seamlessly into the 4th movement. It’ll make your hair stand on end. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/39 "2007-05-23T23:51:25Z")
[QUOTE=SpazCat] I jumped in here to recommend that piece specifically. Mars is probably one of the most…emotionally blood-pumping orchestral pieces ever penned. _Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity_ is also emotional, but in a happy kind of way. Mars is scary. Hell, just buy the whole Planets symphony. It’s all great. [/QUOTE] I remember another Doper commented that Mars makes him want to stand on a balcony and laugh while his armored divisions roll past on the street below. It’s absolutely true. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210/40 "2007-05-23T23:52:22Z")
Louis Gottschalks wrote and performed music that was ment to bring the audience to its feet. Consider giving him a try. While he wrote for and performed on the piano, go for the complete blood-pumping experience. Avoid any CD labeled piano music and get the fully orchestrated stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-blood-pumping-orchestral-music/405210.md?page=3)