You’ve definitely heard this pieces of music before. Impress your friends by being able to name them AND back up your knowledge with fun facts!
2nd Movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony
What it sounds like: EPIC.
Where you've heard it: The big speech in The King's Speech, Mr. Holland's Opus, and the pre-apocalypse panic scene in Knowing.
What you can say about it to sound smart: This movement was so popular that it was even the encore at the symphony's premiere.
youtube.com / Via en.wikipedia.org
2nd Movement of Ravel's "String Quartet in F Major"
What it sounds like: Plucky, playful string instruments.
Where you've heard it: The Royal Tenenbaums and that Ancestry.com commercial.
What you can say about it to sound smart: The quartet was met with a tepid response when it premiered. Composer Maurice Ravel dedicated the piece to Gabriel Fauré, who said the last movement was "stunted, badly balanced, in fact a failure." Ouch.
youtube.com / Via en.wikipedia.org
"O Fortuna" from Orff's "Carmina Burana"
What it sounds like: Some terrifying, dramatic shit is about to go down.
Where you've heard it: Everything from this Old Spice commercial, to the battle scene in Excalibur, to this Hershey's Spreads commercial, and pretty much any time someone wants a quick and easy way to add drama.
What you can say about it to sound smart: "O Fortuna" is just the first movement Carl Orff's 25-movement work. Sadly, he's not known for much else. Carmina Burana was his one-hit wonder.
youtube.com / Via en.wikipedia.org
"O Mio Babbino Caro" from Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi"
What it sounds like: Delightfully sweet and slightly sappy opera singing.
Where you've heard it: A Grand Theft Auto 3 commercial, the opening of A Room with a View, Jackie Evancho's audition for America's Got Talent, and every wannabe opera singer's repertoire.
What you can say about it to sound smart: In the opera, the aria is sung by Lauretta as a plea for her father to help her fiancé's family read a dead relative's will. It's pretty convincing. The final lines beg her father to have pity because she's so tormented and anguished, she feels like she's going to die!
youtube.com / Via en.wikipedia.org
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