7 Famous Classical Compositions Used in Films

"Ride of the Valkyries," 1890, by William T. Maude. 'Ride of the Valkyries' is also the name of a piece from a Richard Wagner opera and have been used in many films. Public Domain

These days, most people encounter classical music through films, not in concert halls. While movie studios employ composers to write original scores for their productions, these composers often blend their own music with famous classical compositions. Usually, such music is strategically placed in key scenes to heighten drama and emotion.

What are some of the most iconic examples of this? While many pieces could be discussed, I focus on seven here.

Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings’

Historian Thomas Larson titled his book on the “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber “The Saddest Music Ever Written.” A short, slow piece written in a minor key, it was played at the funeral of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. Since then, it’s been used to mourn many public figures, as well as the victims of 9/11.

It gained wider popularity in 1986 when it was used in Oliver Stone’s “Platoon.” The piece sets the mood of the film, underscoring the brutality and turmoil of war. While it’s played throughout the movie, its most memorable use is probably in the agonizing death scene of Sgt. Elias (played by Willem Dafoe). As Elias, betrayed by a comrade, emerges wounded from the jungle, Barber’s sorrowful strains fill the air. As the sergeant’s men escape in a helicopter, they witness him being shot in the back by North Vietnamese soldiers. Viewers see it as a slow-motion run. “Adagio for Strings” heightens the impact of the scene as Elias, falling to his knees and throwing up his arms, becomes a symbol of all the soldiers lost in that tragic conflict.

Elias (Willem Dafoe), in “Platoon.” Orion Pictures

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2

Rachmaninoff is one of the most popular composers of the 20th century. In large part, this has to do with the fact that his beautiful melodies have been featured in many films. In David Lean’s “Brief Encounter” (1945), Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 plays a crucial part in building emotional tension. It enhances the unfulfilled love story between Laura and Alec, reflecting their inner turmoil and rising emotions.

During the climactic café scene at the train station, the concerto’s lush orchestration swells as the characters confront their feelings and prepare to part ways.

Mozart’s Requiem

As one would expect, the fictionalized biopic “Amadeus” (1984) presents a generous selection of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s greatest hits. However, it features one of his pieces more heavily than others. His Requiem in D Minor (K. 626) is the film’s emotional centerpiece.

Movements from the work are played during key scenes throughout the film, emphasizing the themes of artistic genius and mortality. The foreboding lines of the Introitus accompany the scene in which the Requiem is commissioned by a mysterious masked man (later revealed to be Mozart’s envious nemesis, Antonio Salieri). As Mozart’s health deteriorates, he races to complete the work.

The Confutatis movement is featured when the bedridden, dying composer (Tom Hulce) dictates that movement of the piece to Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), while the haunting melody of the Lacrimosa depicts the sorrow of Mozart’s death and burial in a pauper’s grave. Though Salieri had nothing to do with composing the Requiem in real life, the movie does a brilliant job of weaving together drama and music.

This portrait is regarded as the most accurate likeness of Mozart, painted when the composer was 26 years old, 1782, by Joseph Lange. Public Domain

‘Ride of the Valkyries’

Like the “Adagio for Strings,” Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” has been used in a variety of films, but it’s primarily associated with one about Vietnam. Originally from Wagner’s 1870 opera “Die Walküre,” it entered popular culture in 1979 with Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.”

In one of the film’s most iconic scenes, Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) is preparing a helicopter assault in enemy territory. “We use Wagner,” he says. “My boys love it.” Wagner’s heroic operatic score reinforces the brutality of warfare as a village is attacked, but in a way that’s more ironic than Barber’s elegiac “Adagio.”

The ‘Moonlight Sonata’

Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” (Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor) is among the most famous of all classical compositions, and one of the most represented in films. Like Mozart’s Requiem in “Amadeus,” Beethoven’s Sonata No. 14 functions as a powerful storytelling element in the biopic “Immortal Beloved” (1994).

The gently flowing melody of the Adagio sostenuto captures Beethoven’s emotional conflicts as he struggles with his growing deafness and romantic relationships. The actual sonata was dedicated to Beethoven’s pupil, the Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, and one of the film’s scenes portrays the composer (Gary Oldman) trying out the countess’s new pianoforte. Beethoven arrives alone, unaware that Giulietta and her father are secretly watching him through a peephole. He fumbles along the keys at first, holding his ear to the piano, leaving them disappointed. Then he passionately begins playing “Moonlight Sonata,” losing himself in the music until Giulietta startles him.

‘Sleeping Beauty’

The music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, like the other composers on this list, has been featured in countless movies. Few of these have had the impact of Walt Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” (1959), one of the most celebrated animated films of all time.

In this case, the film’s composer, George Bruns, modified the orchestration of Tchaikovsky’s original 1890 ballet. While the basic melodies remain unchanged, he arranged them to correspond to the needs of the story, adding darker motifs to Maleficent’s entrance, for example. Most famously, Jack Lawrence and Sammy Fain wrote the lyrics to the song “Once Upon a Dream,” drawing on the melody of “The Garland Waltz” from Tchaikovsky’s ballet.

The prince kisses Sleeping Beauty to wake her from her 100-year sleep in a skit performed at Sababurg Palace in Hofgeismar, Germany. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Bach’s Toccata and Fugue

A quick search on the Internet Movie Database credits Johann Sebastian Bach on the soundtracks of nearly 2,000 films and television series. Specifically, he has 1,892 of them—slightly fewer than Beethoven’s 1,955 and Mozart’s 2,049. Since these three figures are regularly cited as the most popular classical composers, it makes sense that filmmakers would draw on their works more than others.

Unlike Mozart and Beethoven, though, Bach’s life has not received the Hollywood treatment. This is in part due to his comparatively uneventful life: He raised 20 children, had stable employment, and showed no evidence of mental imbalance.

Johann Sebastian Bach lived a relatively balanced life compared to other great European composers. Krzysztof Golik/CC BY-SA 4.0

Given Bach’s prominence in both the worlds of music and movies, it would be a crime not to include him in this list. One of the most memorable instances of Bach’s use in film is during the opening segment of Disney’s “Fantasia.” His Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is presented with abstract animation where the notes flow in sync with shapes and vibrant colors.

One may conclude here that Hollywood is again treating Bach a bit unfairly, as he doesn’t receive a coherent animated storyline to accompany his music. But the Toccata and Fugue sets the tone for the movie and prepares viewers for the fun animated segments that follow.

We can only hope that Bach will someday join his illustrious fellow composers by receiving the Netflix series he deserves.

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