Essential Classical - Pt. 3: Epic

The ones that didn't make the Furious cut, but still had huge, classical cojones.

1) Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra Introduction
How do you pack that much epicness into such a small time frame?
Where you've seen it: 2001: A Space Odyssey

2) Orff - O Fortuna
It's sad how overplayed this is. It could've been something special.
Where you've seen it: EVERYWHERE. I hate you, Paul Blart, mall cop.

3) Grieg - In the Hall of the Mountain King
You've heard it before, I know. I don't have anything to say about this one.
I was also not aware ELO did a version of this...whatever.

4) Bizet - The Toreadors
Where you've seen this: I remember this at the end of each NES tetris level. And then the Russian church towers would blast off like rockets. Just like in real life.

5) Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 III. Presto agitato
If you didn't know, Piano Sonata No. 14 = Moonlight Sonata. And to think, I was learning how to play this...

6) Mozart- The Marriage of Figaro Overture
My music teacher in high school called this a classic overture, saying it was a "fun song." I guess that's one way to describe it.




And now, the juggernauts...

7) Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture
Part 1
Part 2
Tchaikovsky wrote a part for cannons to be in his overture. Cannons! Imagine the afterparty after a performance:

"Yeah, I'm in the orchestra. I played the cannon."

Where you've seen it: V For Vendetta Finale [OBVIOUS SPOILER]

8) Tchaikovsky - Marche Slave
The Slavonic March. This song kept coming up in a documentary of Stalin I saw last semester.

9) Rossini - William Tell
Part 1
Part 2
...triangle guy steals the show.