I have been on the search for some dramatic pieces of work with various classical instruments. One of my favorites would be from Secret Garden - Adagio. The sadness that is conveyed in this song is just amazing.
Also, another one I really like is Portishead - Life in Mono from the Great Expectations movie.
Can anyone else supply recommendations? Lux Aeterna~by Clint Mansell
(orchastra) Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, specifically the second and fourth movements. The entire work is powerful and moving, but those two movements touch me the most.
The second movement begins with a marching dirge kind of feeling and pushes you back and forth between mourning and hope of salvation.
The fourth movement sounds almost like a lullaby to me (the opening theme, that is) and is too beautiful for me to describe.
And, for something a bit more contemporary, "Gabriel's Oboe" by Ennio Morricone (from the score to the movie "The Mission") is quite the powerful and dramatic piece. Since you included Portishead, I'm assuming it doesn't have to be actual classical music, so try:
"For My Fallen Angel" by My Dying Bride.
Not an official vid, but the song's right: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZq9t-drd... Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams ( wonderful violin piece)
Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. Isle of the Dead - Rachmaninoff
Air in G String - Bach
Sonata no. 14 - Beethoven
Symphony no. 4 - Beethoven
Symphony no. 7 - Beethoven
Dance of Knights - Prokofiev
O Fortuna - Orff
Requiem - Mozart
Anymore? Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven
Revolutionary - Chopin
Luna - Alessandro Saffina (popera song) with dramatic tunes and lyrics Piano Concerto (No. 1) in A Minor, Opus 16 by Grieg, first and second movements. The first movement is very powerful, while the second movement stands in contrast with sweetness and beauty.
Hungarian Rhapsody No 2, Lento a capriccio in C# minor, by Liszt - entertaining concert piano piece if you get a good version.
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Variations 18, by Rachmaninov (very famous, emotionally charged piece with piano and orchestra).
The Nutcracker, Opus 71, 14a. Pas de Deux by Tchaikovsky - a little known part of the Nutcracker, Opus 71 (not included in the Suite for the ballet) for orchestra, which starts slowly and builds, as many of his compositions do.
1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, which also starts slowly and ends in a terrific climax
Swan Lake (Finale) by Tchaikovsky
Chariots of Fire by Vangelis (not sure if it's classed as classical, but you're sure to have heard it, it's in heaps of movies)
Good luck with the search! Piano - Beethoven Moonlight Sonata
Violin Solo with Orchestra - Schindler's List (Song relating to the Holocaust) Provofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto. It'll knock your socks off. | 