The frantic strings that open the film Amadeus aren't original—they're Mozart's Symphony No. 25, written when he was just 17. A beginner's guide to the 'Little G minor' and why it still feels like the inside of an anxious mind.
Composed in 1821 as Beethoven battled illness and isolation, the finale of Op. 110 moves from a broken lament to a soaring fugue. A beginner's guide to one of his most personal late works.
Massenet's 1894 Méditation from Thaïs is a wordless violin prayer marking one woman's spiritual transformation. A beginner's guide to its story, its melody, and the recordings worth hearing.
The 2001 piano theme from Spirited Away that turns ordinary mornings into something tender. A beginner's guide to Joe Hisaishi's most quietly devastating melody.
Mozart wrote this bouncing horn rondo for an aging friend who couldn't read music well. Discover the joke hidden in K.412 and why this 18th-century melody still makes listeners smile.
Michael Giacchino's 2018 Incredibles 2 theme blends retro spy-jazz, big-band brass, and orchestral swagger. A beginner's guide to the swinging sound behind Pixar's most stylish family.
Joe Hisaishi's Fireworks (Hana-Bi), the 1997 score that won the Golden Lion, turns silence and love into music. A gentle starting point for film-score and classical beginners.
David Holmes' 2001 Ocean's Eleven score turns Vegas cool into groove. A beginner's guide to the jazz-electronic main theme, plus the Debussy that closes the film.
There are no explosions in space, so how did Steven Price's 2013 Gravity score earn an Academy Award? A beginner's guide to the music that turned the vacuum of orbit into pure emotion.
Johann Strauss II's 1874 Die Fledermaus Overture is ten minutes of effervescent waltzes and laughter. A beginner's guide to the operetta that bottled the spirit of Vienna.