Everyone understands the musical vocabulary of orchestral music. That’s one reason you’ll hear so much classical music in the movies.

Many of the traditional classical numbers we play have been borrowed to help set the scene in popular motion pictures. We also play modern movie-specific orchestral tracks by contemporary composers like John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry and others. You’ll often hear these selections as we close out a classical program and listeners are tuning in for news. We’re trying to turn those news fans into classical fans by playing orchestral music that is written specifically to be “accessible.”

Here are some of our listeners’ top classical picks from the silver screen. Click on the title to browse available recordings.

Rachmaninov- Piano Concerto No. 3
    from: “Shine”

Bach- Toccata & Fugue in d
    from: “Fantasia”

Mendelssohn- ‘Italian’ Symphony
    from: “Breaking Away”

Mozart – Eine Kleine Nachtmusick
    from: “Fame” – “Amadeus”

Bach- Concerto for 2 violins
    from: “Children of a Lesser God”

Beethoven- Moonlight Sonata
    from: “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”

Dvorak- Cello Concerto in b
    from: “The Witches of Eastwick”

Mozart- Marriage of Figaro overture
    from: “Trading Places”

Borodin- Polovetsian Dances
    from: “Stranger in Paradise”

Verdi- Il Trovatore
    from: “A Night at the Opera”

Boccherini- Minuet for String Quintet in E
    from: “Lady Killers”