In November of last year my mom introduced me to one of her favourite movies, Somewhere In Time, and I fell in love with the music - we even have the soundtrack on vinyl that she bought in the 80s! I discovered afterwards that the beautiful piano "love theme" was actually written by Rachmaninoff in 1934.

A couple posts ago we talked about iconic themes composed for film, but pre-composed music is often used as well - a recent example is Haydn's 'Trumpet Concerto in E flat major' in the award-winning Squid Game (who can forget this wake-up call to death). Some people may think using Classical music in movies is cheesy and overdone, but I think it's a great way to introduce the "modern listener" to Classical music 😊

Here are 7 famous classical pieces you (possibly) NEVER KNEW were in famous movies:

1. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini: Var. 18 (Rachmaninoff)

Featured in “Somewhere In Time” (1980)

This “love theme” can be heard throughout the film - especially during THAT iconic portrait scene (above). Speaking of love themes, the film’s Main Theme (by John Barry) is also a beautiful and emotional listen that will surely tug at your heartstrings.

2. Ride of the Valkyries (Wagner)

Featured in “Apocalypse Now” (1979)

The helicopter squadron “rides” in with loudspeakers blaring and guns blazing… because who doesn’t love the smell of napalm in the morning? 😜 (IYKYK)

3. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Strauss)

Featured in “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)

Through researching for this blog post, I learned that the opening theme for 2001: A Space Odyssey is, in fact, NOT titled “Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey” as it is commonly referred to. Mind universe officially blown.

4. Symphony No. 7 in A Major: II. Allegretto (Beethoven)

Featured in “The King’s Speech” (2010)

I learned from this Oscar-winning film that the secret to overcoming your public speaking nerves is to imagine it being epically underscored by Beethoven.

5. Carmen - Habanera: "L’amor est un oiseau rebelle (Bizet)

Featured in “Up” (2009)

This piece of music, which depicts love as free and changing (as a bird), is used in juxtaposition with the repetitiveness of Carl’s morning routine - GENIUS!

6. La Traviata - Amani, Alfredo (Verdi)

Featured in “Pretty Woman” (1990)

La Traviata is largely about the romance between a prostitute and a rich man… sound familiar? What’s more, it’s the opera that Vivian and Edward go see AND provides the soundtrack to their declaration of love/the ending scene.

7. String Quintet in E Major: III. Minuetto (Boccherini)

Featured in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986)

Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago. That is all. I love how the fun, dance-like (FUN FACT: Minuetto = a type of social dance originating from France) song represents the “snootiness” of the upper class in this film… almost as if it’s making fun of and teasing their uptight behaviour.

*BONUS: The Blue Danube (Strauss)

Featured in “Squid Game” (2021)

I know, not a movie but still VERY iconic and an instance where music is used to set the scene and to convey thematic material. As mentioned earlier, Squid Game expertly uses classical music to illustrate the imbalances of society and the impending doom. This particular piece is also used in another film mentioned in this post: 2001: A Space Odyssey.