The Orchestra

The Orchestra

Apple Music Classical

Updated 4 days ago

Since its invention in the 17th century, the orchestra has boasted a status as classical music’s biggest instrumental ensemble. From symphonies and tone poems to suites and concertos, the orchestra is capable of an extraordinary range of emotions, whether at a barely audible whisper or communicated through an overwhelming roar. From Bach to Berlioz, Brahms and beyond, the greatest composers have all written for the orchestra, crafting new sonorities, even challenging its musical possibilities. Marvel at Beethoven’s revolutionary soundworld and bask in Mahler’s dazzling color palette as we guide you through some of the greatest works ever conceived for this miracle of musical ensembles. Plus listen out for some unexpected, thrilling contemporary gems, and beautiful symphonic works by underrepresented composers.

II. Menuet. Allegretto: Canone in diapason - Trio

Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini

4:19

II. Scherzo. Allegro vivace

Pablo Heras-Casado, Munich Philharmonic

6:41

Heart of Ice: Frozen Tears

London Symphony Orchestra, Eckehard Stier

3:42

III. Dance of the Princesses

Gustavo Dudamel, Los Angeles Philharmonic

4:36

The Knight Ceremony

2:36

III. Andante moderato

Semyon Bychkov, Czech Philharmonic

15:35

III. Canción del amor dolido

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel, Pasión Vega

1:29

No. 2, All'esimio violinista prof. Augusto Michelangeli

Sinfonia of London, John Wilson

2:45

I. Poco moderato

Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Jakub Hrůša

6:41

I. Allegro

Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Paavo Järvi

7:20

II. Andante cantabile

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Philadelphia Orchestra

7:18

II. Mnemonic, Wheel of the Muses

Metropolis Ensemble, Andrew Cyr

1:41

VII. Bess, You Is My Woman Now

Göteborgs Symfoniker, Barbara Hannigan

4:52

III. Poco allegretto (Live)

Kent Nagano, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra

6:28

III. Quip

Franz Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra

4:16

I. Introduzione. Maestoso ed adagio

Justin Doyle, Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin

5:05

VIII. La fille aux cheveux de lin (Arr. Spindler for Violin & Orchestra)

Gustavo Dudamel, María Dueñas Fernández, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela

2:31

I. Allegro vivace

Andris Nelsons, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

9:52

The Banks of Green Willow "Idyll"

Andrew Manze, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

6:02

Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Berlin Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert

4:11

Fugue. Allegro molto - Animato

Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra

3:02

Ic. Sinfonia. Adagio religioso

Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

6:28

III. Clair de lune (Orch. by John Wilson)

Sinfonia of London, John Wilson

4:34

III. Un sonnet d'amour

Anthony Parnther, Chineke! Orchestra

3:40

No. 38, Romeo and Juliet (Juliet's Bedroom)

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel

1:41

I. Andante

Edward Gardner, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

15:15

III. Insistentemente

Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen

7:32

II. Air (Live)

Tugan Sokhiev, Vienna Philharmonic

3:40

IV. Molto allegro

Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone

9:29

Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19 (Version for Orchestra)

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Domingo Hindoyan

7:09

V. One Sunday in the South

The Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin

2:41

IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano

8:12

III. Valse. Allegro moderato

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Karina Canellakis

5:33

Danzón No. 2 (1994)

Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Alondra de la Parra

9:26

II. Andante moderato (Live)

Kahchun Wong, Hallé

10:35

Nautilus

Dalia Stasevska, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Anna Meredith

5:31

Overture to a Midsummer Night's Dream in E Major, Op. 21

Pablo Heras-Casado, Freiburger Barockorchester

11:28

II. Scherzo. Bewegt, lebhaft - Trio. Schnell

Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer

9:38

Flying Theme (From "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial")

Berlin Philharmonic, John Williams

3:58

I. Lever de jour

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Elim Chan

6:06

II. Pantomime

Elim Chan, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

6:02

VII. Dance of the Earth

Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Philharmonia Orchestra

1:20

I. Langsam, schleppend - Immer sehr gemächlich

Semyon Bychkov, Czech Philharmonic

16:39

Kauyumari

Gustavo Dudamel, Los Angeles Philharmonic

7:23

III. Adagio. Lento

Sinfonia of London, John Wilson

13:45

I. Allegro moderato

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Kremerata Baltica

12:48

Fratres (Version for String Orchestra and Percussion)

Paavo Järvi, Estonian Festival Orchestra

9:28

I. Der Held (Live)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons

4:28

V. Finale

Susanna Mälkki, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

10:05

Boléro, M. 81

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel

16:00

Merry-Go-Round of Life (From "Howl’s Moving Castle")

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Joe Hisaishi

2:49

II. Allegro molto

Kirill Petrenko, Berlin Philharmonic

9:38

I. Intrada

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, John Wilson

4:46

II. Andante con moto

Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin

9:21

Still, Glowing

Dalia Stasevska, BBC Symphony Orchestra

7:04

I. Tempo molto moderato (Live)

Nicholas Collon, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

13:25

III. Finale. Alla breve (Live from the 2022 Cliburn Competition)

Yunchan Lim, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop

14:28

I. Quarter note = 104 – Quarter note = 120

Anne Akiko Meyers, Gustavo Dudamel, Los Angeles Philharmonic

6:41

I. Allegro non Troppo

Marin Alsop, London Philharmonic Orchestra

12:46

II. The Story of the Kalendar Prince

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano

12:25

II. Plegaria (Chaconne)

Gustavo Dudamel, Anne Akiko Meyers, Los Angeles Philharmonic

9:23

II. Allegretto

Antonio Pappano, London Symphony Orchestra

9:13

Summer Fantasy

Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Yu-Peng Chen

2:34

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace - Trio

Iván Fischer, Budapest Festival Orchestra

5:55

II. Vltava

Semyon Bychkov, Czech Philharmonic

13:09

I. Andante nobilmente e semplice – Allegro

Mark Elder, Hallé

21:09

Princess Leia’s Theme (From “Star Wars: A New Hope”) [Live at Suntory Hall, Tokyo, 2023]

John Williams, Saito Kinen Orchestra

5:13

Prelude

Franz Welser-Möst, Vienna Philharmonic

11:32

IV. Allegro non troppo

London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda

11:43

IV. Largo

Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Göteborgs Symfoniker

1:51

IV. Adagietto. Sehr langsam

Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich

9:52

The Lover Friend's Love for the Beloved"

Franz Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra

13:28

II. Molto vivace - Presto - Molto vivace - Presto

Berlin Philharmonic, Sir Simon Rattle

13:33

To April

BBC Philharmonic, John Andrews

7:12

III. Scherzo (Bewegt) - Trio (Nicht zu schnell. Keinesfalls schleppend) [Live]

Andris Nelsons, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

10:54

III. Allegro

Gli Incogniti, Amandine Beyer

4:56

I. Preludio. Moderato

Antonio Pappano, London Symphony Orchestra

12:01

III. Seascape (Inspired by Hiroshi Sugimoto's "Caribbean Sea, Jamaica", 1980)

Marin Alsop, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

4:03

Finlandia, Op. 26

San Francisco Symphony, Esa-Pekka Salonen

8:59

I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer (Live)

Philippe Jordan, Vienna Philharmonic

8:45

IV. Allegro con spirito

Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons

9:48

Rhapsody in Blue

Stewart Goodyear, Chineke! Orchestra, Wayne Marshall

16:13

I. Allegro assai

John Wilson, Sinfonia of London

13:35

Leviathan, Op. 59

Bill Anderson, Rumon Gamba, BBC Philharmonic

5:01

I. Allegretto (Live)

Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra

9:39

Remembering

Anna Handler, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Eunike Tanzil

3:48

I. Non allegro

John Wilson, Sinfonia of London

10:53

Mother’s Broom (From "Kiki's Delivery Service")

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Joe Hisaishi

3:49

I. Adagio - Allegro spiritoso

Riccardo Minasi, Ensemble Resonanz

10:16

II. Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers. Etwas täppisch und sehr derb (Live)

Vienna Philharmonic, Franz Welser-Möst

14:48

I. when you're broken up

Marin Alsop, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Inbal Segev

4:44

IV. Finale

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Philadelphia Orchestra

4:52

An der schönen blauen Donau, Walzer, Op. 314

Vienna Philharmonic, Yannick Nézet-Séguin

9:19

IV. Adagio - Più Andante - Allegro non troppo, ma con brio

Kirill Petrenko, Berlin Philharmonic

16:01

IV. Bewegt, doch nicht schnell

Vladimir Jurowski, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin

13:20

Theme (From "Jurassic Park")

John Williams, Berlin Philharmonic

5:37

III. Allegro molto vivace

Sir Charles Mackerras, Philharmonia Orchestra

8:27

I. Teton Range (Live)

Nashville Symphony, Giancarlo Guerrero

3:43

IV. Finale. Allegro molto

Giovanni Antonini, Kammerorchester Basel

4:37

IV. Allegro

Edward Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

8:35