Commercialism

Certain staples of classical music are often used commercially (that is, either in advertising or in the soundtracks of movies made for entertainment). In television commercials, several loud, bombastically rhythmic orchestral passages have become clichés, particularly the opening of Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra (made famous in 2001: A Space Odyssey) and the opening section “O Fortuna” of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana; other examples in the same vein are the Dies Irae from the Verdi Requiem, Edvard Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt, the opening bars of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre, and excerpts of Aaron Copland’s Rodeo.

Similarly, movies and television often revert to standard, clichéd snatches of classical music to convey refinement or opulence: some of the most-often heard pieces in this category include Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and Mussorgsky’s A Night on Bald Mountain.