Symphony Music for Science Videos: Recommendations Needed

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for symphony orchestra music suitable for science videos, covering topics such as evolution, the origins of the universe, galaxies, and the history of Earth.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that Strauss worked well for Stanley Kubrick's films and recommends exploring Sagan's Cosmos series for suitable music.
  • Another participant proposes specific pieces for different themes: Ravel's Bolero for evolution, Smetana's Die Moldau for the origin of the universe, and Grieg's Peer Gynt suites for the history of Earth.
  • Suggestions include Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven's Violin Concerto as strong musical choices.
  • A participant recommends Bach's Brandenburg Concertos for presentations emphasizing interconnections, highlighting their thematic development.
  • There is a query about whether the music must be orchestral, which is later clarified to be not necessarily the case.
  • Additional recommendations include Franz von Suppé's Dichter und Bauer, Schubert's Symphony No. 8, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, among others.
  • One participant mentions Robert Simpson's Symphony No. 3 and 5 as mysterious pieces comparable to astronomical phenomena.
  • Solo piano music from the "Goldberg Variations" is suggested, particularly noting a remastered recording by Glen Gould.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of musical recommendations without a clear consensus on specific pieces or styles, indicating multiple competing views on what music would be suitable for the intended themes.

Contextual Notes

Some suggestions are based on personal preferences and subjective feelings that the music evokes, which may vary among different participants.

Holocene
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Can anyone recommend some good symphony orchestra music that would fit well with the construction of a science video? Topics would possibly include evolution, origins of universe, galaxies, history of Earth, etc..

Thanks.
 
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Well, Strauss seemed to work pretty well for Stanley Kubrick.
You might also want to see if you can dig up some old copies of Sagan's Cosmos series from PBS. I seem to recall the music being quite nicely suited to the broadcasts.
Basically, though, I'd just go with whatever evokes the sort of feelings in you that you want to convey to the audience. Try just listening to a classical station for a few days and jot down the names of the pieces that you like.
 
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Some strong music

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1


Beethoven Violin concerto
 
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If you are planning on a presentation that emphasizes the importance of interconnections on these scales, I suggest that you listen to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. They feature themes that are developed, repeated, inverted, played backward and forward against one another, etc.
 
Does it have to be orchestra music?
 
Math Jeans said:
Does it have to be orchestra music?

Not necessarily.

Also, thanks everyone.
 
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  • #12
If you like solo piano music, you can choose from a number of short catchy pieces from the "Goldberg Variations."

They have recently remastered Glen Gould's 1951 recording of the variations. They managed to digitally remove his tendency to hum along.
 

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