Program music is a term applied to any musical composition on the classical music tradition in which the piece is designed according to some preconceived narrative, or is designed to evoke a specific idea and atmosphere. This is distinct from the more traditional absolute music popular in the Baroque and Classical eras, in which the piece has no narrative program or ideas and is simply created for music's sake. Musical forms such as the symphonic poem, ballade, suite, overture and some compositions in freer forms are named as program music since they intended to bring out extra-musical elements like sights and incidents.
Opera, ballet, and Lieder could also trivially be considered program music since they are unintended to accompany vocal or stage performances. They will be excluded from this list except where they have been extensively popularised and played without the original vocals and/or stage performance.
The orchestral program music tradition is also continued in some pieces for jazz orchestras. For narrative or evocative popular music, please see Concept Album.
Any discussion of program music brings to mind Walt Disney's animated features Fantasia (1940) and Fantasia 2000 (1999), in which the Disney animators provided graphic visualisation of several famous pieces of program music. However, not all the pieces used in the films were particularly programmatic, and in most cases, the narratives illustrated by the animators were different from whatever programmatic narrative might have existed originally.
List of program music by composer
Toy Symphony
Johann Sebastian Bach
Capriccio for keyboard in B♭ "On the departure of a beloved brother" BWV 992 St Matthew Passion BWV 244 Many of Bach's cantatas contain elements that could be considered programmatic
P. D. Q. Bach
1712 Overture
Les Baxter
Ritual of the Savage (1951) The Passions: featuring Bas Sheva (1954)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 (1807); based on the story of Coriolanus Symphony No. 6, Pastoral, Op. 68 (1808); features titled movements, country dances, bird calls, and a storm. Leonore No. 3 Overture, Op. 72b (1806); one of a series of overtures composed for the opera Leonore, later renamed Fidelio. Leonore No. 3 is well known for portraying some of the major events of the plot in a condensed, purely orchestral form, most notably the distant trumpet fanfares of the finale. Next to the actual, finalized Fidelio overture, this is the most commonly performed version, and still sometimes replaces the Fidelio overture in some productions. Egmont Overture, Op. 84 Wellington's Victory, Op. 91 is also known as the Battle Symphony and describes the battle between the French and British armies outside the Spanish town of Vitoria and the subsequent British victory. The work features rifles and cannons as instruments. It also makes use of Rule Britannia, which is used to describe the British, whereas the French side is announced by the French song Marlbrouk s'en va-t-en guerre. Piano Sonata in A flat Op. 26 (3rd movement subtitled "Death of a hero", 4th movement manifestly "Life goes on" in intent) Piano Sonata in D minor Op. 31 Nr. 2 ("Der Sturm", inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest) Piano Sonata in E-flat major Op. 81a "Les Adieux"
Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique, (1830) Harold in Italy, based on Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Lord Byron, (1834) Romeo et Juliette, symphonie dramatique
Benjamin Britten
Four Sea Interludes, (1945) — Britten extracted four of the six interludes from his opera Peter Grimes for performance as a stand-alone orchestral piece. "I. Dawn," "II. Sunday Morning" (describing a seaside community gathering to worship), "III. Moonlight," and "IV. Storm" were all meant to describe these scenes and images through Britten's music literally.
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, "Romantic" — The program, involving medieval castles and dawn and royal hunts, appears to have been an afterthought like it was with the other Symphonies, but the validity of it, in this case, is supported by the subtitle given to the work, the only one of Bruckner's Symphonies to have been given a subtitle by the composer himself.
Michael Colgrass
Winds of Nagual
Aaron Copland
Appalachian Spring Billy the Kid Lincoln Portrait Rodeo
Claude Debussy
Debussy wrote more or less entirely in the 'program' style; see List of compositions by Claude Debussy
Paul Dukas
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 9, From the New World, which is associated with The Song of Hiawatha and describes the composer's impressions of America. The Water Goblin The Noon Witch A Hero's Song Four Overtures: Hussite Overture In Nature's Realm Carnival Othello
Edward Elgar
Many of Elgar's works are associated with favourite places, mostly in Herefordshire and Worcestershire where he lived, and his MSS are often noted as such
Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma), Op. 36, a series of musical portraits of the composer's friends (and in one case their dog as well), and incidents associated with them. In addition a secret underlying "Enigma" theme runs through the whole work, which has never been definitely discovered Sea Pictures Overture Cockaigne (In London Town), Op. 40 The Wand of Youth, Opp. 1a and 1b, two suites based on music he had written as a child Overture In the South (Alassio), Op. 50 Falstaff, symphonic study, Op. 68 The Severn Suite, Op. 85, for brass band Nursery Suite
Duke Ellington Harlem Air Shaft
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a prolific composer of symphonic poems, independent overtures and fantasias, who often drew his inspiration from history.
To the Memory of a Hero, elegy for orchestra, Op. 8 Stenka Razin, Op. 13 The Forest, fantasy for orchestra, Op. 19 Slavonian Feast, symphonic sketches, Op. 26A The Sea, fantasy for orchestra, Op. 28 Oriental Rhapsody, Op. 29 The Kremlin, symphonic picture in three parts, Op. 30 The Spring, symphonic picture, Op. 34 Carnaval, overture for large orchestra and organ, Op. 45 From Dark into Light, fantasy for orchestra, Op. 53 Solemn Overture, Op. 73 From the Middle Ages, suite for orchestra, Op. 79 The Song of Destiny, dramatic overture, Op. 84 Russian Fantasy for balalaika-orchestra, Op. 86 To the Memory of Gogol, symphonic prologue, Op. 87 Finnish Fantasy for orchestra, Op. 88 Finnish Sketches for orchestra, Op. 89 Karelian Legend, Op. 99 Poème épique, Op. posth.
George Gershwin
An American in Paris Cuban Overture
Edvard Grieg
Peer Gynt, originally a selection from incidental music and a song for the play Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen, but now is almost always played by itself. Lyric Pieces Wedding Day at Troldhaugen
Ferde Grofé Grand Canyon Suite, (1931). Named sections illustrate "Sunrise," "The Painted Desert," "On the Trail," "Sunset" and "Cloudburst." "On the Trail" is the familiar section with a mule's braying and hoofbeats. "Cloudburst," another musical storm, was described by Toscanini as "vivid and terrifying."
Robin Holloway
Domination of Black op.23, for orchestra after a poem of Wallace Stevens Europa & the Bull op.121, for solo tuba and orchestra after Ovid Phaeton's Journey: Son of the Sun op.131, for solo trumpet and orchestra after Ovid
Alan Hovhaness
Storm on Mount Wildcat Sosi – Forest of Prophetic Sounds Vision from High Rock Mysterious Mountain (Symphony No.2) Macedonian Mountain Dance Fantasy on Japanese Wood Prints And God Created Great Whales (orchestra with humpbacked whale songs) Vishnu Symphony (Symphony No.19) Majnun Symphony (Symphony No.24) Odysseus Symphony (Symphony No.25) Mount St. Helens Symphony (Symphony No.50)
Augusta Holmès
Irlande Pologne
Charles Ives
The Celestial Railroad Central Park in the Dark String Quartet No. 2 ("Discussions", "Arguments", and "The Call of the Mountains") A Symphony: New England Holidays Three Places in New England The Unanswered Question Yale-Princeton Football Game
Leoš Janáček
Taras Bulba, rhapsody for orchestra based on the novella by Nikolai Gogol
Albert Ketèlbey
Most of the better-known compositions of Ketèlbey are strongly programmatic, including: In a Monastery Garden In a Persian Market In the Mystic Land of Egypt Bells across the Meadows With Honour Crowned
Franz Liszt
Liszt is considered the inventor of the symphonic poem and his programmatic orchestral works set the framework for several composers of the romantic era. He composed a total of thirteen symphonic poems as well as two programmatic symphonies, drawing his inspiration from a variety of literary, mythological, historical and artistic sources.
Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne (What is heard on the mountain), after a poem by Victor Hugo Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo, based on stories by Byron and Goethe on the life of the poet Torquato Tasso Les Préludes, based on Lamartine Orpheus Prometheus Mazeppa, based on Hugo and Byron Festklänge (Festival Sounds) Héroïde funèbre From the Cradle to the Grave Hungaria Hamlet, based on the play by Shakespeare Hunnenschlacht (Battle of the Huns), based on a monumental fresco by painter Wilhelm von Kaulbach depicting the battle between Emperor Theoderic and Attila the Hun in 451 Die Ideale based on a work by Friedrich von Schiller Faust Symphony, after the epic work by Goethe Dante Symphony, after Dante's Divine Comedy
Frederik Magle
The Hope (2001), depicting the battle of Copenhagen
Gustav Mahler
Much of Mahler's early work was designed programmatically. However, he made serious efforts to downplay the programmatic reputation of many of these pieces later in his life, including removing some of the programmatic titles from his symphonies. Symphony No. 1, Titan, (1888) Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, (1894) Symphony No. 3, (1896) Das Lied von der Erde
Felix Mendelssohn
Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage The Hebrides
Olivier Messiaen
La Nativite du Seigneur (The Nativity of Our Lord), strongly programmatic series of organ pieces Des Canyons au Etoiles ("From the Canyons to the Stars"), on the natural beauty of the United States Catalogue d'oiseaux ("Catalog of Birds") Oiseaux exotiques
Modest Mussorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition; movements represent a series of paintings and the promenade of a viewer around the gallery Night on Bald Mountain
Carl Nielsen
Helios Overture, Op. 17
Maurice Ravel
Daphnis et Chloé La Valse Jeux d'eau Miroirs suite Gaspard de la nuit Ma mère l'oye Pavane pour une infante défunte
Ottorino Respighi
I pini di Roma ("The Pines of Rome"), 1923–1924 Vetrate di Chiesa ("Church Windows"), 1926 Gli Uccelli ("The Birds"), 1927 Le fontane di Roma ("The Fountains of Rome"), 1915–1916 Feste Romane ("Roman Festivals"), 1928
Terry Riley Chanting the Light of Foresight, with Rova Saxophone Quartet
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade, Op. 35, (1888). Symphonic suite after the “Thousand and One Nights”. Section titles such as "The Sea and Sinbad's Ship," "Festival in Baghdad." Antar - symphony No. 2, later published as a symphonic suite. Sadko, Op. 5 - described as a Musical Picture Night on Mt Triglav - extracted from the opera “Mlada” Skazka - “Fairy Tale” inspired by Pushkin. The Snow Maiden - suite from the opera “Snegurochka” Christmas Eve - suite from the opera The Invisible City of Kitezh - suite from the opera The Golden Cockerel - suite from the opera Plus many other works inspired by myths and fairy tales
Gioachino Rossini William Tell Overture
Camille Saint-Saëns
Phaéton, Op. 39 Danse Macabre, Op. 40 (1874) The Carnival of the Animals, (1886)
Arnold Schoenberg
Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 ("Transfigured Night"), 1899 Romantic musical portrait of a moonlight forest walk, from Richard Dehmel's poem
Peter Seabourne