Pick a piece and get started!
Explore the stories and secrets hidden in these classical pieces of music.
For each piece you will find free teaching resources, exciting short films, lesson plans, arrangements and more.
Resources are suitable for KS2, and Second Level in Scotland.
A - Z
KS2: Johann Sebastian Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Bach's famous piece, originally for organ, is written in two sections: the Toccata, a free-form introduction and the second part - the Fugue - with complex overlapping repetitions of a main theme played alongside different counter-melodies.
Leonard Bernstein - ‘Mambo’ from Symphonic Dances from 'West Side Story'
One of Bernstein's most popular works is a re-imagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet' into a New York gang warfare setting.
Georges Bizet - ‘Habanera’ and ‘Toreador Song’ from ‘Carmen Suite No. 2’
'Carmen' is light opera with a serious ending about a beautiful girl who works in a factory. The 'Habanera' and the 'Toreador Song' from the opera are now two of the best known of all operatic arias.
Anna Clyne - Night Ferry (extract)
When Anna Clyne settled on the idea of creating a piece about crossing a stormy ocean, she picked up a paint brush instead of writing music notes on paper and created a graphic score, laying out how she wanted her piece to sound by using swirls and sweeps of dark, violent colours.
Edward Elgar - ‘Enigma’ Variations – Theme (‘Enigma’), variations 11, 6 & 7
Elgar's variations show how music can convey personality, an event, a memory or a moment in time.
Joseph Haydn - Trumpet Concerto (3rd movement)
Haydn's Concerto for Trumpet in E flat was a ground-breaking addition to the trumpet repertoire.
Carl Orff - Carmina burana – ‘O fortuna’
‘O fortuna’ is one of the most famous choral pieces in the world. The piece gives us a chance to meet Fortuna, the Roman Goddess of Fortune (also worshipped in Greek mythology) and transports us back to medieval times.
Gabriel Prokofiev - Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra (5th movement)
In this concerto, the turntable player used the sounds created by the orchestra and manipulates them, creating a battle of sounds.
